Racial backgrounds indicate heritage and possible physiological differences, not personality or skill. Gamemakers and players should avoid using race names as shorthand for traits like ‘clever,’ ‘strong,’ or ‘skilled’; focusing instead on background, training, and personal experience when describing characters.
✅ Good: “The Duren maintain centuries-old subterranean archives.” → Focuses on cultural accomplishment, not innate traits.
✅ Good: “Eldren festivals often celebrate migration and survival through harsh climates.” → Again, behavior/ritual, not inherent strength.
❌ Avoid: “Duren are strong miners; Eldren are naturally commanding.” → Ties traits to biology, not society.
“A member of the city council of Varlis” instead of “a Duren councilor”
“The technician from the orbital colony” instead of “the Eldren engineer”
Stereotype-style (avoid):
“Garrik is a Duren, so he knows stone better than anyone and is stubborn.”
Culture-first (preferred):
“Garrik grew up in the archives beneath the northern mountains. Years of cataloging ancient works taught him precision and patience—skills he brings to every excavation, no matter who he works with.”
- Make names heritage/culture markers, not trait markers
- Normalize multi-species communities in prose
- Split mechanical bonuses into biological vs. cultural
- Favor citizenship/role/location as descriptors over species
- Emphasize background and experience in NPC descriptions