I'm about to start my first campaign (Seattle Missions, Ghost Cartels, and DotA all mixed together based on what hooks the PCs take), and as a pathological nice guy I could really use some pointers on roleplaying assholes, especially bigoted ones.

Just think, WWPD?

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users...joe_pesci_4.jpg

People don't hate without a cause, figure out why the NPC hates the group they do and keep in mind their are also degrees and different ways it gets expressed. I have an NPC troll that doesn't like humans because he sees them as weak cowards who hide behind their corps and governments. But he has to do enough business with them his hate is somewhat mellow. So how does he handle the human pc? He calls him things like pretty boy and keeps propositioning him. Not because he finds the pc particularly attractive but because for him sex largely equates to expressing dominance. In his mind he who whores him self loses.

...my namesake hated elves with a passion. Then, she did grow up as a human in Salem TT and was abandoned by her father in the Lloyd district of Portland.

...hence my tag line: 'Forsaken Daughter is Watching You"

1) Find a reason to hate X (cultural bias, ignorance and/or bad experiences)
2) Remember that the character is not fully aware of this bias, and becoming aware of it being a bias makes him uncomfortable
3) Come up with justifications for the bias (stories about nasty experiences, a philosophy about why X just isn't 'the same' as everyone else and they need special protection, an explanation as to how group X is bad for everyone else and things would be okay 'if only they'd ...')

The most destructive prejudices are rarely understood as being negative by the person holding them. They become more aggressive as they gain cultural support or aren't punished.

As for being an asshole, just make a character who either is blithely unaware (or unconcerned) with how other people feel, and/or is completely caught up in himself, what he wants and needs, regardless as to the environment. Practice it a bit and remember there's almost never a reason to crank it down, but plenty of reasons to crank it up.

To quote Bill Burr, "real racism is quiet. It's subtle. People look around first. They make sure the coast is clear. There's disclaimers, like, 'dude, you know I'm not racist, but, uh, these,' insert group name, followed by fucked-up conversation, right?"

This. Unless the NPC is overtly hostile, I would start out with him/her giving the appropriate PCs the cold shoulder. Then have the NPC drop some subtle comments that could be interpreted multiple ways, like "You people..." and "I would expect this from you..." When the affected players stat to suspect it, you can use Wordman's advice: stage a scene where no one is around and have the NPC show his/her true colors...

Actually that's only if the cultural mores give a crap about the racism in question. In cultures where it's so pervasive it's a normal thing you cannot embarass people with the nature of their racism. There is rarely abn after school special moment.

Good example of a racist that's still a decent character? Zues in "Die Hard With A Vengence".

But, the major thing is that little bit of you that says everyone is just folk, that you should be polite and nice and kind... Turn it off or tune it out.

Cultural racism is so ingrained in people that it's not even questioned. It's seen the world over.

Actually, here's another trick: Don't think of them like "Whatever Group", think of them as Nazis. Hate them like you would a Nazi. Done.

Easy way to do it act all the time like all the classic racist/sexist stereotypes are true. Blacks are shiftless and lazy, women wearing revealing clothes or flirting really are asking for it, strippers are all prostitutes and should be working for you if they don't already have a pimp. Orcs are all stupid and only fit for physical labor, elves are generally arrogant assholes, female cops are all lesbians, etc.

The fact that your character knows this to be true doesn't mean he necessarily publicly flaunts these beliefs. Just when he can get away with it. For the effect of this in a large group, consider an outlaw motorcycle gang, where members will trade their girlfriend to another gang member for a choice bike part.

Remember that someone whom a bigot is prejudiced against can never win.

"Look at him. Those shiftless foreigners, coming here and sucking off the teat of public services, leaching off my tax dollars 'cause they're too damn lazy to get a job."

"But I know that guy! He's a tenured professor at Seattle Tech, teaching biotechnological ethics."

"Damn foreigners. Coming here and stealing jobs from UCAS citizens."

Nah, they can have their personal friends who show they are not really bigoted.

To quote a murderous sociopath who was kind of annoyed by that pattern he saw again and again: "And then they all come along, these 80 million good Germans, and every one of them has his decent Jew. Of course, it's quite clear that the others are pigs, but this one is one first-class Jew."

Depends on the context. Unless you're talking about an ideologue like a Humanis member, I'd simply think of most vicious lowlifes as opportunists and predators than as guys who have put any real thought into what they believe about other metatypes and ethnicities. A lot of gangers will pull out slurs not because they care about much about social issues but because trash talking and intimidation is part of their toolbox. And if dividing groups into "us" and "them" categories lets them sleep better at night? So much the better.

I actually would like to play a Humanis member or someone similarly outspoken sometime.

Just take a lesson from a master, Byron D. Labotwidth the 7th, Racist in the year 3000!

That was B A D

"We have been on this rock for thousands of years before those Orcs, and Trolls, and Elves, and Dwarves, and don't get me started on changelings. Scientific fact. We were here first. Humans. We brought the rest of the races into civilization. Not them, us. We took them out from under the rocks and the bridges, out from the depths of the forests where they lived like ignorant savages, and we brought them the good life!

"We're not hateful. We just want them to show their appreciation. We want them to understand that our laws are their laws, and they need to abide by them. To throw off the trappings of their savage cultures and become one with our own, where a God-fearing man and woman can walk down the street at night and not be afraid at some Ork jumping out of the shadows to take his wallet, or have his woman charmed away by some Elf casting a wicked spell. Where they understand and thank us for the generations of culture we have - selflessly! - given them, and we can work together for a better world, with Humans at the helm. As it should be. Thank you for your time, and God bless."

-Excerpt of speech from the St. Louis Humanis Rally, January 2071

So you came to Dumpshock?

Naw, I've been here for years (lurking since '06 or so). DS is actually the most intelligent, polite forum it's ever been my pleasure to inhabit.

*Blinks*

...

Are you sure your memory is intact?

"I'm not racist... Well, maybe I am. A little. But I don't see why it'd be wrong to consider that people from different races are different since they DO are different. Orks are stronger so there's no point in hiring a human when you need strength. Elves live longer. Companies where promotions are based on seniority will have a elf only management staff. And what will and elf do when given a choice between an elf and a human employee?

I know that some people think the humanis is about hating non-humans. Sadly, some people inside the humanis do too. But most of us are just here to study the impact of the different races in our society. Sure, we're pro-humans. Orks or elves have their groups, why couldn't we have our own?"

And how is your penthouse in that corporate enclave? They paying you well at Dumpshock, Inc?

Dumpshock actually is pretty polite in between shit storms.

As it happens my memory isn't entirely intact, but the fact is that the average intelligence of DS posters is well above the norm, which leads to more reasoned discussions than most places on the Internet. I didn't say it was always entirely polite and pleasant; I said it was the MOST such.

Even our drek storms do tend to have better than average vocabulary compared to other parts of the IntraWebs, I do have to admit.