As I said: medieval setting implies intollerance and prejudice. The point is how it is used by an author.
Also it has narrative potential, to play a marginalized race (and again: thieflings are the offsprings of demons, they are the offsprings of beings whose only purpose is to corrupt, bring chaos, nurture mayhem, that crave for reckless and complete devious moral acts, they're not a race with demon like appeareance. I get the will to be incusive and so on, but in any setting I'll find naive that people that litterally descend from demons is accepted like there was no problem. I know the sins of the parents shouldn't fall upon the sons and daughters, but one thing is a sin and a fault another complete different thing is when you are litteraly blood related not only to demons themselves but to beings like Baal) can show a mild player what prejudice means, how hard is to have to do every day of your life with intollerance, and it can also show how easily is to fall in prejudice and become intollerant.
Seriously I don't get the reasons to play a race that descends from demons, that fall in the domain of Asmodeus, Baal and so on (I get that Lucifer, the show, depicts a conflicted almost relatable prince of demons, but I hope we all agree that is far stretched, way more than to try vampires relatable) and get surprised that they are regarged in a suspicious way and are targets of intollerance.
The problem is the writing of Larian that fall in the "white/black" duality, where in reality intollerance and prejudice, and the way they take form, are way more nuanced. Kagha is a plain and banal way to show intollerance, and that the race they choose to be an epitome of racism is one that (specially in that set) has the biggest reasons to be feared and watched with suspicious (I have a question: how many of us, no matter how hard we try in our lives not to be ridden with prejudice and intollerance, would easily welcome someone who is blood related with the devil themself, and furthermore have as guardian deities the likes like Asmodeus, Baal, and Beelzebub? I don't require an answer I just put the question aloud putting in place all the factors that characterize the thiefling race) a race that in D&D has it angelic counterpart in the Aaasimars.
About the Goblins/Tieflings.
Drows are mortal that can bleed and die.
Still the Goblins fear them, and not only because of the tadpole, hell all Faerun fears them. And that because they are followers of Loth thus they are involved since birth in internal fights, master betrayal and manipulation, learn to use other sentient beings as tools for their own plans.
The why do Goblins don't fear people that have the blood of demons flowing in their veins and that follow Baal, Asmodeus, Beelzebub (also known as three demon princes above all the others and only below Lucifer himself)? That is a complete lack of logic.
Again the problem relies in the will of Larian to emulate the OS DII presence of a character (the Red Prince) with very outstanding somatic traits, so they went for the Tieflings with their horns and tail that recalls their previous game but doesn't feel just a copy of that game like it would have been if they have made the lizardfolk playable (with the lizard folk they would have the same chance to tackle in racism and prejudice but without the weak point of the demonic stuff), and how plain and banal the racism is displayed.
That highlights another big problem of D&D: if they don't want to delve in the problems of racism and intollerance they had to change the pantheons they built up. Lets be serious, how would you act if you had to interact with someone that belongs to a culture that is faithful to a god whos domain is treachery, murder, chaos? Or to a god whose domain is pure violence done for its own sake? Or a deity that wants human sacrifices?
Actual gods, with actual domains.
Because that is what happens in Faerun, the pantheon includes deities whose domain is just evil, that are cruel, that want blood, that nurture pain, again I ask how would you feel knowing that the one near you is a follower of Shar, Loth, Loviatar, Cyric, Baphomet? I also add another question lets suppose you are a follower of a deity whose domain is life, peace, altruism, justice, how would you feel about someone who is a follower of a deity whose domain is death, violence, egoism, murder, chaos? I my self will be always cautious.
[And no, that line of thoughts and arguments doesn't apply to real life were all religions have a backbone that is about life, altruism, justice, and it's up to the single preacher or follower to interpret the religious tests to align with extremists views that contradict said backbone]
Last edited by Bufotenina; 29/12/20 02:19 PM.
