I am writing this after reading two reviews posted on Top Mud Sites regarding a roleplay intensive game. One reviewer was complaining about the racism in a game. Another reviewing was defending it. The reviewer complaining thought that it was frustrating that they were expected to
- not have interracial romances
- view some races as inferior
- abide by well documented, well written descriptions of typical behavior for each race

I am not racist IRL. I do not believe most who play this particular game are racist. But most of us play characters with racist tendencies. A number of races, according to a detailed manual provided to help guide players, believe themselves superior to most other races. One race is considered by all races to be disgustingly inferior. Interracial romances receive very harsh responses. The reasons for these things are justified in the history written in the manual, the racial characteristics outlined, etc.

Why would I want to play a racist, if this is not something I personally believe in? It is a hell of a challenge. The further a character is from who you are, the harder it becomes to play. The more challenging it is to be consistent.

Is it wrong to play a character who goes against IRL societal values? We play killers, we play assassins, we play “evil” characters often enough. But when it comes to specific, defined values like racism or sexism, folks don’t feel comfortable.

Is there a point, a line, that shouldn’t be crossed in terms of social values created in RP worlds? Do we want to limit ourselves in our fantasy worlds to comfortable elements? Do we want to stick to political intrigue and avoid social intrigue? What are other games that are rp intensive doing with regards to those sticky moral questions that exist IRL?

Sapphar