Quote from: jeff37923And another one enjoys the sound of one hand clapping. You guys should get a band together.

no u

It just makes me think that there's something for everyone in my D&D games, over here. Shit-loads of politics and history, and then the orcs on dune-buggies, 6-guns, airships, and fireballs. Throw in some heretical norse cults (based on self-sacrifice and mortification) vs. sinister wizard cabals, and a bunch of facist imperial goons doing their thing 'for the greater good'.

It's a ton of fun.
(EDIT: It's also pro-human? Seriously. Well, pro-sentiant being. I think we're all on the same page on that one, here. Do elves and orcs count as human?)

Quote from: Thanatos02(EDIT: It's also pro-human? Seriously. Well, pro-sentiant being. I think we're all on the same page on that one, here. Do elves and orcs count as human?)

I'm pretty sure they don't, T-Rex.

I don't know...
You can say that "human is as human does" and call something pro-humanity if it advocates values and actions that would be described as "humane." That might give non-human races an opportunity to show greater "humanity" than some monsters who just happened to be born of human parents.

I mean, what are we, racists? :haw:

Quote from: Black FlagI don't know...
You can say that "human is as human does" and call something pro-humanity if it advocates values and actions that would be described as "humane." That might give non-human races an opportunity to show greater "humanity" than some monsters who just happened to be born of human parents.

I mean, what are we, racists? :haw:

As long as there arn't politics behind it! Now, I know dudes and ladies enjoy a good role-playing session, but I'm having trouble with this one!

RPG DISCUSSION FORUM POSTINGS

I've got this thing where I'm making a game, but I'm not entirely sure it's not really biased. I've been adding fantasy races whos treatment is heavily based off historical precedent!

What I'm worried about is, is it racist to play a racist character? Or! What if you are playing a character whose circumstances are similar to an actual oppressed character? I've heard people have issues with that!

Actually, if you're trying to be true to certain time periods, a character would be an oddball for not being overtly racist. Call of Cthulhu 1920's, for example. Just reading Lovecraft or Howard makes me laugh at their unabashed racism. I still read it, tho...

When it comes to fantasy "races," it stands to reason that there would be some prejudice, since the human race already has a lot of internal prejudice. Obviously, that was the point of my previous pun on the word racist (since we're in the habit of calling fantasy humanoid species "races").

Like all unfavorable situations, I think it can be a good opportunity for roleplay, as long as it's done critically and not just as an excuse to be crass. As far as playing an "oppressed" character, it helps if you've ever been in a minority of some kind. This might be tough for white, hetero, Christian males to wrap their heads around, but anyone who has been discriminated against for any reason should be familiar with the feelings of frustration and defensiveness that come with being a minority. Once you've got that down, it's just a matter of degree.

Done right, it could be a very interesting time, and you might even surprise yourself. It also ties into the notion of who gets to be treated as "human," since racism entails putting people who are different from you in the "other" category, which in turn suggests that because of their strangeness they're less deserving of compassion, etc. But what is it that makes other humanoids non-human? Is it just that they're a different species? But they might be mutually fertile with humans, suggesting a close kinship. Is it just that they look different? You could say, "They're evil," but I don't buy it. So what is it?

Quote from: KoltarHHmm... as goofy as it sounds here is another example of a Yay!! Humanity setting :

 The cheezy Buck Rogers TV show version of the future. The late '70s Buck Rogers show  with Gil Gerard and Erin Gray.
imagine setting a role playing game campaiign against that backdrop - they had Miss Galaxy contests, casinos, slavegirls, "space Vampires" (of a kind), and the Earth Defense force seemed to have its act together .

- Ed C.

Too bad the series was off the air by the time TSR got the license.  A RPG based on the series (first season) would have been very nice.

Quote from: Thanatos02
As long as there arn't politics behind it! Now, I know dudes and ladies enjoy a good role-playing session, but I'm having trouble with this one!

RPG DISCUSSION FORUM POSTINGS

I've got this thing where I'm making a game, but I'm not entirely sure it's not really biased. I've been adding fantasy races whos treatment is heavily based off historical precedent!

What I'm worried about is, is it racist to play a racist character? Or! What if you are playing a character whose circumstances are similar to an actual oppressed character? I've heard people have issues with that!

 Thanatos2 ,

 THATS a different thread  discussion.


- Ed C.

Examples of settings that might be thought of as "Pro-HUmanity" or the "Average Guy can get into Adventures!" :

TRAVELLER : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller_%28role-playing_game%29

..and of course GURPS:TRAVELLER:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GURPS_Traveller

Possibly GURPS:Inifinite Worlds : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GURPS_Infinite_Worlds

BANESTORM/Yrth : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GURPS_Banestorm

The "BuffyVerse" :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffyverse
..there may be monstaers - but it is shown that humans CAN win against them and often do if they work together.

