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Cultures in D&D/roleplaying: damned if you do, damned if you don't
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<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7397383" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>I don't worry about it in my personal, at-home games. That doesn't mean that I don't care about racist stereotypes or offending my players. Rather, it means that if I overstep a line, I know that I can be called out on it, address it, and move on. Offense given and taken among friends is a very different situation than in a more public setting with people who don't know each other well. I would be far more careful if I were running a game open to the public at a game store--but, even then, telling people to avoid real-world cultures is a bit of a cop-out. Most people will find it hard to ensure that their fantasy culture has no parallels with the real world. And even those who take the time to do so are likely to find that others will still perceive real-world stereotypes in your fantasy people. </p><p></p><p>If you are a publisher, yes, it behooves you to think about how your material may be perceived. </p><p></p><p>Otherwise, strive to be a decent person and let your players know that if they are uncomfortable or offended by anything that you are open to discussing it. </p><p></p><p>In my homebrew world, cultures are based heavily on amalgamations of real-world cultures--in particular, places I've lived and travelled in. Some are based on alternate histories (what if the Etruscan culture remained distinct and subsumed the nascent Roman culture rather than being subsumed by the Romans). I find it much easier to run a game where I have a base on real-world experience. For example, I made one Kingdom based on a mix of historical Tang-Dynasty China and Qing Dynasty fantasy and fiction. Having lived there (and Taiwan) and having travelled in many of it is provinces, it is easy for me to come up NPC, tavern, and place names on the fly. Of course I'm bringing in my white middle-class American world view and filters into it. But I don't think it is bad to roleplay another culture or race, even if based on real-world examples. I mean, I'm doing that with medieval Europe settings as well. I've seen almost none of Europe. My role-playing an English peasant or Norse "barbarian" viking are based on far less-nuanced stereotypes (mostly from pop culture) than my depictions of Chinese or Indians. I image that Germans are going to have more negative experiences in how they are portrayed in American games than most other groups. </p><p></p><p>Personally, I would worry more if I had to role-play someone from the American south--which is the one group I can think of that I've offended in recent memory.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 7397383, member: 6796661"] I don't worry about it in my personal, at-home games. That doesn't mean that I don't care about racist stereotypes or offending my players. Rather, it means that if I overstep a line, I know that I can be called out on it, address it, and move on. Offense given and taken among friends is a very different situation than in a more public setting with people who don't know each other well. I would be far more careful if I were running a game open to the public at a game store--but, even then, telling people to avoid real-world cultures is a bit of a cop-out. Most people will find it hard to ensure that their fantasy culture has no parallels with the real world. And even those who take the time to do so are likely to find that others will still perceive real-world stereotypes in your fantasy people. If you are a publisher, yes, it behooves you to think about how your material may be perceived. Otherwise, strive to be a decent person and let your players know that if they are uncomfortable or offended by anything that you are open to discussing it. In my homebrew world, cultures are based heavily on amalgamations of real-world cultures--in particular, places I've lived and travelled in. Some are based on alternate histories (what if the Etruscan culture remained distinct and subsumed the nascent Roman culture rather than being subsumed by the Romans). I find it much easier to run a game where I have a base on real-world experience. For example, I made one Kingdom based on a mix of historical Tang-Dynasty China and Qing Dynasty fantasy and fiction. Having lived there (and Taiwan) and having travelled in many of it is provinces, it is easy for me to come up NPC, tavern, and place names on the fly. Of course I'm bringing in my white middle-class American world view and filters into it. But I don't think it is bad to roleplay another culture or race, even if based on real-world examples. I mean, I'm doing that with medieval Europe settings as well. I've seen almost none of Europe. My role-playing an English peasant or Norse "barbarian" viking are based on far less-nuanced stereotypes (mostly from pop culture) than my depictions of Chinese or Indians. I image that Germans are going to have more negative experiences in how they are portrayed in American games than most other groups. Personally, I would worry more if I had to role-play someone from the American south--which is the one group I can think of that I've offended in recent memory. [/QUOTE]
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