Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

[arcady]

In my setting, 90% of the people in the world are human, 5% are drake (humanoid dragons), and everyone else fills in the rest...

 

Should I give the non humans distinctive features as people who stand out, or social limitations as people who are kept out?

 

Generally speaking, most of the non humans one would deal with are not treated with the same respect as humans. Outside of the drakes, most of them are the results of humans mixing with fearie (centaurs, mermaids, pixies, dryads and so on give this), or the magical experiments of humans (cat people, wolf people, chimps, pig peopls, minotaurs, and so on).

 

Humans look down on them all to one degree or another, the races of animal origin are reffered to as 'beastlings' for example, in a derrogatory manner.

 

Both disads might apply, but I'm not sure which fits best.

 

Thoughts?

[Nolgroth]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

Based on your explanation, both are appropriate, though I would tend to side with Social Limitation over Distinctive Features if I had to choose one or the either.

 

The extent of the limitation would, of course, depend on how loathed a particular specimen was. If they are viewed with contempt and disregard, then probably a minor limitation. If they are particularly hated, like Frankenstein's monster, then the limitation would be a little more severe.

 

Of course, YMMV.

[Old Man]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

Agreed, both would apply considering that they not only look, smell. sound different, they are also social outcasts.

 

Of course it also depends on where the campaign takes place.

[arcady]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

I'm leaning on just giving one of them, so as to not clutter up too many of the disads of a non human.

 

They all look distinctive, but not to each other and not once you get a pack of them in a room.

 

You can logic this both ways:

 

1) Put three Drakes in a room, and you'll have a rainbow of color patterns and wing shapes. So are they still disctinctive to each other?

 

2) drop a human in the room, and he might say 'they all look alike to me'. So are they disctinctive when what makes them disctinctive no longer lets the human figure out which one it was he was talking to last godsday?

 

So I'm leaning towards social limitation. Minority groups tend to self opporese after it has become institutionalized - "you aren't acting cat enough bub" or "I wouldn't let my sister date a human," and so on... so even away from a group of humans, the social restrictions would hold unless they were in an abnormal society.

 

All of the dominant civilizations in my setting are Human established and human run - even the drake, children of dragons, have no hold on power. Most of the races have always lived alongside humanity - since mages bred them into being, or fled into the wilds from their fey nature asserting itself.

 

The only group that I know lives apart from humanity are the bird people and those few breeds of drakes with functional wings.

 

But I'm only half sure on choices for this, and I could still consider giving both...

[dbsousa]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

I have a friend who lived briefly in Japan.

 

He had Social Limitation: American. He looked different enough that people treated him differently.

 

He also had Distinctive Features: American. Passing dogs universally regarded him as a stranger by his "american" scent.

[Blue Jogger]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

Distinctive Features is "What did he look like?" "What did he look like, he looked like a Drake! How many Drakes to you have in Humantown?" In extreme cases, people will have an adverse reaction to being Distinctive. "We don't serve Drakes in this bar."

 

Then again, Humans in Draketown will have the Distinctive Features and the Drakes will be one of the crowd. But since this is extremely rare, it's worth 0 points.

 

Social Limitation is more based on your position in the society and how you interact with it. Public Identity, Secret Identity, Being a Famous Noble or a Slave/Peasant are all part of that. Usually Social Limitations are Distinctive Features without the Features being so Distinctive that you can spot them easily in a crowd.

[Markdoc]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

I would say either/both, depending on the character.

 

For example all Drakes have distinctive features in a human dominated world: without magic, they all look like Drakes and people tend to react initially based on appearance.

 

Social limitation is more flexible - a drake raised in a remote area withonly other drakes might not now it was considered bad form to eat people's pets, while one raised in close contact with humans would - so one gets social limitation, the other does not.

 

cheers, Mark

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

I think of the difference like this:

 

Distinctive Features is more of a tactical disadvantage: you stand out in people's memories, it's difficult to blend in with the crown, you are easily identified.

 

Whereas Social Limitation is more, well, social. People's societal reactions to you.

 

Being an albino is a distinctive feature. There aren't many albinos and if you see one, you are likely to remember him. But no one is bigoted against albinos.

 

It sounds like non-humans in your campaign might have both DF and SL. AFAIK, most prejudices don't really get going in a society (at least enough to qualify as a Soc Lim), until the minority group start growing to larger numbers. "I didn't mind when it was just a few of them in their own neighborhood, but now it seems like they're taking over the place!" I'm not sure if drakes being only 1/20 of the population is enough to trigger large-scale bigotry in a way that actually qualifies for a Soc Lim. And if less than one in a hundred people is a catman, why would anyone see them as a threat or hate them? Don't people like cats? They're so soft and furry and cute! Although they certainly could if that's the way you want it in your world.

[arcady]

Re: Non-humans in a mostly human world: social limitation or distinctive features?

 

The social lim aspect would be a general one applying to all non humans in roughly the same manner - you're not human, you're a second class member of society.

 

Doesn't matter if you're a cat, a dog, or a drake. The only few exceptions are the "races" humans fear - dragons and pure faerie.

 

As a collective whole, the ten percent of society that isn't human is looked down upon, and most of the terms and names for them are derogatory in nature and origin. In 'the empire' for example, there simply isn't a word for the animal-bred races that isn't somewhat demeaning. They're called beastlings if they look more animal, or manling if they look more human (think classic anime cat girl), or just reffered to by the name of the animal they come from as if they were that animal (in my story 'Moving On', Chaire is simply reffered to as a cat).