#rpg verse

[sayitwithsarcophilus]

Do you think TTRPG-style fantasy worlds make the distinction between interspecies cannibalism and intraspecies anthropophagy, or is eating people just considered eating people? (Except possibly by doctors and natural philosophers studying the fantasy equivalent of prion diseases etc., where biological similarity or lack thereof between consumer and consumed might be relevant?)

[sayitwithsarcophilus]

I’ve never heard of a fictional species going into musth (probably because unlike other hormonal indispositions of the animal world, it’s pretty un-sexy), but I think it has fictional potential.  From “surprise!  You decided to pick on the soft-spoken vegetarian during Berserker Week” to “why a fantasy RPG verse’s orc-equivalents are Like That.”  

Violent dumbfuckery is a temporary indisposition, not a defining attribute of the entire species, but it’s something the culture had to learn to accommodate.  Mostly by the dudes leaving their home communities for the duration of the Stabbing Times to limit the collateral damage to their own people, but this also increases the likelihood of antagonistic encounters with adventurers of other species who don’t recognize the signs that you’ve caught this guy at a bad time.

[sayitwithsarcophilus]

Getting away from Always Chaotic Evil in D&D doesn’t mean you can never use orcs or drow as antagonists again, or even that you have to change their concepts all that much.  Just take a more nuanced and fleshed-out approach to worldbuilding.  Orcs can still be warlike and drow can still be scheming - plenty of human cultures were into this stuff - but a plausible functioning society also does plenty of other things.  I think the most important change is to get away from the idea that “OK, these guys are the villains, so their cultural worldbuilding needs to be as eeevil as possible, even when a more humane custom would be more practical and make just as much sense.”  

Don’t be afraid to give them redeeming features that fit their overall shtick.  Maybe the poorest clanless orphan orc child can grow up to be a war leader if they’re a big enough badass when most of the “civilized” people around them are still all about hereditary monarchy.  Maybe the drow theocracy isn’t just a staging ground for the backstabbing political struggles of sexy elf ladies battling to become Domme Spider Pope - maybe the lower ranks also provide useful educational and medical services?  Does the church sponsor a lot of religious art?  (All those disconcertingly hunky Saint Sebastians got nothing on drow church art!)

When you’re dealing with fantasy humanoid cultures, I think the rule of thumb should be that even if they don’t act entirely like humans, they should act like reasonably plausible people.

[adhdwandawilson]

I think there are lots of ways to create an antagonistic-by-default humanoid culture in fantasy worldbuilding without making every single member Assigned Dickbag At Birth. You just need to give them a strong material or social incentive to make trouble in the player characters' directions.

"Why are drow Like That?"

A. Very long lifespans mean it can take centuries for high-status positions to open up, leaving many young adult drow full of frustrated ambition. B. Low birth-rates mean that open armed conflict between drow could be a demographic disaster, leading to a preference for more subtle forms of maneuvering for power. C. Combined common Underdark belief that surface people are soft and elven belief that non-elves are rather short-sighted and unsophisticated.

All of which leads to many ambitious young drow leaving their home communities to become surface people's problem, either in the hope of accomplishing something so impressive that the power structure back home will be forced to acknowledge them, or that they'll easily claw their way to the top of the local hierarchy with their Underdark Savvy and all the locals will think they're super badass.

So there's probably plenty of drow just minding their own business on their mushroom farms, but they're not getting up to anything that requires the intervention of adventurers.

[sayitwithsarcophilus]

I think most of the traditionally antagonistic humanoid species in RPGs could still do most of their shtick (minus the “guilt-free cannon fodder by default” and “card-carrying villain” aspects) even if you do away with Always Chaotic Evil for mortal humanoids.  

Why are duergar ruthless grumpy jerks?  They’ve had to abandon traditional dwarven codes of honor for a more pragmatic approach because Underdark monsters don’t fight fair, they’re distrustful because anyone who’s acting weird could be an intellect devourer’s meat suit or just mind-controlled by any number of subterranean abominations, and they’re No Fun Allowed because they believe (correctly or not) that stoicism helps you avoid the attention of unpleasant psychic beasties.

You can change the emphasis of drow scheming from “species-wide chronic backstabbing disorder” to “as a squishy, long-lived, slowly-reproducing species in an inherently dangerous environment, open warfare would be a demographic catastrophe for them, so they sublimate their conflicts into political and social maneuvering delicately seasoned with strategic assassinations.”  (This also allows for surface-race PCs to get mixed up in drow business if they decide to branch out into proxy conflicts)

Why do the orcs keep invading?  Orc warlords choose their successors on a meritocratic (by orc standards) basis, so all the potential heirs have to go out and prove themselves by conquering and holding their own little mini-empires.  

Why do ogres keep raiding the villages?  Think of how much a grizzy bear (an approximately ogre-sized omnivore) would have to eat if it also had the energy demands of a roughly human-scale brain, and then consider that ogres are a lot more social than bears.  An ogre family is going to require a lot of food.  It makes sense they’d supplement their diets with a little theft during the lean months, especially since in a pre-gunpowder setting your average human farmer isn’t much of a physical threat to an ogre.

[actualtirefire]

"Well it's not like I know your name! And I've been in this cage for soooo long. Might have forgotten my manners." The bird cleared it's throat and started again. "Oh great adventurer! Dost thou be willing to free from my imprisonment? ....Eth?" If you choose to pay this ridiculous creature any more mind, you will see that runes are etched into the bars of it's cage. Either warding others away or maybe keeping safely inside.

She laughed, bitterly, and not for the reasons they probably thought.

It’s a couple hops and smacks with an axe to hack the cage down. Though she had no desire to open it. Only picked it up and took it. “Can probably found a mage in a city who would loooove to have you for a pet. They’d pay for it too.”

[actualtirefire]

★ Loot! You hear Grumpus wailing in the background as you successfully make it out of the room with your body (and dignity) intact. The great horny toad will have none of you this day, and receive +800 EXP and one more level in your Sneak ability. You can see the light of day outside have the option of going home to rest. There also seems to be a cage hanging from the ceiling nearby. Inside is a tiny bird which speaks to you. "Hey! Hey you! Flesh puppet! Wait a minute!"

Did a celebratory jump into the sunlight leaking into the cave. Then back to seriousness. Looking at the bird in the cage with a frown.

“Anything that calls humans ‘meat puppet’ needs to stay right there in a cage.” Pointed up at it.

[actualtirefire]

Upon further inspection you notice that Grumpus isn't a frog or toad at all, but a really REALLY ugly lizard. There's really bad lighting down here though so it's understandable if the narrator gets a few key facts wrong. What isn't wrong is the way the key is nestled snugly under one of Grumpus's webbed hands. He doesn't seem to be very into moving and even with a high stealth level it would be hard to slip the key out from under him without being noticed. Maybe a distraction?

Is it Charlie? Maybe it’s Charlie’s dad…More important things to life right now.

Of course it’s complicated. Took a few steps back away from the Charlie’s father and checked a pouch she still had some Worth portions in. One of them is an invisibility potion that she had be saving for at least four dungeons now. Thirty seconds should be enough for her to toss an unwanted, looted, magicka potion straight across to the other side of the room.Check it out, scalie.