Great. My apologies, but I failed my WIll save and must smurf the smurf now.
And now to unsm[/b]urf the sm[b]urf.
Kewl.
Minus that whole conquering the world and child molesting thing?
If you look at real-world history around the time that typical fantasy technology would indicate, it was even worse. You'd be hard-pressed to find even one civilization that was "good" by modern standards. Ancient Greece probably got the closest.
The view that love is akin to evil since it might mean putting ones love above ones duty to the state. Gender roles so sharp that there simply was no possibility of any kind of deviation. A moral code that views slavery as the natural order of things etc.
They are not the worst civilization by any means and from our perspective they have a lot of good qualities but their not really much of an ideal from our point of view either.
I suspect we'd generally like some hunter gatherer societies significantly more with their greater emphasis on individualism, bendable rules, universal suffrage, community based forms of government.
The Iroquois of the 1500 and 1600s have a lot of beliefs and values that we'd view basically favourably (though by no means all of their values - I don't think their easy practise of torture would sit at all well with us for example). In fact they had a lot of views and values that appealed to European settlers that came into contact with them for any length of time. Europeans that where captured and lived with them for any significant period of time would often refuse to return to the settlers or would abandon European settlements after returning, this was especially true among females where the dichotomy between having little freedom or power and having significant freedom and power was especially sharp.
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Minus that whole conquering the world and child molesting thing?
If you look at real-world history around the time that typical fantasy technology would indicate, it was even worse. You'd be hard-pressed to find even one civilization that was "good" by modern standards. Ancient Greece probably got the closest.
I said "the closest" not "spot on". By the standards of some in the modern era, it would be impossible to make a society that passed muster anyway. *shrug* Be that as it may, the Greeks (and Romans, and British and Iriquois) weren't perfect, but they were probably better than most of the world at the time. We jump all over the British for try to conquer the world, but now most of the places they were are better for it now. (Note the word "now" at the end of that sentence!) America, Canada, Australia, India, etc. it reads like a catalog of the non-european free world. South Africa is better NOW, post-apartheid. Not also that I said "better" not "perfect" in both cases.
By most modern standards, pretty much every ancient and medieval socity would be a horrific experience. But that was just the way things were. I think evaluating such societies and by extension fantasy societies similar to them using modern first world sensibilities is a mistake. They were what they were.
In a fantasy setting things can get even more complex. A common argument i have seen in the various gaming groups I have been part of in the past is "Can a paladin own slaves?". My personal take on it is if his church is not abolitionist (and not all Lawful Good churches would be) and his culture allows it then yes he can. The difference would be that a paladin treats his slaves very well by the standards of his culture ut he still expects slaves to do certain things and conduct themselves in a certain manner. He is wont beat a slave to death for being disrespectful, but he may very well deliver a swift back hand to one without endangering his alignment or his paladin status.
-Weylin Stormcrowe