Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
How faithful should a culture be adapted in an RPG?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="MGibster" data-source="post: 8660152" data-attributes="member: 4534"><p>I'm not sure I've seen demands that adaptations are more faithful, so much as I've seen demands that members of said culture are represented among the creators of the game. But I've got to ask, what exactly does it mean to be faithful to the culture that's influenced a game setting? Who's version should we be faithful to? </p><p></p><p></p><p>This is true, because a lot of people don't want to deal with those issues while they're having fun. Especially for fantasy games, most players want to be the good guys. </p><p></p><p></p><p>For me, the adaptation needs to be enough to where the players can buy into the setting and want to play. Could I play a character who owned slaves and didn't give much thought as to the morality of doing so? In the context of playing a Roman or a warlord in Hyperborea, sure. Could I play a slaveowner in a game set in the United States circa 1848? Oh, no, I'd be very uncomfortable with that. I could get invested in a Roman setting, but couldn't get invested in an Antebellum South where my character owned people. One hits closer to home. </p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't think faithful adaptations are important for most games. For my all dwarf campaign, I borrowed a lot from Bavarians but was it a faith adaption? Well, no. I lived in Munich for many years and not a single one of them lived underground. In my <em>Call of Cthlhu</em> games set in the 1920s/30s here in the United States, I don't entirely ignore the racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., etc., but I tone it down because who the hell is going to find a lot of that fun? I wouldn't call my games faithful to the era. </p><p></p><p>Ultiamtely, the answer is that it depends. For high adventure games, I typically leave out the most unpleasant aspects. For a more "realistic" game, I might include more unpleasantness with the caveat that I tone things down to ensure the game is playable.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MGibster, post: 8660152, member: 4534"] I'm not sure I've seen demands that adaptations are more faithful, so much as I've seen demands that members of said culture are represented among the creators of the game. But I've got to ask, what exactly does it mean to be faithful to the culture that's influenced a game setting? Who's version should we be faithful to? This is true, because a lot of people don't want to deal with those issues while they're having fun. Especially for fantasy games, most players want to be the good guys. For me, the adaptation needs to be enough to where the players can buy into the setting and want to play. Could I play a character who owned slaves and didn't give much thought as to the morality of doing so? In the context of playing a Roman or a warlord in Hyperborea, sure. Could I play a slaveowner in a game set in the United States circa 1848? Oh, no, I'd be very uncomfortable with that. I could get invested in a Roman setting, but couldn't get invested in an Antebellum South where my character owned people. One hits closer to home. I don't think faithful adaptations are important for most games. For my all dwarf campaign, I borrowed a lot from Bavarians but was it a faith adaption? Well, no. I lived in Munich for many years and not a single one of them lived underground. In my [I]Call of Cthlhu[/I] games set in the 1920s/30s here in the United States, I don't entirely ignore the racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., etc., but I tone it down because who the hell is going to find a lot of that fun? I wouldn't call my games faithful to the era. Ultiamtely, the answer is that it depends. For high adventure games, I typically leave out the most unpleasant aspects. For a more "realistic" game, I might include more unpleasantness with the caveat that I tone things down to ensure the game is playable. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
How faithful should a culture be adapted in an RPG?
Top