So do you have multiple races simply for their exotic qualities or do they fill a roll in settings? Some times I get the feeling their are there just because that's how it's always been done.
I once read an idea that I liked: take all the classic, cliché races from Fantasy and make them all human. Give them similar traits and cultures. Suddenly you're free to play around with the usual tropes and perhaps come up with some original material.
I think that it was Zak S. Or James Raggi. Can't remember which.
Quote from: Thanos;751720So do you have multiple races simply for their exotic qualities or do they fill a roll in settings? Some times I get the feeling their are there just because that's how it's always been done.
Both? But I do sci-fi, so I like to have some sort of ecology.
It would depend on the system and the degree of crunch vs fluff.
Basically I'm trying to create my own setting and I'm mulling over races. I made up a list and it had elves and dwarves on it, with the idea to do something different with them. Then I thought why are they even on the list except that it's expected.
I guess the question is what do they add to the narrative, if anything? That might be the wrong way to put it but I can't think of anything else.
Do they fill some sort of mytho/archetype? Can that archetype be filled with humans? Probably but what is it?
Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
Quote from: Thanos;751765Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
If you don't wanna include them, then why would you? Is... is someone forcing you to? Are you in danger? TELL US
Or just grab mythical races from other world mythologies. Check out the Pundit's RPG based on Hindu mythology, for example. It *can* be done.
Quote from: Thanos;751765Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
Same reason there are Orcs, Dwarves and Hobbits: the influence of the Middle Earth.
Quote from: dragoner;751769Same reason there are Orcs, Dwarves and Hobbits: the influence of the Middle Earth.
Damn you Tolkien! Damn you to hell.
(Note to self: no ranting on how boring LotR is)
Quote from: Thanos;751720So do you have multiple races simply for their exotic qualities or do they fill a roll in settings? Some times I get the feeling their are there just because that's how it's always been done.
In sci-fi, I usually spend a lot of time on races that fill a roll in the setting.
In fantasy, I usually start with just-human and then only add non-humans if there's a really good reason. But in both cases I tend to be flexible with player requests -- so if someone in the game really wants to be a dwarf, or wants to hate dwarfs, and it's not antithetical to the world, then I'd put them in.
IMO one of the major advantages of making your own setting is that you can do a lot with cultures and races. Interesting sci-fi races can really add a lot to the game. Likewise, putting in stock fantasy races can immediately establish that this game is taking place "mostly" in a highly-relatable world.
Cheers,
-E.
My setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics uses traditional fantasy races for comfort and familiarity, but twists their details.
Elves are nomadic sociopaths that made slaves of all the other races millennia ago.
Dwarves escaped enslavement by hiding underground, where they run around killing everything in the hope of finding more gold (accumulating wealth is all that matters to them).
Orcs escaped as well, and tried to follow the dwarves underground but were massacred as invaders. The few orcs that survived both the elves and dwarves had no choice but to seek refuge where everyone else feared to follow them: into a giant crashed spaceship, where the ship's computers have forcibly implanted all kinds of cybernetics into them.
So yeah, the elves and dwarves are sadistic bastards and the orcs are persecuted survivalists (now with cyberware). I'm contemplating including some other gonzo stuff as well, like Tinker Kobolds and medieval judge dredd types trying to impose law and order on the uncivilized chaos (complete with alchemical CSI kits). If anybody cares I was planning on uploading it all as a free supplement to DCC once I finish fleshing it out and writing it.
Quote from: Thanos;751765Basically I'm trying to create my own setting and I'm mulling over races. I made up a list and it had elves and dwarves on it, with the idea to do something different with them. Then I thought why are they even on the list except that it's expected.
I guess the question is what do they add to the narrative, if anything? That might be the wrong way to put it but I can't think of anything else.
Do they fill some sort of mytho/archetype? Can that archetype be filled with humans? Probably but what is it?
Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
I suggest that you do what you think is best, and if that means not including elves, dwarves, etc, then don't. I have played in many human-centric fantasy settings that worked just fine. I think the only thing to keep in mind is your players. Whatever the reason, lots of gamers like the standard races and have come to expect them, so I do think it can be a somewhat tougher sell if you have players walking in expecting to be a en elf wizard or a dwarves fighter. It can definitely be done though.
