Are RPGs racist?

Zenobia – Dark elf (Photo credit: JBLivin)

Next time your setting up a character’s race in Skyrim (great game) or some other RPG maybe ask yourself the question, “would this be okay if he was black”? I mean really think about it.

Pick a minority, say Jews, well they of course have bonuses to their barter skills, but then I want to play fighter so I better pick a Black guy, or maybe I’ll play a mage, so I have to go for an Asian – they have bonuses to their intelligence.

It’s really not okay, is it?

Baby orc, baby night elf (Photo credit: Nicole Lee)

If you think about it we’re being real dicks to all of the people of Tamriel and Middle earth. We’re basicly saying all Orcs must be

good at running. What about some poor little Orc that wants to be a mage, are we saying he’ll always be sub-par to an elf?

Maybe the whole fantasy race thing is just a way of getting round what would be rather divisive issue. It might also partly explain why there are very few modern world RPG’s.