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Elven metabolism, tall dwarves, pretty trolls.
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<blockquote data-quote="(Psi)SeveredHead" data-source="post: 6146566" data-attributes="member: 1165"><p>Rarely to the first, and no to the second. I don't believe I've ever seen an overweight PC played in person*, although I read about a "fat gamer" Tough Hero in a d20 Modern campaign that was story hour'd on these boards a while back.</p><p></p><p>Generally PCs try to avoid situations that could cripple them in combat, on the grounds that it could get you killed.</p><p></p><p>*The exception was a PC I had played, an overweight tracker, who specifically took the "obese" trait (it was a Savage Worlds game) which had clear penalties (max speed) and benefits (slight pain resistance; my PC was specifically designed to be difficult to injure, but would also make an easy target in gunplay). Being obese only gave him a +1 equivalent to pain resistance, but I had given him lots of pain resistance from other sources, and the DM pointed out that any pistol shot that wasn't a crit wouldn't actually damage him. (Crit being defined as a max damage hit, but I don't recall the system so well.) Said PC was a bit character from a novel I had read years ago, and I didn't have time to come up with an original character concept, and didn't want to play a gunslinger live nearly everyone else in a cowboy setting.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Something makes me think they're not a dwarf. The name alone...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'd be more worried about the regeneration than what the troll looked like. Also note that what is considered attractive among trolls might be considerably different than what a human might find attractive. (A low Charisma troll might attract humans, oddly enough.)</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't think I've seen many good-looking or even average-looking orcs or dwarves. Very few females either, although sometimes it's hard to tell with dwarves!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>You answered your own question there. Each of the demihuman races is basically human with a little bit extra. Take away that "extra" and you can't tell the difference.</p><p></p><p>Making matters worse, you're dealing with artwork and not a realistic portrayal. If you read manga or watch anime, you'll notice a lot of "stateless" characters (meaning you can't tell what ethnic group they're from based on the artwork). This is because graphic art leaves out a <strong>lot</strong> of detail, including most of the details that would distinguish people from one group from another group. In Japan, artists usually ignore such details (usually most of the characters are Japanese) but in the West, those details are considered essential, and what few details remain get exaggerated. (East Asian characters in Western art tend to have very slanted eyes, not because the artists think East Asian people look like that, but as a visual shortcut.)</p><p></p><p>Artists could put an "E" on the forehead of every elf character, but that doesn't make sense in-universe. (At least not in most universes!)</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Irda are mutant ogres. Or more to the point, ogres are essentially mutant Irda. Of course they're going to look different.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Muls are basically as tall as humans with dwarven "iron muscles". On Athas, practically every mul is a slave laborer, warrior, or often both. (This is in part to their creation requirements. While free-born muls like Rkard exist, the vast majority are the products of "arrangements" made by slave owners.) Both professions would tend to increase muscle mass. Finding a skinny or fat mul would require finding a mul who was either free-born (rare but not non-existent) or find a mul who for some reason hadn't gotten worked to death by an irate slaveowner who expected said mul to be able to do back-breaking labor for 70 hours straight like the other muls.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>You're probably overthinking it.</p><p></p><p>By the way, I doubt a subrace of "fat elves" could exist. I doubt there'd be enough to support a diverse gen pool, and elves seem vain enough to <em>never</em> marry a fat elf. (Unlike humans. There are married couples where one or both are not "conventionally medium-sized" and are perfectly happy. But I don't think it works like that with elves.)</p><p></p><p>Although one wonders if, by random chance, the heir to the throne happens to be overweight. (But that never happens. There was a "plus-sized" king of either Qualinost or Silvanost, but that meant he had muscles.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(Psi)SeveredHead, post: 6146566, member: 1165"] Rarely to the first, and no to the second. I don't believe I've ever seen an overweight PC played in person*, although I read about a "fat gamer" Tough Hero in a d20 Modern campaign that was story hour'd on these boards a while back. Generally PCs try to avoid situations that could cripple them in combat, on the grounds that it could get you killed. *The exception was a PC I had played, an overweight tracker, who specifically took the "obese" trait (it was a Savage Worlds game) which had clear penalties (max speed) and benefits (slight pain resistance; my PC was specifically designed to be difficult to injure, but would also make an easy target in gunplay). Being obese only gave him a +1 equivalent to pain resistance, but I had given him lots of pain resistance from other sources, and the DM pointed out that any pistol shot that wasn't a crit wouldn't actually damage him. (Crit being defined as a max damage hit, but I don't recall the system so well.) Said PC was a bit character from a novel I had read years ago, and I didn't have time to come up with an original character concept, and didn't want to play a gunslinger live nearly everyone else in a cowboy setting. Something makes me think they're not a dwarf. The name alone... I'd be more worried about the regeneration than what the troll looked like. Also note that what is considered attractive among trolls might be considerably different than what a human might find attractive. (A low Charisma troll might attract humans, oddly enough.) I don't think I've seen many good-looking or even average-looking orcs or dwarves. Very few females either, although sometimes it's hard to tell with dwarves! You answered your own question there. Each of the demihuman races is basically human with a little bit extra. Take away that "extra" and you can't tell the difference. Making matters worse, you're dealing with artwork and not a realistic portrayal. If you read manga or watch anime, you'll notice a lot of "stateless" characters (meaning you can't tell what ethnic group they're from based on the artwork). This is because graphic art leaves out a [b]lot[/b] of detail, including most of the details that would distinguish people from one group from another group. In Japan, artists usually ignore such details (usually most of the characters are Japanese) but in the West, those details are considered essential, and what few details remain get exaggerated. (East Asian characters in Western art tend to have very slanted eyes, not because the artists think East Asian people look like that, but as a visual shortcut.) Artists could put an "E" on the forehead of every elf character, but that doesn't make sense in-universe. (At least not in most universes!) Irda are mutant ogres. Or more to the point, ogres are essentially mutant Irda. Of course they're going to look different. Muls are basically as tall as humans with dwarven "iron muscles". On Athas, practically every mul is a slave laborer, warrior, or often both. (This is in part to their creation requirements. While free-born muls like Rkard exist, the vast majority are the products of "arrangements" made by slave owners.) Both professions would tend to increase muscle mass. Finding a skinny or fat mul would require finding a mul who was either free-born (rare but not non-existent) or find a mul who for some reason hadn't gotten worked to death by an irate slaveowner who expected said mul to be able to do back-breaking labor for 70 hours straight like the other muls. You're probably overthinking it. By the way, I doubt a subrace of "fat elves" could exist. I doubt there'd be enough to support a diverse gen pool, and elves seem vain enough to [i]never[/i] marry a fat elf. (Unlike humans. There are married couples where one or both are not "conventionally medium-sized" and are perfectly happy. But I don't think it works like that with elves.) Although one wonders if, by random chance, the heir to the throne happens to be overweight. (But that never happens. There was a "plus-sized" king of either Qualinost or Silvanost, but that meant he had muscles.) [/QUOTE]
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