Saturday, July 14, 2018

Aztec/Nahua Representation in RPGs (a request followed by a rant)

What I wouldn't give for just one single RPG that portrayed the Nahua (a.k.a., Aztecs) without resorting to "human sacrifice is bad, mmkay?  So EVIL!"  Does anyone know of an RPG that depicts the Nahua or a Nahua expy that doesn't invoke that tired old racist trope?  Preferably one that displays Nahua religion, with nextlaoaliztli present, without moralizing about it?

<rant>
Seriously, every major RPG of my day that has featured any Mesoamerican content whatsoever (which is, itself, a distressingly small number ~ I can think of Deadlands, Shadowrun, D&D2e/Maztica, and D&D3.x third-party products, and I feel like I'm forgetting an obvious one or two) has at least included elements of that.  Deadlands at least had the "Oh, but these few teteo are good!" inclusion so that qweens could play "acceptable" Nahua characters, but their storyline in-setting was almost inevitably all about fighting the evil Aztecs who wanted, like, their land back or whatever.  And whatever else might be true about Precious/Feathered Serpent, I can never see him portrayed as the sole good teotl/one of the only good teteo without thinking about effing Fray Diego Duran and his theory that Precious/Feathered Serpent was actually Saint Thomas!  It might be reaching, but the colonialist BS gets baked in pretty deep.

Shadowrun had the ovaries to face up to their racist depiction of Aztechnology/Aztlan ("Blood magic is bringing back the Horrors and that's what those brown people south of the border are all trying to do!"  Fuck you, Mr. Darke) but 5th edition feels the need to go on and on about how blood magic is inherently evil and addictive unless you do it out of total, all-consuming, purest-of-the-pure love and nobility.  Nextlaoaliztli is neither the godsdamned Force nor is it effing Sunday School!
</rant>

This is a frustration that strikes me every 18 months or so, when I touch on my favorite RPGs, like Deadlands and Shadowrun, that do this bullshit.  Thanks for reading my venting.

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