Post by brian333 on Jun 28, 2009 14:49:57 GMT -5
I play several half-race characters, so I had to think again about my characterization and portrayal of them after reading this thread:frc.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=9691
Now, the stereotype of a race is just that, and it's that way because a majority of that race conforms more or less to the stereotype. Always there are exceptions, but should we as players always play the exceptions? Having thought about it I may have fallen into that trap in my goal to create "unique' characters.
So, to give a second thought to the problem of half-races, and their stereotypical characterizations:
Half-elves have the grace of their elven parent and the drive of their human. Okay, but that's leaving off the effect of culture, isn't it? For a half-elf to have a blending of human and elven philosophy would require his formative years be spent among both races.
What of the half-elf raised among elves or among humans without a role-model of the opposite race? I would think the majority of half-elves would be from regions where the races mix, but because humans and elves typically have racially segregated villages, it would be rare for half-elves to grow up in a racially integrated society.
This line of thinking has lead me to conclude that a half-elf raised among elves would be culturally indistinguishable from any elf, while one raised among humans would be culturally human. Furthermore, because of the racially divided nature of the long-lived elves and the short-lived humans, it would be the most common background for any half-elf. Only the minority of half-elves would have that cultural blending such as may be possible in places like Silverymoon where half-elves are commonplace.
So, when I created Unien I had an idea in my head to create an elven sailor who expressed his elven-artistic soul through music of the sea. I began to compromise immediately: few elves go to sea, and those who do go with wizards on magical boats that sail the heavens, etc. So, a half-elf raised among humans.
Typically there are two kinds of sailors: slaves, (conscripts, bondsmen, etc.) or the dregs of society. Ships are owned by nobles, and they are typically ship's officers, so to avoid claiming a title to which I as a player wasn't entitled, my character had to be a crewman.
Now we have Unien, a half-elf child who spent his formative years at sea under the tutelage of a human seagoing bard. He knows little to nothing about elves or forests, and he does not speak the elvish language. Instead, he knows the winds, ships, and ports. He's at home with rough folks and cutthroats in a seaside bar, and would probably starve if left alone in the woods.
So, following the example from above, how does this apply to half-orcs?
Again, humans and orcs seldom integrate, but in this case they commonly are in a continuous state of war with one another. There is most commonly antipathy between orcs and humans, and in the typical village of either race, active racism. They are taught to hate and despise the other race. Only in regions where the lifestyle of both races is similar will there be real tolerance, and since orcs are defined as evil it would be some evil sort of tolerance, (slavery, for example.)
So, a half-orc raised in either society will be hated and despised. Raised among orcs he will be the one used for practice, (which might make him tough as hell if he lives through it,) and raised among humans he will be shunned at best. The "Noble Barbarian" stereotype would actually only apply to a minority of half-orcs raised in places where there is some measure of mutual acceptance between the races. The half-orc guild enforcer would be the more stereotypical background.
Now, with Hugdush I intentionally tried to twist the stereotype: a pacifist half-orc. That's almost a contradiction in terms! But, how would such a being come into existence? Obviously he was not raised among orcs: he'd have been beaten to death before maturity, so he was raised among humans. Humans who did not despise him, who taught him to value life and to control his temper, etc., etc., etc. Only one group comes to mind: The Broken Ones.
So, Hugdush was born to some human woman and immediately brought to an Illmateri monastery where he spent his formative years among the chanting old priests. With this simple and logical beginning I expanded a bit. Hugdush would never be satisfied with rice for dinner every night: he's a growing half-orc, and he must have spent a great deal of time hungry as a child. So, he took to wandering and finding food where he could and volunteered to work in the kitchen whenever he could. Now we have a pacifist half-orc chef, all based on the logic derived from a very simple, and very common-seeming, background.
If you'll notice, in both cases I went for unique characters. This may be my fatal flaw in character creation, but I base their uniqueness on logical derivations from their environment. Am I going off too far?
