tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post9026979877982972575..comments2024-03-29T04:24:58.321+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: Towards a Theory of DemihumansUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-11436922460829545842019-08-09T01:29:40.804+08:002019-08-09T01:29:40.804+08:00Another, perhaps complimentary approach; look at t...Another, perhaps complimentary approach; look at the list of cognitive biases - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases - to which all humans (except obviously for me) are prone, and remove a few for demi-humans. Maybe invent new ones, too. Simon Brunninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11012816105795393796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-53842843372338774012012-03-05T22:49:09.799+08:002012-03-05T22:49:09.799+08:00all of which are considered present in every singl...<i>all of which are considered present in every single human society</i><br /><br />Which brings up an obvious 'universal' to invert—disbelief in society or the unity of objects made up of disparate elements.huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-82464956024361052622012-03-03T22:49:09.918+08:002012-03-03T22:49:09.918+08:00Thanks for including this in your "old posts&...Thanks for including this in your "old posts" post, as I hadn't seen it before.<br /><br />This reminds me of the standard template for speculative fiction: change one assumption about the world (or whatever) and try to work out the consequences. I think it's a great way to alien-up demi-humans.<br /><br />I think, from a practical perspective, it does have one major problem, which Zak hinted at obliquely in his comment. One of the strengths of the somewhat bland Tolkien-inspired demi-human spread is that it is a touchstone for players; it allows people who might otherwise have vastly divergent ideas about tone and setting to have some common ground. Once you start to weird that up, I think many players begin to feel unmoored, and often forget the details during roleplaying anyways. I have found that it is very easy for people to get into character when that means pretending to have motivations that they might conceivably have (for example, a PC who has lost their true love, or a PC that is obsessed with vengeance). Those are easy to keep in mind. But roleplaying the lack of understanding of exchange? I can't imagine that working very well in practice.<br /><br />Which is not to say that I think this is a bad idea. But perhaps there is an argument for using this method for NPC races or cultures rather than PCs.Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-66628137071579054322012-03-03T22:40:18.930+08:002012-03-03T22:40:18.930+08:00Dragonlance did that; they are called kender.
:-)...Dragonlance did that; they are called kender.<br /><br />:-)Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-22371283744277380612009-05-19T08:08:00.000+08:002009-05-19T08:08:00.000+08:00Great post! I've done this in my own home brew ca...Great post! I've done this in my own home brew campaign; not as profound as some of the ones you thought up (off the cuff?) but I do like to tinker a bit with expectations. I'm off to blog on what my twists to the traditional demi-humans are....thanks for the push!!!Badmikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06199830751033032585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-75369376376299215072009-05-19T07:25:00.000+08:002009-05-19T07:25:00.000+08:00LoL @ Anonymous :)
@ noisms: I'll have to Tucker...LoL @ Anonymous :)<br /><br />@ noisms: I'll have to Tuckerise this blog in the discussion of the PAU when I get around to them in Vol. II.Timeshadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09952601433965644275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-88578589371970086842009-05-19T04:18:00.000+08:002009-05-19T04:18:00.000+08:00What about:
"Halfings have no concept of persona...What about: <br /><br />"Halfings have no concept of personal property, and believe that all material possessions belong to the collective, rather than the individual?"<br /><br />It would explain why the Halfing Thief is such a fixture among that race's ilk and why their fingers tend to be so darn sticky.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-4150164419993892502009-05-19T03:46:00.000+08:002009-05-19T03:46:00.000+08:00Also also, Anonymous: Great point which I actually...Also also, Anonymous: Great point which I actually hadn't thought of while writing the entry. Makes perfect sense.<br /><br />Also also also, Matthew Slepin: Sounds like a fun character concept. The elf who was raised by gnomes.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-20069072964543718242009-05-19T03:45:00.000+08:002009-05-19T03:45:00.000+08:00Also, Jerry Cornelius: You make an interesting poi...Also, Jerry Cornelius: You make an interesting point and one I might address is another post - namely, in a fantasy setting, how do you, andd should you, separate species and culture?noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-20618157720200475842009-05-19T03:44:00.000+08:002009-05-19T03:44:00.000+08:00Thanks for the comments, everyone. Nice to know th...Thanks for the comments, everyone. Nice to know this post struck a chord. <br /><br />Timeshadow, your next task is to make that a D&D campaign setting. ;)noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-31979298070694567102009-05-19T03:15:00.000+08:002009-05-19T03:15:00.000+08:00Good stuff. I think the Gnomish one is quite the ...Good stuff. I think the Gnomish one is quite the most interesting, even if it has no effects in typcial play.