Do you enjoy committing genocide?

Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
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Frankster said:
Souplex said:
But humans are also nuclear-armed, obstinate, and xenocidal. (Literally nobody in this thread has condemned this theoretical genocide) Pigs taste almost exactly like humans (Many cannibalistic cultures call human flesh variations on "Long Pig", "Tall Pig", "Upright Pig" for this reason) have a similar texture, and have comparable meat-race traits to the cow. Any space-faring race could simply trade their space-resources (Helium-3, Iridium, metals mined from asteroids, or services that can only be achieved with their advanced technology such as terraforming to counteract global-warming) for these meats with much less effort and cost than an invasion.
I admit I'm a bit lost. But then..I'm getting the impression you are taking me more literally then intended in that you seem to be treating my comments on human eating legit seriously, quoting science and stats.

Basically I'm just recounting how my most recent space empire in Stellaris (the comment i was replying to and the related pic were from that game) would see things, aka view purging as a great waste of good food.
The humans in my games are xenophiles (i'm playing the xenophobic spiritual authoritarian race ty vm), had much better then nukes when i invaded them with my armies of psionics and fleets of ships bigger then planets, and i'm building ringworlds and dyson spheres.... So it just seems a bit odd to single out the human eating prospect and go scientific on me on that particular thing, especially when I'm now trying to summon elder gods from beyond the void to utterly destroy the galaxy.

That said, on an actual serious response to some of what you said: We humans do innefficient things all the friggin time for all sorts of reasons, we ain't machines whose every decision is based on mathematical logic.
I don't think it's out of the question that this would also apply to extraterrestial forms of life even if super advanced, and you look at things very dryly.. I can easily see plenty of reasons why an alien species might want to seek out human meat over pig one even if it does taste the same :3 Cultural value? The symbolism of eating a sentient species (aka eating the brain makes you smarter!)? The only limit here is your lack of imagination frankly. And those ressources you quote can be found in abundance by your own admission, whereas the humans only come from 1 planet.. Seems rare enough to me especially if we are talking about a hypothetical space empire numbering in the millions of planets. Make it a food only for the elite, like caviar!
Gotta love how I suddenly finding myself in the corner for the advocation of human eating though..
But yeah seriously, this is how my current game of stellaris is. Don't worry, it's a one off, I usually prefer to play xenophiles but i wanted to be "evil" for once and do all the things i normally don't do in the game.

And i'm always doubly confused when I see us tooting our own horns as prospective space badasses even though we have yet to actually meet a space faring species to which we can compare ourselves to. Right now our only basis of comparison is based entirely on our own fiction, and for all we know nukes isn't really the trump card we think it is. Cue a race like the elerians (from masters of orion 2, just to make clear i'm referencing a game once again) simply coming over and mind controlling everyone so they meet 0 resistance and 0 nukes and take over the world without firing a single shot and people actually volunteer to be food and walk into the meat mincer machine of their own "free" will. Friggin elerians, so OP.
Mostly I'm just a pedantic asshole, but it was fun to think through the practicality. There are legit reasons to invade us, (Territorial expansion, slave labor, etc.) eating us just seems wasteful.
 

Frankster

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Mar 13, 2009
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Souplex said:
Mostly I'm just a pedantic asshole, but it was fun to think through the practicality. There are legit reasons to invade us, (Territorial expansion, slave labor, etc.) eating us just seems wasteful.
Fair enough'

And hopefully no aliens will invade us so isn't a situation we would have to mull over too much *fingers crossed*
 

the December King

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The Decapitated Centaur said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
So the thought has been bouncing around in my head for a while now: Can you ethically justify genocide against the Illithids?
Background for people who don't know D&D minutiae: The Illithids or "Mindflayers" are a psychic race of universally-evil brain-eating squid men.
In order to live, they must eat the brains of other sentient races, and they are biologically programmed to see other species as little more than cattle and slaves.
In order to reproduce they place a larva into the head of a living humanoid which then eats the brain and re-purposes the body into a new illithid.
tldr: They can only function by murdering other sentient beings.
Therefore, would genocide against them be justifiable?
Certainly would have to be contemplated. Perhaps if the Illithid actually took humans and humanoids as threats to their existence (a laughable concept to any DM who loves his monsters), then they could be convinced to alter their needs through dietary and sexual (and likely magical) experimentation, or perhaps settling on other options, like eating the brains of the recently deceased through civil permissions. In these cases, they would have to adapt to survive.

