Touching It with a Barge Pole

Let's lighten things up around here and talk about racism.

Somebody put up a thread over at rpg.net with the provocative title Playing in a Racist Campaign the other day, and I just had to break my self-imposed rpg.net pointless-debate vow of silence. Namely here, here and here.

Partly because, to be honest, it's a pet hate of mine when people on internet forums drop in the middle of a debate with a self-aggrandising "I am clearly on the side of the angels" post which adds absolutely nothing substantive. But also because, really, I had to know whether or not I'm alone in thinking that there's something strange about the moral compass of a great many D&D players.

Namely: there seems to be a tendency among a large group, let's call them a sizeable minority, to eliminate issues of racism (I suppose sexism too) in the campaigns in which they play - that is, to give characters the attitudes which young, urban, middle-class types in the real, modern day world profess to have. Bob the dwarf and Lothario the elf might be non-human mystical beings from a pseudo-medieval world in which dragons exist, but hey, deep down inside they're not really any different to Bob the SOAS lecturer and Lothario the Dentist from Dublin in our reality.

What's weird about this is not the laudable attitude that racism and sexism are bad and it would be nice if everybody did have the tolerant attitudes of Bob the SOAS lecturer. What's weird is that Bob the dwarf and Lothario the elf have probably killed dozens of orcs in their lifetime just for being orcs, have probably either first or second hand knowledge of rape and torture, think nothing of pillage and burglary, and regularly engage in bouts of violence against unthinking animals which in our world would bring the RSPCA and PETA down on them like a ton of feathers. In other words: Nothing about these people is at all like a modern day, real world, young, urban, middle-class person - either in attitude or experience. Apart from the fact that they're carefully and deliberately not bigoted.

Does anybody else think this is odd, not to say morally contradictory? Why is it that issues of bigotry are swept under the carpet, but ultra-violence (usually racially motivated ultra-violence at that) is a critical part of almost every single D&D campaign that has ever been? That is to say, why is racism apparently ranked higher than murder in the heirarchy of things that are bad?

I'm not arguing that D&D shouldn't be violent. Nor am I arguing that it is, or should be, racist. I am arguing that it's rather unrealistic and strange for a D&D campaign to not even deal with the idea that, hey, people of difference races probably don't get along so well together, especially given all the sectarian and racially motivated killing that goes on. That the issue should not even be explored requires a huge suspension of disbelief. Moreover, it is kind of worrying to me that squeamishness about racism is a commonplace in the gaming community, but squeamishness about murder generally isn't.

Also note: I hate having to say this, because it should be taken as read, but of course I think that real-world racism is a blight on society that needs to be got rid of. Just to make that clear.

Half-Dwarves

Although not as common as half-elves or half-orcs, half-dwarves can be found in certain parts of the world where there is regular contact between dwarves and humans. Most are products of political unions, it must be said, although there are some occasions when a pretty young dwarf maiden, sans beard as is the fashion in youthful dwarven females, catches the eye of a human swain.

Most half-dwarves could pass for either a short and stocky human, or an unusually tall or slender dwarf. Their appearance varies as to which society they are integrated into: those who live in human areas tend to trim their beards or shave them off entirely; those who live alongside dwarves usually let their beards grow.

Half-dwarf

Ability Score Requirements:

STR 6/18
DEX 3/18
CON 9/18
INT 3/18
WIS 3/18
CHR 3/18

Average Height and Weight:

Height: 49/46 +1d10
Weight: 135/100 +4d10

Special Abilities:

Half-dwarves should roll 3 times on the following table to determine their special abilities. By default, they have no special abilities except 30' infravision and magical resistance, and cannot use wizard magic.

1 - The character can use magic and adventure as a wizard, but does not have dwarven magical resistance.
2- The character has infravision to 60'.
3 - The character has the resistance to poison which dwarves enjoy.
4 - The character has a dwarf's mining abilities.
5 - The character has +1 to his attacks when fighting an orc, half-orc, goblin, hobgoblin or bugbear.
6 - The character has +1 to CON, but -1 to CHR.

Half-dwarves can be any class - including wizards if they roll a 1 on the special ability table. They have unlimited advancement as a fighter or cleric, and can advance to level 14 in any other class.