Why is the ADOM universe almost exclusively male?

[Laszlo]

I've been playig ADOM for about 5 years now, and it's only just struck me.
Why are there practically _no_ female unique monsters or NPCs in ADOM at
all? Let's see, shall we?

A (hopefully) complete list of the unique NPCs and monsters in ADOM
follows. If you consider that a spoiler, please stop reading.

Spoiler space BEGIN

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Spoiler space END

Terinyo
Males: Tywat Pare, Rynt, Guth'Alak, Yggaz, Blup, Munxip (6)
Genderless: (0)
Female: Tiny girl (1)

Blup _is_ male, right? I'm fairly sure, but not totally...

Lawenilothehl
Males: Yergius, Kranf Niest, Skriek, Barnabas, Hotzenplotz, Grunge,
Munge (7)
Genderless: (0)
Female: (0)

High Mountain Village
Males: Hawkslayer, Ogre guardian, Malicious doctor, Leggot (4)
Genderless: (0)
Female: Gaab'Baay, Oracle (2)

Other locations east of the river
Males: Kranach, Keethrax, Jharod, Yrrigs, Filk, MaLaKaI (5)
Genderless: Cute dog (1)
Female: Shyssiryxius (1)

I'm not sure... is Kenny genderless?

Arena
Males: Arena Master, Li-Hon-Kay, Spardakius, Ripclaw, Bonk, Ratling rebel (6)
Genderless: (0)
Female: (0)

Dwarftown
Males: Thrundarr, Ruun, Dwarven Mystic, Garth, Glod, Bart, Torgall,
Waldenbrook, Demented ratling (9)
Genderless: (0)
Female: (0)

Caverns of Chaos
Males: Griff Bloodax, Nonnak, Khelavaster, Eternal guardian,
Big casino guard, Orgovek, Bugs, the Cat Lord, Yulgash, Sharad-Waador,
Srraxxarrakex, Nuurag-Vaarn, Fistanarius, Andor Drakon (14)
Genderless: Snake From Beyond, Ancient Stone Beast (2)
Female: Banshee (1)

Assorted locations west of the river
Males: Old Barbarian, Mad Minstrel, Rehetep, Assassin Prince, Kherab,
Minotaur emperor, Ratling dealer, Ghost librarian, Keriax, Yrruir,
Riurry, Eternal guardian, Emperor moloch (13)
Genderless: Ancient Chaos Wyrm, Skeletal king (2)
Female: (0)

Not sure about Keriax. The Guidebook refers to Keriax as a he, though.

Grand total:
Males: 64
Genderless: 5
Female: 5

So why is this? There seems to be no particular prejudice or difficulty
aimed at females in the Drakalor Chain (in fact, female PCs have it very
slightly easier than males, since most shop prices will be slightly
lower, and there's a female-only quest). It's curious, then, that there
seem to be so few female NPCs.

Laszlo

[Sam Blanning]

Post by Laszlo
Spoiler space BEGIN
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Other locations east of the river
Males: Kranach, Keethrax, Jharod, Yrrigs, Filk, MaLaKaI (5)
Genderless: Cute dog (1)
Female: Shyssiryxius (1)
I'm not sure... is Kenny genderless?

All animals are considered genderless in that they can never be generated as
female.

Post by Laszlo
Arena
Males: Arena Master, Li-Hon-Kay, Spardakius, Ripclaw, Bonk, Ratling
rebel (6) Genderless: (0)
Female: (0)

Actually, Li-Hon-Kay can sometimes be a female named Li-Han-Kay.

Post by Laszlo
So why is this? There seems to be no particular prejudice or
difficulty aimed at females in the Drakalor Chain (in fact, female
PCs have it very slightly easier than males, since most shop prices will

be

Post by Laszlo
slightly lower, and there's a female-only quest). It's curious, then, that
there seem to be so few female NPCs.

Just the usual stereotyping, I think.