Nonetheless, as I see it from the rest of the intelligent race's point of view (possibly excluding the Children of Gith of course, who are all twisted by their racially ingrained desires for revenge against the Mind Flayers), the necessary acts taken would have nothing to do with "enjoying" them.

Cool question!
I mean for magical solutions maybe just a ring of sustenance for dietary needs
oh... then,

okay.

Problem solved!
 

Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
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the December King said:
The Decapitated Centaur said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
So the thought has been bouncing around in my head for a while now: Can you ethically justify genocide against the Illithids?
Background for people who don't know D&D minutiae: The Illithids or "Mindflayers" are a psychic race of universally-evil brain-eating squid men.
In order to live, they must eat the brains of other sentient races, and they are biologically programmed to see other species as little more than cattle and slaves.
In order to reproduce they place a larva into the head of a living humanoid which then eats the brain and re-purposes the body into a new illithid.
tldr: They can only function by murdering other sentient beings.
Therefore, would genocide against them be justifiable?
Certainly would have to be contemplated. Perhaps if the Illithid actually took humans and humanoids as threats to their existence (a laughable concept to any DM who loves his monsters), then they could be convinced to alter their needs through dietary and sexual (and likely magical) experimentation, or perhaps settling on other options, like eating the brains of the recently deceased through civil permissions. In these cases, they would have to adapt to survive.

Nonetheless, as I see it from the rest of the intelligent race's point of view (possibly excluding the Children of Gith of course, who are all twisted by their racially ingrained desires for revenge against the Mind Flayers), the necessary acts taken would have nothing to do with "enjoying" them.

Cool question!
I mean for magical solutions maybe just a ring of sustenance for dietary needs
oh... then,

okay.

Problem solved!
There's no ring of sustenance in 5th edition. Problem not solved.
 

the December King

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Souplex said:
the December King said:
The Decapitated Centaur said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
So the thought has been bouncing around in my head for a while now: Can you ethically justify genocide against the Illithids?
Background for people who don't know D&D minutiae: The Illithids or "Mindflayers" are a psychic race of universally-evil brain-eating squid men.
In order to live, they must eat the brains of other sentient races, and they are biologically programmed to see other species as little more than cattle and slaves.
In order to reproduce they place a larva into the head of a living humanoid which then eats the brain and re-purposes the body into a new illithid.
tldr: They can only function by murdering other sentient beings.
Therefore, would genocide against them be justifiable?
Certainly would have to be contemplated. Perhaps if the Illithid actually took humans and humanoids as threats to their existence (a laughable concept to any DM who loves his monsters), then they could be convinced to alter their needs through dietary and sexual (and likely magical) experimentation, or perhaps settling on other options, like eating the brains of the recently deceased through civil permissions. In these cases, they would have to adapt to survive.

Nonetheless, as I see it from the rest of the intelligent race's point of view (possibly excluding the Children of Gith of course, who are all twisted by their racially ingrained desires for revenge against the Mind Flayers), the necessary acts taken would have nothing to do with "enjoying" them.

Cool question!
I mean for magical solutions maybe just a ring of sustenance for dietary needs
oh... then,

okay.

Problem solved!
There's no ring of sustenance in 5th edition. Problem not solved.
Ugh, sorry, I have been playing Pathfinder, and I tend to use 3.5 rules, anyways.

Think outside the box, my good man.

Or... just, like, make it up.
 

Xan Krieger

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Feb 11, 2009
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I imagine it would be like hunting bloodsuckers in the STALKER series so yes I'd enjoy it. It really is a "them or us" case so if you're gonna have to wipe out a race you might as well get some fun of it.
 

Ender910_v1legacy

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Oct 22, 2009
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Mass mayhem, murder, and destruction? Sure. Genocide though? Just doesn't interest me in of itself. Tusken Raiders in SWG might be the closest temptation I've ever had, solely because of just how annoyingly aggressive the cranky bastards tend to be. (And dangerous)
 

Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
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the December King said:
Souplex said:
the December King said:
The Decapitated Centaur said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
So the thought has been bouncing around in my head for a while now: Can you ethically justify genocide against the Illithids?
Background for people who don't know D&D minutiae: The Illithids or "Mindflayers" are a psychic race of universally-evil brain-eating squid men.
In order to live, they must eat the brains of other sentient races, and they are biologically programmed to see other species as little more than cattle and slaves.
In order to reproduce they place a larva into the head of a living humanoid which then eats the brain and re-purposes the body into a new illithid.
tldr: They can only function by murdering other sentient beings.
Therefore, would genocide against them be justifiable?
Certainly would have to be contemplated. Perhaps if the Illithid actually took humans and humanoids as threats to their existence (a laughable concept to any DM who loves his monsters), then they could be convinced to alter their needs through dietary and sexual (and likely magical) experimentation, or perhaps settling on other options, like eating the brains of the recently deceased through civil permissions. In these cases, they would have to adapt to survive.

