Michael Hopcroft

The Unbearable Baggage of Orcing

The end of his generation is at hand. Although Mel Brooks is starting to become the literal 2,000-Year-Old Man.

The end of his generation is at hand. Although Mel Brooks is starting to become the literal 2,000-Year-Old Man.

I attended a Zoom fireside with my ward last night. I am ashamed to admit that I lost track after about the sixth or seventh person describing their experiences in the pandemic.
 
I have also attended Zoom song circles. I got to perform an a capella version of "The Middle Class" at one of them.

Every GM will have his own interpretation of "what Orcs should be" -- or elves, for that matter. World of Warcraft with its Orc player characters has probably helped alter players view of Orcs in other roleplaying games. The cultrue was still a bit one-note, but it was a little better.
 
Nobody believes they are evil. Nobody. Every atrocity was someone's idea who thought it was the right thing to do. I imagine that even the people in gaming who worship Mythos beings and other Dark Gods think they are making their lives and the lives of those they care about better. There is some understandable need or motive that leads a person to do what they do. In comics, for example, Doctor Doom may want to conquer the world, but he loves his own people in Latveria and some of them love him. He believes he can rule more effectively than the people in charge now, and so he strives to accomplish this in the most arrogant and demeaning way possible. He believes Reed Richards wronged him greatly, wounding his body and his soul,, and no apology from his rival could deter him from his quest for revenge. Is Doom evil?  When it comes to his interactions with other nations, superheroes, and particular the Fantastic Four, definitely.  He seeks to impose his new world order without bothers to convince anyone outside perhaps Latveria that it would be a better alternative to what they have now. In the process of imposing that order, thousands if not millions of people would die and suffer needlessly because of his pride. His new order, if imposed, would stifle the will and creativity of untold numbers of people as he has the fruit of their intellectual labor twisted to his advantage as all dictators try to do. He doesn't believe himself to be evil, but just about everyone else outside Latveria knows better. Another good example is Baron Klaus Wulfenbach from Girl Genius, performing atrocities and playing the evil mastermind in order to keep the "mad scientists" of Europa under control and create some semblance of peace.  Give a D&D or Fantasy campaign a brilliantly conceived villain like that and the possibilities are endless.
 
A contrary example is Lina Inverse, heroine of the Slayers anime franchise. She may be the one that prevents the destruction of her world with superior magical ability and resourcefulness, and we see the world mostly through her eyes, but she does not have a drop of benevolence in her. She slaughters raiding bandit gangs without hestitiation and instead of returning the loot to the people the bandits robbed she keeps it all for herself.  Her relationship with her companion is abusive, from beating him down by constantly telling him how stupid he is to beating him down with her fists. That he tolerates it is no excuse. Plus her powers come from the very beings she fights against -- the Demon Race of Mazoku. She thinks about herself first, last, and only. She is in many ways the archetype of a high-level PC who in the old D&D alignment system might fall into Chaotic Neutral depending on how selfishly she is played.
 
Have you ever wondered why Orcs raid agricultural villages and serve dark overlords who tell them to kill and kill? You can give reasons that don't paint them as pure hate personified. Perhaps Orcs raid villages because they need to survive. Their children would starve if they couldn't bring home the proceeds of the raid. They could in theory buy foodstuffs, but where would they get the money? Perhaps by enlisting in the army of a wizard, lich, or other Dark Lord who needs manpower to launch his latest scheme. It might not matter to the players -- the Orcs are still going to be deadly enemies most of the time -- but in the DMs mind it might make it easier for the GM to create more interesting encounters to have some idea why adversaries act the way they do.

On a personal note, I got a COVID-19 test today because I was short of breath, and although the results will take a few days I have been ordered to quarantine for a week. That's a precaution, but it means some things I want to do won't be happening.
 
The downside is that I just got this $100 gift card from the local affiliate of Kroger that I can't use because I can't go to the stores.
 
I do not have a fever or any other symptoms, so it is possible it will come up negative. But until the tests come back it will be an anxious weekend.
 

Keep us posted, Michael.

Holy crap, MIchael. Look after yourself!

Or perhaps she is a schoolteacher with an unlawful obsession with underage boys...
 
Seriously -- this is weird, disturbing stuff.

How about:
 
1. Powers are colorful and fun. Heroes are treated like celebrities -- with targets on their backs.
 
2. Fighting crime as a way to grab attention in Hollywood. ("I want my TMZ!)
 
I hope those two are not contradictory. But they do remind me of the Drake Einstein series in a similar game setting released when 5e and M&M were both new. Drake Einstein is an actor who built weapons to turn into a superhero to advance his career. His movie career isn't going anyplace spectacular, but the bad guys treat him like a real super and try to convert him into a real, dead super on several occasions.

Every GM will have his own interpretation of "what Orcs should be" -- or elves, for that matter. World of Warcraft with its Orc player characters has probably helped alter players view of Orcs in other roleplaying games. The cultrue was still a bit one-note, but it was a little better.
 
