DIVERSITY
The playable races of this world are not as broad spectrum as you may see in other game worlds. This is just a personal choice. The races to play as a character are Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Half-elves, Half-orcs, Halflings (hobbits should come to mind), Gnomes, and Goliaths . If you wish to play another race, by all means, present it to your GM for review and consideration.
RACISM
In this world, depending on the area your character might be in, you may find racism exists towards a particular race specifically or not at all. For example, in one place there may be a great deal of hatred towards Dwarven kind due to some past wars with them possibly. Or maybe it's out of fear towards a culture out of ignorance and lack of social integration with them and just not understanding them. Sure, I hate that racism exists in our own world and you may be so tired of it as well that you don't want to play in a game where it exists. I agree and understand and all I can say is that this is a real thing that will probably never ever go away. Where there is cultural diversity, there will always be tension between some. Hatred of a race can be for any number of reasons, betrayal, war, crime... and as such... it adds a lot to the drama and tensions in a role playing game as well. As a GM, having a character who hates Kobolds with a passion because they killed her entire family is okay. A player who role plays that hatred is okay. But, A player who exhibits very clear racial ideals from our own world, says it's just the characters way... well, you can basically tell they are racist in real life and are hiding behind their character by saying "thats how my character is, they just hate people who have different colour skin than them" or something like that. It's difficult for me to verbalize but trust me... you can tell the difference from a non-racist player running a character that has hatred towards a particular race in the game vs an actual racist player doing the same. I have seen it twice and both times, I kicked them from the game. You should do the same in my opinion. If you don't... you are obviously one of two things... empowering them to continue or are joining them in solidarity.
SEXUALITY
In my game world, sexuality is a personal choice and one that is acknowledged as normal in this world. Being gay, feminine, masculine, bi-sexual, trans, non-binary, etc is just common. It's always been in this world so nobody bats an eye twice at it. Now, at the table, if you as a player find it uncomfortable... you have a choice... leave the game or sit, learn and mature as a person by learning that despite the strangeness you are encountering, your ignorance of the topic will eventually become less and less so as you learn. People just find things that are different to them as strange most often. If you wish to portray a gay, bi, queer, trans character then by all means do so. I wish to promote more of peoples acceptance in this area and through exposure to it... it becomes more "normalized" to you. Don't fear what you don't know or understand but rather, open yourself up to it and grow as a person. Knowledge defeats ignorance.
RELIGION
One thing we know from our own history is that everyone (mostly) believed in the idea of one or more gods, demi-gods, demons and spirits. I am keeping with that concept in my games that I run. Gods, demons, spirits, titans... even vampires... it all is real.
POLITICS
It goes hand in hand to recognize that with "human" nature comes a desire for power and control and you cannot have that drive or ambition without political struggle existing. The same can be said for the fantasy game. There are characters seeking power. There is corruption, deceit, competition and more just like we have here in our world when it comes to this topic.
In Summary, all of the above adds to the story. We as humans are complex and when you add to that our educations based on our history, our heritage... and then throw religion and politics into the mix... you get a crap ton of drama. In role playing games... drama is good. Some folks just want to dungeon crawl, kill monsters and thats that. Go ahead and do so if you, the GM want to run that kind of campaign. However for me... I want the "human" story to translate into the game. Make it the "Elven" story. The "Halfling" story. Have a Dwarf who despises politics and is highly religious. Go for it. Do whatever it takes to make the game interesting outside of just hack and slash but be careful while you do this... don't be a jerk, don't exhibit real racism, real sexism, don't hate on your fellow players belief systems... basically, keep real life out of the game. Save it for your Thanksgiving family dinner with the relatives. You are all at the table to escape the real world. Do that. It's only a couple of hours. I'm sure you can hold your opinion, bite your tongue and keep your manners until you get home. Please.
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