Help me understand something about Metahuman cultu Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Negalith]

Why do different metahuman cultures exist at all? I particularly have a hard time understanding metahuman kingdoms. One day everybody in the US (or whatever it was at the time) was a human US citizen. The next day something goes wacky and Billy and Sue turn into a dwarf and an elf (along with a lot of other Americans). Billy and Sure are still Billy and Sue… with somewhat altered bodies. Billy and Sues family, friends and coworkers presumably will come to see Billy the dwarf and Sue the elf as… well.. Billy and Sue.. perhaps a bit shorter / hotter. Not only do Billy and Sue become Elves and Dwarves, but so do others millions of people… many of whom are public figures who have garnered great respect and admiration over the years. I would imagine that nearly everybody would have a friend, family member or somebody they respect who became an elf or dwarf. I don’t see a lot of cause for strife.

Generally in human history when you see one group who hate’s another, there always seems to be the “invader� scenario. One group sees something they once had claim to taken away or threatened by another group that is somehow a newcomer. I really don’t see that in the SR elf / dwarf scenario for the reasons I discussed above.

In real life equivalency, the closest phenomena I can see which correlates to SR’s elf / dwarf awakening is homosexuality. Just as with modern gays, all of the people in the minority group began their lives as “normal� and then something took them off randomly from a majority group member into a minority group. Generally any opposition to homosexuals living in peace comes from dopes who’s philosophy is shaped from a religious tradition with a specific prohibition against homosexuality. Elves and Dwarves would likely not even have this hurtle to overcome (particularly assuming a number of clergymen experienced the transformation).

Now, Orks and Trolls…. Well… Since they look ugly and have considerable changes in cognitive ability and even temperament. I can see a form of alienation occurring with them.

Where did metahuman culture come from? I understand different cultures having traditions that date back generations that set them apart from other cultures. But the Elves and Dwarves of shadowrun came from the same stock as everybody else. “Quick, we need a racial identity….Let’s make up some new holidays and stuff�. I think most folks would want to stick with the genuine cultural traditions of their families and ethnicity rather than some kind of hip cultural trend; particularly since dwarves and elves likely came from an equally diverse cross section of ethnicity, socioeconomics, religions, etc. I don’t see a lot of them seeing eye to eye when making up the new “traditions�.