[Conan's Note: To the two people who avidly read my column, sorry about my absence, I've been busy working on a manuscript for my next book as well as organising my enrolment into University this year - the philosophy and psychology departments are calling me home. So in between that and moving abode (it is difficult finding a quality hellpit at this time of year.) But I am back now...so be afraid. Be very afraid.]

The tough life of a columnist. When I was brainstorming over what to write for this week’s article, I sent a list of ideas to a friend of mine for some suggestions. It read essentially as follows:

• FASA’s closing down: A tribute to another great loss.
• Gays in roleplaying
• Love and sex in roleplaying
• Robert Jordan: a reason for hiring hitmen.
• Justin Achilli: yet another reason for hiring hitmen.

Besides giving me a few helpful phone numbers in the Chicago district, he suggested I write about Homosexuality in roleplaying, because it was an interesting topic. Which is obviously why so many people have written about it before. The main problem I have had with previous articles about roleplaying any form of minority in a game is that they proceeded to lecture the reader about being bigoted etc etc etc…

My problem with this is that I (and I may be mistaken) thought that RPGs were designed to have fun with. I don’t think they are to be used as a personal platform for expounding your own ideals or opinions. While covering social issues in a roleplaying game is fine, and often makes the game more interesting, too often I have seen minorities used as a way to SELL the game.

“Look! We have GAY characters and BLACKS in our game. We’re a very culturally correct gaming company because we use fags and golly-wogs in our games.”

Yes, very understanding isn’t it. But here is the problem. By placing emphasis on how the game is so understanding it manages to keep minorities as outside factors. They are not a part of normal society, but alien. Different. I have a simple response to anyone who would tell me that this would be right…BOLLOCKS. However I do want to avoid giving a lecture today…so let me get to the point.

For the sake of discussion let us imagine this, minorities are merely constructs of our own making.

Blasphemous I know, but let me expand. Chinese and Japanese are often called minorities, what crap! The Chinese population on earth alone nearly outnumbers everyone else combined! In other words, every “minority” is a majority somewhere else. Go to a nightclub or dance party some time and then try to tell me that gays and bisexuals are a minority. Even better…go to Sydney or San Francisco. Or the Oscars. Oops.

Or maybe it would be better to say that these “minorities” are not truly separate. They exist in every level of our population. On a global scale it is more obvious that the term “minority” is often a misnomer.

Considering that we, as roleplayers, are often lumped into the “minority gamers” category there seems to be a rather large number of us out there…

So how can we use this to help make a game become entertaining instead of a political tirade? Let’s look at players first…

1) Why play a “minority”?

The million dollar question really. First off, let us redefine the question…

“Why play a character different to who you are?”

In doing so we answer the question. Remember that part of the fun about roleplaying is, to quote an Arnie movie, “taking a holiday away from yourself”. It is the experience of being another person in another world. Thus by taking on an African, Polynesian, Chinese or Homosexual character you are taking on a persona further away from who you are. Deep isn’t it.

2) Portraying someone else…

Yet how can you be certain you are accurately portraying the persona you have chosen? Herein lies the problem. I can only suggest this, be observant. The greatest surprise lies in the fact that there are not that many differences between you and anyone else. Let’s face it, not every gay guy talks like a helium-filled muppet nor does every African American use the term “homey” once per sentence. (In fact I don’t think I have ever met anyone who uses the word “homey”, “Honky” yes, “homey” no.)

At the end of the day it is not my place to tell you how to create your characters. Every character you create is a reflection of yourself, regardless of how “opposite” they appear. Even by being completely different to yourself, you still reveal much about “who you are” by showing how accurately you can play someone you are not. (Now I’m getting myself confused… let’s move on…)

So I ended up giving a little lecture. It’s kind of hard not to. A majority of bigotry etc is not because people are evil or stupid. Just unaware. My best suggestion is based off a lesson I had in psychology, a little point that has rung true in all my dealings with people from all walks of life…

“There are more differences within a group than there are between groups.”

Look at it from a microcosmic perspective first. Your friends, each friend you have is going to be very different from another. Yet your group of friends wont have as many differences as a group from any other group of friends. While different cultures do have noticeable differences, when you look at the number of similarities between them, you will realise that the differences are not as profound as they first appear. Otherwise we would never be able to communicate across cultures. Yet within a culture there can be vast differences in behavior and belief. Japan is a great example of this - the sheer volume of different fads and tastes that are catered for. However, many westerners have the view that Japanese are a mass of clones that all think and act the same. I find it interesting to note that many Japanese (As well as other eastern/asian cultures) see the western world as a mass of chaotic, selfish, rude and arrogant barbarians.

We are all the same people. Every one has feelings, thoughts and an innate hatred of Robbie Williams. (Or is that just me?) The packaging may be different, and some of us have different ways of behaving. But at the core of it all are the same hearts, minds, livers, kidneys etc. When portraying a PC from another culture or of a different sexual preference, remember this.

Well, enough babble from me. Next week I shall be looking at the issue from a GM’s perspective. One world One People or One People Many Cultures? I shall also intend to answer the question “Why did the Spice Girls become famous?”