This is here in case any responses help push me along:
For this third try at a campaign setting on this forum, I decided to start with one simple idea and build from there: prejudice against half-elves. That may seem like a very narrow part of a world to start with, but itâ,¬,,¢s working so far.
So what do I need to start? I called them half-elves, so Iâ,¬,,¢m immediately suggesting that I need elves. Actually, Iâ,¬,,¢m going to rename the half-elves, otherwise their race name implies that a connection to elves is a bad thing, and elves wouldnâ,¬,,¢t want to acknowledge the half-elves have any connection to them. Iâ,¬,,¢ll call half-elves â,¬Å"kellenâ,¬Â, which is a dirty word, an insult, in an ancient elf dialect that fortunately most people have forgotten.
So why do elves and humans hate kellen? They donâ,¬,,¢t want to mix â,¬Å"sources of powerâ,¬Â. They humans and elves believe that they are descended from animals, humans from herd animals, elves from social predators. Therefore the humans and elves claim that they draw on the spirit forms of those animals for magic. The most important aspect of drawing on this power is to make sure itâ,¬,,¢s use does not disrupt the balance of nature. A kellen is like a deer/wolf, completely unnatural, able to draw on both sources and thus inherently against the balance.
Hm. I have a criticism of this idea. I hope it doesn't discourage you but I must ask:
Why is it that this idea of descent from animals would take precedence over the simple fact that racial mixing puts you beyond the pale? In most civilizations throughout the ages there have been outcasts, and they are literally those who are beyond caste. They don't 'fit', they are neither fish nor fowl. Unless for instance a society was both elves and humans very closely linked...not very likely...there would be a question of loyalty and belonging. For instance during the Crusades those descended from both Saracen and Crusader were despised by both, but are described as being used as mercenaries in the Chronicles of the Crusades. You might find that kind of thing, these kellen as you call them perhaps used as merchant contacts among humans by elves or else as mercenaries, scouts or what have you by the humans. Just a few thoughts of mine.
I'm not quite done with all the details anway, but let me try to explain:
This isn't your standard fantasy world where the majority of a race has at least a slight xenophobic tendancy. Elves aren't reclusive forest dwellers, they are actually a lot like humans except they are tougher if being slightly shorter and thinner (plus long ears). Elves and humans get along alright. In many places there is no "racial divide" other than acknowledging that they have different ancestors.
Ancestors are a big thing, however. The elves and humans believe that their animal ancestry gives them special power, but that power has limits because each group is descended form only a certain kind of animal. This ensures that no one group can dominate, as set up by the gods. It's easiest to wrap your head around the idea by imagining the balance between predator and prey, where if one actually wins the entire ecosystem will suffer.
And kellen disrupt the balance by having access to more power than is healthy for nature as a whole. This goes against humand and elf belief, and so kellen are automatically "demon-children" or something. The other two aren't going to want to have any contact with these tainted beings, and often they will even decide to hunt kellen down in a pro-active attempt to restore nature to it's proper functioning.
For my own personal feelings I would like to say that what I stated here makes as much sense to me as not liking people purely because they are of mixed race. And by that I mean none. But things like religion apparently make people do stupid stuff, so why couldn't it happen?
Nice thoughts...
:D you'll be needing any classes this time?
Quote from: Golem, of the 11th CircleNice thoughts...
:D you'll be needing any classes this time?
No. I've decided to go with Mutants & Masterminds for the point-based character creation rules.
Let's see if talking about the ancestral spirit religion can't help make sense of this hatred of kellen (note this is all belief, not necessarily fact):
Humans and elves worship their ancestors as guiding forces in their lives. A long way back in time the gods wished to create creatures like them. So each one that did approached a spirit of nature: basically an collective of a certain facet of the world, and older than the gods. Each spirit approached allowed part of its collective self to be raised up to the point at which the new individual could think about and question the world in which it lived. So humans, with their tendancy to bunch into a herd, push for position yet basically exist in a chaotic group, and spook easily, are supposed to be part of the herd mammal spirit. Same with elves, only they are descended from social mammalian predators.
And one thing about ancestors is that you can call on them for aid: basically power. Each kind of animal group gives a different kind of power, but no one group is more powerful than another. But if you mix the two groups then you have power that has all the strengths of both. I guess the whole "we hate kellen" thing is more a cover-up for the real fear that they hybrids could overpower the humand and elves.
This conflict between descendants of the spirits isn't going to be the only one: I have some vague plans for two avian races, one with black wings and one with white. And the leading church of the land is out to get anyone who taps into the power of the dragon spirits so that it can use its god-source power to stay in control.
Interesting...have you ever read "Darwin's Radio" and "Darwin's Children" by Greg Bear? It might give you some interesting insights into the idea of a new race and how it is received.
In my setting, half-elves are separated from elves and humans in a way simlar to yours; the fact that elves shun half-elves and at the same time fear them for their greater power is the greatest common denominator. Take a look here (http://www.thecbg.org/settings/12/races.html) (under half-elves). To emphasize their combined strength, I have decided to make half-elves much more powerful as a race (they are at LA +1).
Túrin
I'm not going to be using D&D rules, so I don't have to worry about creating a racial write-up and then assigning a Level Adjustment. With Mutants & Masterminds I just decide what features I want all half-elves to have, calculate that in terms of creation points, then tell anyone who wants to play a half-elf to deduct that amount.