Michael Hopcroft Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Has anyone ever played in a fantasy world in which there are no humans at all and human PCs are forbidden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Bunnies & Burrows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citizen Keen Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Didn't B&B have NPC Humans as monsters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Originally posted by Citizen Keen Didn't B&B have NPC Humans as monsters? Yup. I was thinking about the "human pcs are forbidden" part rather than the "there are no humans at all" bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 I never have, but I might as well, since I almost never have a PC that's human. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 I've thought of running a campaign where humans were xtremely rare. Elves, Dqarfs and such were all over the place but no humans to speak of. Then of course I also started to get into a bit of a race war in my cmapaigns as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 I played in a few games of "Creeks & Crawdads". No humans in that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 For a brief moment I though that you was refering to a world with women only. It would be hard, but David Brin got as close as possible is his novel Glory Season. Back to your question, I am not comfortable playing with aliens or fantasy races and, as such, I don't think I would be to enjoy a campaign such as this, although the idea is very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Posted August 24, 2003 Report Share Posted August 24, 2003 Depending on how the GM and the players portray the non-humans, such a campaign wouldn't be so much different from a standard fantasy game. I will not comment about Tolkien himself (though I dislike his writings, I'm not knowledgeable enough in them to comment about the issue), but in most "Tolkien-clone" fantasy literature/gaming the non-humans either are: a) Humans in funny suits. Variations of humankind different enough to be considered non-humans, but so alike Tolkien stuff that there is no "mistery" in them anymore. c) Both of the above. Of course, if we go to the other extreme (fantasy races really different, alien, and mysterious), then we have a big problem too. It's mighty hard to roleplay them, specially without human PCs around to serve as foil. A careful balance between familiarity and "alienness" should be attained to make the most of such a campaign. Not an easy feat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kintara Posted August 24, 2003 Report Share Posted August 24, 2003 I can see playing a game with no humans in existence, but there are other, imo, cooler things you can do with the forbidden as PCs concept. I just finished a book called A Call to Arms, by Alan Dean Foster. It was a scifi story that was largely an allegory about humanity's addiction to violence and war (and war in general). Anyway, in the galaxy at large, nations and war within one's own species was unheard of, and most species were very much peaceful. None-the-less, there was a war going on between species with two factions, the Weave is an alliance of species largely independant of eachother, while the Amplitur had a borg-like obsession for integration of species (only they were genetic engineers and telepathic brainwashers). Anyway, the Weave found humanity, and was shocked at the violence prevalent in everything from the wars to our arts and mannerisms. On the other hand, humanity was unique in its ability to not only handle a war environment, but revel in it at times (plus we were quick and tough in comparison to most species). It's a cool story because it's an example of taking humanity and giving them a unique ability that we might consider average without the right context to place it in. You could create an interesting game centered thematically around a concept that humanity takes for granted as normal, and remove it from the races the players play. Then unleash humanity onto the unsuspecting elves and dwarves, and see how it unfolds. The book made it interesting with war and violence, but crime would be another interesting example. Or maybe it could be something we usually consider positive, maybe religious devotion and faith. Edit: About the book I mentioned, I think the story would, in fact, probably work better as a fantasy novel. Scifi has the trouble of being viewed through a science lens (and the scientific justifications of the situation are weak at best), and the story is more interesting as an allegory. Fantasy is good at allegory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starblaze Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 I read that trilogy, I thought it was pretty good. But then I like most everything he writes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storn Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Originally posted by Ron For a brief moment I though that you was refering to a world with women only. It would be hard, but David Brin got as close as possible is his novel Glory Season. Back to your question, I am not comfortable playing with aliens or fantasy races and, as such, I don't think I would be to enjoy a campaign such as this, although the idea is very interesting. Y: Last Man rocks at the moment (graphic nove/comic book). I didn't want to like it, thought the main idea was