SpiralBound
Explorer
This post is prompted by a comment a friend once made that I've never fully believed. He said that a setting (whether for rpgs, a movie or a novel) MUST have humans present. It can have all kinds of other races and oddities, but without the presence of at least one human or human-equivalent character, the people who view/read/interact with this system won't have a baseline of comparison and thus will be unable to relate fully to the setting. Not being able to relate to a setting means that they won't understand, care or be as interested by the setting, thus making a setting without a human to act as a guide or "perspective bridge" will end up being a failure.
I call BS on this theory. Sure, some people would feel more comfortable or have an easier time with a setting if they can perceive a human perspective within the setting, but I find it hard to accept that nearly everyone would fall into this category. Surely, "the human condition" doesn't require a 100% human baseline to be present before one could emotionally or intellectually relate to the rest of a setting.
What do others think? Would you run or play in a setting with no humans? Would you find a setting that didn't include a human or human-equivalent mental perspective difficult to relate to? If so, why? Why would one require the human baseline to begin their understanding from?
I call BS on this theory. Sure, some people would feel more comfortable or have an easier time with a setting if they can perceive a human perspective within the setting, but I find it hard to accept that nearly everyone would fall into this category. Surely, "the human condition" doesn't require a 100% human baseline to be present before one could emotionally or intellectually relate to the rest of a setting.
What do others think? Would you run or play in a setting with no humans? Would you find a setting that didn't include a human or human-equivalent mental perspective difficult to relate to? If so, why? Why would one require the human baseline to begin their understanding from?