What does your half-elf do in the face of insult?

[Natterjack]

@ all the half-elf players out there, when you encounter racism, how does your character react?

i ask this question because natterjack had bunches of pride and was all hyped with misconceptions about his new life in the city ["meow no one's ever gonna treat me like shit again, i'm gonna start standing up for myself meow"], so he thought he could call someone a bigoted fuck after some derogatory comments from his peers. imagine his shock when he got half his face burnt off as consequence.

but hey, i was enlightened and learned an invaluable lesson from it as a player, which was you damn well better know your shit before you talk shit. granted, i was rp'ing, but it wasn't like i expected nat's bitching to be tolerated, lol. i want to know how everyone else who plays halflings deal with this sort of stuff, so i can get some variety in my own reactions.

<Rahnevyn redacted some stuff about a current PC.>

[LauraMars]

Hey!

First of all, kudos to you for sticking in character through a tough situation.  As we discussed on the helper chat, Zalanthas is a harsh world in which there is a definite hierarchy, and half elves occupy one of the lowest rungs of society.  How they deal with this is up to them, but you can definitely expect consequences if you don't bend your back and fall in line when you need to.  That said, conflict makes this game awesome - so if you want to stir up trouble, feel free!  It would be wise to have an exit strategy in place, or at least a bribe to hand out, when you do this though.

Secondly, there's lots of IC ("in character") information in this post.  One of the rules of this forum is that you don't talk about your current or future characters in detail, or the things that happen to them in the game.  It gives away who you're playing and can sometimes ruin plots, so I'd take out all mention of your characters in the post and just frame your questions generally in the future.

[Natterjack]

o: gotcha.

[RogueGunslinger]

My half-elves take it with acceptance. They know they are shit. They know they are the bottom of the rung. Any and all attempts to ascend should have them smashed under boot-heels. And you KNOW this, as a breed.

It shouldn't really go beyond a mild annoyance. You should be so used to it by now that there's no reason to be offended, or angry.

There are exceptions, of course. And I am certainly no expert on breeds, but I imagine you'd only every  talk back, or do something in the moment if you actually did manage to have a little bit of status. Like being a T'zai Byn Trooper or something. Otherwise you'd keep quiet while throwing all the insults you can behind their back or slipping some poison into their mug of ale.

[Lizzie]

Half-elves ARE abominations of nature. Mistakes that never should have been allowed to exist. They're not merely perceived as such. That is what they are, by definition. And all half-elves who are aware of their heritage, are also aware that they exist only because no one's gotten around to killing them yet. They behave however anyone who KNOWS that they're a mistake of genetics would behave, when someone reminds them that this is what they are.

I very strongly suggest the docs.  There's this:
http://www.armageddon.org/help/view/Half-Elves
and this
http://www.armageddon.org/help/view/Half-Elf%20Roleplay

You can also check for docs on any aspect of your new character. Things like "What your character knows" about the different city-states, roleplaying an elf, etc. etc.

In a previous thread you mentioned the game you came from. I can tell you it really is a whole lot different from there. That game isn't an RPI. It's a whole different genre - different code, different theme, different RP styles, different mechanics and in many cases, different syntax. Definitely a different sense of "immersion" and "reality." It's important to understand the theme of the game itself, and really really allow yourself to believe that the documentation is serious. The "murder, corruption, betrayal" and "harsh desert world" themes aren't just suggestions, and playing the "Underdog hero with a sense of fairness and truth and honesty" will usually die very quickly. This is a dog-eat-dog world. And if you are the underdog, you'd better keep your tail tucked and yield to the more powerful dog until such time as you become that more powerful dog.

And even then - at some point - you'll meet an even bigger dog who will chew you up and spit you out in pieces.

You can achieve this in a whole lot of ways, mostly through roleplay, supplemented with the code. Or, if you'd prefer, you can play that underdog, who remains that way, and get involved in things as a minion/lackey/tool/meat-shield. Don't feel like you have to have your character "win" in order to have fun in Arm. Sometimes the players of the scum of the rinth get involved in the coolest plotlines

[Morrolan]

Plot revenge. Engage in corruption and betrayal. Aim for murder.

You know, play Arm.