Quote from: Thanos;751765Basically I'm trying to create my own setting and I'm mulling over races. I made up a list and it had elves and dwarves on it, with the idea to do something different with them. Then I thought why are they even on the list except that it's expected.
I guess the question is what do they add to the narrative, if anything? That might be the wrong way to put it but I can't think of anything else.
Do they fill some sort of mytho/archetype? Can that archetype be filled with humans? Probably but what is it?
Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
Nah, forget about archetypes and all that jazz. Ask yourself this: What do you need the race to do that Humans can't? Need a race that lives for 1000 years? Then add one. Need a race that can breathe water? See in the dark? Fly naturally? Etc. Then add one. Otherwise the race is just a human in a rubber suit.
I broke from GMing for the better part of a year between the summer of 1982 and the spring of 1983, and in so doing did a complete retool: ditching my homebrew VD&D for Fantasy Trip, and revamping my setting to be heavily based on Kenneth Bulmer's Scorpio series. As such, while I kept elves and orcs as legacy races, I used the races from that series: chuliks, fristles, khibils, katakis, djangs, ochs and so on. In the series, there's an implication that the various races were brought to the world by superhuman forces for reasons unknown; I kept the presumption.
But if I was to do it all over again? I might not use any. I'm mindful of Joss Whedon's explanation for not having aliens in Firefly: that in bog-standard SF, alien races paper over character traits with stereotypes. Yeah, it's understandable if the Klingons are torturers who eat babies; they're Klingons. Yeah, we get that the Minbari are wise and spiritual; they're Minbari. Whedon opined that with only humans around, questions of ethics and morality couldn't be so easily waved off as aberrations of "that kind."
My homebrew fantasy setting only has humans, so far. There are two other civilized species on the planet but they haven't met yet. When I need something weird/exotic/scary there are plenty of human examples to draw from... mix n match... and beyond that there are magical constructs in a wild variety of shapes and purposes (like the droids in Star Wars... but more golem/homunculous flavored, not usually a playable 'race'... more like talking appliances).
There is a group that's a bit more like 'elves' and another that's a bit more like 'dwarves'... but that's pretty much unintentional, I wrote them down thinking 'French/Vietnamese' and 'Yeti/Caveman'.
Quote from: Thanos;751765Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
Said before but because Tolkien. However Talisanta doesn't have elves and if you play a game based on Conan or Bran Mac Morn there won't be any elves either.
Something that might be worth trying is looking at the different faerie mythologies from around the world and seeing if you could take some inspiration from those : nearly every country has myths about ' the little people ' and they are often very different from the 'Tinkerbell ' trope that we have in the West.
Spare us yet another fucking regurgitation of the Tolkein-esque staples of elves, dwarves, halflings and orcs. Anything but that tired old shit yet again.
Our current fantasy game is primarily humans, with Planetouched (genasi, aasimar, tieflings) as a minority with even rarer other stuff like gnolls, ogres and trolls.
No Tolkein-standbys anywhere.
Goblins often in my campaigns represent a generally selfish, but well-organized, savage bulwark against harsh monster-filled wilderness. So human civilization does not face continuous assault by big magical monsters, as there's so many goblins in the badlands to go through, easily harass, and feed off of. Occasionally goblins raid humanity because of easy opportunity or extra pressure, but in general they prefer to keep their own territory -- which often is the poorer wastes and wilds, which is easier to hold and less desired.
As for elves, I sort of like the "civilization so old and calcified, and so long lived, that they are finding themselves helpless before rapid evolutionary adaptation." Better than the eco-terrorist elves. It explains their lack of world dominance any more, and their slow XP progression.
It also works wonderfully well for dragons, too! They are just older, more calcified, and longer-lived that what's left can barely be called dragon civilization. Further they found their attempts at civ. so decadent as to be a failed experiment not worth trying anymore. Sorta like if you follow Hindu or Native American mythos where great ages rolled by cycle by cycle, and people willfully escaped to technical devolution to avoid too much destruction.
I guess those elves and dragons represent ennui in the face of entropy; races who have succumbed to the knowledge of the King in Yellow or something.
Depends on the setting. But I prefer both.
In some settings an elf an orc and a dragon are not much different from a human in culture or personality after you scrub off the pointy ears or snouts and some particular quirk.
In others the same elf orc and dragon races might have very fleshed out and defined cultures and outlooks.
