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Message: <blockquote data-quote="was" data-source="post: 6454996" data-attributes="member: 24488">...The whole concept of 'good' and 'evil' is, of course, culturally subjective.  Certainly the classic orc does not consider itself to be evil when it slaughters and eats a human child.  It's merely following its own cultural practices and religious ideologies which deem that to be a logical action....Being that the classic 'roots' of the game lie in good vs. evil campaigns, it's not surprising to find entire races to be described as 'evil'.  Classic pc character races, often based on the suppositions of many modern day ideologies, have morals, ideals, religions which run contrary to those valued by the 'evil' races.  It might be interesting for adventurers to actually compile an ethnography of an 'evil' race's culture in order to reflect upon the moral implications of killing them.  ...There will certainly always be members of a society which rebel against conforming to cultural norms.  It would also be perfectly natural for such non-conformists to establish their own community and have it grow into a thriving society.  Their values, however, would most likely be viewed as 'perverse' or 'evil' by the standard cultural norms....Simply because Pathfinder follows past creature models, does not necessarily make it either racist or sexist.  Labelling it as such, reflects a value judgement based upon one's own ethnocentric viewpoint.  Certainly, one that may not be shared by others.  Publicly attacking the creativity of others will likely alienate readers before they can appreciate the value of your creative efforts....The notion that the fantasy genre is one which allows writers to express modern racist viewpoints in a non-pc world is a fallacy.  One used to twist the game into a vehicle to express a certain political agenda.  It also falsely implies an intimate knowledge of the intent and feelings of the author, as well as those of every subsequently contributing author.  The name Drow is from the Scottish Trow.  Much of their description arises from the dark elves in Norse Mythology.  This argument is eerily similar to the religious viewpoint that argues the magic in My Little Pony is a means of spreading satanic influences.  Please do not further this personal political viewpoint.  This board is not a political forum....If one views pc races as being racist, then that term can be fairly applied to most of them.  Dwarves, elves and humans all view themselves as being superior to all others.  This view exists even amongst differing subtypes within the same race....IME, gamers in general support creativity within a game setting.  In that view, I regard your creation as a laudable effort.  I am, however, a little confused by your creation.  Your post indicates that you are attempting create a neutral drow society which, in no way, would reflect values which today would be considered sexist or racist.  Your society does, however, include both a matriarchy and sexual discrimination which both reflect your arguments against the existing sexist nature of drow culture....Your society also practices slavery.  Even though you add the qualifier that slaves are not mistreated, this practice does not seem to reflect the worship of a 'benevolent' goddess using modern-day value judgements.  While this looks like a good start at creating a new Drow society, it still appears to be quite similar to the the racist, and sexist, model which you decry.  ...I think more sweeping changes might be necessary to create a totally new culture.  I'd like to see you give them a totally unique flair.  The idea of a dark 'shadow' or 'gloom' fey pc race, without the heavy oppresive nature of the drow, has always appealed to me.  Perhaps you might consider an early Germanic tribal or Gypsy society as a reference.  Make them a semi-nomadic, more egalitarian society.  Or maybe use an eastern Native American matriarchal model, where the power roles of women are less overt.  In these, the women are the secret, real power behind the male puppets that run the bureaucracy of government.  Maybe the men are limited to martial roles based upon their maternal lineages, the secular world, and women control the forces of arcane and divine power.  You could also consider a late Roman Empire model where rank and power is based on citizenship in the empire, not necessarily a racial qualification.</blockquote>

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