Nobody believes they are evil. Nobody. Every atrocity was someone's idea who thought it was the right thing to do. I imagine that even the people in gaming who worship Mythos beings and other Dark Gods think they are making their lives and the lives of those they care about better. There is some understandable need or motive that leads a person to do what they do. In comics, for example, Doctor Doom may want to conquer the world, but he loves his own people in Latveria and some of them love him. He believes he can rule more effectively than the people in charge now, and so he strives to accomplish this in the most arrogant and demeaning way possible. He believes Reed Richards wronged him greatly, wounding his body and his soul,, and no apology from his rival could deter him from his quest for revenge. Is Doom evil?  When it comes to his interactions with other nations, superheroes, and particular the Fantastic Four, definitely.  He seeks to impose his new world order without bothers to convince anyone outside perhaps Latveria that it would be a better alternative to what they have now. In the process of imposing that order, thousands if not millions of people would die and suffer needlessly because of his pride. His new order, if imposed, would stifle the will and creativity of untold numbers of people as he has the fruit of their intellectual labor twisted to his advantage as all dictators try to do. He doesn't believe himself to be evil, but just about everyone else outside Latveria knows better. Another good example is Baron Klaus Wulfenbach from Girl Genius, performing atrocities and playing the evil mastermind in order to keep the "mad scientists" of Europa under control and create some semblance of peace.  Give a D&D or Fantasy campaign a brilliantly conceived villain like that and the possibilities are endless.
 
A contrary example is Lina Inverse, heroine of the Slayers anime franchise. She may be the one that prevents the destruction of her world with superior magical ability and resourcefulness, and we see the world mostly through her eyes, but she does not have a drop of benevolence in her. She slaughters raiding bandit gangs without hestitiation and instead of returning the loot to the people the bandits robbed she keeps it all for herself.  Her relationship with her companion is abusive, from beating him down by constantly telling him how stupid he is to beating him down with her fists. That he tolerates it is no excuse. Plus her powers come from the very beings she fights against -- the Demon Race of Mazoku. She thinks about herself first, last, and only. She is in many ways the archetype of a high-level PC who in the old D&D alignment system might fall into Chaotic Neutral depending on how selfishly she is played.
 
Have you ever wondered why Orcs raid agricultural villages and serve dark overlords who tell them to kill and kill? You can give reasons that don't paint them as pure hate personified. Perhaps Orcs raid villages because they need to survive. Their children would starve if they couldn't bring home the proceeds of the raid. They could in theory buy foodstuffs, but where would they get the money? Perhaps by enlisting in the army of a wizard, lich, or other Dark Lord who needs manpower to launch his latest scheme. It might not matter to the players -- the Orcs are still going to be deadly enemies most of the time -- but in the DMs mind it might make it easier for the GM to create more interesting encounters to have some idea why adversaries act the way they do.

Every GM will have his own interpretation of "what Orcs should be" -- or elves, for that matter. World of Warcraft with its Orc player characters has probably helped alter players view of Orcs in other roleplaying games. The cultrue was still a bit one-note, but it was a little better.
 
Nobody believes they are evil. Nobody. Every atrocity was someone's idea who thought it was the right thing to do. I imagine that even the people in gaming who worship Mythos beings and other Dark Gods think they are making their lives and the lives of those they care about better. There is some understandable need or motive that leads a person to do what they do. In comics, for example, Doctor Doom may want to conquer the world, but he loves his own people in Latveria and some of them love him. He believes he can rule more effectively than the people in charge now, and so he strives to accomplish this in the most arrogant and demeaning way possible. He believes Reed Richards wronged him greatly, wounding his body and his soul,, and no apology from his rival could deter him from his quest for revenge. Is Doom evil?  When it comes to his interactions with other nations, superheroes, and particular the Fantastic Four, definitely.  He seeks to impose his new world order without bothers to convince anyone outside perhaps Latveria that it would be a better alternative to what they have now. In the process of imposing that order, thousands if not millions of people would die and suffer needlessly because of his pride. His new order, if imposed, would stifle the will and creativity of untold numbers of people as he has the fruit of their intellectual labor twisted to his advantage as all dictators try to do. He doesn't believe himself to be evil, but just about everyone else outside Latveria knows better. Another good example is Baron Klaus Wulfenbach from Girl Genius, performing atrocities and playing the evil mastermind in order to keep the "mad scientists" of Europa under control and create some semblance of peace.  Give a D&D or Fantasy campaign a brilliantly conceived villain like that and the possibilities are endless.
 
A contrary example is Lina Inverse, heroine of the Slayers anime franchise. She may be the one that prevents the destruction of her world with superior magical ability and resourcefulness, and we see the world mostly through her eyes, but she does not have a drop of benevolence in her. She slaughters raiding bandit gangs without hestitiation and instead of returning the loot to the people the bandits robbed she keeps it all for herself.  Her relationship with her companion is abusive, from beating him down by constantly telling him how stupid he is to beating him down with her fists. That he tolerates it is no excuse. Plus her powers come from the very beings she fights against -- the Demon Race of Mazoku. She thinks about herself first, last, and only. She is in many ways the archetype of a high-level PC who in the old D&D alignment system might fall into Chaotic Neutral depending on how selfishly she is played.
 
