How to portray shunning?

Pursuivant · 10-01-2019, 07:12 PM

Any wisdom on how to portray characters or races who make a point of shunning members of certain other groups?

This isn't mere Dislike, nor does it imply any particular hatred of the shunned person/group. Instead, it represents, emotionless, passive community-wide refusal to engage with the shunned, combined with as non-violent attempts to remove them from the community should they not leave on their own.

Historically, think of the Ostracism practiced by the Ancient Greeks, or community-wide shunning or "disfellowshipping" practiced by modern Amish and some fundamentalist Christian or Jewish sects. In those cases, anyone who aids someone who is ostracized/shunned risks suffering the same treatment.

Examples from SF/Fantasy include your snootier elves or ultra-advanced aliens. They don't harm outsiders, but make a point of avoiding them and quickly transport intruders far away from their domains, possibly with their memories wiped. If they need something from "lesser" beings, they take it by peaceful means, usually by teleporting it away, and possibly leaving something that they consider to be of equal value in its place.

I can see 3 ways to handle this:

Code of Honor - Could be built into several existing codes, or it could represent a CoH of its own.

Disciplines of Faith - possibly built into DoF (Ritualism) or (Asceticism) or a new version.

Intolerance - Make Shunning a -50% limitation to Intolerance, because you aren't required to react at -3 to those in the "hated" group. People you shun still react badly towards you, however.

In any case, cost should probably be based on the size and importance of the shunned group, based on Frequency of Appearance, and top out at about -10 points, similar to the more severe versions of the disads listed above.

Conversely, "Shunned by X Group" is a potential Quirk, which represents a very limited Social Stigma.

10-01-2019, 07:12 PM	#1
Pursuivant Join Date: Apr 2005	How to portray shunning? Any wisdom on how to portray characters or races who make a point of shunning members of certain other groups? This isn't mere Dislike, nor does it imply any particular hatred of the shunned person/group. Instead, it represents, emotionless, passive community-wide refusal to engage with the shunned, combined with as non-violent attempts to remove them from the community should they not leave on their own. Historically, think of the Ostracism practiced by the Ancient Greeks, or community-wide shunning or "disfellowshipping" practiced by modern Amish and some fundamentalist Christian or Jewish sects. In those cases, anyone who aids someone who is ostracized/shunned risks suffering the same treatment. Examples from SF/Fantasy include your snootier elves or ultra-advanced aliens. They don't harm outsiders, but make a point of avoiding them and quickly transport intruders far away from their domains, possibly with their memories wiped. If they need something from "lesser" beings, they take it by peaceful means, usually by teleporting it away, and possibly leaving something that they consider to be of equal value in its place. I can see 3 ways to handle this: Code of Honor - Could be built into several existing codes, or it could represent a CoH of its own. Disciplines of Faith - possibly built into DoF (Ritualism) or (Asceticism) or a new version. Intolerance - Make Shunning a -50% limitation to Intolerance, because you aren't required to react at -3 to those in the "hated" group. People you shun still react badly towards you, however. In any case, cost should probably be based on the size and importance of the shunned group, based on Frequency of Appearance, and top out at about -10 points, similar to the more severe versions of the disads listed above. Conversely, "Shunned by X Group" is a potential Quirk, which represents a very limited Social Stigma.