Lilia Lia
You raise fair points, but again I feel that a person's right to play a character however they want (provided they respect the setting) is entirely uncompromisable. That said, I do agree that the existence of common views should be acknowledged as such. Though I cannot say without evidence, it sounds to me as if your experiences are with people who struggle with such.
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It is unfortunate that Lilia is perceived negatively for her beliefs. I've not seen such happen myself, but I can imagine that it does. Honestly, that may drive some people away from playing more conventional characters. It is a bit unreasonable to do that unless the characters in question are the sort to question the belief of every average person they come across. That said, some people play characters who just might. Some characters are pretty loud about their disdain for bigotry, as rebellious as that is. They may even go to far and become an actual problem in and of itself doing so. Our own world sees this often enough, in varying severity. From "activists" who stab and shadows and actively demonize disagreement to cultural revolutionaries who cross the line and become violent terrorists. That isn't to say that's necessarily what your character may have experienced, but it is food for thought.
 I agree that racism as a concept probably isn't something people are widely aware of. People still may question Lilia's beliefs with 'why'. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Some may do so loudly, maybe even angrily for their own reasons. It is going to become a point of contention, I believe, one way or the other. Just as a rebel should find pressure from the norms of the world at large, a traditonalist will find themselves challenged as well by a force of change. Dark themes cause conflict, which I would always welcome to any story. You'd be hard-pressed to have a very exciting or moving one without it. It would be pretty boring if EVERYONE obeyed the social rules of society, don't you think?
I sincerely hope you've not experienced any OOC stigma from your character's beliefs. I know that much may be a possibility, but if people are judging someone for their character's actions or words, they're probably not especially good roleplayers and wouldn't be someone I would mourn avoiding interaction with.
(08-05-2015, 04:13 PM)undefined Wrote:(08-05-2015, 03:56 PM)Nadine Marteau Wrote: Unless you're in the business of telling people what they should and should not be playing, I'm not sure why character's tending towards the open-minded is a bad thing.
It also doesn't seem lore appropriate to me that characters would have such a worldview simply because they are "adventurers who travel a lot." Christopher Columbus didn't stop being racist when he discovered the Americas. Historically speaking, people who contributed to the more enlightened modern attitude towards physical race were intellectuals and scholars, both inside and outside the oppressed groups, rather than being "worldly people" per se. Most of this change in attitude took place in universities and places of higher education.Â
And the other items you listed - tradespeople/merchants, criminals/outcasts, specialized mercenaries - well, I just don't see the connection between their line of work and their general worldview. If anything, I would imagine such people probably have less formal education and are therefore less likely to have distinctive or sophisticated belief systems.
You raise fair points, but again I feel that a person's right to play a character however they want (provided they respect the setting) is entirely uncompromisable. That said, I do agree that the existence of common views should be acknowledged as such. Though I cannot say without evidence, it sounds to me as if your experiences are with people who struggle with such.
Â
It is unfortunate that Lilia is perceived negatively for her beliefs. I've not seen such happen myself, but I can imagine that it does. Honestly, that may drive some people away from playing more conventional characters. It is a bit unreasonable to do that unless the characters in question are the sort to question the belief of every average person they come across. That said, some people play characters who just might. Some characters are pretty loud about their disdain for bigotry, as rebellious as that is. They may even go to far and become an actual problem in and of itself doing so. Our own world sees this often enough, in varying severity. From "activists" who stab and shadows and actively demonize disagreement to cultural revolutionaries who cross the line and become violent terrorists. That isn't to say that's necessarily what your character may have experienced, but it is food for thought.
 I agree that racism as a concept probably isn't something people are widely aware of. People still may question Lilia's beliefs with 'why'. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Some may do so loudly, maybe even angrily for their own reasons. It is going to become a point of contention, I believe, one way or the other. Just as a rebel should find pressure from the norms of the world at large, a traditonalist will find themselves challenged as well by a force of change. Dark themes cause conflict, which I would always welcome to any story. You'd be hard-pressed to have a very exciting or moving one without it. It would be pretty boring if EVERYONE obeyed the social rules of society, don't you think?
I sincerely hope you've not experienced any OOC stigma from your character's beliefs. I know that much may be a possibility, but if people are judging someone for their character's actions or words, they're probably not especially good roleplayers and wouldn't be someone I would mourn avoiding interaction with.
