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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Humanophile" data-source="post: 1582883" data-attributes="member: 1049">*takes a deep breath*Wooh, this stab at a hippie utopia is going to open a huge can of worms.  But let's at least start by trying to read the label.First, do try to hit the library and read up on evolutionary psychology.  Richard Dawkins' <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0192860925/qid=1086528705/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1918533-9011167?v=glance&s=books" target="_blank">The Selfish Gene</a> is a good place to start, but several authors have tried their hand at the idea.  Simply put, genetics is not just about gross physical cosmetic issues, but everything from species differences to heritable behavior.  So from the beginning, you're going to have to throw out a lot of innate human instincts (see Elder_Basilisk's post for the genre tropes that rely on humans having certain built-in reactions), and rewrite from scratch.Second, you're going to have to decide what traits are heritable, either from parents or as part of a "racial package".  This includes instincts as well as things like requisite number of hands and feet.  (If none of these issues occurred to you, congratulations.  You've just shown how innate and inseperable genetics is to humanity in the real world.)  The same way most real-world humans have an instinctive revulsion to sex with animals or harming children, you have to plot out what these beings in your world inherently like/dislike to both keep them going, and to keep them from becoming too alien to yourself and your players.Third, you have to think about cultural heritability as well.  IRL, a society that produces many healthy babies will crowd out one that doesn't invest energy in reproduction/child rearing/other "population growth" activies.  The more acquisitive kibbutz-like communities will probably wipe out the others simply by virtue of mathematics; the ones that don't work as hard to collect children will, over successive generations, have less manpower to do things with...  doing things like collecting more children, for example.  (Also, do read up on kibbutzes.  You'll eat that stuff up with a spoon for your setting.  Read up on the Bonobo, too, since free love/polyamory fans love pointing to them as nature's embodiment of their ideals.)And finally, when you have these beings worked out, try to step back and think how you and your players would involve themselves in the setting.  Most players are heterosexual and monogamous, for example, so while they'll love the idea of their characters getting as much play as possible, they'll likely chafe at having to have their character make a pass at a same-sex character or have a paramour treat them as just a fling.  What you propose involves turning a lot of the basic reasons for human behavior on its head, do be mindful of the risk of creating a race of beings that are difficult, if impossible, to empathize with.And as an aside to others.  Polyamory might, in theory, be a viable system.  Heck, the bonobo has it down pat.  (Granted, the reasons why are a little darker than your average free-love fanatic would like to admit.)  However, in our real genetic world, jealousy serves a valueable purpose; it keeps one from investing time and energy into a child who doesn't carry one's genes, and it enhances one's ability to gain/retain a mate/breeding partner/source of resources.  (Interesting fact:  when the issue of infidelity comes up, men are generally more bothered about sexual infidelity, while women are usually more bothered by emotional infidelity.  That's because historically the man's emotional involvement kept him investing time and effort in the child - what the darwinianly optimized woman wants - while the "optimized" male found "wasting" energy on another's offspring to be abhorrent.)  Similarly, homophobia has good evolutionary precedent.  (It prevents one from wasting time and effort on a sexual encounter that won't propogate, and note how males - who have far less innate investment in childbirth* - are usually more homophobic than females.)  So be wary when hearing about how some culture or other has thrown "society's restrictive norms" out the window and is just dandy without them.  Such tales, as well as much we hear about "noble savages" in primitive societies, are usually just urban myths.*The male has to invest maybe a couple teaspoons of material to breed, and has several convenient ways to skip out on childrearing responsibilities and/or pass them off to someone else.  The female has to invest nine months of time, plenty of bodily resources, and has a much harder time passing the childcare buck.)</blockquote>

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