The
Xixchil
Dragon Magazine #266
The xixchil are a mantis-like race who are skilled surgeons with the ability to modify the bodies of themselves and other races. They offer their services as "body sculptors," and can achieve a wide variety of effects, from changing eye or hair color, adding body armor, or even changing a client's gender.
Gender Change
The xixchil gender-change operation involves changes to the client's chromosomal pattern, administered through the xixchil's saliva. The process takes a full week, during which time the patient is kept sedated and paralyzed. Although not a magical process in itself, the gender change can reverse magical changes of sex such as those brought about by a girdle of masculinity/femininity or a magical curse. It should noted that there isn't much a xixchil can do about a victim being turned neuter as a result of overuse of girdles of masculinity/femininity. The standard cost for such an operation is 2,000 gp.
There was also a short story accompanying the article which mentioned this capability. Here is the relevant excerpt:
With a start, she realized that the customer had stopped talking and was looking at her quizzically. "Forgive me," she trilled, "I was lost in thought. Perhaps we should go over your needs item by item." She racked her brain, trying to recall what he had been saying for the last few minutes. "Your main concern is being recognized," she said.
"Yeah, that's right," agreed her client, rubbing his unshaven chin with his hand and darting his eyes nervously at the shop's windows. "I got some people, you know, looking for me."
"You wish me to alter your appearance," reasoned Darter.
"Yeah. Can you do it?"
"Certainly," replied the xixchil. "How much do you wish to change?"
"Whaddaya mean?"
"We can change as much or as little of your body as you like. If you wish to keep costs down, we can simply change the color of your eyes, your hair, your skin. For a higher fee, we can alter the bone structure in your face, shorten or lengthen your stature, add mass to your frame. Or, we could change your gender. You are male, correct?"
"Huh? Yeah, 'course I am."
"Well, then it's a simple matter of removing your�"
"No, no," the customer winced, raising his hands as if to ward off the xixchil, eyes fixed worriedly on the sharp blades of Darter's wicked-looking forearms. "Nothin' like that," he amended, swallowing hard.
Darter cocked her head quizzically to the side and stared at her customer, waiting.
The human licked his lips again nervously, then smiled. "Heh," he said. "That 'turn me into a girl' stuff, you was just jokin', wasn't cha?"
Darter just stared impassively.
The human cleared his throat and swallowed again, unsure of what to make of the giant insect. "I, uh, I think I'll just do that hair and eyes thing you said," he said.
Limbo Draughts (Herbturn)
Dragon Magazine #266
Limbo draughts are rare magical potions derived from the primordial waters of Lake Mosaic on the plane of Limbo. Their powers transform the imbiber into unpredictable forms, as often helpful as distressing. One variation known as Herbturn will transform the drinker into something "verdant and plantlike," and there is a one in eight chance they will be transformed into a dryad. The duration of the draughts varies from a few minutes to almost a week.
Bestow Major Curse
Dragon Magazine #229
One article on curses in D&D offered several options for sprucing up the effects to make them a little more potent (read: irritating to the players). The new "Bestow Major Curse" spell was introduced, which allowed for any of a few dozen different effects to be inflicted on the recipient, ranging from multiple personalities to blindness to lycanthropy to being turned into a gelatinous form. (Yikes!) One of the effects was gender alteration, which read:
Alteration, gender: The permanent change of one's sex can be most disconcerting.
(I guess it depends on the recipient...most of my characters wouldn't
have minded. 
The full details for the spell are given below.)
Bestow Major Curse
(Abjuration/reversible)
Level: W9/P7
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 8
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: Negates
By touching a victim, the caster bestows a major curse upon him. The caster can then choose whatever effect or parameters he wishes from the list of major curse effects. The victim is allows a saving throw vs. spell; if successul, the curse is negated. The material component required is a personal possession of the target, which is not consumed in the casting. Only a wish or the reverse of this spell, remove major curse, eliminates any of the major curse effects.
Ring of Gender Confusion
Dragon Magazine #216
This ring was described in a "Bazaar of the Bizarre" article, which is a recurring feature in Dragon magazine that introduces various new magical items. The description reads:
Ring of gender confusion: This gold ring, set with a large red stone is inscribed with "It's a Question of Self-Image." When it is put on, the wearer thinks his sex has been changed to the opposite gender. However, this is just a delusion (as per the potion); those around the wearer will correctly claim that she is the same gender as always. The effected character will remain firm in his (her?) belief until subjected to a successful dispel magic. Cost: 10,000 gp.
Magical Fountains
Dragon Magazine #34
An article entitled "Getting into the Flow of Magic Fountains"
gives random tables for various effects a magic fountain can have on a
character. Not surprisingly, one of the effects was a change of gender.
This particular effect has an interesting footnote which says, "If benefit,
no effect," but they don't say what that's supposed to mean. (If you want
to be the opposite sex, it won't affect you? That seems unlikely. However,
since this is one of the earlier issues of the magazine, it's probably
a just an editorial error. I just have a vision of one of my characters
walking up to a fountain proclaiming, "Man, I hope this doesn't change
my sex or anything...I'd really hate if that happened. Yep,
that would sure be a bad thing, all right." )
There is also an entry on the Polymorph table which causes the drinker to be transformed into a look-alike of another party member.
