D&D 5E [Merged] Candlekeep Mysteries Author Speaks Out On WotC's Cuts To Adventure

In an event which is being referred to as #PanzerCut, one of the Candlekeep Mysteries authors has gone public with complaints about how their adventure was edited.

Book of Cylinders is one of the adventures in the book. It was written by Graeme Barber (who goes by the usernames PanzerLion and PoCGamer on social media).

Barber was caught by surprise when he found out what the final adventure looked like. The adventure was reduced by about a third, and his playable race -- the Grippli -- was cut. Additionally, WotC inserted some terminology that he considered to be colonialist, which is one of the things they were ostensibly trying to avoid by recruiting a diverse team of authors for the book.

His complaints also reference the lack of communication during the editing process, and how he did public interviews unknowingly talking about elements of an adventure which no longer existed.

"I wrote for [Candlekeep Mysteries], the recent [D&D] release. Things went sideways. The key issues were that the bulk of the lore and a lot of the cultural information that made my adventure "mine" were stripped out. And this was done without any interaction with me, leaving me holding the bag as I misled the public on the contents and aspects of my adventure. Yes, it was work-for-hire freelance writing, but the whole purpose was to bring in fresh voices and new perspectives.

So, when I read my adventure, this happened. This was effectively the shock phase of it all.

Then I moved onto processing what had happened. ~1300 words cut, and without the cut lore, the gravity of the adventure, and its connections to things are gravely watered down. Also "primitive" was inserted.

Then the aftermath of it all. The adventure that came out was a watered down version of what went in, that didn't reflect me anymore as a writer or creator. Which flew in the face of the spirit of the project as had been explained to me.

So then I wrote. Things don't change unless people know what's up and can engage with things in a prepared way. So I broke down the process of writing for Wizards I'd experienced, and developed some rules that can be used to avoid what happened to me."

He recounts his experiences in two blog posts:

• What happened? Writing for Wizards Part 1
• What Happened? Writing for Wizards Part 2

The author later added "Wizards owns all the material sent in, and does not publish unedited adventures on the DM Guild, so there will be no "PanzerCut". I have respectfully requested that my name be removed from future printings. "

 

[Charlaquin]

In 'many circles'? Or by a tiny number of people of a particular ideological bent?

Well, at least among the circle of anthropologists.

 

[Hussar]

If you aren’t going to read the thread (I don’t blame you, it’s long and moving fast), you should at least read Panzer’s blog posts. They elaborate on the issue pretty well, and make it clear that the use of “primitive” is really only one small part of the overall issue. It’s just getting a lot of focus in this thread because a lot of people are very protective of words that get deemed insensitive.

Ok, caught up.

And, @Whizbang Dustyboots, I'm about as PC as it gets. I've argued pretty strongly on these sorts of issues more than a few times. As far as I can see, the first use of primitive isn't problematic. It's the dictionary definition of the word and it's being used exactly correctly in context. You have to reach pretty hard to see that as anything remotely colonialist.

Now, the second usage? Yup, that's a comment on a culture. That's a no-no. That is exactly what colonialist writing looks like. Calling a contemporary culture's art "primitive" is not winning any points. If they were talking about some long extinct culture that had disappeared in pre-historic times, then they could probably get away with it. But, sorry, nope, this was a bad call.

To be entirely fair though, if you can go through, what, 5000 words in an RPG supplement and you can only find a single example of problematic language, then that, right there, is a heck of a win. Particularly in light of the module itself which lends itself so easily into falling into the traps of using colonialist language. Both the writer and the editor should be pretty damn proud of what they did here, rather than focusing on the negatives.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In 'many circles'? Or by a tiny number of people of a particular ideological bent?

I'm impressed that we got to page 14 before this got overtly political.

And no, not a tiny number of people of a particular ideological bent. Quite a few people, especially younger people and especially POC.

You might not have contact with people who feel this way in your personal life -- we all tend to associate with people who think like us more than not -- but it's not a small number of people.

