[DF] Why not have some pure "bad guy" races in DF?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

...and the golden rule is arbitrary.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good rule, for all sorts of reasons, but no less arbitrary or useful for a given individual than "Do whatever you can get away with, and to Hell with everyone else."

Those are actually pretty much the same rule, subject to the constraint of repeat interactions.

The reason "evil" races that don't follow it are hard to make realistic is that the golden rule really does approach the optimum strategy for the prisoner's dilemma with repetitive play. It only needs a modifier that it does not apply to competitors with a proven record of treachery, which of course if everybody actually adopts the unmodified golden rule, never happens anyway.