<br /><br />Although--what if Gnomes began to foster children out to other races? That might be interesting.Matthew Slepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04056247825064943944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-46843055133029850852009-05-19T00:33:00.000+08:002009-05-19T00:33:00.000+08:00I was just going to say "communism" but then someo...I was just going to say "communism" but then someone broke out the academic jargon and destroyed whatever desire I had about reading anything ever again. :-)<br /><br />Anyway, this was one of my favorite posts that I've read in memory. Let me see if I've captured the primary idea here:<br /><br />What makes demi-humans "demi" is that they are lacking one or more universal cultural concepts, thus resulting in awesome opportunities for role-playing. Brilliant!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-65800418802450223472009-05-18T23:51:00.000+08:002009-05-18T23:51:00.000+08:00This is a great post. I'm definitely going to mak...This is a great post. I'm definitely going to make use of this from here on out.KenHRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613789646908929989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-72943746051579457282009-05-18T05:43:00.000+08:002009-05-18T05:43:00.000+08:00Hm. Mostly interesting, but I always feel weird ab...Hm. Mostly interesting, but I always feel weird about trying to give halflings any sort of cultural oddity. My history with Tolkien, I suppose, leads me to view halflings as the most "normal" race, even moreso than humans.Rachel Ghoulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765944479141792643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-28037063806346317952009-05-18T02:16:00.000+08:002009-05-18T02:16:00.000+08:00I think you really have something there. And it'd ...I think you really have something there. And it'd be just as applicable in an sf setting for defining alien cultures. And I do mean cultures, not races. I guess I'm one of those people who believe a human raised in a dwarven culture would lack a concept of hope, and vice versa.Jerry Corneliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657432306103298802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-60076832001755859552009-05-18T01:53:00.000+08:002009-05-18T01:53:00.000+08:00May I ask what difficulty you have in envisioning ...May I ask what difficulty you have in envisioning a functioning society of persons with no concept of choice?<br /><br />It would require a Caste-system of necessary mechanical strata, where trades are transmitted initially through upbringing, and later through aptitude-based training. Repetition of standards, templates, and measures would allow near-perfect fabrication provided supply standards are able to be maintained.<br /><br />On every conceivable strata, some sort of overseer (or likely subordinate thereof) would have the task of using some sort of regimented divinatory method (I Ching; Ling Ch'i Ching; TAROT; etc.) to determine micro-variant course changes/innovations/modifications. Others in parallel divisions would be tasked with nothing else but Empirical validation tests and experimentation upon the Divinitory method(s) employed to determine the most efficient means, as well as any unwitting biases employed in the Divinations (the above mentioned three are highly complex plotting methods and can be used in varying degrees among the three for more detailed repeat inquiries, the two Chinese methods being less prone to sub-conscious abuse/alteration).<br /><br />Another branch would be required to investigate the bio-social requirements for the most-productive distribution of resources, activities (not only work but secondary 'enrichment' activities that would then have the effect to disperse a variety of secondary skills throughout the population based upon aptitude and biological inclination (reaction to colours or sounds as well as a high degree of hand-eye coordination, resulting in secondary training as an artist).<br /><br />Other tasks would, of course, simply be assigned to the person based on the State's need for the position to be filled, but these would be filled by those physically capable, and mentally demonstrable of achieving success.<br /><br />'Commissars' would be redundant upon all levels of the culture, each familiar with their field and set to 'season' with experiences that allows them to spot inconsistencies or issues with production, etc.<br /><br /><br />--The Peoples' Automatic Union of my Urutsk setting, is precisely that sort of place, using humans with cybernetic modems implanted and overseen by an Artificial Intelligence.<br /><br />Reminiscent of East Germany.Timeshadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09952601433965644275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-55808738603854957042009-05-18T01:30:00.000+08:002009-05-18T01:30:00.000+08:00Love the gnome idea!Love the gnome idea!Blotzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06993967190131485391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-41499326661694581562009-05-17T20:51:00.000+08:002009-05-17T20:51:00.000+08:00A clever idea addressing a problem many gamers are...A clever idea addressing a problem many gamers aren't aware of. The list only has potential and the DM must use his imagination to extrapolate a quirk. This is better than a list of fully finished ideas that may not fit into a campaign.<br /><br />Your sample extrapolations are good too. <I>tiny, incremental steps that are relatively sure to be achieved.</I> Dwarves as scientists then? Doesn't seem to fit with 'hope' until hopeful is read as religious and it makes sense again. I think it is a robust idea.Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-12536758268934070272009-05-17T18:36:00.000+08:002009-05-17T18:36:00.000+08:00I think this is a really useful and interesting tr...I think this is a really useful and interesting train of thought. It probably requires a decent level of smarts on the players' parts to actually use it well ing ames, though.Zak Shttp://www.roadofknives.comnoreply@blogger.com