Racial Villification, did you feel any?

[kingthrall]

Maybe this sounds absurd and no I dont wan't more/less racism just observation.

 

Ok there were very few isntances in the game where I felt my character who was a Wild Orlan felt racially abused. Of course that encounter at the start with the elf also. Only that one guard in a certasin city says his disdain of "untrustworthy" orlans and an encounter with some pale elves.

 

Anyway it seemed like this huge press on religion instead of race in dialog without writing a page of text of spoilers.  The reason I bring this up is because when you create your character it describes orlans as being generally mischievious ect and you have the whole background of where you are from but it seems to be of little regard generally speaking in dialog choices.

 

I dunno it just seemed like every community I went to generally speaking was so harmonious with each other and worked together happily but hated each other for being with a different faction or believed in a different god. Minor descriptive spoiler 

Theres even a quest about a sacrifice an Orlan baby getting sacrificed by a father not of his seed but he cares more about lineage than race.

 

Finnaly the games history books do explain there were racial tensions but one thing is reading it and another is playing your character in the present world.

 

Anyway what do you fine folks think :D

[AncientToaster]

I think you're trying to blow something minor out of proportion.

[Monte Carlo]

I think the racial descriptions in-game and during character creation make it *very* clear in this setting there is relatively little racial tension / discrimination as we know it. For example, you get Vailian dwarves, elves and humans (how this genetic mash-up works is neither here nor there) as much as you get pale-skinned iterations of these races.

 

There is slavery, but it's pretty equal-opportunities slavery.

 

In short, it's a sort of Star Trek - The Next Generation with sorcery, where a devoutly religious, quasi-high-medieval culture has evolved with a fairly relaxed take on blood and race, but a more nuanced view on faith and culture (souls and stuff would explain that, I suspect, after all your next soul could be of any race which is quite unifying when you think of it).

 

It's fantasy. It's agreeably different IMO, but I detect the desire to avoid unfortunate R/W comparisons when it comes to matters of race (etc). Understandable.

 

Tired as I am of the hysterical American kulturkampf when it comes to these matters, I'll leave it there.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Monte Carlo

[Varana]

Yes, religious and cultural divisions are more important in this game's world than race.

So what?

[kaiki]

As race, the concept we're familiar with, is a somewhat modern construction it seems appropriate that in the fantasy setting of poe there is more a focus on religious & cultural differences.

[RedSocialKnight]

Yeah, most of the tensions are between two different multiracial cultures -- Aedyr is human/elven, Glanfath elven/orlan, and there's in-game lore for how tensions between orlans and humans in Dyrwood has eased over the past century. So specifically racial hostility is present but low-level.

 

I do find it a little weird how easily the Glanfathan Hiravias steps into your group, but then he is supposed to be kind of an outsider type in his own culture, so it's not too bad.

 

One thing I do think there should be more of: the in-game lore emphasizes that godlikes are often considered either freaks or blessed, but neither strong reaction comes up often for a godlike PC. We hear about Pallegina's troubles in childhood, but that's about it.

[kaiki]

One thing I do think there should be more of: the in-game lore emphasizes that godlikes are often considered either freaks or blessed, but neither strong reaction comes up often for a godlike PC. We hear about Pallegina's troubles in childhood, but that's about it.

 

Agreed. My pc is a death godlike and I feel slightly disappointed that he is treated like an average joe. I would have enjoyed one threat of being run out of town by a mob with pitchforks. There's always hope for that in the expansion.

[Tigranes]

In-lore, I think Dyrwood itself as a colonial melting pot region makes outright or institutionalised discrimination less likely, though you do see many NPCs talk about other Orlans in a disdainful tone. And of course, the major 'racial' division within the gameworld is with the 'natives'.

 

I'd think things are different in the Republics or Aedyr. 

[Gotcha!]

I'm not sure where you're trying to go with this, OP, so I'm not sure about what I need to think. 

[Irrevenant]

Playing as a Death Godlike, I was hoping that someone would have had something to say about it in Defiance Bay and beyond. Guess not.