Nonetheless, as I see it from the rest of the intelligent race's point of view (possibly excluding the Children of Gith of course, who are all twisted by their racially ingrained desires for revenge against the Mind Flayers), the necessary acts taken would have nothing to do with "enjoying" them.

Cool question!
I mean for magical solutions maybe just a ring of sustenance for dietary needs
oh... then,

okay.

Problem solved!
There's no ring of sustenance in 5th edition. Problem not solved.
Ugh, sorry, I have been playing Pathfinder, and I tend to use 3.5 rules, anyways.

Think outside the box, my good man.

Or... just, like, make it up.
I need a solution before my Paladin goes up against them. I don't want to have to fall.
Also; a ring of sustenance might not provide the psychic energy they need.
 

the December King

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Yo, you have to be in communicado with your DM, then. It's betwixt you and... them, then , yeah?

Otherwise, it's hunt them like in S.T.A.L.K.E.R, or make peace, like in some soft goddamn StarTrek game.

(Just kidding- if you are able to broker peace with the Illithid in a tabletop or pathfinder or other proper RPG, then color me most impressed, and please tell me all about the game!)
 

the December King

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Souplex said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
the December King said:
The Decapitated Centaur said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
So the thought has been bouncing around in my head for a while now: Can you ethically justify genocide against the Illithids?
Background for people who don't know D&D minutiae: The Illithids or "Mindflayers" are a psychic race of universally-evil brain-eating squid men.
In order to live, they must eat the brains of other sentient races, and they are biologically programmed to see other species as little more than cattle and slaves.
In order to reproduce they place a larva into the head of a living humanoid which then eats the brain and re-purposes the body into a new illithid.
tldr: They can only function by murdering other sentient beings.
Therefore, would genocide against them be justifiable?
Certainly would have to be contemplated. Perhaps if the Illithid actually took humans and humanoids as threats to their existence (a laughable concept to any DM who loves his monsters), then they could be convinced to alter their needs through dietary and sexual (and likely magical) experimentation, or perhaps settling on other options, like eating the brains of the recently deceased through civil permissions. In these cases, they would have to adapt to survive.

Nonetheless, as I see it from the rest of the intelligent race's point of view (possibly excluding the Children of Gith of course, who are all twisted by their racially ingrained desires for revenge against the Mind Flayers), the necessary acts taken would have nothing to do with "enjoying" them.

Cool question!
I mean for magical solutions maybe just a ring of sustenance for dietary needs
oh... then,

okay.

Problem solved!
There's no ring of sustenance in 5th edition. Problem not solved.
Ugh, sorry, I have been playing Pathfinder, and I tend to use 3.5 rules, anyways.

Think outside the box, my good man.

Or... just, like, make it up.
I need a solution before my Paladin goes up against them. I don't want to have to fall.
Also; a ring of sustenance might not provide the psychic energy they need.
Woah, who said you had to "fall"?

I mean, if your Paladin was fighting for what they thought was righteous, and good, then they won't fall to anything, yeah?

I mean, there is only so far that one can spare their lives in the name of a good entity...

but then again, I've never really tried a truly devoted character...

EDIT: Look, if you want some amazing character development to unfold during the game, you have to let the DM take this. A paladin that realizes that it can't murder the universe into goodness is one of the most engaging and exciting arcs that both the DM and the player can do at the same time about the same character. It's awesome!

EDIT ADDITION: To further my point, I hope you and your DM reach an agreement about your Paladin, and the subjected (herein titled 'the Fallen', or your character), please respond! This site is in desperate need of actual feedback from the roleplaying edge, and this would be a major stepping stone (at least in my opinion).
 

Drathnoxis

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Heck yes! I'll be darned if I'm going to lose another run to those bloody h's!
Sorry Dwarves and Hobbits, but you'll have to go too so I can conserve my scrolls. Be strong.
 

CaptainMarvelous

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For added context- Illithids also remove brains live and leave them in a brine pool so they last. This is purely so they can enjoy the terrified psychic screams as their victims try and work out what happened. It's... very hard to sympathise with these things.

