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#DnD #UnpopularOpinion: orcs/drow/goblins being prone to evil doesn't have to be inherently racist. Wait don't go! Let me explain.
Race as in "the human race" is perhaps ill-fitting in modern common language, so we should really think of humans/orcs/elves/etc as "species" instead of "race" with all its implications.
In this light, orcs aren't really too different from, say, chromatic dragons.
A species might have just evolved a brain that doesn't do kindness very well or whatever. My brain cant detect other humans' hidden thoughts very well.
A species might have just evolved a brain that doesn't do kindness very well or whatever. My brain cant detect other humans' hidden thoughts very well.
Of course, this all hinges on whether you believe (as i do) that morality is objective. That is, that some acts are inherently evil, unjustifiable. To a subjectivist, such acts might be seen not just as justifiable, but as desirable, as good.
This is not the same as absolutism. It might be unclear if a certain thing is good or bad or something else. And that's ok.
And none of this is to say there can't ever be a good goblin or good red dragon. I mean goblins and dragons and magic exist in these worlds after all.
And none of this is to say systemic racism, or racism in art, or racism in games doesn't exist. I mean, I have Oriental Adventures for 3.5 (neither my wife nor I bought it so it's a bit of a mystery how it landed on our shelf).
Bonus unpopular opinion: in my campaign, half-elves, half-orcs, half-dragons etc are usually infertile like most hybrid animals and many hybrid plants. It literally never comes up - and it probably shouldn't - but im really into biology.
"fool!" you might say "know you nought how racist so-and-so was whence creating the whatever!?" yes, and im not defending racism, just, i don't see wrong in having green humanoid monsters in my make-believe.