A fully human setting can be fun, a fully alien setting can be boring. Or the other way round.
Presentation and how it all fits together is they key.
One question that comes up is.
How many races is too many races?
I like a nice spread of options. But not too many all at once.
Quote from: Thanos;751765Basically I'm trying to create my own setting and I'm mulling over races. I made up a list and it had elves and dwarves on it, with the idea to do something different with them. Then I thought why are they even on the list except that it's expected.
They are on the list because you put them on the list. Simple as that.
If you don't want them on the list then take them off. It's your setting, why include things you don't like?
Quote from: Thanos;751765Why are there God damn elves in fantasy games!!!!
Generically, because of Lord of the Rings.
On a setting by setting basis, it depends.
- A Dark Ages game set in northern Europe has them because they are there in the mythology.
- A medieval Britain game has them because they are in the folklore.
- Something like Corum has them because they are inherent parts of the setting.
- Glorantha has them because they are fit the Plant-Man combination.
- D&D settings have them because D&D has them.
- Discworld has them because Lords and Ladies was funny.
Quote from: Necrozius;751723I once read an idea that I liked: take all the classic, cliché races from Fantasy and make them all human. Give them similar traits and cultures. Suddenly you're free to play around with the usual tropes and perhaps come up with some original material.
Technically this is what Shadowrun did. All the fantasy races are still humans, though I think you were probably thinking something a little less as far out as how Shadowrun did it.
Quote from: Opaopajr;751896As for elves, I sort of like the "civilization so old and calcified, and so long lived, that they are finding themselves helpless before rapid evolutionary adaptation." Better than the eco-terrorist elves. It explains their lack of world dominance any more, and their slow XP progression.
That's pretty much the trope I follow for elves: that given their longevity, their answer to many problems is "In fifty years they'll all die off anyway." A significant plot thread in my campaign in recent years has involved PCs trying to goad the powerful (and isolationist) elven nation into action on the world stage.
I think the important thing isn't *why* you have races, it's the fact that you have a reason at all.
99% of the reason to have races (to have something mysterious!) can be done with human cultures just as easily. Put non-humans in for a reason, not just because you assume they should be.
Note that "because my audience expects them" is a perfectly valid reason :)
A lot of 'races' in various media are just there to have an analog to a real-world culture that's somewhat less offensive.
I'd agree with robiswrong. While there's nothing inherently wrong with fantasy races, I think they're overdone. You should consider fantasy options other than race.
Races are a code for how the fantasy world is divided up. Fantasy races are exaggerated differences that associate physical and supernatural differences with race. So for a lot of fantasy worlds, the first question about a PC or an NPC is typically what race they are. There are lots of other possibilities, though, that can emphasize other things. For example,
1) Werewolf: The Apocalypse makes time of birth into a major component of character. There are also birth sign effects in a number of medieval-inspired games like Chivalry & Sorcery, HarnMaster, and Fantasy Wargaming.
2) In a fantasy world, one's religion could be a major effect. So followers of the Sun God could be as different from the Earth Goddess as dwarves are from elves.
3) Nationality could be have a fantasy component. This is implied in 7th Sea and Legend of the 5 Rings, though I'm not sure if it is explicit. i.e. If a Castillian family settles in Avalon and adopts their ways, will their children be Castillian or Avalon? The latter would make it interestingly distinct from race.
4) Birth order is often of great importance in fairy tales and myth, and novels like Orson Scott Card's Seventh Son or Patricia Wrede's Thirteenth Child. It would be interesting for that to have a major effect on character creation in a fantasy world.
If you have fantasy races, there are some non-standard options to consider as well, besides varying what the races are:
1) Races can be mixed. So you could have a character that is half-orc, quarter elf, and quarter dwarf. This would require a system that allows picking and choosing among traits rather than rigidly defined race options.
2) The races are not monocultures. Probably this would mean having fewer races, but some contrasting cultures within each race.
3) Humans don't exist, or exist but aren't the central norm. For example, you might have a world primarily populated by various small races - goblins, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings - and humans are the strange "giants" of the world.
Quote from: Thanos;751720So do you have multiple races simply for their exotic qualities or do they fill a roll in settings? Some times I get the feeling their are there just because that's how it's always been done.
