Appearance difference among Fantasy Races

Harbinjer · 02-12-2019, 04:06 PM

I've become bothered by the one-dimensional way Appearance is handled with regards to different races having different racial appearance levels, leading to one of two problems:
1) All races have the same standards of appearance.
i.e. If Elves have the Attractive appearance level, Humans and Halflings might agree, but maybe Orcs find them Hideous.
I suppose one could create a matrix of appearance that shows how each race reacts to every other, but a) no thank you, and b) How would point costs even work?
AND
2) It means all members of a Race have the same level of Appearance.
i.e. All Elves are Attractive. To Humans, maybe they all look alike, but don't Elves have an interest in having a 50 Most Beautiful Elves List? How can you tell your Elf girlfriend that she's the most attractive if, in fact, all elves are equally attractive?

I'm not sure I stated the problem(s) very clearly, but the solution I am toying with.... and am requesting feedback on.... is this:
Every Race has an appearance level (i.e. Average for Humans, Unattractive for Orcs, etc.) that reflects how the other races react to them.
Then every Individual also has an Appearance Level to reflect how members of their own race react to them. i.e, Orcs are Unattractive, but Drusilla the Lady Orc is considered to be very Beautiful among Orcs and makes all the other lady orcs jealous.

The (only?) downside, as I see it, is that the Character Points for both of those. A Very Handsome Elf Lord has to pay double while a Hideous Orc Dude gets a double Disadvantage bonus.

Should I even try to compensate for doubled point costs? Do they possibly cancel each other out, or at least do they properly reflect the reactions that the character has coming to them? Am I overthinking this?

02-12-2019, 04:06 PM	#1
Harbinjer Join Date: Sep 2018	Appearance difference among Fantasy Races I've become bothered by the one-dimensional way Appearance is handled with regards to different races having different racial appearance levels, leading to one of two problems: 1) All races have the same standards of appearance. i.e. If Elves have the Attractive appearance level, Humans and Halflings might agree, but maybe Orcs find them Hideous. I suppose one could create a matrix of appearance that shows how each race reacts to every other, but a) no thank you, and b) How would point costs even work? AND 2) It means all members of a Race have the same level of Appearance. i.e. All Elves are Attractive. To Humans, maybe they all look alike, but don't Elves have an interest in having a 50 Most Beautiful Elves List? How can you tell your Elf girlfriend that she's the most attractive if, in fact, all elves are equally attractive? I'm not sure I stated the problem(s) very clearly, but the solution I am toying with.... and am requesting feedback on.... is this: Every Race has an appearance level (i.e. Average for Humans, Unattractive for Orcs, etc.) that reflects how the other races react to them. Then every Individual also has an Appearance Level to reflect how members of their own race react to them. i.e, Orcs are Unattractive, but Drusilla the Lady Orc is considered to be very Beautiful among Orcs and makes all the other lady orcs jealous. The (only?) downside, as I see it, is that the Character Points for both of those. A Very Handsome Elf Lord has to pay double while a Hideous Orc Dude gets a double Disadvantage bonus. Should I even try to compensate for doubled point costs? Do they possibly cancel each other out, or at least do they properly reflect the reactions that the character has coming to them? Am I overthinking this?