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Homogenized Races?
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<blockquote data-quote="uzirath" data-source="post: 7635854" data-attributes="member: 8495"><p>Agreed. Really, in most RPG groups that I've seen, that's all the other races are anyway. You could just as easily replace the dwarf with a gruff human of limited height. Some players and GMs push harder, but ultimately we're all humans, so it's pretty hard to really inhabit an alien character. I tend toward worlds with lots of heterogeneity on as many axes as I can manage. There are lots of sentient species with lots of cultural variation within and between them—more like <em>Star Wars</em>, I suppose, than <em>Lord of the Rings</em>. It doesn't always make sense, but its fun. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I was tossing out a random example, but yes, again. (I'm failing at internet forum... I'm supposed to disagree on principle with everyone!) If there are going to be some baked-in differences (nature rather than nurture)—and I think there should be—then it behooves the GM to consider the cultural implications of those differences. </p><p></p><p>One caveat here, though, is that its easy to get paralyzed as a GM when you "have" to do all this work. I used to have a very high bar for myself and, as a result, I spent WAY too much time prepping for games. I've discovered that most players don't get upset if things are half-baked, especially if the world building is collaborative. I play very fast and loose now. In general, anything that has happened in the game, is a "fact" and we often connect these facts to generate new cultural ideas, history, and mythology as we play.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Again, no quibble here. I simply tossed it out there as an example of a modern stereotype that is not based in biology. In a fantasy world, dwarves might have a reputation for being loud (maybe because of their loud smithies) in one region. The people there think "all dwarves are loud." Of course, there will be individual dwarves there who buck the stereotype, but most of them probably fit. If, however, this trait wasn't rooted in biology, you might well discover a tribe of whispering dwarves somewhere else. I enjoy that sort of thing. (Especially when we discover that the dwarven jungle is inhabited by monsters from <em>A Quiet Place</em>...)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="uzirath, post: 7635854, member: 8495"] Agreed. Really, in most RPG groups that I've seen, that's all the other races are anyway. You could just as easily replace the dwarf with a gruff human of limited height. Some players and GMs push harder, but ultimately we're all humans, so it's pretty hard to really inhabit an alien character. I tend toward worlds with lots of heterogeneity on as many axes as I can manage. There are lots of sentient species with lots of cultural variation within and between them—more like [I]Star Wars[/I], I suppose, than [I]Lord of the Rings[/I]. It doesn't always make sense, but its fun. I was tossing out a random example, but yes, again. (I'm failing at internet forum... I'm supposed to disagree on principle with everyone!) If there are going to be some baked-in differences (nature rather than nurture)—and I think there should be—then it behooves the GM to consider the cultural implications of those differences. One caveat here, though, is that its easy to get paralyzed as a GM when you "have" to do all this work. I used to have a very high bar for myself and, as a result, I spent WAY too much time prepping for games. I've discovered that most players don't get upset if things are half-baked, especially if the world building is collaborative. I play very fast and loose now. In general, anything that has happened in the game, is a "fact" and we often connect these facts to generate new cultural ideas, history, and mythology as we play. Again, no quibble here. I simply tossed it out there as an example of a modern stereotype that is not based in biology. In a fantasy world, dwarves might have a reputation for being loud (maybe because of their loud smithies) in one region. The people there think "all dwarves are loud." Of course, there will be individual dwarves there who buck the stereotype, but most of them probably fit. If, however, this trait wasn't rooted in biology, you might well discover a tribe of whispering dwarves somewhere else. I enjoy that sort of thing. (Especially when we discover that the dwarven jungle is inhabited by monsters from [I]A Quiet Place[/I]...) [/QUOTE]
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