My group has started a relatively new campaign. We built the world we're playing in using the (really awesome, and highly recommended) world building RPG Microscope, and the world we came up with is much more grimdark than we normally play in.
The biggest differences that take it away from "standard" fantasy are no humans in the world, and the whole structure is predicated on the dwarf "world" and the elf "world" are merging over time. This really pushes the traditional "Elves and Dwarves don't get along" trope to the fore, and amplifies it to elves and dwarves actively hating each other.
We're playing a dwarf centered group, and I'm playing a particularly xenophobic dwarf. It's a big departure for me as I generally play Chaotic Good humans, elves, or half-elves with a very live and let live attitude. Playing a Lawful Neutral (bordering on Evil) staunch traditionalist, and more than a little racist dwarf is not really in my wheelhouse.
So - my crowdsourcing request - I want to gather potential racial epithets for my dwarf to sling at other races in the game. We have an orc in our party, and I already called her a snout which went over pretty well with the group.
Everyone in the group is pretty thrilled with my character's concept, and I'm trying to embrace the character, but it goes against my personality so much that I need some go-to insults to keep in my back pocket.
So far, I have a couple of ideas, but I'd appreciate any further thoughts.
Orcs: Snouts, Greenies
Gobinoids: Gobbos
Tieflings (which ended up being surprisingly central to the world): Shades, Skulks
I'm having a really hard time coming up with anything for Elves, which is a problem since that should probably be the biggest focus of my character's persecution complex.
Thanks for the help!
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For inspiration - I'd suggest reading some fluff about Warhammer Dwarfs.
Carry around a journal (Book of Grudges) where you record every time that you consider yourself slighted... so that you can get even. Always an equivalent slight - very 'eye for an eye' - never much more than they did.
As for a racial epithets
Elves - just go with "Pointies" or "Pointy Puffs" (in reference to their ears)
Gnomes - Rainbows (due to their hair)
Halflings - Fuzzies (due to their feet)
The easy thing is just to think what makes a race easily recognizable in a drawing, and then make fun of it.
You should also refer to yourself in the 3rd person whenever possible :)
Tree fairies
Hand-holding prancing nancies
Brother kissing man-lovers
Read Gotrek & Felix (Giantslayer has Gotrek forced to cooperate with a certain High Elf Archmage, while Elf Slayer is about Gotrek dealing with Dark Elves, these are far from the best G&F novels (which are the first 3-4 novels by William King) but they will give you plenty of ideas and enjoyment.
Also, since your wrld is dark & gritty you can do worse than taking inspiration from the Warhammer world.
P.S.
Stay away from anything dealing with the so called "end times" and the atrocious "age of Sigmar". GW greed killed warhammer through those, don't support them!
Elves, especially the warriors: Flowers. Pretty, but delicate.
Stay away from anything dealing with the so called "end times" and the atrocious "age of Sigmar". GW greed killed warhammer through those, don't support them!
/word!
Great setting for gritty fantasy. But it's "closed" now as no new stuff will be coming out, sadly.
This is a list of dwarvish insults levied against Caledor II during the war of vengeance, adapt some if you like them:
-The Oathbreaker (by far the worst insult of the lot by dwarven standards)
-The Coward
-The Friendless
-The Irredemable
-The Thin
-The Beardless
-The Goat Lover
-The Pale; The Princess
-The Ale Sniffer
-The Goat Worrier
-The Goldless
-The Unnecessary
-The Broken
-The Long Nosed
-The Slayer of Kin
-The Untrustworthy
-The Nervous
-The Frightened of Loud Noises
-The Dark Fearer
-The Child
-The Fragile
-The Laughable
-The Beard Thief
-The Pointlessly Tall
-The Honourless
-The Intruder
A few of my dwarven NPCs refer to them as "limp-wristed leaf-eaters."
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You could also go for more oblique insults - deliberately confuse the gender of any elf you meet and address them using the wrong gender pronoun, mispronounce any and all elf names, forget you've met NPCs before - they all look the same to your Xenophobic dwarf.