 

Also, thought it was weird that some NPCs made reference to my character's eyes despite them not being visible.

[Monte Carlo]

I'm not sure where you're trying to go with this, OP, so I'm not sure about what I need to think. 

 

Am going to give benefit of the doubt and say perhaps he's expecting Forgotten Realms style antipathy, for example Dwarves and Elves (etc).

[MLMII]

Although in general I'm not sure that I'd agree that in a fantasy setting where "race" actually denotes something meaningful that racial tensions wouldn't be a very real part of life and I think Shadowrun summed it up quite nicely with; "Who cares what color your skin is when that THING over there has horns!" 

 

 

However with that said, I do agree that the entire rebirth cycle would tend to dampen racism, sans a belief that your soul's racial rebirth could be influenced by morality of course.

[AncientToaster]

PoE's world shouldn't be sunshine, rainbows and happiness. The fact that there are racial tensions, religious wars and other controversial subjects gives their fictional world a sense of realism.

 

I still don't know where the TC is going with this topic either, is he upset over racism of a fictional race in a fantasy fictional universe?

[Irrevenant]

The TC is just commenting on the lack of Fantastic Racism.

[yaggaz]

The game would really suck if there weren't racial tensions going on.     It's part of what makes it something we can relate to, and try to fix through roleplay and choices.

[Svirfneblin]

There isn't much racial reactivity in game from what I've seen.

[MLMII]

You see I would tend to disagree, if racial tensions are part of the background setting then being able to "fix them" just ... cheapens ... the entire concept to me.

[Labadal]

I heard some people looking down on orlans as far as I remember.

[AncientToaster]

Maybe I'm just not understanding the topic, or maybe I'm not understanding the game world either. I swear I've seen racial bias towards Orlans and the Godlike, am I just going crazy here?

[MLMII]

I think it's more of a "why isn't there more of it" .... comment originally.

[Faerunner]

I kind of have to agree with the OP.

 

Race-relations in Dyrwood seems be a case of "Tell, Don't Show." We're told lore-wise that orlans are historically oppressed and still second-class (much like DA's elves), and we run across a few victimized orlan NPCs who tell us about the discrimination they face or have faced growing up (being expected to fill cups rather than participate in celebrations, being expected never to backtalk larger kith, being scapegoated for someone else's bad behavior, etc), but the PC is NEVER treated the way the text or NPCs describe. (Same with Godlike.)

 

I guess I wouldn't mind so much if companions and/or NPCs didn't treat every orlan and godlike we encounter one way, then treat the PC completely differently.

 

For example, the party often comments on Pellegrina's unusual features, but not a peep about the Godlike PC's. Many orlans we encounter mention how larger kith expect(ed) them or defer to them, yet the Orlan PC is always immediately accepted as a person of consequence (no irony or skepticism that an orlan could lead an adventure party/be able to get the job done), and can mouth off to larger kith without them being particularly upset that a lowly orlan dared backtalk them. (Although, there was that one time...  )

 

Oh well, it is what it is.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Faerunner

[Katarack21]

I can agree with that. There is a discrepency between how Orlan NPC's talk about being treated and how other NPC's discuss orlans, and how an Orlan PC is treated within the game world.

This is a reflection of issues with reactivity in general within the game. Nobody in the game world makes a peep about you being a Priest of Eothas, either, as far as I can tell.

[Psychevore]

Can anyone explain to me why games in general speak of race, while we're clearly dealing with species?

 

Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Pillars and pretty much everything else I've ever played in my life.

[kaiki]

Can anyone explain to me why games in general speak of race, while we're clearly dealing with species?

 

Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Pillars and pretty much everything else I've ever played in my life.

 

In those settings race is used in place of species. Race fits better as well since "species" is a scientific term while "race" is not. So if in a fantasy, sci-fi or whatever setting race can still fit while species may not.

 

Not saying you're wrong about the different races being different species, it's just terminology.

[MLMII]

Partially linguistic shorthand and also partially because in pretty much every video game the different "species" are really just the "people of the silly hats".