For an interesting take on fantasy races read Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos and Dragaera novels. Basically there are two races: Humans/Easterners (us) and Dragaerans/Elves. The Dragaerans maintain an Empire that has lasted for hundreds of thousands of years through the use of endless cycles of political houses and the peaceful transference of power.
There are other races too but they are minor. The Serioli are never described but apparently are a small gnome-like race which makes magic items. The Jhereg are intelligent mini-dragons with a poisonous bite. Then there are The Gods and the Jenoine, a second group of god beings who are attempting to reenter the world.
Quote from: Doughdee222;752086For an interesting take on fantasy races read Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos and Dragaera novels. Basically there are two races: Humans/Easterners (us) and Dragaerans/Elves. The Dragaerans maintain an Empire that has lasted for hundreds of thousands of years through the use of endless cycles of political houses and the peaceful transference of power.
So why couldn't the Dragaerans been humans of a different culture?
Quote from: robiswrong;752087So why couldn't the Dragaerans been humans of a different culture?
Because then they wouldn't be Dragaerans. :)
But seriously, what's the real hangup with having elves*. Players/people like elves, it's just pretentious game/world designers like me (on the internet mostly) that hate elves. If you say "fantasy" and there aren't elves, then to most players, it ain't fantasy. The elves won this battle as far as I can tell, so rather than fight it, run with it. Make interesting elves and throw in some cool human cultures (and elven cultures too).
*et al
Quote from: Brander;752090Because then they wouldn't be Dragaerans. :)
But seriously, what's the real hangup with having elves*. Players/people like elves, it's just pretentious game/world designers like me (on the internet mostly) that hate elves. If you say "fantasy" and there aren't elves, then to most players, it ain't fantasy. The elves won this battle as far as I can tell, so rather than fight it, run with it. Make interesting elves and throw in some cool human cultures (and elven cultures too).
*et al
I don't care if people have elves. Hell, I even suggested that having elves for no other reason than "my audience expects it" is perfectly understandable.
But the Dragaeran example was interesting because of the *culture* and political systems, not because of the pointy ears. Most "interesting" races would be exactly as interesting if you turned them into humans with the same culture.
Quote from: robiswrong;752087So why couldn't the Dragaerans been humans of a different culture?
Because their culture largely depended upon individuals living for several thousand years. Oh I suppose humans with a normal life span could have been used, but the whole flavor would have been changed too.
I think a lot depends on the tone of the setting as well.
It can be fun to have the classic races and really most people end up playing most races other than human just like a human but short or with pointy ears. That or to a stereotype. Its like a previous poster said its sort of a Star Trek effect. That being said its great for a more lighthearted approach.
I think if you want to have a more dark or horror feel its best to only allow human PCs as is easier to relate to and makes the non human races well more non human.
Either works though just depends on what you want to achieve.
Quote from: robiswrong;752092But the Dragaeran example was interesting because of the *culture* and political systems, not because of the pointy ears. Most "interesting" races would be exactly as interesting if you turned them into humans with the same culture.
Then you run into the problem of "ho-hum. Generic Human on human culture war #5639..." Like in some space themed settings. "Oh its just all humans. Again..."
Others really get into that. The conflict of human ideology. Others want human only and NO cultural difference. Just explore. Possibly run into alien ANIMALS. But no advanced aliens.
Totally a personal taste thing.
Funny example: When Ironclaw came out some asked "Why arent they all humans?" Answer. Easy enough to do.
Not so funny funny example. When Maus came out some people asked. "Why arent they all humans?" That misses the point of the story and the visual representations. And this was the authors way of coping with and writing down the things he experienced.
Someone IS going to want all humans, someone IS going to despise all humans.
Figure out what your players lean to and work it accordingly.
Quote from: robiswrong;752087So why couldn't the Dragaerans been humans of a different culture?
As to that ... what Doughdee didn't mention was that the series is set in the Dragaeran Empire, where humans are a tiny (and disliked) minority and the culture is overwhelmingly Dragaeran. The Dragaerans call
themselves "humans" -- the degree to which they're racially distinct is that they're a good bit taller than humans and have somewhat tapered features. No pointy ears. The only recurring character who uses the term "elves" is the (human) protagonist's grandfather, an old fashioned fellow from the Old Country. What Dragaerans call humans are "Easterners" or "Fenarians" if they're being civil, and various slurs if they're not.