This is all fantastic! Thanks so much! Keep them coming!
i feel i'd likely get banned from the forums if i posted these out here, so i threw them in a google doc instead.
i had a character - halfling barbarian - that had a similar proclivity to foul-mouthed slurs... this is the list i had compiled before we started a new campaign at level 9...
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LDEFw5z6t9HL78dI7Jplu176cAWzJUqB6qETL0I fd7w/edit?usp=sharing
Turtles or tree-turtles (long lived, dull, and slow to do anything)
Granny/Grandad
Pumice (one of the lightest rocks, to the point where it will float in water)
Bald (in reference to their lack of beards)
Spell-addled
Just make up an obscure reference to some character from imagined dwarven literature- some sort of stock character to be mocked in comedies. Something like "Plattlepurn".
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-Be really helpful toward those you're stuck with and don't let them do anything important. "You should probably let me talk to them." "sure you can fight monsters, but you should probably stand back on this one, he's very crafty."
-Refer to the weak and lowly members of hated races as "one of the good ones" and compliment subservience.
-Be extra impressed and complement them when they do something right, but remind them how this doesn't make up for whatever failures they've had. Keep a list of mistakes.
-Remind them how lucky they are to have you and make sure they understand how lost they'd be without your constant aid.
-Try to keep them from having anything nice, and offer to hold their money when you go into town so they don't get outsmarted by crafty merchants or lose their valuables. Occasionally spend their money on stuff you think they'll need.
Interrupt everyone, all the time, it's a free action that you can take out of your turn order.
Just read the boards, plenty to be learned by observation.
Like I said, interrupt everyone, all the time.
I do it. I'm a jerk.
:D
Depending on your dwarf's proclivities and the group's mood the PC might have a secret lust for elven women which turns into angry frustration since they'd never accept a gruff, low Charisma dwarf like him and he's not supposed to admire them anyhow. That could range anywhere from a quirk to a fatal character flaw. Alternately this could be a problem some other dwarves have and your PC could be outraged by their fetish and their "magic elf porn" (perhaps illusion based movies or holograms sold by those dirty little gnomes, peddlers of the silly and perverse)
Stressing the "beardlessness" of Elf men seems like a good idea to me. My orc Fighter believes that:
A) He "should have been" a Wizard but for elven prejudice (not many arcane academies would probably accept a smelly, ill-tempered orc with a 5 Charisma)
B) Great Wizards should have beards (fantasy art tends to bear this out)
C) Elves stole the Orc people's beards and gave them to the Dwarves (hate them both!)
D) Elves hide their own beards with magic (tricksters!)
Obviously those theories would probably fall apart upon even casual inspection by a sane person, but this is a Mutation Warrior with a Wisdom of 5 who believes he can transform himself into a manifestation of Barbatos, the bearded lord of the 1st layer of Hell.
-Be really helpful toward those you're stuck with and don't let them do anything important. "You should probably let me talk to them." "sure you can fight monsters, but you should probably stand back on this one, he's very crafty."
-Refer to the weak and lowly members of hated races as "one of the good ones" and compliment subservience.
-Be extra impressed and complement them when they do something right, but remind them how this doesn't make up for whatever failures they've had. Keep a list of mistakes.
-Remind them how lucky they are to have you and make sure they understand how lost they'd be without your constant aid.
-Try to keep them from having anything nice, and offer to hold their money when you go into town so they don't get outsmarted by crafty merchants or lose their valuables. Occasionally spend their money on stuff you think they'll need.
This is good advice, but might be hard to keep up. The insults will probably work better for the sort of slap-stick racism I think OP is going for here.
That said, "Fuzzies!" is not nearly as interesting an insult as "Bare-feeted Half-men!"
That said, if you can get the rest of the setting to go along with calling them "halvers", you might have something there. If you're just doing it on your own, they'll look at you like you're weird.
Barkmuncher
Stargazer
Wee skinny whelp
Ponce
Orks-Mongos, Green Morons, Dull-Witted Axe-lovers
Goblinoids-Snotlings, Balloon headed weaklings, Verminous Scum
Tieflings-Half bloods, Diluted evil, Wannabe Devils
Elves-Thinbloods, Lightweights, Poncy bow lovers, Frail almost-men