D&D 5E Are humanoid mono-cultures being replaced with the Rule of Three?

[Kobold Avenger]

If it was game in a modern campaign setting and the PCs stormed the offices of Evil Corp TM, were stopped by security and murdered every single one of them that shot at them, I don't think me or most people will have a problem with that. Presumably every security guard that tried to stop the PCs were Humans and had families too. But security guards like that get killed all the time in action movies, and it's expected that PCs kill them too.

Maybe one of the security guards took the job to support her sick mother, another one helps out at a local shelter on his days off, and a third one is a substance abuser who beats his wife all the time. But all 3 of them tried to stop the PCs from getting into Evil Corp TM, so all 3 of them had to die, even though the 3rd is probably worse than the other 2.

 

[Sithlord]

I don't care about inherently evil races. I think the complaints about them are overblown. The problem is taking inherently evil races and then putting them in a space that allows exceptions -- because now it is not "inherent" and it is problematic. If you say, "Orcs are horrible monsters created by The Dark Lord from the tortured souls of elves to hunt and murder the Free People," you don't actually have a problem. Grognak the Orc Paladin creates the problem. Don't do Grognak and the problem goes away. I mean, we don't have this discussion about Ghouls.

But we sure do with vampires and werewolves

 

[Dire Bare]

If it was game in a modern campaign setting and the PCs stormed the offices of Evil Corp TM, were stopped by security and murdered every single one of them that shot at them, I don't think me or most people will have a problem with that. Presumably every security guard that tried to stop the PCs were Humans and had families too. But security guards like that get killed all the time in action movies, and it's expected that PCs kill them too.

Maybe one of the security guards took the job to support her sick mother, another one helps out at a local shelter on his days off, and a third one is a substance abuser who beats his wife all the time. But all 3 of them tried to stop the PCs from getting into Evil Corp TM, so all 3 of them had to die, even though the 3rd is probably worse than the other 2.

You're not wrong. Human mooks in any genre are not necessarily evil, they just work for the wrong person.

However, IMO, this kind of fiction is weak. Where the hero just mows through a bunch of poor sods whose only crime was to show up to work Tuesday. Shows that give Evil Corp employees more depth, or heroes that don't indiscriminately slaughter those that stand in their way . . . often leads to much stronger stories.

There's a good scene in The Witcher (tv series) where a group of townsfolk get the wrong idea of Geralt's actions, and are about to go mob justice on him. He's aware that he'd likely slaughter them all, that their anger at him is misplaced and unjustified . . . and he walks away, suffering their taunts and a few thrown objects. It's that kind of storytelling I prefer.

I also am currently trying hard to finish the current season of Black Lighting (Arrow-verse superhero show) where one of the dark-and-edgy heroes, Painkiller, routinely slaughters dozens of ninja security guards who are given zero depth . . . . and it's painful. There's other problems with the show, but this one has pushed me to turn off the TV a couple of times. I'm only still trying because I'm a DC heroes nerd.

I've outgrown this type of weak fiction, and I've outgrown this kind of weak TRPG game. I don't even like mowing down faceless mooks in video games anymore.

 

[Vaalingrade]

If it was game in a modern campaign setting and the PCs stormed the offices of Evil Corp TM, were stopped by security and murdered every single one of them that shot at them, I don't think me or most people will have a problem with that. Presumably every security guard that tried to stop the PCs were Humans and had families too. But security guards like that get killed all the time in action movies, and it's expected that PCs kill them too.

Maybe one of the security guards took the job to support her sick mother, another one helps out at a local shelter on his days off, and a third one is a substance abuser who beats his wife all the time. But all 3 of them tried to stop the PCs from getting into Evil Corp TM, so all 3 of them had to die, even though the 3rd is probably worse than the other 2.

The discussion is not about people who take jobs that increase their risk of death. It's about painting entire races or cultures as murder of sight.

But on that aside, there's a reason the Matrix doesn't show the grieving widows of the Lobby Fight: we don't need to see that because it ruins the tone.

 

[Weiley31]

The discussion is not about people who take jobs that increase their risk of death. It's about painting entire races or cultures as murder of sight.

But on that aside, there's a reason the Matrix doesn't show the grieving widows of the Lobby Fight: we don't need to see that because it ruins the tone.

The Matrix lost a lot of batteries in that scene.

 

[Reynard]

But we sure do with vampires and werewolves

There's a difference: the ones we have those discussions about are usually innocent people transformed into monsters by the Real Monster vampire or werewolf we have no qualms killing.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Perhaps. But, based on the description and artwork, the aevendrow (starlight elves) live in a city under a glacier. And the lorendrow (greenshadow elves) live under a shadowed canopy of trees, rather cavern-like.

Think about that for a while though.

The canopy is going to be a massively lighter environment than most dwarves live in, and vastly more than most deeper-dwelling beings, almost none of who have sunlight sensitivity. It's an environment where normal humans could see okay, once our eyes adjusted.

And I suspect a D&D glacier people live under is also going to be very "light sifted through ice", as fanciful as that might be, so will again be a lot lighter.

I mean, they could keep the penalty, but I very much doubt that they will.

 

[Minigiant]

Personally I like the idea of D&D colorizing their orcs and stealig ideas to split them up.

Green - Fightin' Orcs. Closer to warhammer orcs, green orc just build their whole society around strength and combat. Not all evil, just all ultraviolent. They can be a great ally if channeled to fight enemies or a nuisance if left alone. Still hate elves. Still hate farming.

Blue- Smart orcs. These orcs are the smarter orcs. More likely to produce orogs. Blue orc are smart but still violent. Again look at warhammer and see their Black orc and Hardboys. They aren't hobgoblins. The blue orc tribes are still savage despite their plate armor and well kept axes. Group tactics is still not and thing and organizing is iffy as each blue orc is smart enough to snatch their own prizes.

Brown- Basicially Warcraft orcs. Brutal yet civilized people with a on/off switch on savagery. This is where half orcs come from. Can play nice with races and nations they don't have grudges with. Might be spiritual. Won't raid you for food. Will have the best justification for fighting you.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Think about that for a while though.

The canopy is going to be a massively lighter environment than most dwarves live in, and vastly more than most deeper-dwelling beings, almost none of who have sunlight sensitivity. It's an environment where normal humans could see okay, once our eyes adjusted.

And I suspect a D&D glacier people live under is also going to be very "light sifted through ice", as fanciful as that might be, so will again be a lot lighter.

I mean, they could keep the penalty, but I very much doubt that they will.

I think light sensitivity often gets ignored, or might be solvable with a common item like "sunglasses".

 

[CubicsRube]

It's safe to say that the OP's thread has been derailed so much that it's now in another continent.