>We're going to have to wait for Storm Tribe
>before we get a playable female character.
>I won't pass on my wife's comments - she was
>less than polite about the lack of female characters.
Actually, I happen to find this an incredibly sexist perspective. There is no rule stating heroes *must* be warriors. Why should women have to follow Vinga in order to be considered independent, capable and equal to men? Ernalda is an immensely powerful goddess in her own right, commanding a pantheon *at least* as large and varied as Orlanth's own. As an ardent follower of the campaigns of the Seattle Farmers Collective, to me THUNDER REBELS confirms what Jeff Richard, David Dunham, Pam Carlson and company have apparently known all along: Ernalda ROCKS!
I think the problem here is that people have not considered the abundant wealth of roleplay opportunities *within* the context of Orlanthi culture. This is perhaps a flaw in Issaries' marketing of HERO WARS: on the surface, it promotes the sort of "wild and wahoo" rolplaying style which requires that all characters be cut from the cloth of Great Action Heroes. I am considering a campaign focussing on the *internal* conflicts brought on by outside stresses upon the heroes' community: in this context, a devotee of Orendana the Queen, Orventili the Peacemaker, or even Vela the Matchmaker can have considerable influence on the outcome of a storyline or even the campaign as a whole.
Do not sell Ernalda short because of some modernistic sentiment that women must be cracking heads alongside the men to be considered their equals, or to be comsidered heroic. Consider the accomplishments of these influential women, and tell me they are not heroes in the mold of Ernalda: Florence Nightengale, whose work with the wounded during the Crimean War became the foundation of modern nursing practice; Mary Wollstonecraft, whose enlightened criticism of the social order became a classic expression of egalitarian philosophy [1]; Jane Addams, whose effort to convince world leaders of the need to establish ethical alternatives to war earned her the Nobel Prize for Peace [2].
Dare to embrace stories in which a midwife *can* be the heroine, a matchmaker *can* make a difference, and a steadwife *can* save the world... you will not regret the decision.
[1] A lovely series of in-depth articles about Mary Wollstonecraft, her life and her ground-breaking "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" can be found at:
http://womenshistory.about.com/homework/womenshistory/library/weekly/aa0820 99.htm
[2] A chapter-by-chapter etext version of Addams' treatise on anti-militaristic philosophy, "Newer Ideals of Peace", can be found at:
http://paradigm.soci.brocku.ca/~lward/Addams/Addams_atoc.htm
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