Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ninjazombie42 Jan 26, 2013 12:27:40	I was thinking about running a Dark Sun campaign. In my interpretation I was thinking that maybe halflings aren`t canibals, that only being a vicious rumour or something like that, an ignorant stereotype. I`m watching Roots right now, and some of the white folks there believe all africans are cannibals. I was thinking about changing up some og the racial assumptions without the players knowing it, making them ignorant assumptions and stereotypes. I`m playing with one of my best friends who is black, but we are norwegian so we do not have an inflamed history when it comes to race, it`s not as sensetive of an issue as in other countries, but I still don`t want to be insensetive or anything. The vikings had slaves/thralls, but that was a thousand years ago and distant history and the slaves were mostly english and white I believe.. So the issue of slavery is mostly just "fantasy" to us. Two questions: Has anyone run a Dark Sun campaign and changed it up a bit? What have been some of your alternative interpretations of the setting? Has slavery in the setting upset anyone of the players in your game, has it been a sensetive issue?
#2 Raddu76 Jan 26, 2013 12:42:04	Sounds like a good way to bring up stereotypes.  I've never had a problem with slavery/racism in my games and it comes up a lot. We usually play Athasian Halfling's as very opportunistic, they'll eat anything. It's not that they go out of their way to eat other intelligent beings, but they wont think twice about it either.
#3 ninjazombie42 Jan 26, 2013 12:49:07	Sounds like a good way to bring up stereotypes.  I've never had a problem with slavery/racism in my games and it comes up a lot. We usually play Athasian Halfling's as very opportunistic, they'll eat anything. It's not that they go out of their way to eat other intelligent beings, but they wont think twice about it either.  Yes, I think halflings are fun as written in the setting- close to nature and eating anything that is part of nature to survive. I just thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and do my own interpretation of the setting, as Wizards incourage DMs to do. Had any alternative interpretations of anything from the setting?
#4 RalofTyr Jan 26, 2013 21:53:29	Eating other sentient races isn't cannibalism.  Cannibalism is eating your own race; halflings don't eat each other.
#5 ninjazombie42 Jan 26, 2013 23:57:52	Eating other sentient races isn't cannibalism.  Cannibalism is eating your own race; halflings don't eat each other. That is a definition question, and besides the point really! Added: I wrote that last night, I didn`t mean it to sound so harsh! And you have a good point actually, but does it say a halfling wouldn`t eat another halfling anywhere?
#6 waxwingslain Jan 27, 2013 10:02:35	I think that exploring ideas of racism and stereotypes can be very interesting in the D&D setting; the "sweet spot" for that comes sometimes after the teenage years, when I think players are perfectly happy to exterminate orcs because they're orcs. There's a long period where people are educated and mature enough to question why they're butchering orc babies and whatnot, and seeing scholarly orcs and the like. I remember the Earthdawn setting blowing my mind when it had DWARF WIZARDS?? after AD&D 2E's pretty rigid racial roles. Later, I think it becomes interesting to look at why these stereotypes exist, even if it doesn't have to be the focus of your game story. Halflings can still be cannibals--they are in my Dark Sun campaign--without lazy racism if you think about how they are from a very different, isolated culture that simply doesn't have identical morality structures. The fact is that there were--and remain--cultures that think "cannibalism" is OK and even appropriate.
#7 Grummore Jan 29, 2013 12:15:41	Hey! Why leave some food out there to the beast outside, while you can spare your dry ration by eating fresh! There was some nice quote peoples wrote a long time ago: A halfling saying : "If you have too many cooks in the kitchen, consider throwing one in the pot". Another good one (but not about halfling) when 3.5e rules opened a classes to all races : "Sneaky sneaky goes I... This is I, Barhad, the Half-Giant rogue".
#8 ninjazombie42 Feb 01, 2013 17:35:27	I think that exploring ideas of racism and stereotypes can be very interesting in the D&D setting; the "sweet spot" for that comes sometimes after the teenage years, when I think players are perfectly happy to exterminate orcs because they're orcs. There's a long period where people are educated and mature enough to question why they're butchering orc babies and whatnot, and seeing scholarly orcs and the like. I remember the Earthdawn setting blowing my mind when it had DWARF WIZARDS?? after AD&D 2E's pretty rigid racial roles. Later, I think it becomes interesting to look at why these stereotypes exist, even if it doesn't have to be the focus of your game story. Halflings can still be cannibals--they are in my Dark Sun campaign--without lazy racism if you think about how they are from a very different, isolated culture that simply doesn't have identical morality structures. The fact is that there were--and remain--cultures that think "cannibalism" is OK and even appropriate. There WERE cultures where canabalism was pracised, but I think it is recognized that it is a myth that canabalistic cultures exist today, am I wrong?.. That is besides the point and I get what you are saying! But has anyone tweaked any of the assumptions of the setting in a big way? Anyone who has an alernative and cool interpretation of the setting?