| Steff |
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This is a fascinating read.. and at first I was hesitant to post something because this is one of those subjects where if you aren't careful, you can get in a situation where there is no right answer and pretty quickly you are being shunned for saying something stupid. That being said, after I thought about it I felt compelled to post something because these are important subjects and gaming definitely can definitely play a role in how we perceive them. I hope I do not overstep my bounds. If so, my apologies.
I think that while diversity is something that may very well be a noble thing to strive for, in the case of Pathfinder and by extension, Starfinder, just having diversity should not be, IMO, the end all of the game; that is to say, when designing an adventure or a campaign, the concept of diversity should add something to the story arc not just be something you plop into the adventure like a tapestry that the players act out the adventure in front of.
I don't think it's enough just to have proper ratios of humans to non-humans and be able to point at it as an accomplishment. The story should support the racial makeup of the setting. If there are large numbers of non-humans.. why? Is there a reason? Were they brought there at one time? Is the racial makeup of the city the result of various invasions and conquering actions over the centuries? i don't think you would have a tremendous amount of diversity in a drow city deep under the ground unless you counted those enslaved and/or held prisoner.
Also, I get the impression that diversity is seen through the prism as something that human cities would tend to reflect whereas other races not so much. Would you expect a large contingent of elves living deep underground with the Dwarves? Each city/area of the campaign should have a background that establishes why each race is present in whatever quantities. There are some great potential adventure hooks there I think for a gm brave enough to exploit them for material.
If Paizo was feeling really frisky they might consider an Adventure Path or some other large story arc that maybe introduces some of these contemporary issues and see where their customers land. I think most would be very open to the idea as long as the basis of the adventure still remains just that, an adventure and not a 6 month long lecture on the sins of our fathers. It is a delicate subject to say the least.
One other note. While it is fascinating to contemplate the exploration of some of these themes through gaming (especially for maybe some of the younger gamers who have not witnessed what us older gamers have), I would tend to avoid politics. The world is a complete Sh!t Show right now for a variety of reasons. Everyone has strong feelings and, for me personally, I tend to play games to get away from the constant bombardment of hate that is pushed at us every single day from a variety of sources. Be mindful of your audience as it were so that your efforts do not have the opposite of your intended effect. In my 35 years of playing, games have always brought people together to have fun and escape for a few hours. It would be tragic if they were ever to be used to divide people further.
V/R Steff