Babylon 5 universe : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5


Blue Planet : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Planet_%28role-playing_game%29

SERENITY/The "verse : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_%28role-playing_game%29

Star Trek universe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek

Stargate universe and setting : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1

Transhuman Space : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhuman_Space


...trying to think of more or linkable examples of more.

- Ed C.

I know Traveller has already been mentioned, but more specifically, the first game that came to mind was Traveller: The New Era. While I detest the system, I am one of those rare few who love the New Era. Why? Because it's all about hope, about reforging and rebuilding after the fall. Most post-apoc games tend to wallow in the ruins of civilization, and an awful lot of games have their settings on the point of crisis and collapse. Oh, woe is me, the end times are upon us. We've screwed everything up and now it's all downhill. TNE says fuck that, we're going to go out and seize control of our destiny and put everything back together, only better than before. It's about bringing hope and civilization to those whose worlds have fallen into barbarism and tyranny. It's all about celebrating humanity's potential. Personally, I always find it fucking uplifting to play and GM, in a way classic Traveller never was.

Quote from: KoltarThanatos2 ,

 THATS a different thread  discussion.


- Ed C.

It would be if racism didn't have something to do with the human condition?

Human Condition Web Discussion



I dunno. See, I was thinking that a game that says "Yay Humanity!" also has to reconcile itself with negatives about the human condition.

Otherwise, it's just shallow optimism!

But that's not the same as celebrating our faults, though! That would be really awkward. Crossburning, the RPG has already kind of come out, and nobody even liked it! (it was really bad) But it's kind of the same as politics - if you have too much, it becomes a game based soley on that issue.

Quote from: Thanatos02I dunno. See, I was thinking that a game that says "Yay Humanity!" also has to reconcile itself with negatives about the human condition.

Otherwise, it's just shallow optimism!

This has been cropping up alot in our post game discussions - "the negative aspects" of the human condition. Granted I'm not talking about published settings but rather my own homebrews...but considering the fact that I consider my games pretty "humanistic" in tone and theme, my players have said afterwards that campaign and characters seem pretty downbeat...so much so that one player has been threatening to base a character (in any setting) on John Cusack's character in Say Anything.

 "...paved with the best intentions" seems to be a common theme that the players discover/create in all my campaigns.

Regards,
David R

NOPE.

 This was about the "Human Condition" or philosophic navel gazing.

 I specificallly was looking for settings that were "Pro-Humanity!!" or  settings where Humanity is better than it realizes it is.

 Not angsty /depressing ... Oh my gawd !/the human condition stuff.

 There already was a thread for the angst settings.


- Ed C.

Sorry dude! But to be fair, I think you're saying that because you're not really paying attention!

To elaborate: We got a bunch of dudes and ladies (who may or may not be human? But are totally on the level.) doing their thing. To make things more fun, for this example, they're doing it in space! That's pretty neat.

But the human condition posits a certain degree of tribalism. It's true! And even when they're doing their thing being cool in space, these issues pop up. But that's not where it stops. Maybe they don't have to burn space crosses, right?

If they don't, that's a bonus for all humanity, right? Every hurdle they jump and every tie of unity they create is humanity transcending its flaws. Humanity can be better then it thinks it is! But for that to happen, there has to be something in the human nature that has created a problem in the past that exists to be overcome in the game!

This might be tough, though, if you think that anything negative is angsty? Despite your positive guise, you sure do seem to come to the party loaded with some assumption! Including assumptions of thread-ownership. What do you do if I show up and stomp in your thread? Stomp, stomp! This issue is more complicated then you thought! Maybe you can't just whisk all the complexities of life under the rug.

Quote from: Thanatos02Sorry dude! But to be fair, I think you're saying that because you're not really paying attention!

To elaborate: We got a bunch of dudes and ladies (who may or may not be human? But are totally on the level.) doing their thing. To make things more fun, for this example, they're doing it in space! That's pretty neat.

But the human condition posits a certain degree of tribalism. It's true! And even when they're doing their thing being cool in space, these issues pop up. But that's not where it stops. Maybe they don't have to burn space crosses, right?

If they don't, that's a bonus for all humanity, right? Every hurdle they jump and every tie of unity they create is humanity transcending its flaws. Humanity can be better then it thinks it is! But for that to happen, there has to be something in the human nature that has created a problem in the past that exists to be overcome in the game!

This might be tough, though, if you think that anything negative is angsty? Despite your positive guise, you sure do seem to come to the party loaded with some assumption! Including assumptions of thread-ownership. What do you do if I show up and stomp in your thread? Stomp, stomp! This issue is more complicated then you thought! Maybe you can't just whisk all the complexities of life under the rug.

THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE, T-REX.  WHAT IF THE PROBLEM OVERCOME BY HUMANITY IS CREATED BY ALIENS?  THEY'RE AROUND IN SPACE, YOU KNOW.