How much racial tension do you include in your games?

Does it differ if the races are based on skin color instead of actual races? In other words, do you change the levels in worlds with elves and dwarves?

Depends on the game.
In my future games I tend to portray the human race as having interbred so much there are no longer distinct 'racial' traits per se, that way I can concentrate on ideological and other sources of conflict.

Yup, that depends heavily on the game, although I'm not going to ignore issues like that in, say, a CoC investigation set in the '20s or a Nob scenario which revolves around Joktan's schemes.

Not too much. IMC there is anti-humanoid (due to raids from the orc empire, and  humanoid bandits) and anti-elven (the gold elves tried to wipe out humanity) sentiment in a few areas, but only enough to hassle the players

We don't play too many modern settings, but I am thinking of starting a Rifts campaign so if would probably fit in pretty well there.

Quote from: James McMurrayHow much racial tension do you include in your games?

It depends on the game and, to some extent, the GM within my group. If it makes sense for the setting or genre, it's usually there to some degree.  FYI, I play in a racially mixed group.

Quote from: James McMurrayDoes it differ if the races are based on skin color instead of actual races? In other words, do you change the levels in worlds with elves and dwarves?

To some degree, yes, because it's easier to run a fantasy racists (as a GM or player) than a real world racist.

Racism in games I run is pretty nuanced. For instance, in a medieval game the modern concept of racism as such does not exist. I'm quite happy to dive headlong into any issues there may be.

Thanks for all the replies folks. I didn't just leap right in at first with my take on racism in games because I wanted a larger sample and not the distraction of "but your way is wrong" that sometimes happens when an OP asks and answers a question.

In my games whether racism exists or not is mostly up to the players. In Shadowrun it happens more because it's an integral part of the campaign world. Likewise with fantasy settings (typical Humanoids vs. metahumans stuff). But usually, it's up to the PCs.

My group is all white males and we typically all make white males. Sometimes someone will make a member of another race. If they do, and that character then draws attention to their race repeatedly, I take it to mean that a little interaction based on race is wanted, and have at it. But usually, unless they wind up at a situation that's inherently racist (a KKK rally for instance) it won't intrude much on the game.

In other words, unless a character has demonstrated a desire to make racial comments, there aren't likely to be any occurrences of a random "Nigger (or Tusker, or whatever) go home."

In every single one of my campaigns all Basques are worshipers of the Great Old Ones, and Scotsmen are all kilted rampaging madmen barbarians.

Yes, even the campaigns that don't take place on earth.  

RPGPundit
(who's 1/4 Basque, and not Scottish at all)

Quote from: James McMurrayMy group is all white males and we typically all make white males.

My group is not all white males and includes (or has included in the past) black males, asian males, asian females, white females, and (in the past) some hispanic males.  We usually play characters of the same sex but not always the same race.  In fact, in one game, I was playing a black male (I'm white) and a black player was playing a white male.  

Quote from: James McMurrayIn other words, unless a character has demonstrated a desire to make racial comments, there aren't likely to be any occurrences of a random "Nigger (or Tusker, or whatever) go home."

I'm not really fond of the "N-word" and would discourage it's use in a game, even if there was quite a bit of racism being played out.  I don't even know if it would offend the black people I play with if used in an authentic context but it carries so much baggage I'd find it distracting.  I just don't like the word.  There are plenty of ways to illustrate racism and racial slang without using that word (or a handful of equally offensive words).

I seem to be able to handle racial themes better in past/modern/contemporary settings - in other words real world settings...maybe some alt timeline stuff.

But when it comes to fantasy and future settings, I kind of drop the ball. I can't seem to inject verisimilitude into the campaigns.

The real world games I've run tend to be set in Asia. If I'm going to do some heavy racial stuff, it may as well be in a location that has a hell of a lot more relevence to the group.

Regards,
David R

It depends totally on the game. For example, when I run Cold Space, set in the Cold War Era, race is very important as it's a time of great changes in the US. When I run the sequel, FTL Now, it's not a big deal. My group is all white curently, but not historically, and has never been all-male. The players often choose to play characters of different sex and race, and enjoy the challenges in playing non-whites in - say - CoC or Cold Space.

-clash

Quote from: John MorrowI'm not really fond of the "N-word" and would discourage it's use in a game, even if there was quite a bit of racism being played out.  I don't even know if it would offend the black people I play with if used in an authentic context but it carries so much baggage I'd find it distracting.  I just don't like the word.  There are plenty of ways to illustrate racism and racial slang without using that word (or a handful of equally offensive words).

Understandable. We tend to take a more head-on approach. I guess we figure if we're gonna tackle something we may as well tackle it, and not just one limb.

Quote from: John MorrowMy group is not all white males and includes (or has included in the past) black males, asian males, asian females, white females, and (in the past) some hispanic males.  We usually play characters of the same sex but not always the same race.  In fact, in one game, I was playing a black male (I'm white) and a black player was playing a white male.  



I'm not really fond of the "N-word" and would discourage it's use in a game, even if there was quite a bit of racism being played out.  I don't even know if it would offend the black people I play with if used in an authentic context but it carries so much baggage I'd find it distracting.  I just don't like the word.  There are plenty of ways to illustrate racism and racial slang without using that word (or a handful of equally offensive words).

Hmm, just out of curiousity, do you also object to terms like "Honkie" and "cracker"?

I ask because I've noticed that a lot of people who tend to object about certain "racist" terms don't seem to mind when equally offensive racist terms are used by other groups against other groups.

There isn't a racist term on the planet that's going to offend me. Racism itself is offensive, but words are just words and they only have as much power as we give them.

Quote from: James McMurrayThere isn't a racist term on the planet that's going to offend me. Racism itself is offensive, but words are just words and they only have as much power as we give them.

A commendable attitude. I salute your reason, sir.