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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 8444927" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Yep. I mean what exactly is the reason or need to have a race considered "inherently evil" or "inherently good"? What is gained by having that? I think you are absolutely right in that it's an easy shorthand for allowing the players to kill them with little to no thought about the morality of such action.</p><p></p><p>But thing is... we as a society right now in the 21st century have no need for anything of that sort-- because countless amounts of our 21st century entertainments already do that. Thousands upon thousands of video games have us slaughtering innumerable people with little to no thought on the morality, but merely as a game mechanic. Countless board games involve death on a grand scale and almost all of our thoughts about that are merely regarding the strategic ability and gain for doing so to increase our scores. Movies and television shows represent the wholesale murder of every single type of creature in existence as purely a plot point. D&D has always primarily been designed for combating other creatures and killing them and taking their stuff. No moral justification ever necessary. So there's just no need for an "inherently evil" race, because the D&D game is built from the ground up on the deaths of other creatures (sentient and otherwise) just as the mechanic for which the game is played.</p><p></p><p>It seems to me that the only other time where the desire for an inherently evil or good race ever seems to come up is when you have that one person who wants to play the lone character that <em>goes against</em> their nature. They all want to be Drizzt. The desire to be a special snowflake runs deep in our gaming worldview, because it somehow seems like a more difficult or interesting roleplay challenge. The one bright light in the sea of darkness.</p><p></p><p>The only problem with that though is the trope has been done over and over and over and over so many freaking times that it's no longer impressive when someone tries it... and in fact many times it's just sad. Because they think that sort of background puts them halfway to an interesting character already. But in point of fact, those shortcuts do not in any way make me think your character is more interesting if the way you play it is bland and uninvolving. I will 10 out of 10 times take the player who can be engaging, make interesting choices, and push themselves, their fellows players, and the story forward... <em>even if</em> their character is just a stock human being who grew up in a good home with all of their family still living quietly and happily back home with no one having been killed to compel the character to adventure and their character abilities just came about through growing up and learning them and no strange ritual or encounter with a crazed being instilling them in them.</p><p></p><p>Playing a character with a "bland" backstory like that and <em>still</em> being a compelling and awesome character in the game? THAT'S the impressive part. And in truth makes you more of a special snowflake player and character than any of the other hundreds of Cantina-race lone wolves who have seen their entire families murdered and fridged, and which has sent them out into the world with a desperate need for adventure and revenge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 8444927, member: 7006"] Yep. I mean what exactly is the reason or need to have a race considered "inherently evil" or "inherently good"? What is gained by having that? I think you are absolutely right in that it's an easy shorthand for allowing the players to kill them with little to no thought about the morality of such action. But thing is... we as a society right now in the 21st century have no need for anything of that sort-- because countless amounts of our 21st century entertainments already do that. Thousands upon thousands of video games have us slaughtering innumerable people with little to no thought on the morality, but merely as a game mechanic. Countless board games involve death on a grand scale and almost all of our thoughts about that are merely regarding the strategic ability and gain for doing so to increase our scores. Movies and television shows represent the wholesale murder of every single type of creature in existence as purely a plot point. D&D has always primarily been designed for combating other creatures and killing them and taking their stuff. No moral justification ever necessary. So there's just no need for an "inherently evil" race, because the D&D game is built from the ground up on the deaths of other creatures (sentient and otherwise) just as the mechanic for which the game is played. It seems to me that the only other time where the desire for an inherently evil or good race ever seems to come up is when you have that one person who wants to play the lone character that [I]goes against[/I] their nature. They all want to be Drizzt. The desire to be a special snowflake runs deep in our gaming worldview, because it somehow seems like a more difficult or interesting roleplay challenge. The one bright light in the sea of darkness. The only problem with that though is the trope has been done over and over and over and over so many freaking times that it's no longer impressive when someone tries it... and in fact many times it's just sad. Because they think that sort of background puts them halfway to an interesting character already. But in point of fact, those shortcuts do not in any way make me think your character is more interesting if the way you play it is bland and uninvolving. I will 10 out of 10 times take the player who can be engaging, make interesting choices, and push themselves, their fellows players, and the story forward... [I]even if[/I] their character is just a stock human being who grew up in a good home with all of their family still living quietly and happily back home with no one having been killed to compel the character to adventure and their character abilities just came about through growing up and learning them and no strange ritual or encounter with a crazed being instilling them in them. Playing a character with a "bland" backstory like that and [I]still[/I] being a compelling and awesome character in the game? THAT'S the impressive part. And in truth makes you more of a special snowflake player and character than any of the other hundreds of Cantina-race lone wolves who have seen their entire families murdered and fridged, and which has sent them out into the world with a desperate need for adventure and revenge. [/QUOTE]
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