[Olli "Shader" Juhala]

Post by Laszlo
I've been playig ADOM for about 5 years now, and it's only just struck me.
Why are there practically _no_ female unique monsters or NPCs in ADOM at
all? Let's see, shall we?

answer to this might be:

a) TB is actually a chauvinistic, femalehating, patronizing fascist
b) because

:) <- smiley for the ironically impaired

[Frances Kathleen Moffatt]

Post by Laszlo
I've been playig ADOM for about 5 years now, and it's only just struck me.
Why are there practically _no_ female unique monsters or NPCs in ADOM at
all? Let's see, shall we?
A (hopefully) complete list of the unique NPCs and monsters in ADOM
follows. If you consider that a spoiler, please stop reading.
Spoiler space BEGIN
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Spoiler space END
Arena
Males: Arena Master, Li-Hon-Kay, Spardakius, Ripclaw, Bonk, Ratling rebel (6)
Genderless: (0)
Female: (0)

Female: Li-Han-Kay (1)

Although given that you can only get one of Li-Hon-Kay, Li-Han-Kay,
Spardakius, Ripclaw, or Bonk, maybe the totals should be 2.8 males and 0.2
females for this section.

Post by Laszlo
Males: 64
Genderless: 5
Female: 5
So why is this? There seems to be no particular prejudice or difficulty
aimed at females in the Drakalor Chain (in fact, female PCs have it very
slightly easier than males, since most shop prices will be slightly
lower, and there's a female-only quest).

I've got to disagree--the female-only quest is a horrible horrible waste of
a sip; the shop prices are based on Appearance, which sinks faster than
anything else once you start getting corrupted; and they don't get the
additional nifty way to deal with the Banshee.

Post by Laszlo
It's curious, then, that there
seem to be so few female NPCs.

*shrug* I'm perfectly willing to believe that the Drakalor Chain's concept
of gender equality is stuck in the Middle Ages, while PCs apparently
benefit from TB's idea of it, which seems to be slightly more up-to-date.

Love and coffee,
Frances

[Zaxx]

Post by Laszlo
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Other locations east of the river
Males: Kranach, Keethrax, Jharod, Yrrigs, Filk, MaLaKaI (5)
Genderless: Cute dog (1)
Female: Shyssiryxius (1)

MaLaKai can be generated as female too... maybe depending on the PC's
gender.

[CB]

Post by Laszlo
I've been playig ADOM for about 5 years now, and it's only just struck me.
Why are there practically _no_ female unique monsters or NPCs in ADOM at
all? Let's see, shall we?
A (hopefully) complete list of the unique NPCs and monsters in ADOM
follows. If you consider that a spoiler, please stop reading.
Spoiler space BEGIN
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Spoiler space END
Genderless: Ancient Chaos Wyrm, Skeletal king (2)

As the skeletal king is never generated as a female skeletal king (i.e. a
skeletal queen), I'd have to say that he's pretty male. Then again, he's not
really a unique in the truest sense IMO, so maybe he shouldn't be on the
list at all.

Post by Laszlo
Males: 64
Genderless: 5
Female: 5
So why is this? There seems to be no particular prejudice or difficulty
aimed at females in the Drakalor Chain (in fact, female PCs have it very
slightly easier than males, since most shop prices will be slightly
lower, and there's a female-only quest). It's curious, then, that there
seem to be so few female NPCs.

While I doubt that TB is a woman-hating pig, men have the natural
psychological mindset that they are superior to women, no matter how well
they try to mask it. Perhaps TB just wasn't considering gender when he wrote
up the supporting cast, hence he defaulted to the male side. The opposite
would be true if a woman had written ADOM, especially since women
stereotypically feel that they have something to prove.
This is not to say that TB, or the hypothetical female TB, are flawed in
their beliefs or anything, it's just a natural train of thought.
To illustrate, you'll notice a link in my sig to my game, DeadHeads'
Delight. I never considered gender when I was making it, but, seeing as it
is stereotypically unfitting for a woman to be a drug dealer or cop or
what-have-you, I always saw the characters as male only. If I were female, I
might see things differently. This isn't something I had ever thought about
until I read this post. Bleh.

[Mad Monk]

Post by Laszlo
I've been playig ADOM for about 5 years now, and it's only just struck me.
Why are there practically _no_ female unique monsters or NPCs in ADOM at
all? Let's see, shall we?
[snippie list]

I always assumed it was because females were kind, loving,
intelligent, compassionate, and caring beings who tried not to set any
unnecessary suffering on the shoulders of others, while we men are a
bunch of grimy pigs with a predilection for sharp metal objects.

[Malte Helmert]

Post by Laszlo
Why are there practically _no_ female unique monsters or NPCs in ADOM at
all? Let's see, shall we?

[snip listing]
Well? If there are different descriptions in the monster memory when
[l]ooked at, the female versions read better. I think TB likes women too
much to get them flailed at with foo weapons but rather enjoys looking
at them and describing them. :-)

Many (most?) monster memory descriptions were provided by other people
than Thomas.

Malte