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Old 06-06-2019, 12:29 AM   #11
Bengt
 
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 View Post
WHAT?!! Magic or divine intervention in a fantasy world?? INCONCEIVABLE!!

That's one of the reasons we play these worlds. As long as it's internally consistent, there's no problem.
I didn't mean to say you shouldn't do it, just that I think explaining it with magic rather than genetics would be better.
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Old 06-06-2019, 10:11 AM   #12
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 View Post
WHAT?!! Magic or divine intervention in a fantasy world?? INCONCEIVABLE!!

That's one of the reasons we play these worlds. As long as it's internally consistent, there's no problem.
But this idea abandons the idea of consistency entirely. Stuff just happens.
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Old 06-06-2019, 12:25 PM   #13
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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But this idea abandons the idea of consistency entirely. Stuff just happens.
At which point, it becomes a question of "Do Wizards exist in this specific setting?"

Any setting with "The science of magic" types running around is a setting whose magical framework is internally consistent. It has to be; otherwise, the idea that "This specific magic formulae produces this specific magic effect" couldn't exist.
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Old 06-06-2019, 12:54 PM   #14
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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At which point, it becomes a question of "Do Wizards exist in this specific setting?"
Not really. Something can have an internal logic whether or not anyone studies it, and while often the purpose of studying something is to learn to manipulate it, that isn't required.
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Old 06-06-2019, 02:53 PM   #15
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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Not really. Something can have an internal logic whether or not anyone studies it, and while often the purpose of studying something is to learn to manipulate it, that isn't required.
Fair. For maximum semantic accuracy, it should probably read "Can Wizards exist", not "Do wizards exist".
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Old 06-06-2019, 03:16 PM   #16
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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Fair. For maximum semantic accuracy, it should probably read "Can Wizards exist", not "Do wizards exist".
The fact that something can be understood does not mean it can be manipulated.
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Old 06-06-2019, 07:31 PM   #17
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

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Originally Posted by TheAmishStig View Post
At which point, it becomes a question of "Do Wizards exist in this specific setting?"

Any setting with "The science of magic" types running around is a setting whose magical framework is internally consistent. It has to be; otherwise, the idea that "This specific magic formulae produces this specific magic effect" couldn't exist.
Well as to that, one fantasy setting I thought of for GURPS was an Extremely High Mana setting, where the mana level was so high that (outside the sanctuaries where mana was lower than normal) no creature except for the ones with Magic Resistance could breed entirely true, and spell effects would just spontaneously happen.
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Old 06-07-2019, 01:34 PM   #18
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

@MDL: that assumption is one of the core things to happen in Shadowrun's backstory. Not at the rates you picked.
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Old 06-07-2019, 01:39 PM   #19
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

Realistically if Elves and Dwarves are just different ethnicities of human they wouldn't "breed true" If residents of Dwarflandia and Elvistan shared a forbidden love they would have an offspring that was the medium of their genetic traits rather than purely one or somehow a mix of any other ethnicity. They could look very much like a dwarf but perhaps they'd be more gaunt with soft golden hair and an aptitude for magic.
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Old 06-07-2019, 04:39 PM   #20
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Default Re: What if Fantasy Races weren't "Races"?

One thing I would expect if people had only a one in four chance of breeding true would be stressed families. Assume the possibilities are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Troll, or Ork. And that these beings fit typical RPG treatments of these beings. A Gnome or Halfling couple raising a Troll child, that would tower above them and have a tendency toward a short temper and attention span, might have to neglect their other children, if they can have the time and energy to have more children, to care for the Troll.

Picture an Elf couple with an Elf child and a Human child. Not only is the Human kid likely to feel neglected, but he'll die of old age before his parents even seem to age. On the Elf side, the family will be aware of the emotional wounds of their Human child. Feel the misery of never fully conecting with their child slash sibling. Then the child will die in what for an Elf would be early adolescence.
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