Subject: RE: Alternative Elves and Orcs (was: New Alien/fantasy races)
From: Gene Seabolt <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 12:53:35 -0600

This is sheer brilliance! Therefore, I have to take it as a challenge;-)

At 12:04 PM -0600 11/19/97, Dr Kromm wrote:
>ELF (-20 points)
>
>Attribute Modifiers: -1 ST [-10 points].
>Racial Advantages: Unaging [15 points].
>Racial Disadvantages: Delusion: "Time does not pass" [-15], Odious
>    Racial Habit: Attribute all positive individual traits to racial
>    superiority [-5], Reduced Hit Points -1 [-5 points].
>Racial Quirks: A bow is actually useful in the woods [-1 point],
>    Dislikes dwarves [-1 point], Dislikes orcs [-1 point].
>Racial Skills: Racial Skill Bonus: +3 with Fast-Talk [3 points].
>
>Elves are a slender folk who live in the forest. [snip]

ORC (-12 points)

Attribute Modifiers: none
Racial Advantages: Alertness+1 [5 points], Extra Hit Points +2 [10 points].
Racial Disadvantages: Appearance: Ugly [-10 points], Reputation -3 [-15
points].
Racial Quirks: Can't see sense in trying to reason with other races [-1
point], Shoot first [-1 point].

Orcs are a cosmetically unappealing race, generally built as thick as a
barrel, with squat noses and poor dental work that often protrudes from
their closed mouths. That, and they perspire heavily.

The race itself exhibits no more selfish or unreasoning conduct than other
races, but over eons of interracial conflicts it's become customary for
other races to explain themselves with, "The orcs started it." Since the
orcs are plainly so unpleasant to look at and therefore fun to thwack,
their audience nods and agrees, especially since they know it'll soon
enough be their turn to claim, "The orcs started it." The orcs' reputation
soon grew to encompass *really* uncivil (as compared to all races' fairly
uncivil) behavior to other races. This helped justify their status as the
redheaded stepchild of interracial relations, at least as far as the other
races were concerned.

Over the centuries, the orcs have come to realize nothing they say or do
will change this perception, so they've quite trying and have begun to use
it to their advantage. After all, if they can't get respect for their noble
achievements, then they can get it for the ignoble ones attributed to them.
Even the most polite orc will pull out his grungiest clothes -- the more
spiked and/or leather the better -- to visit mixed settlements. And if
violence does threaten, he'll know to go ahead and throw the first punch,
since no has *ever* hesitated to whack an orc except a fellow orc. The fact
that these rare interracial encounters encompass the majority of most orcs'
experience with violence explains why their tactics are usually so awful
despite their seeming taste for combat.

Some orcs even use their racial Reputation to justify behavior of that
awfulness, though the majority of orcs quietly don't much care for this
degree of negative reinforcement. All they're trying to do is get left
alone to lead dignified lives outside other races' eyes.

This massive, universal discrimination has created some racial traits that
aren't so much genetic as Darwinistic. Since any orc risks getting punted
about by any other race, those that reach adulthood usually evidence extra
Hit Points (to survive the abuse), Alertness (to avoid it) or most likely a
combination of the two. Orcs are also known as short-lived for some strange
reason, though those non-orcs making this observation very rarely can
recall observing an orc dying of natural causes.

Gene Seabolt
Producer
Steve Jackson Games