Is it good to deconstruct stereotypes?


Here's the basic idea...

I'm thinking of a Ghost City Raiders expansion called "Scoundrels". The characters in this expansion tend to have personal agendas which earn them victory points for stealing things from other characters, or generally causing trouble.

A couple of the character ideas I have in mind are liars; one in particular is a master of bluffing.

This is the character that I think has some great story potential within the game; but I'm wondering how they will be taken.

The character-type is specifically of Asian descent, and reflects a few Asian people I've known (one of whom was ethnic Chinese, one Vietnamese and another Korean). This character exploits the stereotypes around them. Many people assume that since the character is "Asian", they "must know martial arts". The character does nothing to dispell that myth, and actually plays up on it.

In Ghost City Raiders, they get "bluff" and a range of other skills that represent their deception, but they also get a special ability that allows them to specifically get out of a combat situation because people are in fear of their "awesome ninja moves". When it actually comes to combat, the character is pretty much rubbish.

This kind of idea could be applied to all sorts of settings and certainly to other character types within this game.

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