What do other games use in place of 'race'?

[Bluenose]

Origin, which can also cover culture or status with a group that's less wide than an entire species. More common I think in CRPGs, but not unknown in tabletop.

 

[Myth Master]

I like the feel of that one a lot. Sort of like Tuatha de Danann meaning People of the Dawn.

"Tuatha de Danann (pronounced Thoo-a day Du-non) is translated as 'tribe of Danu.' Scholars are agreed that Danu was the name of their goddess"

The Tuatha De Danann: Were they Irish gods or aliens?

It's little wonder the Tuatha De Danann, Tuath Dé, or the Tribe of the Gods were mistaken as the stuff of nonsense or even aliens, but we as mere mortals today can make our own conclusions.

www.irishcentral.com

 

[Darth Solo]

I'm so tired of the "Race Debate" in RPG Gaming.

You can run Orcs as Lawful Good or whatever you want in your setting and still call them "Monsters".

How is this hard unless you have some underlying agenda to change how people interpret "Race" in an RPG.

What term do you want? What makes you comfortable? How can I, as GM, meet your expectations of what race is and how race is explored?

 

[DammitVictor]

What term do you want? What makes you comfortable? How can I, as GM, meet your expectations of what race is and how race is explored?

Not really the affected party here, but it seems there'd be a lot less wrong with the standard D&D narrative about clearing "humanoids" from land so "demihumans" could move in if the game simply took step back and let the morality of the PCs' actions speak for themselves instead of making the setting itself validate them.

I mean, honestly, doesn't "morality is governened by objective, but opposed, metaphysical forces of Law and Chaos, Good and Evil" strike you as an incredibly specific setting detail to make part of the core rules and a mandatory part of every official setting?

Generally, start with the assumption that anything with human-level intelligence, that speaks a language, that lives in social groups and reproduces naturally... anything that behaves like a person, should be regarded as a person by the rules of the game. If Orcs and goblinoids are typically Evil and typically hostile to Humans and their allies, treat them the same as Evil Human cultures that behave the same way. And then, do not identifiably base them on stereotypes and old racist propaganda about existing human ethnic groups.

 

[Morrus]

I'm so tired of the "Race Debate" in RPG Gaming.

You don't have to have the debate, you know! It's of interest to many of the rest of us, but you're not obligate to weigh in.

 

[aramis erak]

Tunnels & Trolls uses "kindred."

Justifiers uses "Racial Types"- all of which are genetically engineered humanoids with animal features.

Dragon Warriors uses "race"...

Arrowflight uses Race.

Paleomythic uses race.