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Message: <blockquote data-quote="D1Tremere" data-source="post: 8527766" data-attributes="member: 61148">As an experimental psychologist I really like the OPs way of breaking this down, they did a good job.I don't think the problem is with stereotypes, though the OP is correct that modern global society is more conscious of different perspectives on how specific stereotypes impact others.I also don't think the core problem/solution is a threat to escapism. If anything it should make games easier to escape into. The core problem/solution as I see it is mindless evil. It is one thing to say that some groups participate in cultural practices that others see as a threat to their way of life, but quite another to say that all X are murderous monsters that can be killed with no moral ambiguity. The lack of moral ambiguity in an RPG session is not escapism, it is a specific type of escapism. It is a power fantasy revolving around a simple violent response to the "Other". Nothing takes me out of escapism faster than the paradox of telling me that I am facing an intelligent creature with its own culture and beliefs, but that it cannot and should not be reasoned with in any way.For some things this "Put the boot to it" mentality makes perfect sense. Demons are by definition the embodiment of horribleness without reason as most see it. Illithids are complicated because they see humans as food and incubators. This is a predator prey relationship and very alien mentality. Drow and Orcs are being handled much better now than they were in past editions, and that is good for a number of reasons.Just my 2 cents.</blockquote>

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