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08:56, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal.

Posted by ccanary01
ccanary01
member, 21 posts
Mon 27 May 2019
at 21:15
  • msg #1

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

So in the modern world, the average cis-male is say 4-6 inches taller and 50% stronger than the average cis-female. Athletic women can train to bridge this strength gap, and of course trans- blurs things a little but for the most part this is true.

I want to explore what happens if this is reversed. For whatever reason, women start to grow to be bigger and stronger than typical men. Not supergirl strong, but just reversing the kind of gap we have now. So in the new world, an athletic man who trains very seriously can be stronger than a typical sedentary woman, but it's pretty difficult to achieve this. And he will never be as strong as an athletic woman who works out.

So the first question is, does anyone else would find this interesting?

The second question is, how do I make this into a game?

My current thoughts (with lots of credit due to a friend of mine) is to just do a simple free-form adult slice of life drama. I was thinking like in University or something? Everyone arrives in September strangers and as things are now, but slowly over the semester things reverse.

Would anyone be interested in this? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!
DarkLightHitomi
member, 1568 posts
Tue 28 May 2019
at 02:48
  • msg #2

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

Drow are like this in DnD as well as the Drowtales setting.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was moot, at 04:08, Tue 28 May 2019.
ccanary01
member, 22 posts
Tue 28 May 2019
at 03:22
  • msg #3

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

I didn't know that about drow. I thought they were just a matriarchy. Interesting...
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was moot, at 04:10, Tue 28 May 2019.
OutlawJT
member, 279 posts
Tue 28 May 2019
at 03:47
  • msg #4

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

I also thought the Drow were just a matriarchy. Did not think there was a different disparity in their physical gender balance from other races. Just thought it was a matriarchy because Lolth was their deity.


To the topic at hand, I think slice of life is definitely the way to go for exploring this kind of concept. The setting you choose to put it in however could be just about anything. You could put it in a medieval fantasy kingdom, a sprawling cyberpunk city a hundred years in the future, modern day New York city with world history gender-swapped, etc. The important part is the central concept. Of course, you could set it in any setting and play out that the world was as it is in reality (men physically stronger and larger than women on average) but establish that some event happened that shrunk all the men while growing all the women so everyone has to deal with the sudden change of how the world works.
ccanary01
member, 23 posts
Tue 28 May 2019
at 04:12
  • msg #5

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

I figure simpler is better, and since I know the modern world better than I know any cyberpunk city or whatever, I'm leaning to sticking with that. I think your last sentence is the way to go, though I wasn't planning on men shrinking. Might have to reconsider that though, interesting idea.

The real question is, does anyone want to play something like this?
horus
member, 761 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Tue 28 May 2019
at 08:03
  • msg #6

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

Hey, ccanary01, you should probably check out the webcomic El Goonish Shive, I think...  it might give you some food for thought.

Interested?  Eh... could be, Doc.

How to make this into a game?  Oh, golly, there's lots of ways this could shake out:

  • Fate Accelerated
  • A hack of Lasers and Feelings (if you're feeling like something lighthearted and silly.)
  • QAGS (another light system that has the potential for silly or serious in equal measure.
  • Big Eyes, Small Mouth
  • TriStat dX
  • The Magpie Codex

Just to name a few.

A lot really depends on how serious or how non-serious you want to go.  Is the intent of the game to have fun or to explore on a serious level how such a role reversal might make a player feel?

(I'm one of those switch hitters who might play my own or another gender or species just depending on the Feng Shui of the room or the group.  No, I'm not gender-fluid IRL.  It's mainly an acting challenge, I think.)

I'm not sure how freeform would work where the differences in size and strength are played up to the degree you're looking for.  Doesn't mean it couldn't be done, I just can't easily see how.
ccanary01
member, 24 posts
Tue 28 May 2019
at 14:37
  • msg #7

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

I think I want to walk the line between serious and fun. I'm hoping it'll be fairly mundane in that I don't want to have any supernatural or magical aspects apart from the central theme of physical changes. I want to focus on that.

I don't know any of those systems apart from Fate, and not really seeing how to build it up with Fate, but I'll think about it. To me having a system kind of implies having a plot beyond the initial 'things are changing' one, and I don't think I have one! I guess the ole' 'things are changing and it's up to you to figure out why' might work, maybe? Our players are an intrepid band of ... whatever... at the epicenter of the effect and want to investigate what happened? Actually that might be fun with layers on layers of red herrings and deceptions :-) I'm not sure I can pull it off as a GM, but it might be fun!
baxtheslayer
member, 51 posts
Wed 29 May 2019
at 03:27
  • msg #8

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

I think it could work well without going into the details of why it's happening or what is causing it.  Just that it is happening and looking at how it affects everyone's lives.

And, if it's a non-supernatural, modern, slice-of-life kind of thing, I think a freeform game would probably work just fine.  I mean, no one needs to know if that arrow hit the dragon's weak spot or if they managed to sneak past that goblin.  We just need to know if Tom did well at the cheerleading audition, or if Samantha managed to kick that field goal, and stuff like that could just be informed by the character's descriptions and reality ("No, Chuck, you can't lift that car because nobody could lift a car.") and the conventions of drama ("Did Aaron accept Becky's invitation to the dance!?!?").

I'd like to think it could be a lot of fun, even though the concept is a bit out of my comfort zone.  Maybe I'm feeling froggy.
Aidhogan
member, 78 posts
Wed 29 May 2019
at 03:40
  • msg #9

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

Yeah, that's not what's happening with the drow.  If you wanted to argue that they're operating on food scarcity, so the women's higher social status means better access to resources mean they grow up stronger and healthier, that would be one thing, but there's none of that in any of the standard settings for them.  If anything, the fact that they tend to have women in the clergy and men in the army is a direct rebuttal to that notion.
ccanary01
member, 25 posts
Wed 29 May 2019
at 16:21
  • msg #10

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

Guess I should just post the game... Worried I'm going to get like (almost) 1 applicant
RossN
member, 337 posts
Thu 30 May 2019
at 10:10
  • msg #11

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

This reminds me a bit of the finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were a lot of girls/women (not all or even the majority but a substantial number) gained the powers of the Slayer. Though they did stay the same size.
ccanary01
member, 27 posts
Tue 4 Jun 2019
at 04:04
  • msg #12

IC: Modern slice of life with role reversal

Guess I should just start the game and see what happens.

Have a look:

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