The protagonist is only mildly bugged by this, being a 3rd generation immigrant, but gets more touchy about it as the series progresses, partially in contact with his wife, who's something of a human rights activist.
I generally have the standard D&D races in D&D settings either because it's a published setting, or I want to run published adventures. However I'll tend to present it as humanocentric, with other races rare - so I'll ignore eg 3e D&D default demographics, were every little village has a diverse array of non-human races. Most settlements IMCs tend to be 99% human with the occasional dwarf or half-elf.
I'm pretty sure the default D&D setting already IS overwhelmingly humanocentric.
Quote from: Axiomatic;752504I'm pretty sure the default D&D setting already IS overwhelmingly humanocentric.
The setting might be, but it's rarely reflected in PC parties or their interaction with the world. It's not uncommon to have a party with no humans at all, or at best a token human - I see it all the time in actual play write-ups and other sources. Everyone leaps for the exotic. Yet that seems to have no impact whatsoever on how they get about the world.
Quote from: Kiero;752513The setting might be, but it's rarely reflected in PC parties or their interaction with the world. It's not uncommon to have a party with no humans at all, or at best a token human - I see it all the time in actual play write-ups and other sources. Everyone leaps for the exotic. Yet that seems to have no impact whatsoever on how they get about the world.
Yeah, pretty much. How many parties
ever have to put up with a racially hostile town? A shopkeeper spitting on the ground and growling "Your silver's no good here. We don't serve your kind in
this town. Freak."
Quote from: Ravenswing;752562Yeah, pretty much. How many parties ever have to put up with a racially hostile town? A shopkeeper spitting on the ground and growling "Your silver's no good here. We don't serve your kind in this town. Freak."
This was a big part of the Ravenloft setting. Demihumans did exist but they were feared and distrusted. In one domain they were even branded.
Quote from: Omega;752166Then you run into the problem of "ho-hum. Generic Human on human culture war #5639..." Like in some space themed settings. "Oh its just all humans. Again..."
Then make the cultures non-generic. That's the real problem, and just putting pointy ears on one dull culture doesn't really help.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with having non-human races. I just don't buy into the "humans are boring, non-humans are interesting" argument. Mostly I just find that it's a matter of the human cultures that people coming up with being boring.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;752563This was a big part of the Ravenloft setting. Demihumans did exist but they were feared and distrusted. In one domain they were even branded.
It's also important in Birthright's Cerilia.
Also has presence in Forgotten Realms relations, like Horde, Kara-Tur, Maztica and its conquest, the Lands of Intrigue with Amn (Maztica colonizers) and Calimshan, etc.
I'm reading Thyatis & Alsatia of Mystara Known World, and prejudice is there and denoted. It was in Hollow World, too. Jakandor plays upon this tension heavily.
Even Planescape, the motley crew of settings, plays on the whole in-group v. out-group tension.
But something all changed, roughly after 2000 :rolleyes: ... somehow motley crews in egalitarian cosmopolitan backwaters became the norm. Now I see PF has introduced the joys of anachronisms to the fold. Geau effortless cross-classing!
:p
I have the bones of a fantasy homebrew world that I came up with when I was fifteen, and for ease of inspiration (and nostalgia, and in recognition of the countless hours I spent mapping it and living in it in my head back then!), when I started gaming again recently I pulled out my old stuff and started working up some of the areas I hadn't used so much back then ...
But there was one big change. The countless dwarven strongholds in the mighty mountain ranges, the whole COUNTRIES overrun by orcs, the "City of the Dead" controlled by an ancient lich and his undead hordes ... all gone. Out the window. No more civilisations of demi-humans or goblinoids. No, all the cultures were to be human, and actually HAVE a culture, and interact with each other. This is not to say that there are only humans in the world, but just that humans have pretty much only ever seen other humans, unless they venture into the wild or dabble in magic (which very very few now do).
