ZamorianBlade said:
Is anyone else uncomfortable with Negative Racial attributes?
Picts are (-2) less intelligent than other Humans
I find this unacceptable for a number of reasons. It emplies an Intellectual basis for believing that such difference exist. Most of us will understand that while a primitive race will not understand the world as we do their intelligence is the same.
Not in the world Howard wrote. One of his central themes was the concept of atributes passed on by blood and the consequences of racial isolation and racial mingling. -2 Int describes Howard's Picts prety well.
I understand that it is merely a game deviece designed to Balance play. I do understand that Conan RPG is only a Game and not reality. It does however reflect on the Game's designers and those of us who play the Game. Game balance can easily beachieve through other means.
It isn't about game balance at all. Howard comes to us from a different age and while I dont' intend to turn this thread into a debate over wither the man (or his contemporaries, such as HPL) were racist (that debate has raged for over a half century now) I will point out that these concepts are a critical part of the thematic background for Conan's world, a world that is perhaps harsher and more brutal than even our own, and those of us who are mature enough to want to play in that world desire to hew as close to the source material as possible.
Conan's great strength is that he sees the world through his own eyes. He does not accept or acknowledge the Prejudices of others. He takes People and situations as he finds them.
While Conan does in fact hold as closely to racist attitudes as any of Howard's other characters (damn but he hates Picts, Nordhenhimers and Hyperborians) you are mostly correct about him being a "come as you are" type of guy. It is at this point that I will remind you that Cimerians are another -2 Int race and direct you to my fruther comments below.
I cannot help but notice that the more removed a Race is from a White Caucasion the more significant the reduction in attributes. I hope that this thread does not appear petty- I do feel it is more significant than it might appear.
Not true at all. Many of the non-white races of the Hyborian age are quite admirable for a number of reasons, just different reasons than an Int bonus. You see, REH had this idea in his head that the essential conflict of history was not a clash of skin color nor of social class but a struggle between civilization and barbarism. Howard is famous for remarking that "barbarism is the natural state of mankind" and that "Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.". Note that many of Howard's most vile villans come from "decadent" societies, cultures that have isolated themseves from the outside world and let their blood grow too thin while descending into hedonism and madness. Meanwhile Conan's "come as you are" aittude which you venerate so much is not due to any open-mindedness on his part but rather a complete lack of consideration for anyone not able to support their position at sword-point. If you were obnixous he would either ignore you or crack your head open depending on how annoying you were and which side of the bed he got up on that morning: and he evaluated other men based on their race all the time.
I think that I shold also mention that while the Picts are often portrayed as the bad guys in the Conan tales that is only because they are told from the POV of Conan and Conan hates Picts with an abiding passion. In fact the Picts were the
favorite of all REH's creations, he included them in all his timelines from before Atlantis to the modern day and for him they were his ideal "noble savages". Romantic and rugged, uncompromising in the face of danger, instinctive and close to nature, passionate men who lived their life to the fullest. His most favorite of all his characters was Brak Mak Mon (did I spell that right) the lengendary King of the Picts who he came back to time and again throught his short career. REH's treatment of the Picts, and the fact that they eventually destroy the civilization of the Hyborians, is his ideal of barbarism cleansing decadent civilization in action.
I'll also point out that althought the Picts in Conan have something of an "Injun" cast to them they are meant to be the forruners of the savages of Ireland. Also that while the Hyborians may be white skinned they are
not Caucasian. The sons of Bori had their line purged from the face of the earth at the end of the Hyborian age and their blood survives only in as much as it is diluted in that of their conquerors (the Picts), according to REH it the modern caucasian is descended of a mixture containing varrying degrees of Cimerian and Nordic blood.
At any rate, yes the Hyborian age gives real weight to the concept of racial sterotypes. But it is not a comment on any modern race and it is a mistake to take those sterotypes for insults. Rather they are the strengths and weaknesses characteristic of each race (just as many fantasy authors make elves lithe and beautiful and orcs strong and deformed) and you should look at them simply as opportunities for character building and role-play. I think that if you do you'll find Howard's mythical earth to be a compelling and exciting place to play.
Later.
