D&D 5E Justin Alexander's review of Shattered Obelisk is pretty scathing

[Micah Sweet]

All fun and games until you're the offended one...

So never produce anything that might possibly offend anyone? Art is risk, and intent matters.

 

[Remathilis]

So never produce anything that might possibly offend anyone? Art is risk, and intent matters.

Driving down the street is a risk, but we have traffic laws and safety features in cars to mitigate the risk. I see no difference in mitigating risk in art.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Driving down the street is a risk, but we have traffic laws and safety features in cars to mitigate the risk. I see no difference in mitigating risk in art.

Mitigation can go too far, and where that line is is very, very subjective.

 

[Irlo]

It's just a fact that every modern company in America at least is trying to be completely non-offensive to anyone.

That is simply not true. Not in the gaming industry and not in the broader American culture.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That is simply not true. Not in the gaming industry and not in the broader American culture.

It is true of WotC though, and how large a percentage of the industry do they represent?

 

[FrozenNorth]

But in D&D, it makes perfect sense to just let the Rogue be good at opening locks and sneaking around, or to let the Wizard understand arcane inscriptions and recognize magical creatures, and things like that.

True, the problem then becomes that the Fighter isn’t really good at anything except hitting.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I didn't go into cultural difference or the fact that we have our Google, Twitter and X overloards to beat us mercilessly for every mistake and make sure that the mistake is never forgotten. It's just a fact that every modern company in America at least is trying to be completely non-offensive to anyone. This is like making food that tastes good to everyone. Most of the time it'll just be bland fair that meets the baseline for food.

You're using the online home of racist hot takes --one that actively promotes those hot takes to all its users -- as a company trying to be complexly non-offensive? What exactly do you consider non-offensive?

 

[Staffan]

Mitigation can go too far, and where that line is is very, very subjective.

Right. The thing is that I don't think anyone is arguing that offensive things should be forbidden. But if you do write offensive things, you shouldn't be surprised when people take offense, and when they are very vocal about it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Right. The thing is that I don't think anyone is arguing that offensive things should be forbidden. But if you do write offensive things, you shouldn't be surprised when people take offense, and when they are very vocal about it.

WotC might disagree with you. And in any case, what counts as offensive? Is it anything anyone might be offended by, because it sure seems like that's the definition these days, and that whittles down the available material a lot.

 

[SteveC]

Right. The thing is that I don't think anyone is arguing that offensive things should be forbidden. But if you do write offensive things, you shouldn't be surprised when people take offense, and when they are very vocal about it.

I think the problem is that what's offensive changes over time. The Overton Window is the term for what's acceptable and not to discuss in public or government terms. That changes over time, and it has gotten smaller over the years. Back when 5E launched, the idea of fantasy character "races" was somewhat controversial but still present in a lot of games. Since then? It's just gone.

Back in the DarkSun days, a game could have slavery in it as something villains did and you fought against. Now? It's something that villains don't even do.

I find it interesting that there are so many things we find acceptable to have in an rpg rather than what we keep out. I suspect over time the Window of what's acceptable will get smaller in terms of mainstream gaming. I am working on an RPG in sort of the same way that some people tinker with cars, so I've seen over time how what's okay in a game changes. I've also had some people ask me how to deal with some issues as a writer and that has changed as well too. Frankly, I think in ten years or so many things that we include in games will be problematic, much as things have changed since the last ten.