I don't get the arguments for bioessentialism

[Faolyn]

Over 30+ pages, it seems that the conversation revolves around how D&D does bioessentialism badly.

How have non-D&D (ttrpg general) games done it better?

I know I already answered, but it occurred to me that Draw Steel does have another example: their Always Evil/Kill On Sight baddies, the War Dogs. They're brainwashed flesh constructs who wear explosive loyalty collars. So they have no inherent culture and are literally made to be loyal to their master and very, very violent.

 

[Argyle King]

I know I already answered, but it occurred to me that Draw Steel does have another example: their Always Evil/Kill On Sight baddies, the War Dogs. They're brainwashed flesh constructs who wear explosive loyalty collars. So they have no inherent culture and are literally made to be loyal to their master and very, very violent.

I appreciate the responses.

I'm glad to see attempts at productive discussion about a topic that has been divisive in the past. At the same time, I feel there is value in looking at more than one (D&D) game.

In your previous response (before the one I quoted) you had mentioned something about digestive differences. I've played games in which that is modeled through game mechanics. For example, GURPS Ghouls (which are some of the inspiration for Fallout's Ghouls) have traits related to stuff like that.

I'm away from books at the moment, but I think GURPS also has an "unusual biochemistry" trait that can be applied to a character -or a species template. I played in a game where that meant that one of the species options needed to buy healing potions made for them. They could still use normal ones but with reduced effect and a chance for negative side effects from doing so.

 

[Corinnguard]

How have non-D&D (ttrpg general) games done it better?

Level Up doesn't do racial stats, and while each heritage has a couple of traits, they also each have a selection of traits they can choose from (heritage gifts) and when they reach tenth level, they can choose from a selection of paragon gifts. This means that while all elves will be similar, they're not going to be cookie cutters of each other.

Especially when they have four distinct Elven cultures to choose from in Level Up. High, Wood, Shadow and Eladrin.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Though if Star Trek qualifies for what you mean, that seems fine to me. Whilst different species certainly often are analogues to human qualities, there also is some xenofiction in there, nor are the qualities essentialist in a sense that one's species would determine their outlook. We did see many characters (Spock, Worf, Nog) who had conflicted relationship with the dominant culture of their species. I think this is rather different than always cruel orcs of Tolkien.

I think the conflicts evidenced by Worf and Nog contra- their cultures are precisely because of their exposure to human values and early immersion in human society, not because of any strains of ideology native to their own species. And in the case of Spock, a half-human genetic heritage: Spock seems to me to be the poster-child of essentialism.

Tolkien's view towards orcs is a bit of a moving target, but he inclined from 1954 onwards toward rational, incarnate, and morally complex - their portrayal as irredeemably evil is really from the perspective of the hobbits. Tolkien himself suggested their corruption was moral and cultural, and they weren't incapable of performing any good act. We get occasional glimpses of orcish "humanity."

But, on balance, I honestly don't see a lot of space between the ST and LotR portrayal of nonhuman species: largely simplistic, mythic, folkloric.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I know I already answered, but it occurred to me that Draw Steel does have another example: their Always Evil/Kill On Sight baddies, the War Dogs. They're brainwashed flesh constructs who wear explosive loyalty collars. So they have no inherent culture and are literally made to be loyal to their master and very, very violent.

Is each one individually brainwashed, or do they procreate and new War Dogs are born 'brainwashed'?

 

[Staffan]

Is each one individually brainwashed, or do they procreate and new War Dogs are born 'brainwashed'?

They are collectively brainwashed/indoctrinated. Basically, Ajax (the implied setting's Big Bad) has gotten access to alien "Body Banks" tech – a way to recycle living beings. This is partially used for medical purposes, as a way to reward the elite, but primarily it is used to create Frankenstein's Monster-style expendable soldiers. They are living creatures and have minds, wills, and drives, but no souls and are thus incapable of love or empathy, and have highly malleable personalities.

So what they do is have the Body Banks create a bunch of potential War Dogs, inspect them to see that they are up to code, and start training them – both in combat and fitness, but also to indoctrinate them. Any who seem less inclined to perfect loyalty get "recycled". Plus, they're fitted with Loyalty Collars – collars that go boom when they die (but somehow don't hurt allies) and can be remotely detonated by their officers.

 

[Faolyn]

Is each one individually brainwashed, or do they procreate and new War Dogs are born 'brainwashed'?

Each one brainwashed; they're all individually built. And any that don't pass muster (for any reason) are disassembled and their parts recycled.

 

[CreamCloud0]

instead of using modifiers species ought to lean more into having a longer list of various more granular traits to portray their strengths and abilities, these traits ought to cover and influence a vast array of gameplay scenarios so that they come up often, only having a few niche situations where your choice of species affects things is half the problem in characters just feeling like humans IMO.

so instead of +2 DEX a halfling should just have innate advantage on stealth rolls, not because they've been trained but because the fundamental halfling physiology is adapted for subtlety and passing unnoticed, and you can still have your 'the clumsiest halfling' with -1 stealth, but stick them next to the clumsiest human or gnome or dwarf who all also have -1 stealth and they're going to come out ahead because that's just what halflings naturally excell at, and then they should also have like 7 other things that being a halfling influences about them, they're lucky, so they've got their rerolling 1s, but also maybe increased crit range 19-20, they resist fear effects, their small size lets them pass through other creatures spaces and hide behind them as well as just giving a flat +2 bonus to AC, halflings don't leave blatant trails behind and so are harder to track, maybe they could have very discerning palettes and can detect if food or drink has been tampered with or can reverse-engineer potions ingredients by tasting them, and maybe they have extrodinarily good memory for names and faces so they gain a bonus on those kinds of checks.

 

[TiQuinn]

Plus, they're fitted with Loyalty Collars – collars that go boom when they die (but somehow don't hurt allies) and can be remotely detonated by their officers.

Is the idea that they can harm the heroes when they die?

 

[Staffan]

Is the idea that they can harm the heroes when they die?

Yeah, when they're reduced to 0 stamina (hp) they blow up and deal some damage to adjacent enemies and objects. Many of their leader-types can also detonate them, and there's also a Malice ability the GM can use to have some or all war dog minions in the encounter run up to the heroes (or something else, for that matter), hit them, and then blow up.

(Malice abilities are abilities the GM can trigger with their Malice metacurrency and usually lets the monsters do nasty things or get various buffs.)