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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SehanineMoonbow" data-source="post: 8195467" data-attributes="member: 7025612">Hmm, interesting. While I can see that there could have been problematic language used to describe certain races (orcs come to mind), I don't think we should get rid of "traits" of various races. I'm not saying orcs should remain savages (though other races, such as dwarves and elves, may brand them as such), but I don't think we should make all races "human", either, otherwise, we might as well just all play humans, and get rid of elves, orcs, dwarves, halflings, etc, entirely. And all these races have roots in real world mythologies, anyway, and while you probably could make the argument that said mythologies stem from certain prejudices, I don't think it means we should erase them from fantasy literature. While making more classes available to more races (or species, if you would rather) levels the playing field, so to speak, the races/species have a culture, and that adds to diversity, imho. This of course doesn't mean all members of a race are going to be the epitome of their culture, I wouldn't want to see races just made into humans, if that makes sense. This is the issue I had with the bladesinger class being made available to non-elves, as it was as much a cultural thing for them as it was a class. Making it available to others can indeed provide fodder for character backstories and more playable options, but it also erases the cultural traits that make the bladesinger an elven notion. As I've said in other posts, elves, dwarves, orcs, etc, all have a culture. It doesn't have to be mono-culture, as there could be regional differences, but it is enough to recognize it as a culture of X. There are of course negative aspects of every culture (just like in the real world), but I don't think we should get rid of what makes elves elves, dwarves dwarves, halflings halfings, etc (though certain races, like orcs, are a gray area, as they have a very "savage" culture, and, depending on how this is done, it could be problematic).  I think some races could be more easily traced to negative stereotypes than others. Orcs, for one, as I mentioned above. Perhaps it's a matter of balance and how certain races are presented (though I don't have answers, either). I don't want to see all races essentially just be made into humans, but there are negative connotations, particularly with orcs, that need to be addressed.For elves, I think the "better than thou" attitude comes in part from their long lives, their origins (depending on setting), and pride in being, well, elves. I suppose you could draw the symbolism that this is nationalism. But I think most fantasy races are proud of being of that race. It could be made into something negative, just like in the real world, when nationalism goes too far. But I don't think being proud of being of X country or ethnicity is necessarily in and of itself a bad thing. You could have elves (just like humans irl) taking it too far, but pride in being an elf and elven culture in itself isn't negative, I don't think. But I don't think the answer is "clearing the slate". as elves are different from humans, different from dwarves, gnomes, etc, and that is part of what makes it enjoyable--variety, and multiple races/species can bring diversity, so you're not all basically humans. Being a human in real life, I like playing something that is not human. Apologies for being all over the place with my post. It's certainly a balance, and I don't know where the correct "strike" is.</blockquote>

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