Caeneus's
Spear
Fantastic Treasures
Contributed by Christopher Leeson
Effects: +4 Spear changes anyone who grasps it to the opposite sex until death and makes him immune to normal attacks.
Caeneus is, in Greek mythology, a Lapith woman originally
called Caenis, who was assaulted by Poseidon. To prevent further attacks,
she asked to be changed into a man, which was granted.
He/She changed her name and was given a spear that made him invulnerable. He began to worship the spear as his only god and this angered Zeus. In the battle between the Lapithae and the Centaurs, Zeus caused the Centaurs to drive Caeneus into the earth and bury him with fir trees.
Any mortal who today grasps this +4 spear will change to the opposite sex until death, but will also be impervious to normal attacks (but not to magical attacks such as enchanted weapons, spells, etc.)
Value: 40,000 gold pieces.
Exotic Events
Central Casting: Heroes Now!
Central Casting: Heroes of Tomorrow
Contributed by Christopher Leeson
The "Central Casting" books are designed as aids in generating role-playing characters. As such, they contain a wide variety of random tables that a person can follow through that can create a rich and interesting background for a character. Two of these books (Heroes Now and Heroes of Tomorrow, written for creating contemporary and futuristic characters, respectively) contain a table labeled "Exotic Events." The description for this table reads,
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Beyond the merely unusual, these events are the strangest of the strange things that can happen to a character, almost guaranteed to be life-changing events. Instructions: Roll a d20 to select the unusual event. Record the event on the character's worksheet. Roleplay: These events may cause a character to question the nature of the universe, asking things like, "Why do strange things like these happen? How can I correct the problem?," and "Will my friends ever believe that this happened?" These events can easily be cause to seek adventure, if only to explain why they happened or to change their outcome. |
Needless to say, gender change is one of the unusal events that can befall the character. Here are the listings from the two books:
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Heroes of Today After finding an odd little talisman in a curio shoppe, the character wakes up the next morning feeling different. To find out just how different, roll a d10 on the subtable below.
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Heroes of Tomorrow Against his will, the character's gender is changed. A male character becomes female, and a female a male. The change is not easily reversed. Initially, this will be quite a shock, but as time passes the character will become more accustomed to the new gender. Note: If the player is uncomfortable roleplaying this change, reroll the Exotic Event. Roll a d6 on the subtable below to determine what caused the change.
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Cyberpunk Sex Changes
GURPS Cyberpunk
Contributed by Christopher Leeson
In this Cyberpunk sourcebook for the GURPS role-playing system, one section describes the various ways a character has available for changing appearance, noting "In a cyberpunk world, with TL 8+ medicine, the human body becomes infinitely changeable. These changes are not limited to mechanical implants; there are other possibilities." Needless to say, sex changes are one option:
Sex Changes
Perhaps the ultimate disguise, or the ultimate roleplay, is the adoption of the opposite sex. This operation is available in three degrees:
Superficial. The subject retains his or her own gender, but when fully dressed would appear to be a member of the opposite sex. $8,000, two weeks.
Full Cosmetic. Only a full physical examination would reveal that the subject has had a sex-change. To all exterior appearances, and for all social interactions, the change is total. Reproduction is impossible, however. $30,000, one month.
Complete. The subject truly becomes a member of the opposite sex. This procedure involves growing a brand-new clone body from a cell which has been subjected to chromosome manipulations. Time and costs are as for an ordinary clone change (see p. 57), plus $20,000 for a male-to-female change (relatively simple) or $70,000 and an extra two weeks for a female-to-male change (requires creation of an artificial Y chromosome, which is difficult.
Sex changes are legal in most Western countries and illegal in most Eastern
ones, where sex roles are still written into law.
Spell of Reverse Sex
Rifter 9 1/2
Contributed by Red_Gambit
This spell was taken from "Rifter 9 1/2," a supplement for Rifts. It was apparently a limited run of 10,000 copies, and was only intended as an April fools joke. So most of the rules in the book are ridiculous and unusable (Giga-Damage weapons, for instance). Those rules which are usable are stricly optional and should only really be used if everyone in the group agrees.
This is a Spell for the Ludicrous Mage O.C.C (Occupational Character Class).
Level 9 spell
Range: Self, other by touch.
Duration: 25 Minutes per level of experience.
Saving throw: None
P.P.E: 45
The character can transform himself or another by touching bare skin into the opposite sex.
If the character was a male: He will lose 20% of his original weight and S.D.C (Structural Damage Capacity, basically hit points), but enjoys the following bonuses: +3 P.B (Personal Bueaty) +1 I.Q, +2 P.E (Physical Endurance) And +1 P.P. His physical appearance will now resemble a female version of himself, including genitalia.
If the character was female: Increase her weight by 20% (which is mostly muscle bulk), +3 P.S, +2 P.E, +1D4 to Speed, and +12 S.D.C.
Limitations: The spell does not affect creatures with no gender or asexual beings. This spell wil not grant special powers to which the gender determines power, all skills and original ablities remain intact. Note: Those who get their gender changed CAN NOT impregnate another nor can they be impregnated. Nor are males more likely to find men attractive, or females find ladies more attractive, unless they were predisposed to such in the first place.
<Note also that while the duration is 25 min per level of the caster it can be made permanant if you put in 5000 P.P.E. (This is a general rule of thumb...not sure if that's listed anywhere.)>