trite. But damn, if the characters are just great fun and the plot keeps going in very twisted ways. The fact that they take the time to do several issues in a small town in Ohio that has a secret to be revealed (and I should have seen it going, knowing the small town in Ohio) had wonderful pace. But that has nothing to do with this thread's intention. Yes. I ran a very successful, but brief game, when I was in high school that was High Fey. There were no humans. My PCs were a centaur, an elf, a dwarf and an NPC elf. Old women at the side of the road, usually had somehting of great import to say. HIstory was just littered throughout the local area and told of tales of great wars between Dark and Light elves. The centaur PC really drove much of the story, seeking to overcome racial distrust of his race by the more prevalent and powerful elves. It was short, it was D&D, but it worked til college beckoned and the group was scattered to the 4 winds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilFleischmann Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 I played in a FH campaign with no humans. The GM designed ten races of "animal-men" - erect-walking people with various animal-like characteristics. Let's see if I can remember them Baboon-men and Vulture-men - "cleric" types (I was a baboon-man) Elephant-men - wizards Zebra-men - Illusionists Hyena-men - theives Lion-men and Rhino-men - the fighter types Ostrich-men - aristocratic Scorpion-men - the bad guys Ant-men - minions of the scorpions There were rivalries and wars between the various races. The ostriches had formerly enslaved the rhinos. The zebras, being vegitarians, hate the lions. The elephants pretty much considered themselves superior to everyone. The hyenas were annoying. The baboons and vultures had diametrically opposed religious beliefs. Our ultimate goal was to reunite everyone in peace. It was a very cool campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 I've never tried it. I have no idea what my players would think. It's an intriguing idea. It would be a lot of work making up the backgrounds for 8 or so primary races, but it sounds like fun. Maybe I'll get around to it when my champions campaign goes on hiatus and someone else is running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregF Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Originally posted by Rene I will not comment about Tolkien himself (though I dislike his writings, I'm not knowledgeable enough in them to comment about the issue), but in most "Tolkien-clone" fantasy literature/gaming the non-humans either are: a) Humans in funny suits. Variations of humankind different enough to be considered non-humans, but so alike Tolkien stuff that there is no "mistery" in them anymore. c) Both of the above. Of course, if we go to the other extreme (fantasy races really different, alien, and mysterious), then we have a big problem too. It's mighty hard to roleplay them, specially without human PCs around to serve as foil. A careful balance between familiarity and "alienness" should be attained to make the most of such a campaign. Not an easy feat. This is an interesting point that doesn't seem to have been remarked on much. If non-humans don't think like humans do, (And they should be pretty different, in my opinion- one thing I disliked about the D&D I've played is that the major concern about the non-human races is how the stat bonuses affected things) then you have to establish a norm for behavior, morals, etc. for the race. To get variety amongst characters that could allow for roleplaying, you have to figure out how to deviate behavior within the standard to make a different persona that makes sense. Perhaps certain non-human aspects of animal behavior/personality could be stolen, especially in the cases of partially animal races. Maybe having a intelligent species that's territorial, or has no commitment to a mate might be interesting to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 Originally posted by GregF Maybe having a intelligent species that's territorial, or has no commitment to a mate might be interesting to deal with. So a race that acts like typical guys then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korvar Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Originally posted by GregF ThTo get variety amongst characters that could allow for roleplaying, you have to figure out how to deviate behavior within the standard to make a different persona that makes sense. I fondly recall a White Dwarf (British gaming magazine later turned into a Games Workshop catalogue) article detailing the psychology of Warhammer FRP races (Elves, Dwarves, Halflings). Each had an actual reason (whether physiological, cultural or whatever) for being the way they were, and each ended up with distinctive behavioural patterns. Cool stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 I ran an elvish game that occured - primarily - in elven lands. 5 elves and a dwarf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catseye Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Monsters Monsters! Humans exist... meat on the hoof! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsujin28 Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 I personally prefer running and playing in games where there are only humans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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