My homebrew setting owes more to Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions than it does to Races-R-Us. So elves, halflings, dwarves -- the "elder races" -- are decidedly nonhuman. Not animals, but unfathomable, fey to a lesser or greater extent, and not to be trusted, because their ideas of morality are different from those of men.
And I like it that way. The whole "elves are just humans with pointy ears" and "kitsune are just humans in Furry costumes" thing sort of grates on me.
Why can't that work with Kitsune and Elves?
I apologize if that's not what you were saying, Kirth.
But really, I just prefer Races-R-Us, but I want it done well too.
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My homebrew setting owes more to Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions than it does to Races-R-Us. So elves, halflings, dwarves -- the "elder races" -- are decidedly nonhuman. Not animals, but unfathomable, fey to a lesser or greater extent, and not to be trusted, because their ideas of morality are different from those of men.
And I like it that way. The whole "elves are just humans with pointy ears" and "kitsune are just humans in Furry costumes" thing sort of grates on me.
Personally i'd also like more races to be something more than just anthropomorphic animals or humans with funny features, while i wouldnt go so far as to turn them into monster-only in the process. I like what they did with elves for example in Dragon Age 2 or in the MTG Lorwyn expansion.
Healthy balance of both is good for me as well.
I think that you have created an issue for yourself more than anything when you start wanting your players to all play 21st century intellectuals in fantasy clothing. So what if your character is a man hating amazon forced to work with a bigoted dwarf? If you are all having fun and are mature enough to handle those themes, go with it. We have become far to sensitive in this country. If one player has seriously offended another, then make an issue of it. Friends should friend enough to at least speak out about something like that. You go on for days about the reflection of self in a character, but if that were true we are all homicidal maniacs who worship demons and rob everyone we meet blind if we think we can do so with out alerting the town guard.
I'd rather have playable races that are a bit too much like humans than only have human PCs.
(Shrugs) Matter of personal preference. I've played in several human-only campaigns and enjoyed them far more than the "normal" multi-species ones. You avoid the whole "McBain Partner" syndrome from The Critic: "Time to meet your new partner!"
"Oh, no! The last ones were a robot, a space alien, and a sofa cushion!"
I've had some internal debates about having "concise races". From a gaming perspective, more options = better, but from a storytellign perspective, more races = less realism/fluff overload.
At my table, any race other than elf, dwarf, or the various mutant races (if their parents wre one of these) has to be a foreigner, so they don't start with the common tongue as a language and have to deal with being seen as an oddity by everyone they meet, or actively conceal their nature. So far it's helped keep things concise while at the same time giving players lots of options AND creating more interesting roleplaying environments.
So what if your character is a man hating amazon forced to work with a bigoted dwarf?
But, but... Friendship is Magic!
/Carebear needs a hug.
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TLDR, so apologies if I'm repeating someone else's point, but badly.
Let's take a look at half-orcs for a second. I do hereby quote the Core Rulebook, page 25, "Half-orcs are monstrosities, their tragic births the result of perversion and violence--or at least that's how other races see them." Racism is built into the setting. Not sure I can help ya there.
Misogyny is more vague in the Core rules. I'd say non-existent but I'm sure someone would find a passage to contradict that, heh.
I'm playing a character in Cinco group that's got absolutely NO issues with orcs or half-orcs. When she was little, her parents went off adventuring, died, and came back as a full orc (dad) and half-orc (mom). While growing up, she didn't see any reason to treat orc-blooded individuals any differently. This made her unique in her views in a little town. Her romantic interest is the party's half-orc/half native Varisian wizard who grew up in the same town; he's able to talk to her for hours about Thassilonian ruins, her "first true love".
So the lack of racism and misogyny can be a defining characteristic, too.
My homebrew setting owes more to Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions than it does to Races-R-Us. So elves, halflings, dwarves -- the "elder races" -- are decidedly nonhuman. Not animals, but unfathomable, fey to a lesser or greater extent, and not to be trusted, because their ideas of morality are different from those of men.
And I like it that way. The whole "elves are just humans with pointy ears" and "kitsune are just humans in Furry costumes" thing sort of grates on me.
Me too. I want monsters and the inhuman to be different to humans. Counter philosophies, whole different perspectives.
Jack Truth,
Oh, I also wanted to say that Jack is taking ranks in Perform: Flow Wand.
I am getting old and unhip, so I had no idea what a flow wand was.
So, it's a cross between yoyo-ing and flag-twirling, except you can set the ends on fire.
I'd never heard of it either.
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Yes, I assume it came about when some cheerleaders went to Burning Man or something.
[bubble bubble bubble]
Yes, I assume it came about when some cheerleaders went to Burning Man or something.
[bubble bubble bubble]
Cool video Doodlebug.
I was a cheerleader... I never heard of this till now. Maybe I am just too old? Looks like it may have been adapted from a magicians levitating wand trick some time around 2005, based on a quick web search. So as cool as it would be to think a cheerleader came up with it it is far more likely a yo-yoer who was into magic that thought it up.
:(
Man, I liked my stoner cheerleader theory...
[Drools]