*
Virtually all fantasy world settings feature one or more “humanoid” races. The range is broad, usually including such types as dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and so forth. How such non-human members of the milieu are treated in regards to the society outlined above and detailed below is not a difficult matter to decide.
*
If your particular world has humans and non-humans living in harmonious fashion, then that is how to deal with them in this regard. Use common sense in placing them in the higher positions, and make allowances for at least some of them to appear in special categories where they do fit into the upper class. If there is some tension between mankind and its racial cousins, then this is how the socio-economic structure will be in regards to non-human members of society. If there is enmity between humans and humanoid races, then that is common in society, with segregation and rancorous dealings between, say, humans in the upper class and elves in the same social stratum.
*
The incidence of non-humans in the general population is a factor no matter how the different racial kinds get along. If humanoids are rare, then they will be notable and their presence will be unusual, and possibly looked on somewhat askance in “high and polite society” but, accepted without a problem in the lower half of the structure. If non-humans comprise 10% or more of the general population, then they will be accepted with some possible reluctance in the various tiers. Think of them as foreigners more than non-humans in this regard; thus some will be welcomed, some ignored, and some shunned.
*
In places where there are concentrations of humanoids, there are two possible occurrences. First, assuming general distribution of non-humans throughout the social strata, then humanoid incidence in the various strata will pretty much mirror society. Second, with non-humans segregated, few non-humans will be in the upper class.
*
If you are in process of constructing a fantasy world, then the choice of how to build it is open. As non-human races add to the diversity of the milieu, likely they will be included. It seems a good idea to have no less that 10% of the total population be of humanoid racial - more in a large urban community. If non-human races live in relative harmony with humans, then so much the better. Thus, a city can have a human slum, a humanoid one, a human foreign quarter, and one or more “humanoid quarters” too - dwarves and gnomes in one, perhaps brownies and kobolds in another. In such a place, there will be exclusive human gangs, mixed human-humanoid ones, and exclusive non-human groups. Other than the obvious racial differences, though, the contrariety between the lot will be negligible.
Gary Gygax’s Living Fantasy
No comments:
Post a Comment