tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post6474489174460718696..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: RacismAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-59454338505380266502010-11-21T20:07:41.808-07:002010-11-21T20:07:41.808-07:00I took a different approach and sprung race on my ...I took a different approach and sprung race on my players mid-campaign. <br /><br />War was brewing, and in the real world people tend to line up along racial lines as tensions rise. I wanted to give the players the feel of two distinct racial categories arising from one previously homogeneous people. <br /><br />Fortunately for me, the players had all named their characters with either vaguely Scottish or Norse sounding names. So I took that innocent and previously inconsequential difference and used that as the seed for the racial divide. <br /><br />I considered my experiment successful when one of the players asked, without prompting, what race a particular NPC was.Th' Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05836089425132225758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-2785310993910434142010-11-10T14:21:59.661-07:002010-11-10T14:21:59.661-07:00Thank you, but no Red. I do appreciate the offer....Thank you, but no Red. I do appreciate the offer.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-81136014297818971742010-11-10T13:58:29.870-07:002010-11-10T13:58:29.870-07:00You cannot simple create a universal table for an ...<i>You cannot simple create a universal table for an individual's hair color, since the likelihood of that hair being blonde or black varies considerably with whether that person is, say, Egyptian or Icelandic.<br /><br />This is not something D&D remotely touches upon - not in any book I've read, though the Dragon Magazine might years ago have had something on it (that I missed)</i><br /><br />I've got one for Greyhawk - the Greyhawk Human Appearance Table. I'm not sure where I got it (Canonfire? Living Greyhawk?). But it is a two page pdf that includes skin, hair, eye colors and even hair type for Baklunish, Suloise, Flans and Oeridians.<br />There is even a method for DMs to make tables based on mixes of races.<br /><br />A quick google doesn't reveal where I found it. If you're interested, I can forward it to you.redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600098550347299095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-54565086878030174382010-11-10T07:33:26.428-07:002010-11-10T07:33:26.428-07:00Will,
I'm curious, how many result possibilit...Will,<br /><br />I'm curious, how many result possibilities would you think a sex determination table ought to have?<br /><br />It's funny to me that height and weight tables have been part of D&D dogma since Carter was president, but I'm stepping over the line with eyes, hair and skin. At any rate, I think you should be warned that I also have tables planned for eyesight, jawline, bushyness of eyebrows, the size of feet, whether ears have lobes, whether or not it's possible to roll the tongue, breast-size, circumcision and of course penis length.<br /><br />Unless you think a player should be as long as he wants to be.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-15462602192972861492010-11-09T20:33:42.185-07:002010-11-09T20:33:42.185-07:00More thoughts:
Individuals also don't get to ...More thoughts:<br /><br />Individuals also don't get to choose their sex and name. Will there be tables for those?<br /><br />How about class tables? Historically, not many peasant dirt farmers chose their lot in life, correct? And then there were children more or less indentured to tradesmen in years-long apprenticing arrangements, sent to live at monasteries and cloisters, sons of knights expected to take up the sword themselves, etc.Will Mistrettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18403399118961902073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-257642433235357982010-11-09T14:53:18.982-07:002010-11-09T14:53:18.982-07:008 charisma equates to bad skin, buck teeth, stutte...8 charisma equates to bad skin, buck teeth, stuttering and body odor? Seems a little excessive for something that's a mere one point below the average range (9-11).<br /><br />I mean, mechanically, the guy doesn't even get a reaction penalty from strangers he meets. I know if *I* ran into a stammering smelly buck-toothed pustulent individual, he'd be taking a reaction penalty from me.<br /><br />That alone says that he's not all that obviously different than the average person: maybe a little more taciturn, brusque, maybe clumsier with words - things that might annoy people over the long-term and cause him to have a lower base loyalty rating and fewer henchmen.drnuncheonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09550380906129633611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-83539813485413921902010-11-09T11:29:37.077-07:002010-11-09T11:29:37.077-07:00You know, one thing I think is missing from the ta...You know, one thing I think is missing from the tables is character voice. A few entries for a shrill, sweet or incomprehensible voice might be interesting. Of coarse I don't know if you would make your players try and jump through those hoops at the table so maybe that could be why.Oddbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091924105175846386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-55062813671017190152010-11-09T10:07:55.693-07:002010-11-09T10:07:55.693-07:00I don't have Norwegian dwarves, nor dwarves in...I don't have Norwegian dwarves, nor dwarves in the Himalayas - they're from the Urals and the Altai, and thankfully I don't need a table for leprecauns, since they're not player characters. But believe me Zzarchov, I am thinking along those same lines.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-24250924837345953372010-11-09T10:03:38.149-07:002010-11-09T10:03:38.149-07:00The demi-humans coming from one region bit bothers...The demi-humans coming from one region bit bothers me a tad, how realistic is that? They may have originated from the same magic forest/mountain/drops of gorgon blood, but humans originated in one place as well.<br /><br />The leprechauns of Ireland are different than the Domovoi of Russia even if both are halflings (at least in the game I run). The Norwegian dwarves in their mountain strongholds are different than the roving stone age barbarians in the Himalyan mountains.Zzarchovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07714805545939725730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-16450693950987235462010-11-09T09:50:50.777-07:002010-11-09T09:50:50.777-07:00True enough, Will. The description for charisma i...True enough, Will. The description for charisma includes appearance, personal magnetism and persuasiveness. I intend tables for all three (my post recently about charisma success and die rolling was part of that work). But whatever the impact of the other two aspects, your challenge doesn't preclude my including a visuals table. You <i>might</i> be decent looking with an 8-charisma (the table will include a chance) but I wouldn't count on it. You can see how it works, since <a href="http://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/2008/06/charisma.html" rel="nofollow">this is the less-complicated table</a> I'm upgrading.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-86705750692020048402010-11-09T09:44:50.439-07:002010-11-09T09:44:50.439-07:00Sorry, I may not have made this clear. The side c...Sorry, I may not have made this clear. The side comment about charisma was in reference to the difference between having 'black hair' and having 'raven black hair' ... or between having 'denim blue' eyes as opposed to 'baby blue' eyes. Whatever you feel about color, some aspects of color are considered - have always been considered - superior and more attractive than others.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-1127544977008463042010-11-09T09:42:30.707-07:002010-11-09T09:42:30.707-07:00"they have an 8 charisma, complete with mottl..."they have an 8 charisma, complete with mottled, sickly looking skin, buck-teeth, stuttering and body odor."<br /><br />Of course, there's the bit in just about every D&D rulebook ever where they go on about how charisma isn't looks...Will Mistrettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18403399118961902073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-48651799959707592022010-11-09T09:40:19.724-07:002010-11-09T09:40:19.724-07:00I'm not sure that being of one phenotype or an...I'm not sure that being of one phenotype or another would have much to do with Charisma, even if "comeliness" plays a large part. Being in a zone where your phenotype was unusual might be a disadvantage, true, but this would be similar to existing as a "demi-human."<br /><br />If a player wants their character to have a certain look I guess they can just say "I am a wanderer from China/Norway/Zimbabwe" and assume the phenotype. As much as it will make them special, that will usually work to their disadvantage play-wise.Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.com