Girl Friendly Miniatures: The Sequel

She's even got pants on!


Modesty is hard to find in Tabletop Miniatures


A warrior women who's completely clothed! Imagine that.


Okay, there're boobs on this one--but who doesn't want to be a frost giant princess?

GM Tips: Setting Immersion

For our first-time GM girls, here's something that will be a big help with your campaign setting: the more detail you give your players, the better... up to a point. You don't want to bombard them with pages and pages of text about the world's history and what language all the races speak, but there are a few things you can give them that help them understand the world without much effort.

Maps. If you have the time to either find or draw up a map of your world, do so. It's invaluable to your players to have a sense of place and identity in the world and a map can help. When your characters travel to new places, they can calculate travel times, distance and have a good idea of how far they have to run to get out of that dragon's territory.

In addition to maps, a few other things can also help you along. Giving your players a calendar can help them understand the passage of time in the world. Giving them a timeline can help illustrate the history of the world without making them read all the notes that you painstakingly typed up. Those notes are great--for a GM, but a little omission can help the process. Try giving your players some basic information and they'll probably come back to you for more.

Girl Gamer Attire

Are you out of the gaming closet? Want to show off your nerd-cred to the world? Here are my favorite clothing options for being a gamer girl:


I fight Like a Girl from JINX


Prime Cuts of Unicorn Babydoll from ThinkGeek

If you look around, I bet you can find some other fun things. I have yet to find underwear with dice on them, I but I swear they're out there...

Character Generation Programs

We're well into the digital age now, and it seems like everyone has their laptops around the gaming table. Surprisingly, we still keep our character sheets with our pencils and paper, though. Here're some more technological options if you're still waiting to get out of writing out your characters by hand.

d20 Systems:
DM Genie and Player Genie are two compatible programs developed for the 3rd Edition and 3.5 Edition of Dungeons and Dragons, but are easily modifiable for any d20 game of the same era. Since 4.0 has little open licensing content for independent companies, it's likely we won't see anything for 4.0 anytime soon, unless it is from Wizards of the Coast.
PCGen is another d20 character generator, one I have no personal experience with, but it comes with good recommendations.

d10 Systems:
EdExalted was my go-to for Exalted character generation, but the updates are infrequent, and it's a little clunky to use when trying to integrate player-generated content. A good staple if you're only playing the basic game.

World of Darkness Toolkit for WoD folks. On it's 3rd edition, doesn't include all of the WoD supplements, but has the basics.

Another handy way to keep track of your characters are editable .pdf sheets which you can find for almost any game with a little searching. With luck, you'll be able to keep tabs on your character easily and you won't have to worry about erasing through the paper when your character keeps taking damage.

Custom DM Screens

If you've progressed from being a girl gamer to a girl GM, then the first thing you should look at (once you've designed your campaign, of course), is a custom DM screen. Whether you print out your favorite tables on computer paper and paperclip them to your current screen, or find someone who has a little artistic talent to make up an entirely new one, there's a lot of benefits to be had.

First off, most DM screens have some information you want--but not all of it. There's bound to be more than a few tables and charts that you use in your games more than others and it's really handy to have them right where you can see them. Plus, it saves a lot of time flipping through books.

Secondly, if you do shell out the money to have an artist do the front of it, your players will have the pleasure of seeing their characters whenever they sit down to game. It's great for atmosphere (and your players' egos).

Having a custom DM screen is a wonderful tool for gaming--not entirely necessary, but fun to have.

Non-Traditional Female Miniatures

Reaper Miniatures


Reaper Miniatures


Reaper Miniatures


Reaper Miniatures

Why Roleplay a Stereotype?

I've mentioned before that stereotypes are a good way to improve your gaming, and I wanted to expand a little on my position. There's nothing wrong with wanting your character to be unique, but a little stereotyping goes a long way into helping you get into your character's head.

The best example I have are dwarves. The Lord of the Rings films only prove this point: Gimli is a giant stereotype. He drinks ale by the gallon, he fights with an axe, he speaks with a Scottish accent. He is the quintessential dwarf. And that's why, if your dwarf acts in a similar manner, the other players in your party will immediately accept and react to him as a dwarf. Since these things have come to represent dwarves in our minds, it actually helps establish your character as a dwarf to the other players.

The easiest way to do this with nearly every character concept is to cultivate an accent. Even if you only lower or raise the pitch of your voice, it will be easier for other players to see that you are in character, or out of it. There are other ways you can incorporate stereotypes into characters, and as long as you use them appropriately, they can really improve your roleplaying.

One of the Guys: How to Blend In

One of the largest problems with being a girl gamer, is, well... being a girl gamer. In a hobby that's dominated with men, it's often more than a little uncomfortable to be the only female in the room. Especially since the stereotype that gamers are socially inept is occasionally true.

If you're tired of the guys at your table trying to stare down your shirt every time you walk by, try a little subtlety. First, don't wear low-cut shirts. I know, it's a terrible crime to cover up your gorgeous pair, but it's the best way to keep everyone from staring at them. If you're really interested in becoming a little more intimate with someone in your gaming group, invite them on a date so you'll really get a chance to dress up. There's no need to suffer through the uncomfortable stares at the gaming table to attract only one pair of eyes.

Secondly, and this one is nearly as hard, be flexible and don't let much shock you. The guys in your group will use your squeamishness against you if they can, so it's best to cultivate a thick skin fast. The less you react, the less they'll go overboard. Being a girl gamer can be hard, but it's usually worth it in the long run. If you can convince the boys that you're not going to faint at the mention of blood and guts, you're good to go.

Character Ideas: Fighters

Fighters are one of the easiest classes to start out with (in terms of learning game mechanisms), although they get more complicated as your character levels. There are plenty of starting points for fighter of the female persuasion, so feel free to take some of these ideas and run with them.

Bandit Leader
Swordsmith
Soldier
Palace Guard
Amazon (fun with loincloths)
Barbarian Queen
Orphan Gang Leader
Wandering Swordsman
Pitfighter

Dice Bag Alternatives

If you don't want to carry around the traditional Crown Royal bag or satchel made out of chain mail, here are some fun (and stylish alternatives)!


Something to Sing about bag from Modcloth


Mini Pouch from Tago Design


Pink Daisy Keepsake Box by Fiorella Designs