Let me know about your idea on half-race characters and their stereotypes, or tell me where I went off the deep end.
Now, the stereotype of a race is just that, and it's that way because a majority of that race conforms more or less to the stereotype. Always there are exceptions, but should we as players always play the exceptions? Having thought about it I may have fallen into that trap in my goal to create "unique' characters.
So, to give a second thought to the problem of half-races, and their stereotypical characterizations:
Half-elves have the grace of their elven parent and the drive of their human. Okay, but that's leaving off the effect of culture, isn't it? For a half-elf to have a blending of human and elven philosophy would require his formative years be spent among both races.
What of the half-elf raised among elves or among humans without a role-model of the opposite race? I would think the majority of half-elves would be from regions where the races mix, but because humans and elves typically have racially segregated villages, it would be rare for half-elves to grow up in a racially integrated society.
This line of thinking has lead me to conclude that a half-elf raised among elves would be culturally indistinguishable from any elf, while one raised among humans would be culturally human. Furthermore, because of the racially divided nature of the long-lived elves and the short-lived humans, it would be the most common background for any half-elf. Only the minority of half-elves would have that cultural blending such as may be possible in places like Silverymoon where half-elves are commonplace.
So, when I created Unien I had an idea in my head to create an elven sailor who expressed his elven-artistic soul through music of the sea. I began to compromise immediately: few elves go to sea, and those who do go with wizards on magical boats that sail the heavens, etc. So, a half-elf raised among humans.
Typically there are two kinds of sailors: slaves, (conscripts, bondsmen, etc.) or the dregs of society. Ships are owned by nobles, and they are typically ship's officers, so to avoid claiming a title to which I as a player wasn't entitled, my character had to be a crewman.
Now we have Unien, a half-elf child who spent his formative years at sea under the tutelage of a human seagoing bard. He knows little to nothing about elves or forests, and he does not speak the elvish language. Instead, he knows the winds, ships, and ports. He's at home with rough folks and cutthroats in a seaside bar, and would probably starve if left alone in the woods.
So, following the example from above, how does this apply to half-orcs?
Again, humans and orcs seldom integrate, but in this case they commonly are in a continuous state of war with one another. There is most commonly antipathy between orcs and humans, and in the typical village of either race, active racism. They are taught to hate and despise the other race. Only in regions where the lifestyle of both races is similar will there be real tolerance, and since orcs are defined as evil it would be some evil sort of tolerance, (slavery, for example.)
So, a half-orc raised in either society will be hated and despised. Raised among orcs he will be the one used for practice, (which might make him tough as hell if he lives through it,) and raised among humans he will be shunned at best. The "Noble Barbarian" stereotype would actually only apply to a minority of half-orcs raised in places where there is some measure of mutual acceptance between the races. The half-orc guild enforcer would be the more stereotypical background.
Now, with Hugdush I intentionally tried to twist the stereotype: a pacifist half-orc. That's almost a contradiction in terms! But, how would such a being come into existence? Obviously he was not raised among orcs: he'd have been beaten to death before maturity, so he was raised among humans. Humans who did not despise him, who taught him to value life and to control his temper, etc., etc., etc. Only one group comes to mind: The Broken Ones.
So, Hugdush was born to some human woman and immediately brought to an Illmateri monastery where he spent his formative years among the chanting old priests. With this simple and logical beginning I expanded a bit. Hugdush would never be satisfied with rice for dinner every night: he's a growing half-orc, and he must have spent a great deal of time hungry as a child. So, he took to wandering and finding food where he could and volunteered to work in the kitchen whenever he could. Now we have a pacifist half-orc chef, all based on the logic derived from a very simple, and very common-seeming, background.
If you'll notice, in both cases I went for unique characters. This may be my fatal flaw in character creation, but I base their uniqueness on logical derivations from their environment. Am I going off too far?
Let me know about your idea on half-race characters and their stereotypes, or tell me where I went off the deep end.