Ignoring the fact their empire literally blinked into existance which is the only reason other races got to the stage they are now.

I'd have extreme doubts you even could genocide them all, just take out the resident elder brain(s)
 

NeutralDrow

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Yes, I can ethically justify genociding Illithids, given that their ultimate goal is to extinguish the sun.

Not sure about other reasons. Barring some of the fan theories about them being modified future humans, they can't really help their reproduction method. Can definitely kill the ones that are eating brains (out of self-defense if nothing else), but Spelljammer mindflayers manage to get psychic sustenance without killing sentients. Hell, there's even a redeemed, Good-aligned illithid in the 3.5 Book of Exalted Deeds.
 

bastardofmelbourne

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Oh man, I love genocide. Genocide is awesome! I can see why they don't let you do it in real life, it'd be like eating ice cream and corn flakes for breakfast every day with a chaser of red wine mixed with cocaine.
 

MiskWisk

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The Lunatic said:


I don't really need much excuse to genocide.
Ha! When I saw this pop up my first thought was "Has r/Stellaris leaked onto the Escapist?"

Unlike some Stellaris players, I can't really get behind genocide. Now, genetic modification and mind control to remove problematic elements? That's more my style.
 

Wrex Brogan

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Nothing in the world makes gets me harder Ehhh, when it comes to Illithids... I mean, it's not like they're not trying to do the same to us, the brain-eating bastards.

Besides, in DnD it's really hard to truly wipe out a species - you think you've gotten the last one and your party can finally rest, when whoops, some chronomancer just 'happened' to summon some from beyond the edge of time and suddenly you've got a brand new infestation to wipe out. And when you suggest 'hey maybe we should stop the chronomancers from pulling shit outside of time' suddenly you're the bad guy and have to deal with a massive PR disaster, all because of a damn 1. And then the rogue rolls another one and starts combat with the journalists...

Wait, what were we talking about again?
 

CaptainMarvelous

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Souplex said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
the December King said:
The Decapitated Centaur said:
the December King said:
Souplex said:
So the thought has been bouncing around in my head for a while now: Can you ethically justify genocide against the Illithids?
Background for people who don't know D&D minutiae: The Illithids or "Mindflayers" are a psychic race of universally-evil brain-eating squid men.
In order to live, they must eat the brains of other sentient races, and they are biologically programmed to see other species as little more than cattle and slaves.
In order to reproduce they place a larva into the head of a living humanoid which then eats the brain and re-purposes the body into a new illithid.
tldr: They can only function by murdering other sentient beings.
Therefore, would genocide against them be justifiable?
Certainly would have to be contemplated. Perhaps if the Illithid actually took humans and humanoids as threats to their existence (a laughable concept to any DM who loves his monsters), then they could be convinced to alter their needs through dietary and sexual (and likely magical) experimentation, or perhaps settling on other options, like eating the brains of the recently deceased through civil permissions. In these cases, they would have to adapt to survive.

Nonetheless, as I see it from the rest of the intelligent race's point of view (possibly excluding the Children of Gith of course, who are all twisted by their racially ingrained desires for revenge against the Mind Flayers), the necessary acts taken would have nothing to do with "enjoying" them.

Cool question!
I mean for magical solutions maybe just a ring of sustenance for dietary needs
oh... then,

okay.

Problem solved!
There's no ring of sustenance in 5th edition. Problem not solved.
Ugh, sorry, I have been playing Pathfinder, and I tend to use 3.5 rules, anyways.

Think outside the box, my good man.

Or... just, like, make it up.
I need a solution before my Paladin goes up against them. I don't want to have to fall.
Also; a ring of sustenance might not provide the psychic energy they need.
Well, given how their empire rise and fell so quickly and with so little foreshadowing that ABOLETHS find it creepy, your Paladin would be justified in thinking its mass murder not genocide and avenges their victims. Plus, every single illithid has snuffed out another creatures life to use its body. They have to START guilty.

If you dont know much about them then you equally have no way to know if you're genociding them. Unless you're against the Oldest Brain, you're really just wiping out a colony of evil, evil monsters.

At least imo, consult with DM.

EDIT: Also the Screaming Brain Gardens
 

renegade7

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Is it stipulated that the Illithid need a healthy sentient host to reproduce? Because if not, then I can think of a compromise that would be to everyone's benefit: find a way to mass-produce brain-dead clones for the Illithid to use. That way no one has to suffer, and perhaps the Illithids will become a bit less evil when this can be used to give them a real chance to assimilate with non-squid society.