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Jazuela · 09-24-2002, 07:50 PM

In Inferno (which Sapphar referenced when Orion asked), there exist a race of humanoids called half-elves. In the world of inferno, they are almost exclusively the product of rape of a female elf by a male human. Their very existence is a reminder to elves of the torture humans have bestowed on elves during wars past, and shame for humans who run into them on the street. Other races are *designed* to consider half-breeds as aberrations of nature, freaks, distrusted, suspected, and barely part of the food chain.

And yet..

There are people who roll up elves who go out of their way to be nice to half-elves, and scorn their brethren for their bigotry against them.

There are people who roll up humans who actually consider mating with half-elves, and people of various other races who make an issue of befriending them.

Now, I can understand bending over backwards to welcome a new player get acquainted with the world. But the world, from an IC perspective, is NOT pretty. These aren't races we're talking about. They're species and subspecies. They're called races only because that's the common vernacular in this type of game. But an elf is no more a "race of humans" than a dog is a "race of cats." Elves are biped humanoids. Dogs are quadrupeds. Elves have ears on the sides of their heads, dogs and cats have fur instead of hair. But no dog in their right mind would try to mate with a cat, and cats have an instinctual disdain for their drooling mammalian cousins.

If an elf befriends a breed, then the elf MUST ACCEPT that society will scorn him for it. And it's the players' responsibility to scorn him, otherwise they spit in the face of game integrity as written by the creators.

In the game I used to play, it was no big deal to see halflings and giants snuggling and smooching like nobody's business all over town, No one gave a second thought to seeing a dwarf and a sylvankind going up into the Silvergate Inn to a private room.

In Inferno, however, roleplay isn't optional. It's required. Just as in Armageddon - you might see humans and elves on friendly terms with each other, but the humans acknowledge that "all elves are thieves," and the elves acknowledge that "all humans are marks." Diplomacy and scheming are the course of the day, and not just so Susie can cyber with John, or because Susie feels that it's unethical to treat elves badly in a fantasy game just because she has an oriental boyfriend in real life.

09-24-2002, 07:50 PM	#18
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	In Inferno (which Sapphar referenced when Orion asked), there exist a race of humanoids called half-elves. In the world of inferno, they are almost exclusively the product of rape of a female elf by a male human. Their very existence is a reminder to elves of the torture humans have bestowed on elves during wars past, and shame for humans who run into them on the street. Other races are designed to consider half-breeds as aberrations of nature, freaks, distrusted, suspected, and barely part of the food chain. And yet.. There are people who roll up elves who go out of their way to be nice to half-elves, and scorn their brethren for their bigotry against them. There are people who roll up humans who actually consider mating with half-elves, and people of various other races who make an issue of befriending them. Now, I can understand bending over backwards to welcome a new player get acquainted with the world. But the world, from an IC perspective, is NOT pretty. These aren't races we're talking about. They're species and subspecies. They're called races only because that's the common vernacular in this type of game. But an elf is no more a "race of humans" than a dog is a "race of cats." Elves are biped humanoids. Dogs are quadrupeds. Elves have ears on the sides of their heads, dogs and cats have fur instead of hair. But no dog in their right mind would try to mate with a cat, and cats have an instinctual disdain for their drooling mammalian cousins. If an elf befriends a breed, then the elf MUST ACCEPT that society will scorn him for it. And it's the players' responsibility to scorn him, otherwise they spit in the face of game integrity as written by the creators. In the game I used to play, it was no big deal to see halflings and giants snuggling and smooching like nobody's business all over town, No one gave a second thought to seeing a dwarf and a sylvankind going up into the Silvergate Inn to a private room. In Inferno, however, roleplay isn't optional. It's required. Just as in Armageddon - you might see humans and elves on friendly terms with each other, but the humans acknowledge that "all elves are thieves," and the elves acknowledge that "all humans are marks." Diplomacy and scheming are the course of the day, and not just so Susie can cyber with John, or because Susie feels that it's unethical to treat elves badly in a fantasy game just because she has an oriental boyfriend in real life.