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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2012 4:02:48 GMT -8
Hi there, I want to write an adventure for "Two Sides: One Epic", and i want to use a stereotype of Israeli/ Jewish (it's ok i'm both). Here it's ok to use these stereotypes but i don't know what is the general conception about this things.
Can any one tell me is it ok or very not cool to use it?
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Post by kaitoujuliet on May 13, 2012 10:37:12 GMT -8
It would probably make some people uncomfortable, but it's hard to say more without more details. Maybe you can squeeze in a couple of lines for a disclaimer like you did above? Or offer an alternate way to play the character in case people don't want to use the stereotyped version?
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Post by CreativeCowboy on May 13, 2012 13:19:54 GMT -8
It's hard to say without knowing your players.... and for a private game. To be honest, a published store bought adventure most probably would NOT have any racist overtones tied to real world races for the very same concerns you have. That's not to say you could not overlay racism and bigotry onto some fictitious race like Elves for example....
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HyveMynd
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Post by HyveMynd on May 13, 2012 16:51:30 GMT -8
I'm pretty much of the opinion that the only times games should deal with issues of race is if a) exploring racism is the whole point of the story, or b) you're playing in a real world historical era where it would be encountered regularly. Playing a CoC game set in the 1920's is going to deal with racism for example, as is a US Civil War era game. The same goes for sexism. In our 1930's pulp game, I had all my NPCs assume the men we the leaders of the PC group, because women weren't given much respect back then. I made sure to tell everyone this before the game though, so that no one felt cheated.
I wold say that if your scenario's central theme is about racism in some way, then it's kind of OK to include the character. However, does the ethnicity of the other characters and NPCs in your story matter? If not, then why does this one particular character have to be a racial stereotype? Unless it's crucial to your story, I would write all the characters to be "ethnicity neutral".
Since this is going to be read by many other people, I would probably play it safe. Make the NPC a genre or character/personality stereotype rather than an ethnic one.
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Post by inflatus on May 13, 2012 17:51:06 GMT -8
If you are using it to be part of or advancing the story it should be fine. If there is a malicious reason behind it then leave it out.
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sizik
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Post by sizik on May 13, 2012 18:40:32 GMT -8
1920's . . . US Civil War era
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HyveMynd
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Post by HyveMynd on May 13, 2012 21:51:38 GMT -8
1920's . . . US Civil War era Huh?
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Post by jazzisblues on May 14, 2012 6:26:00 GMT -8
Topics of prejudice can be both very challenging and very rewarding to explore in a game. The advice I would give in terms of writing something for a project like this is to be very clear about it at the very beginning of the piece. I would also suggest being very clear in mind about why it's important to the game from the outset.
Cheers,
JiB
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clanhanna
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Post by clanhanna on May 14, 2012 9:46:06 GMT -8
Racism using real-life cultures can get VERY sticky very quickly. I ran a D&D game for a while wherein I specified that racism was rampant, that peoples tend to stick to their own, because anything that does look like you might be a predator. So elves and dwarves and humans and tieflings and what-have-you tend not to trust each other from the onset. There were a few who played this aspect up, and I don't think it helped party cohesion. Trust was earned, not given outright.
Eventually the game fell apart because of lack of player cohesion. Considering the mix of newbie players and experienced gamers, I don't know if or how much the thespian approach the experienced players took (including certain racist remarks from the Eladrin to the Halfling) contributed to that lack of player cohesion.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2012 9:57:00 GMT -8
Ok, i forgot something. it'll be a humoristic game. it'll be like the Zohan movie and such.
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Post by ironnikki on May 14, 2012 10:28:09 GMT -8
Portraying any kind of stereotype in a humorous manner is often construed as malicious, regardless of intent. It's hard to say without seeing exactly what you're talking about, but I'd advise you to consider revising it.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2012 14:04:35 GMT -8
The best way to use racism is by breaking all the rules. Have the Jews be known as the best chefs and lovers. Have the French be known as the best Basketball players. Have the Russians be known for their bawdy songs and limerics.
If the stereotypes are completely weird, they are less likely to be seen as rascist and more likely to be seen as a criticism on racism.
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Post by henryhankovitch on May 14, 2012 16:20:14 GMT -8
I think the question you have to ask is, "what does this add to the game?" "Because I think it's realistic" isn't actually a very good answer. Games are for fun, you don't make your players roleplay their bowel movements, etc. If the entire group is on-board with using it for humor (e.g., Escape Into the White Man's Planet), then that works. Or if you want to use it for a specific dramatic effect, then that would be possible also. In both cases, the onus is on the writer and GM--especially in something meant to be third-party, 'published' material like this--to approach the subject with up-front disclaimers and honest description of ANY controversial content. Racism could be a strong dramatic element in games where horror or historical brutality is a focus. For instance, oppressed peoples in a Call of Cthulhu campaign might become occultists out of desperation to survive rather than greed for wealth or power. Or institutional racism might hamper the efforts of PCs, or provide "out of sight, out of mind" ghettos where corruption can hide as easily as it can in the palaces of the rich.
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Post by jazzisblues on May 15, 2012 6:24:41 GMT -8
I think the question you have to ask is, "what does this add to the game?" "Because I think it's realistic" isn't actually a very good answer. Games are for fun, you don't make your players roleplay their bowel movements, etc. If the entire group is on-board with using it for humor (e.g., Escape Into the White Man's Planet), then that works. Or if you want to use it for a specific dramatic effect, then that would be possible also. In both cases, the onus is on the writer and GM--especially in something meant to be third-party, 'published' material like this--to approach the subject with up-front disclaimers and honest description of ANY controversial content. Racism could be a strong dramatic element in games where horror or historical brutality is a focus. For instance, oppressed peoples in a Call of Cthulhu campaign might become occultists out of desperation to survive rather than greed for wealth or power. Or institutional racism might hamper the efforts of PCs, or provide "out of sight, out of mind" ghettos where corruption can hide as easily as it can in the palaces of the rich. Excellent points all around. JiB
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Post by uselesstriviaman on May 15, 2012 6:32:40 GMT -8
I have no idea if AzureTalon ever saw or heard of Escape Into the White Man's Planet, but he ran one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played. His blaxploitation game was exactly like this one - it was entirely irreverent, un-PC, and fucking HILARIOUS. I laughed so much my sides hurt.
If that's what you're going for - and your players understand what they're getting into - then by all means go for it.
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