D&D 5E D&D's Inclusivity Language Alterations In Core Rules

In recent months, WotC has altered some of the text found in the original 5th Edition core rulebooks to accommodate D&D's ongoing move towards inclusivity. Many of these changes are reflected on D&D Beyond already--mainly small terminology alterations in descriptive text, rather than rules changes.

Teos Abadia (also known as Alphastream) has compiled a list of these changes. I've posted a very abbreviated, paraphrased version below, but please do check out his site for the full list and context.

• Savage foes changed to brutal, merciless, or ruthless.
• Barbarian hordes changed to invading hordes.
• References to civilized people and places removed.
• Madness or insanity removed or changed to other words like chaos.
• Usage of orcs as evil foes changed to other words like raiders.
• Terms like dim-witted and other synonyms of low intelligence raced with words like incurious.
• Language alterations surrounding gender.
• Fat removed or changed to big.
• Use of terms referring to slavery reduced or altered.
• Use of dark when referring to evil changed to words like vile or dangerous.

This is by no means the full list, and much more context can be found on Alphastream's blog post.

 

[Mecheon]

Just didging one up from a while ago (look I was out and had to lug a 2 ft tall toy home on a train I've had a weird one today)

But didn't they super water down the Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft book, just asking? I was never a huge Ravenloft guy but my friends who are were not thrilled with the new content interpretations. We did play the 5e Ravenloft adventure though and it was awesome, my friend who is Ravenloft aficionado ran it and it rocked even for me.

I wouldn't say its watered down, but its super changed. They went in on the "weekend from hell" feel of the original box set which, if you were someone who preferred it being a continuous world, probably didn't set well. They read Frankenstein more than the original TSR authors did and realised the doctor was the actual monster, for sure, given the new Darklord there (plus dropped the weird anti-athiesm angle they had which was, just weird), there isn't a domain that mangles Hinduism any more, the Blacula domain is now the Deadliest Prey domain, the "Surprises you in bed by trying to kill you but his touch heals you so you wake up alive so is it a nightmare" one-note Darklord is changed to actually be a threat and not a setpiece, Tsien Chang is changed up for the better honestly (Wasn't the original here just literately "Here is the movie A Chinese Ghost Story"?), the replacement for Tristen actually did stuff worthy of becoming a Darklord, they don't just have "Its Vlad the Impaler!" but actually make a horror setting outside of "Man it must suck to live here, huh". A lot of it is changed to be more relevant to a modern audience where "Zombie apocalypse" is a massive horror genre and we're exposed to so much more horror from around the world rather than "Well, this comedy movie says its about a ghost story...". Doubling on that, horror changes throughout time and like, consider all the horror movies and games that have come into existence since the original printing of Ravenloft

I personally reckon a few of the changes are for the better but I will oft say that Ravenloft was well in TSR's "This is a book for you to read not a place for you to play in" phase. Mind, there were a lot of those back when this was around and it was the market at the time

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, this thread has gone as far as it's likely to, and it's not really about D&D books any more. I think it's time to close it.