I was listening to Sebastian Major's great podcast "Our Fake History" today, specifically the recent series on Yasuke, the African Samurai, and a thought came to me:
That story is really cool and makes for a great PC backstory, but it absolutely depends on the ecistence of such controversial topics as slavery and colonialism in order to exist. Without acknowledging and accepting those aspects of history and humanity, there is no Yasuke. In the context of RPGs, worlds that are scrubbed of those things can't have an "African Samurai" character.
Yasuke is hardly the only example. There's some rough stuff needed for Boudica to exist as a compelling PC, for example, or Nanisca from The Woman King. Adversity and harrowing trials make for great drama and interesting characters, and often times that adversity comes from the injustices that one people inflict upon another.
I am not saying we need to wallow in the horrors of slavery, colonialism, terrorism, fascism, etc... But I do think that we do not want to erase those things from our game worlds, because they give us the opportunity to create heroes that feel more real -- because in the popular imagination at least, it is rising above injustice (in all its forms) that makes heroes.
Do you scrub your world of slavery and other historical crimes? If so, how do you encourage heroism? If not, what do you do to mitigate the real potential discomfort such subjects can cause? Do you make different decisions based on the specific game or setting? Do you run historical games, and if so do you "soften" history to make it palatable?
Note that this thread isn't a place to talk about racial essentialism or inherent evil or any of that? If it helps you get in the right frame, assume we are talking about historical RPGing only. That said, nor is it a place to talk about modern real world politics. Thank you in advance for being kind and respectful to your fellow posters.
That story is really cool and makes for a great PC backstory, but it absolutely depends on the ecistence of such controversial topics as slavery and colonialism in order to exist. Without acknowledging and accepting those aspects of history and humanity, there is no Yasuke. In the context of RPGs, worlds that are scrubbed of those things can't have an "African Samurai" character.
Yasuke is hardly the only example. There's some rough stuff needed for Boudica to exist as a compelling PC, for example, or Nanisca from The Woman King. Adversity and harrowing trials make for great drama and interesting characters, and often times that adversity comes from the injustices that one people inflict upon another.
I am not saying we need to wallow in the horrors of slavery, colonialism, terrorism, fascism, etc... But I do think that we do not want to erase those things from our game worlds, because they give us the opportunity to create heroes that feel more real -- because in the popular imagination at least, it is rising above injustice (in all its forms) that makes heroes.
Do you scrub your world of slavery and other historical crimes? If so, how do you encourage heroism? If not, what do you do to mitigate the real potential discomfort such subjects can cause? Do you make different decisions based on the specific game or setting? Do you run historical games, and if so do you "soften" history to make it palatable?
Note that this thread isn't a place to talk about racial essentialism or inherent evil or any of that? If it helps you get in the right frame, assume we are talking about historical RPGing only. That said, nor is it a place to talk about modern real world politics. Thank you in advance for being kind and respectful to your fellow posters.