Part of my job is hearing from people responding to my writing on a daily basis and I'd say a large plurality of people feel this way, along with a large plurality of people (very present on this thread) who feel that any attacks on The Old Ways is an attack against them personally, and a third plurality that just wishes the other two would argue somewhere else out of earshot.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'm impressed that we got to page 14 before this got overtly political.

And no, not a tiny number of people of a particular ideological bent. Quite a few people, especially younger people and especially POC.

Don’t forget the vast majority of academics. I know that doesn’t hold much sway with a certain crowd any more, but I still think it’s worth noting.

 

[Haffrung]

The whole adventure is basically a colonialism reference, right? Even with just the story in the printed book I think it's pretty clearly making a reference to colonialism. If someone writes a story and it's an allegory for Montezuma, Quetzalcoatl, and Cortez, they might get a small bit of criticism if they start out by calling the equivalent of the Aztecs "primitive". People can read subtext. "Primitive" is one of the words used by colonial powers to justify their colonialism: conquering and subjugation of indigenous people across the globe for wealth extraction. It should probably just be avoided entirely.

Words like "progress" and "advanced" have also been used to denigrate other cultures. And "superior" and "inferior." Also "savage" and "civilized." Then there's "undeveloped." "Exotic." "Alien." "Fierce."

Honestly, how many words are we going to make taboo and excise from the English language because someone somewhere used them in an insulting way? And who are the arbiters of these new linguistic standards? Are there formal bodies who make rulings? Committees? Votes? How often should publisher's style guides be updated, and what source should they use as the authority on the use of language?

We're talking about establishing new norms that publishers may be shamed and even boycotted for transgressing. Surely we need something more substantial to base these rulings on than "someone on the internet disapproves."

 

[Charlaquin]

Words like "progress" and "advanced" have also been used to denigrate other cultures. And "superior" and "inferior."

Yes, but unlike primitive, those words aren’t primarily used in a colonialist context.

Also "savage" and "civilized." Then there's "undeveloped." "Exotic."

Those ones are pretty iffy too, especially savage and civilized.

"Alien." "Fierce."

Ok, now you’re the one who’s reaching.

Honestly, how many words are we going to make taboo and excise from the English language because someone somewhere used them in an insulting way?

This is a pretty absurd mischaracterization of what’s happening. No words are being “excised from the English language,” even ones that are pretty universally agreed are pejorative (such as racial slurs). The words still exist, but because of their historical baggage should be used with extreme care, when they are used at all.

And who are the arbiters of these new linguistic standards? Are there formal bodies who make rulings? Committees? Votes?

No, that’s not how language works and you know it. There are no arbiters other than common usage.

How often should publisher's style guides be updated, and what source should they use as the authority on the use of language?

Generally, publishers should listen to marginalized people. You know, like they didn’t do here.

We're talking about establishing new norms that publishers may be shamed and even boycotted for transgressing. Surely we need something more substantial to base these rulings on than "someone on the internet disapproves."

When you’re making a push to make your brand more inclusive, you listen to people in the industry who belong to the groups you’re trying to include (or more likely, those trying to break into the industry, since the lack of their voices in the industry at present is probably a big part of the reason for the perceived lack of inclusivity). That was supposed to be something Candlekeep was specifically doing. Whoopsiedoodle.

 

[Zardnaar]

Seems silly espicially in the context primitive was used in. And it's a fantasy race with no real world equivalent.

They hired a newb with very little experience that turned in a below average Adventure from what people are saying.

Editor was doing their job. Hell I don't write and even I know/expect they willake cuts.

And also know that twitters not the best place to air grievances.

All he had to say if questioned "wasn't my words editiors".

Can't change the system if you're on the outside, doesn't really have the design chops or profile to do your own thing.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Could they not just replace the word "primitive" with something else in future printings?

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Honestly I'm more interested at this point that the author apparently wanted to use his adventure to introduce the grippli as a PC race in 5E and give them more background via decades old lore than the dragonborn and tiefling PC races in the 5E PHB have gotten since 5E was released.

 

[Remathilis]

Could they not just replace the word "primitive" with something else in future printings?

I'm 99% sure they will replace or omit it in reprintings.