D&D (2024) How did I miss this about the Half races/ancestries

[MGibster]

Because people are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to a pretty creature or outright refuse to believe that the pretty thing is the bad guy. Because the idea of the beautiful thing being a monster in disguise is still considered to be a twist. Because, as Another Guy said above, "Ugly things are more likely to be killed".

We're talking about a game here. Who cares if orcs are ugly and elves aren't? Drow aren't ugly, but they were certainly on the kill-on-sight list for a while.

 

[Incenjucar]

Yeeeeeah the appearance of drow is a whole underdark of purple worms...

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Yeeeeeah the appearance of drow is a whole underdark of purple worms...

Can tell I came from warhammer as I thought drow had extremely pale white skin for ages, like the dark elves.

Was a shock to learn that wasn't the case in DnD.

 

[Maxperson]

I think the poster was referring to me, but I never said you can't advocate for change.

I haven’t. I simply pointed out when someone compared their actions to protesting that protest has also been used to get art censored (but in same breath I said protest is free expression and people have a right to do it)

That's what I've seen and what I thought. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Vaalingrade]

We're talking about a game here. Who cares if orcs are ugly and elves aren't? Drow aren't ugly, but they were certainly on the kill-on-sight list for a while.

Yeah, we have a whole other visual short hand to show they're okay to merc...

 

[Guest 85555]

Because people are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to a pretty creature or outright refuse to believe that the pretty thing is the bad guy. Because the idea of the beautiful thing being a monster in disguise is still considered to be a twist. Because, as Another Guy said above, "Ugly things are more likely to be killed".

One of my favorite movies is night breed. And also love the book it is based on. I get these things can turned in different ways to make a point. That there is a lot of good art to be made about reclaiming monsters for something else. But we react to monsters because they are ferocious, scary and remind us of predatory creatures. Sometimes ugly is effective. But not always. Villains are often highly attractive

 

[Faolyn]

We're talking about a game here. Who cares if orcs are ugly and elves aren't? Drow aren't ugly, but they were certainly on the kill-on-sight list for a while.

Well, I do for one. I think a large number of people would care.

And drow may not be ugly, but they're black.

 

[Alzrius]

Yeah, we have a whole other visual short hand to show they're okay to merc...

That being white hair.

 

[Maxperson]

What have I done!

I don't know, but if you're looking for horror...

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Historically I think people have just liked an enemy which they can go and fight without moral questions. Like with human bandits you will get half way through the fight and they will surrender and say they have families. Which instantly turns it into a moral dilemma. Of course with orcs they are now depicted as clearly having families, and just like a human bandit, an orc, goblin, or kobald bandit can pull the exact same card.

5e gnolls and mind flayers on the other hand still allow the 'brains off combat/dungeon crawl' kind of approach. Though mind flayers themselves introduce body horror which in itself can make it unsuitable for some players. They're also quite psionic themed, so some DM's might not want them in their setting. And though 5e gnolls are depicted as literally demons who spawned from dead bodies eaten by hyenas, the fact that other editions and other media has shown them as a more standard species makes me suspect that they are on their way to being PC's too.