[quote=@BrokenPromise]
Do you feel there are many differences between male and female characters?
[/quote]

I think [@gcold] makes a great point. The differences are generally up to the setting and the society in which these characters come from. That, in itself, is up to the GM to explain unless it's already inherent in the lore being used.

As for any other instances, and just stripped of any setting, the only differences are biological and that's rarely written out in fiction, I feel. Anything else is really just a product of the character itself and not reliant on the gender of that character. So, I personally don't think there's a difference between writing for a female or writing for a male when you aren't dependent on anything else in a setting or environment... and if we're restricting this to humans. It's all situational.

[quote=@BrokenPromise]
Do you tend to favor one sex over the other, or only play one sex?
[/quote]

I do. I play 99% males and that's not because I can't write for a female, or play one. It's simply preference. And, also, I have this big, personal issue regarding leading people on when it comes to romance, so that's always on the forefront of my mind when I make a character - no matter what. I'm a writer and I can write just about any type of relationship, sure, and I intend to in my own works. Uh, however, when it involves a hobby like roleplaying, I'm not going to venture outside of my comfort zone when it comes to... the type of romance I tend to want to personify through my own characters. [sub]The world needs more homos.[/sub]

So, yeah, in a roleplaying setting, I let the possibility, however small, of a romance dictate who I'm gonna play.

But, also, I've had the chance to roleplay plenty of heterosexual romances/characters in my time here and other places, playing both male and female, and my interest plummeted the instant I started writing for them.

If I ever intend to roleplay as a female, it's likely going to be with a group of friends and in a setting where romance is highly unlikely. From experience, I know it's not any different than playing a male, given the setting.

[quote=@BrokenPromise]
Do you feel a roleplay needs to be balanced with its sexes?
[/quote]

Oh, hell no.

Again, I think this is slightly influenced by the setting. Certain settings may not have an abundance of one or the other and some may bar one gender entirely. That's up to what the plot and the GM dictates.

However, for a setting that has an infinite amount of males and females in the world/universe, then I don't think it's necessary to balance sexes, at all. Unless the situation calls for it. Honestly, my opinion on the matters is that forcing a balanced ratio of sexes reduces the realism of the roleplay. And I also don't like it because it also gives me the implication that the GM's worried more so about people being able to get together in a roleplay than about the characters themselves. If that makes sense? And this is only concerning a setting and a plot that doesn't require a balance in sexes. And for me, an individual whose range of sexualities for his characters goes from homosexual to asexual, it puts me off, a lot.

[quote=@BrokenPromise]
Are there certain rolls that you feel are better played by a certain sex?
[/quote]

I think that's up to the GM to decide, really. If you don't make it clear in the OOC that certain jobs, roles, or classes are better fit for a certain sex, then I think the default is that both are equally capable as masters of said role.

(End note: i have to apologize for using gender and sex interchangeably. it's something i'm working on, but i do know the differences between both terms.)