Have you ever wondered why Orcs raid agricultural villages and serve dark overlords who tell them to kill and kill? You can give reasons that don't paint them as pure hate personified. Perhaps Orcs raid villages because they need to survive. Their children would starve if they couldn't bring home the proceeds of the raid. They could in theory buy foodstuffs, but where would they get the money? Perhaps by enlisting in the army of a wizard, lich, or other Dark Lord who needs manpower to launch his latest scheme. It might not matter to the players -- the Orcs are still going to be deadly enemies most of the time -- but in the DMs mind it might make it easier for the GM to create more interesting encounters to have some idea why adversaries act the way they do.

I agree that this is long overdue. It's a trope that has outlived its usefulness in a lot of places. (It's also especially common  on Doctor Who -- aliens are usually inherently evil and a threat to Earth simply because they are aliens, Humans are justifiably xenophobic under this persistent threat, one person shows up out of nowhere to guide us to victory... Sounds eerily familiar...)
 
Demons were mentioned. In worlds inspired by Judeo-Christian tradition, demons could be fallen angels ured to darkness by understandable desires, so perhaps dome demons can be redeemed and return to glory. Perhaps PCs might find themselves helping that process along.
 
And this doesn't mean individual or even large groups of intelligent monsters can't be evil -- it just reaffirms that they are sapient beings capable of making moral choices. I can easily imagine a wizard becoming a lich because he wants to preserve something he holds dear and only then faces the losses and temptations that come with undeath.
 
As Finn points out in Adventure Time, pure evil villains are "basic" and dull over the long term. It might not be a problem if you just want to go into a deep pit and bash anything you find there, bu if you want a longer-running storyarc recognizable motives for bad guys beyond "I am EVIL, and I hate everything and everybody because EVIL!" can make a campaign a truly compelling experience.l (The Lich Finn was referring to is terrifying almost beyond belief, but wasn;t a good long-term adversary. Going beyond the good/evil dividing line was something Adventure Time did very well.)

And Houston has become on of the country's biggest Coronavirus hotspots. Jim Crane wants to set upa  situation where thousands of people will be in the same outdoor arena in conditions where masking is very difficult for long periods and distancing would be impossible to enforce, in a city where the virus is communicating itself like crazy. It takes a special kind of arrogance to put that forward now, with everything that is going on..

I agree that this is long overdue. It's a trope that has outlived its usefulness in a lot of places. (It's also especially common  on Doctor Who -- aliens are usually inherently evil and a threat to Earth simply because they are aliens, Humans are justifiably xenophobic under this persistent threat, one person shows up out of nowhere to guide us to victory... Sounds eerily familiar...)
 
Demons were mentioned. In worlds inspired by Judeo-Christian tradition, demons could be fallen angels ured to darkness by understandable desires, so perhaps dome demons can be redeemed and return to glory. Perhaps PCs might find themselves helping that process along.
 
And this doesn't mean individual or even large groups of intelligent monsters can't be evil -- it just reaffirms that they are sapient beings capable of making moral choices. I can easily imagine a wizard becoming a lich because he wants to preserve something he holds dear and only then faces the losses and temptations that come with undeath.
 
As Finn points out in Adventure Time, pure evil villains are "basic" and dull over the long term. It might not be a problem if you just want to go into a deep pit and bash anything you find there, bu if you want a longer-running storyarc recognizable motives for bad guys beyond "I am EVIL, and I hate everything and everybody because EVIL!" can make a campaign a truly compelling experience.l (The Lich Finn was referring to is terrifying almost beyond belief, but wasn;t a good long-term adversary. Going beyond the good/evil dividing line was something Adventure Time did very well.)

Duck Soup: The story of a pseudo-fascist co9n man who swindles his way to poqwer, only to find himself way over his head and to lead  his nation into pointless wars in which he fires on his own men.
 
The only difference between the Donald and Rufus T. Firefly is that Firefly was actually smart (unqualified for public office of any capacity, and possible guilty of multiple felony frauds, but smart).

Duck Soup: The story of a pseudo-fascist co9n man who swindles his way to poqwer, only to find himself way over his head and to lead  his nation into pointless wars in which he fires on his own men.
 
The only difference between the Donald and Rufus T. Firefly is that Firefly was actually smart (unqualified for public office of any capacity, and possible guilty of multiple felony frauds, but smart).

Duck Soup: The story of a pseudo-fascist co9n man who swindles his way to poqwer, only to find himself way over his head and to lead  his nation into pointless wars in which he fires on his own men.
 
The only difference between the Donald and Rufus T. Firefly is that Firefly was actually smart (unqualified for public office of any capacity, and possible guilty of multiple felony frauds, but smart).

Right now I am mainly hearing the booming bass of my upstairs neighbor's excessive sound system.

Which reminds me I need more masks, hopefully more comfortable ones that won't fog up my glasses so badly.

The funny thing is that this song was recorded in concert on 1 of 2 nights a couple of years ago. Lady P and I were at that concert. So there's a 50% chance I was there when this song was recorded.

The picture refers to the use of the song in the animated film Sing!.

I for one do not welcome our kangaroo overlords. Their courts are terrible.

I for one do not welcome our kangaroo overlords. Their courts are terrible.