So yes, there are elves, but they're not playable, they're ancient, alien, inhuman, wild fae-creatures. Much more like Changling : The Lost's True Fae, or indeed elves as described in Pratchett's Lords and Ladies. I think he got them so right. That's also how they are in the Irish legends that I'm drawing on for the particular region I'm setting a planned campaign in, where elves can be dealt with and bargained with, but never understood, trusted, or played as characters. Equally, there may be dwarves, or gnomes, or at least small, stunted "faeries" who live underground, but not in vast cities; rather as isolated and weird, horrific remnants of creatures from before the rise of humanity. Basically, all of the demi-humans go into the same bracket as things like dryads, satyrs, selkies, swanmays, goblins, ogres, trolls, etc. They are all creatures of "Faery", and very rarely to be met. When they are, I want them to be the objects of wonder, terror, and a real feel of magical weirdness.
If I need something to feel the "humanoids" category, I'm thinking of going for "degenerate" human tribes that are cannibals, worship horrific gods, etc; I think it's a very good point about Firefly, and how having all humans stops you sweeping moral questions under the carpet because all "orcs" or "klingons" are just like that ... The fact that the marauders on the hulk-ships in Firefly (forget what they were called) were once human, and were now chaos degenerate cannibal rapists, well ... that made them more horrifying than orcs can ever be ...
Quote from: Ravenswing;752562Yeah, pretty much. How many parties ever have to put up with a racially hostile town? A shopkeeper spitting on the ground and growling "Your silver's no good here. We don't serve your kind in this town. Freak."
I'm pretty sure that spitting on the ground in front of adventurers is selected against by evolution. Over years, the setting very quickly becomes composed exclusively out of towns that didn't spit in front of the adventurers.
Quote from: Axiomatic;753122I'm pretty sure that spitting on the ground in front of adventurers is selected against by evolution. Over years, the setting very quickly becomes composed exclusively out of towns that didn't spit in front of the adventurers.
Exactly. There is a reason you become an adventurer and it isn't because you're Joe Average.
Quote from: Axiomatic;753122I'm pretty sure that spitting on the ground in front of adventurers is selected against by evolution. Over years, the setting very quickly becomes composed exclusively out of towns that didn't spit in front of the adventurers.
Mercenaries tend to die when they get uppity, especially when their numbers are less than an army. They're hired because they are expendable, nothing more. Better Than Joe Average still dies surrounded by a hostile world of Joe Averages.
Quote from: Axiomatic;753122I'm pretty sure that spitting on the ground in front of adventurers is selected against by evolution. Over years, the setting very quickly becomes composed exclusively out of towns that didn't spit in front of the adventurers.
Or ... we have an alternate paradigm. One where the local authorities are in hot pursuit of the bandit band who murdered Master Minoru the apothecary in cold blood, and where -- if they get away -- their names and descriptions are circulated around the realm, with large prices on their heads. Ones that other bands of adventu -- err, bounty hunters -- are very pleased to seek to collect.
Not so hard of a band to find, after all -- it was full of those freaks! Doesn't this prove that they're all slavering murderers, just waiting to slaughter good and decent humans? Kill them all, we say!
Quote from: Opaopajr;753165Mercenaries tend to die when they get uppity, especially when their numbers are less than an army. They're hired because they are expendable, nothing more. Better Than Joe Average still dies surrounded by a hostile world of Joe Averages.
I've never done this, but reading it has caused an evil thought to cross my mind, using a historical narrative. You arrive at a town where the locals seemed dressed up in their finery, only to reach the center, where they are burning the genitals off a hanged body, with a celebratory manner. It happened, it begs a question to as what they do; however I'm going to skip this scenario for real.
Meh, that stuff has a limited shelf life and if you play dirty pool your players will also. So use those tactics sparingly.
It was just an evil thought, I'm not going to do it. Reality is a hell of a thing tho'.
Quote from: Axiomatic;753122I'm pretty sure that spitting on the ground in front of adventurers is selected against by evolution. Over years, the setting very quickly becomes composed exclusively out of towns that didn't spit in front of the adventurers.
Only if you're assuming the sort of setup whereby the adventurers are more powerful than anyone else nearby, and have no constraints whatsoever on their behaviour.
In my own game the PCs (and their retinue) are some highly capable badasses, seasoned warriors and warleaders all. But the city they are working for can call on over 500 citizens to arm up and defend the community; and besides which without the city they have no work.
Furthermore, if they're inside the walls of the city, they do so without weapons or armour, since as foreigners they are not permitted to enter with them. A not uncommon law in colonies on "barbarian" shores with a long history of dealing with local discontent.