Would you buy/play a blatantly racist or sexist campaign setting?

[Fred Delles]

How about rephrasing the question:

"Would you buy/play a blatantly Evil campaign setting?"

People have bought evil campaign settings. People play evil characters regardless of setting. Publishing companies print books with content self-labeled as evil.

But I think that a campaign setting formed to be obviously sexist or obviously racist would be decried, accused of bad taste, the company submitted to boycott, and the company's publisher would move to abnegate the contract to avoid guilt by association.

Meanwhile many gamers desire gaming mechanics so that their Necromancer may continue to, more effectively, dominate the souls of the innocent. I have not read the BoVD, but from what I hear, there are some Evil things in there.

Curious, isn't it?

Don't need to.

The "evil" in the campaign settings are, in the end, phony baloney (unless you use it to become servants of Satan or the like). But human gender/race bias is a real-life issue that should ALWAYS be kept off the gaming table unless you have a damn good (and I really mean damn good) reason to put it in.

 

[Kamard]

I know plenty of women who are well stronger than the guys I know. I daresay the girls I know, for their stature, are far stronger than the guys I know. More endurance and stamina too.

Not to mention charisma.

 

[Terraism]

Not to mention charisma.

No argument. None at all.

 

[Henry]

I cannot speak for others, but such a thing would have no place with me and mine at the gaming table. We get enough just watching out our window.

Unless someone has a VERY convincing argument, I cannot see any value to such a thing, on an entertainment basis, educational basis, or otherwise.

 

[Tsyr]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Would you buy/play a blatantly racist or sexist campagin setting?

Agreed. And done right it could actually present a very interesting role-playing challenge.

As for human female statistics taking automatic minuses in, say strength, there is statistical data to back that up. When the US Army revised it's physical fitness program about 5 years ago, it kept evaluation scores for males and females seperate, although with much less disparity than in the past.

Face it, men and women are different.

Now I am not saying that a male character cannot be STR 7, and a female cannot be STR 19, it's just that a female of that STR would be so unique the player would have to pay out the a$$ in points cost to develop such a character. Unless of course your DM does not like the rule, in which case, he/she could just scrap it. It is a RPG after all!


As for Dark Elves, that is a good point, being subterrainian they should have lighter skin. But I really don't see that as having any real correlation to race relations in the US. Is Darth Vader a racist character because he wears black and has a black man doing his voice? Even though he was obviously thought of by Lucas as a white man since his son Luke is pretty obviously white.

I guess what I am saying is a good part of what is racist and what is not is how each individual chooses to interpret things.

Boy, that's sounding alot like an aguement over on RPG.net right now...

Anyhow, as for the dark elves having black skin... yes, evolution would say they would have white... but understand, the whole dark skin thing isn't natural. It's a curse. I don't think evolution really effects curses

 

[Felix]

kenjib:
My example of a necromancer stealing souls was the first example of Evil in DnD that came to mind. No, it does not have a big real world effect.

And yes, people are sensitive to recism and sexism.

Some folks are sensitive to the presence of demon summoning spells in games that their children play. I refer to the attack on DnD by those religious folks who think our hobby is a corrupting influence. I do not endorse their opinion, merely cite the fact that in regard to a demonic prescence in DnD, some people are very, very upset.

I can argue that my wizard casting demon summoning spells is an in-game issue that does not contaminate the rest of my life.

Similarly, can not someone make the argument that role playing a racist is an in-game issue that doesn't spill out into their life?

Fred:
A lot of Evil in DnD is phooey, I agree. But there is more real life evil in DnD than you might think. What about the banal evil? Not the arch-fiend capital "E" evil, but the everyday, run of the mill, "just doing my job" kind?

Would this be a good reason to institute sexism?:
Playing a campaign very true to Qing Dynasty China. Female characters must either
A) endure a -4 DEX mod due to bound feet, or,
B) endure social stigma as all high class women have bound feet.

I'm only trying to illustrate that racism and sexism are today's Big Evil. Where it once used to be heresy, and someday might be bias based on species (a la Alien Nation), I feel that evil should be treated with equanimity. Allow sexism, racism into a campaign? Sure. But, like everything else in the campaign, it must be well developed with good in game reasons for existing. It's the same standard I hold for all Evil.

Kamard:
No doubt.

 

[Deedlit]

I do not mind racism or sexism as part of a campaign setting, and have played many racist(And one sexist) characters. Also, I'm fine with their being differences between races or genders, as long as it is not blatantly insulting, and there is a good reason for it(Giving a black-skinned barbaric tribe that focuses solely on the hunt an INT penalty in exchange for an STR bonus is fine. Giving blacks a -2 to INT making them weaker then the other races is wrong, especially when done to make a racist statement.).

 

[jgbrowning]

no. any game that goes out of its way to increase the amount of sexism/racism beyond what is appropriate to its time (medieval, elf-dwarf wars) i wouldn't be interested in. i also wouldn't be interested in a game that says its only sexist/racist because thats a rational explaination for the "evolution" of the setting.

i also see a big difference between elf/dwarf antagonism and white/black antagonism. if there's to be racism, i'd rather have it in a "fantasy only" realm than one that's applicable to reality.

joe b.

 

[Darkness]

I echo what many others have said: While such attitudes might exist in character, a game that makes such statements out-of-character probably won't interest me.

 

[Silver Moon]

Racist or Sexist Campaign Setting

I think that some degree of racism or sexism is fine if properly run, to show a different culture that the players have to learn about and adapt to, so long as it isn't viewed as "the way things ought to be."

My wife once ran a campaign where the party found themself in an Amazon-like society, where the men were primarily ignored, and had a hard time with that. As one player put it "I would much rather get a weapon hit to the chest than a hit to my ego." Last year I also ran a campaign in an Oriental setting, where race became an issue once it became known that an NPC human from a traditional Japanese-based society was secretly married to a dwarf (the module is on Story Hour under the thread "Chinese Take-out). The character interactions were very interesting, especially with the PC nephew of this NPC.