[MeTekillot]

What if your half-elf was born from the union of two half-elves??? are you 4x as breedy??

[slvrmoontiger]

What if your half-elf was born from the union of two half-elves??? are you 4x as breedy??

Maybe you made the 25 percent that is 4x humany.

[Jingo]

It's no bad roleplay to play a breed who tries not to take the shit that's given to him, even if he get's burned alive for it.

Just keep in mind that in the city states of Zalanthas anyone that goes against the grain usually does gets burned in some way or another.

[Desertman]

@ all the half-elf players out there, when you encounter racism, how does your character react?

i ask this question because natterjack had bunches of pride and was all hyped with misconceptions about his new life in the city ["meow no one's ever gonna treat me like shit again, i'm gonna start standing up for myself meow"], so he thought he could call someone a bigoted fuck after some derogatory comments from his peers. imagine his shock when he got half his face burnt off as consequence.

but hey, i was enlightened and learned an invaluable lesson from it as a player, which was you damn well better know your shit before you talk shit. granted, i was rp'ing, but it wasn't like i expected nat's bitching to be tolerated, lol. i want to know how everyone else who plays halflings deal with this sort of stuff, so i can get some variety in my own reactions.

<Rahnevyn redacted some stuff about a current PC.>

There are a few schools of thought here.

Personally I have seen the following all played pretty well:

The timid and downtrodden half-elf who is afraid of everyone and everything and almost all social interaction because they have been kicked their entire lives by their betters. They just want to get through their day without someone spitting on them. (Never played this one, but I've seen it done very well.)

The angry and bitter half-elf who hates the world and everyone in it because they have been kicked their entire lives by their betters, but they feel powerless to do anything about it. (Played this one before.)

The extremely self-sufficient and prideful half-elf who cuts off the feet of anyone who even tries to kick them. They understand they are abominations, but, you better believe abominations can swing swords too, and in their case, you better respect that fact. You don't have to respect them, but you will respect their abilities. (Played this one several times.)



The latter is really a harder way to go and I don't recommend it until you are a veteran player. Though this seems like what you were going for. You will almost always die early on if you go this route. You have to establish first your worth to your betters, and then you can take on the role of, "The half-elf who might be a breed, but you sure don't want to mess with him anyways.". Just remember that half of playing this role successfully is actually having your PC understand they are a worthless breed, and then working from that understanding in a way that allows them to continue to survive without having to take crap off of everyone all of the time. This doesn't mean you have to attack everyone who calls you a breed. It is more of a, "Say what you want, but you best keep it at words, because when it goes beyond words, you know who's going to win.", situation.

[Drayab]

I think calling them abominations is taking it too far in terms of typical attitudes, but they certainly occupy the lowest rung of society based on their race alone. They're often targets for bullying, as you have learned. Why? Because they are easy targets. Here are some broad statements that I have found to be generally true.

• Half elves don't have friends. You don't mess with people that have a posse, and a loner half elf doesn't have one.
• The templarate cares even less than usual if something bad happens to a half elf.
• They are a living, breathing manifestation of the socially unacceptable (putting it mildly) act of elf on human mating. Therefore, it's so easy to insult them, even a half-giant could do it. And you can be pretty sure everybody around will agree that, yep, that breed is really gross.
• Most of them are just going to take it - they know just as well as you do that nobody cares when you shit on them.

So, they might be used to it. They might grit their teeth and bear it. They might plot the demise of their tormentors in private, but when a breed mouths off, there is a kind of oh no he di'int moment where everybody wonders who will teach the uppity breed how to behave.

[slvrmoontiger]

Also you have to remember ANY race that isn't human is considered a second class citizen, period. Some races some to be "tolerated" more than others, usually pure-breed of dwarfs and depending on the situation elves. Though elves are still though of dirty, thieving, manipulating, backstabbers.

Breeds and muls are at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. They are picked on and don't have friends and need to find their own way of how they choose to exist as existence for them is very difficult.

[solera]

Breeds and muls are at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. They are picked on and don't have friends and need to find their own way of how they choose to exist as existence for them is very difficult.

I wouldn't sit down to  a drink with a mek or a mul, but I wouldn't piss them off, either.

