I am sorry if this is something basic that has been discussed to death before but I feel like I need to get this out of my system before I ruin friendships by wishing centuries of humiliation on people for the way they play pretend.
I had a casual chat with a friend and fellow GM about our current campaigns and worldbuilding. At some point beast races come up and I mention I like gnolls and give a few short details about their society in my setting. In response I get an explanation that he can’t have this kind of characterization because of Goebbles level bullshittery about how beastmen are inherently savage and destructive and basically a swarm of pests that has to be put down. And how this is necessary in order to address the moral issues of what to do with beastmen non-combatants. Essentially giving players moral license to commit genocide and still be considered “good” in-universe.
It felt so fucking unreal seeing how normally chill people can almost reproduce word for word the vile shit that Zionists are using right fucking now as a justification for mass murder and not have a single moment of “oh shit wait wtf am I saying”. I had to step away from the keyboard and calm down. I hate how concept of “sapient creatures that are completely and irredeemably evil and are specifically designed to be slaughtered” is seen as something completely normal and even expected. Gygax was a piece of shit genocide enthusiast who deserves to rot in hell and it’s high time that we move on from colonial plunder sims with dragons and obligatory others that exist only to be killed and looted.
You are building an imaginary world and there are no limits. The genre is literally called imagination. There is no excuse for consciously designing entire species that are designated for slaughter and reproducing some of the vilest ideologies ever thought up by humans as a pillar of your worldbuilding.
That’s it I guess. That’s the rant. Thanks for reading. I am doing my best trying to give positive portrayals of non-human societies in my games and also trying to get my friends to play other games that aren’t built from around breaking into others’ homes to kill them and take their stuff.
We already have a group of semi-intelligent four-limbed upright-walking baddies you can mindlessly slaughter, they’re called undead. Works great too because the undead masses generally don’t have free will. Replace undead with robots for a sci-fi setting.
If you’re killing and plundering sapient (is that the right word?) creatures for no good reason, you’re the baddies.
And if you do kill sophonts, there should be consequences! But the D&D system is entirely killing-focused and the concept of “surrender” baffles the average player.
Even undead were conscious in Discworld, which I found always compelling in it’s willingness to sympathize with (almost) all creatures. But they were a subset which had maintained consciousness when undead, while some had no such capabilities (I think?)
I guess you run into the issue though, which many zombie things run into) that the only way to make unconscious zombie fights harder is increased health and more of them. Anything else starts to not make sense, because any strategy/skillful use of something starts to make one reconsider.
Is there a solution to this anyone can think of? Zombies great in logistics/traps but somehow not consciousness? Is that possible? Zombies who can cast spells in directed ways without consciousness?
PF2e has, among other zombie types:
Plus you can add extra abilities to them, like sickening attackers, an aura of rot that putrifies open wounds, limbs that fall off on a crit and start attacking independently of the zombie, swarms that spill out on death, and the classic acid spitting.
Sounds fun! Is there a way this is explained in any lore sense for RPG senses? I guess we already have to believe warlocks and wizards and shit, but they usually have explanations
Some are the result of their condition on being raised (bodies that dried instead of decomposing become husks, and stuff that died in a tar pit becomes a tar zombie), others are made with different magic that changes with their abilities, or might be animated by nontraditional methods.
“I have a missive for you, and you’re not going to like it.”
Even the undead can have story and feelings. The shambling horde isn’t shambling 24/7.
I think there was a bit in Guild Wars 2 where one sector is under the rule of a necromancer, but it’s mentioned that families appreciate that they don’t have to leave their beloved ancestors.