I think you’re kind of talking about two different (but related) things. The implicit criticism the OP is making is that the culture places a greater importance on bullshit displays of patriotism than it does the most basic levels of human decency (i.e., don’t beat up women).

“I can see how people can mistakenly blame the imagery on horny male wish fulfillment [since that is the primary reason in most cases] but they dismiss the fact that [some but not all] women also like to look at this imagery or project their own self image as a sexy vixen.”

Which is kind of the problem I have with this so-called ‘sexy’ artwork; it’s just generic, white-bread sexiness with no real life or diversity to any of it. I get they want to appeal to a mainstream audience, but in my eyes these guys are boring to the literal point of sexlessness.

They’re not ‘mistakenly’ anything. Women can totally identify for overtly sexualized characters. That doesn’t change the fact that those characters were not created for that purpose. The creators did not sit doiwn and discuss how to design characters that would appeal to women. They did not focus-test their characters…

Ha, and SMT has a few pretty boy demons as well. Angelic Lucifer, for example:

I don’t think she destroys feminism. She illustrates why feminism is useful. There’s room for her to seek empowerment through sexuality and simultaneously to recognize that women had fewer ways towards empowerment in D&D. Hence she’s a “hardcore feminist.”

The point isn’t that every dude was Conan. The point is that the problem wasn’t as simple as female nudity and the solution isn’t as simple as adding more make nudity. The game, indeed that whole fantasy tradition, was lousy with nudity from both genders, but the problem went a step further. The male characters are…

I would say this - write her like a complex person. So she is sexy, and uses her sexyness as a tool when needed. Ok. What else is she? What other tool does she have? What does she want? Why does she do what she does? What does she likes? What does she hates? Take a notepad and answer all those question. Figure out who…

Sometimes, sure, but the point is that women were pigeonholed into a very specific aesthetic which carried actual consequences (like they said, lesser strength). No one should be against a sexy character, but we should be against only sexy characters for this thing, and men get to be whatever they want.

If your D&D isn’t sexy blame the DM or the players.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for inclusiveness and not just interested now that I have kids, but it’s definitely another excellent idea. Hell it may also just be that a lot of gamers have grown up and grown out of the adolescent power fantasy stage. Probably all of that really.

I agree, although I would say that when a succubus is in it’s fully demonic form it probably shouldn’t be covered at all.

Well that doesn’t necessarily get at the issue. After all, in the Conan tradition, male heroes are quite often absurdly muscle bound and lightly clothed. Nudity isn’t the enemy in and of itself. It’s more complicated.

Sexy villains worthy of death are always deeply uncomfortable to me.

As I was reading, I was wondering if some of the changes might be aimed at making the game more appealing for parents, and just generally to gamers past their teen and college years, and not just at attracting women to it. I certainly know male video gamers who find cheesecake to be annoying or something that makes it…

Yeah, it’s always weird playing games, watching anime, etc with more casual fans and having to squirm though half-baked sexy stuff that exists for the “hypothetical male boner” (a phrase I got from here and absolutely ADORE). Worse still if you show them an small bit and have to explain there’s more to it than boobs…

Let us now welcome he butthurt man children who are going to bitch about “SJW’s” “ruining D&D” because nobody wants to put up with their creepy behavior that would warrant them getting booted from the majority of D&D campaigns.

So then basically every character would be nude. Because that’s how it was for female ones.

As someone with every intention of raising second generation gamers, my kids thank you for not making it weird in a few years...

If you want sexy, D&D might be the wrong place to look.