[Narf]

Breeds and muls are at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. They are picked on and don't have friends and need to find their own way of how they choose to exist as existence for them is very difficult.

I don't think people typically pick on muls.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Yep, was gonna say that. Muls, right out of chargen, are scary. Picking on one seems ... uh ... dangerous.

[Delirium]

Odd urge: mul named Hulk.

[ShaLeah]

Muls are definitely NOT at the bottom of the food chain. They are so, sooooo valuable that creating them is HIGHLY controlled. They are the highest sought after combat slave and the midst dangerous sentient creatures in the Known.

Only an idiot dares fuck with them.

Breeds on the other hand? Most worthless.

[slvrmoontiger]

Right sorry let me restate that... Breeds are picked on. Muls are feared... But both are still considered trash even if muls are valued for their combat ability.

[Delirium]

Muls are definitely not considered trash. Dangerous, yes. Unstable, yes. Trash? No.

[Brytta Léofa]

Right sorry let me restate that... Breeds are picked on. Muls are feared... But both are still considered trash even if muls are valued for their combat ability.

I think seeing a mul as "trash" would be rare. Muls really aren't people. Enslaved muls are machine tools: expensive and a pain to replace. People aren't friends with tools and don't ask them for advice. If your tool makes funny noises, you consult the service manual and replace the faulty bondmate. (Picking on one, unless you're a qualified technician, is like sticking your fingers in the machine.)

Escaped muls are monsters.

[Cale_Knight]

I don't have much to contribute to the topic at hand but I wanted to give Natterjack mucho props for doing what Arm is all about: dying horribly and then making a new character. Welcome aboard, and many happy returns!

[ShaLeah]

Muls are definitely not considered trash. Dangerous, yes. Unstable, yes. Trash? No.

Delirium is 100% correct. So is Brytta.

I can't reiterate enough that THAT mindset, of muls being trash, is soooo against the norm that if I ever heard that shit spoken IG it'd jar me to the point of breaking character to educate if handling it IC'ly wasn't working.

Now, if your Momma was a whore in the rinth and got raped by a stump then died giving birth to your brother/sister mul and you murdered it after helping her and watching her bleed out, sure, hate them, persecute them, but as a general mindset, trash is far from what anyone thinks.

[manonfire]

Muls are not seen as 'trash'. I dunno what game you're playing. While they're certainly not treated as equals, they aren't looked down upon either.

They're expensive, temperamental pieces of equipment. Insanely productive, high-maintenance, and liable to rip an arm off if you don't know what you're doing.

Sort of like a Ducati Panigale 1199R.

[Narf]

Muls are definitely not considered trash. Dangerous, yes. Unstable, yes. Trash? No.

Now, if your Momma was a whore in the rinth and got raped by a stump then died giving birth to your brother/sister mul and you murdered it after helping her and watching her bleed out, sure, hate them, persecute them, but as a general mindset, trash is far from what anyone thinks.

Or potentially if you're playing some backwater hick, then I think it'd be okay. Muls aren't created outside of the two major population centers. People from Red Storm and Luirs and the little villages aren't going to know about all the blood and sweat and tears and pouring over a hot stump that Borsail has to do to make a mul.

So yeah, I could see an outlander making the mistake of treating a mul like trash too.

[ShaLeah]

Muls are definitely not considered trash. Dangerous, yes. Unstable, yes. Trash? No.

Now, if your Momma was a whore in the rinth and got raped by a stump then died giving birth to your brother/sister mul and you murdered it after helping her and watching her bleed out, sure, hate them, persecute them, but as a general mindset, trash is far from what anyone thinks.

Or potentially if you're playing some backwater hick, then I think it'd be okay. Muls aren't created outside of the two major population centers. People from Red Storm and Luirs and the little villages aren't going to know about all the blood and sweat and tears and pouring over a hot stump that Borsail has to do to make a mul.

So yeah, I could see an outlander making the mistake of treating a mul like trash too.

People in those places DO know that muls there are owned by Kurac or free, and ALL free muls were once slaves. I don't agree that they'd think that. Prejudice and superiority are taught. How can you be taught that muls are trash if you live somewhere where there are none and don't know any better?

Delves I can see, since they think everyone is trash. Heh.