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Why is The Book of Exalted Deeds for Mature Readers?
- Thread starter RobNJ
- Start date
Trainz
Explorer
Look at the succubus in the Monster Manual: you see two red nipples showing through her "dress". And the Nymph, and the Dryad which no effort whatsoever is made to hide her features.
The only reasons it says "mature audience" IMHO are:
1) Because it sits opposite in scope to BoVD, which IS for mature audience and
2) For marketing purposes.
The content itself has no reason whatsoever for it to be labeled "Mature Audiences", especially compared with some of the stuff from WotC that is not labeled as such.
The only reasons it says "mature audience" IMHO are:
1) Because it sits opposite in scope to BoVD, which IS for mature audience and
2) For marketing purposes.
The content itself has no reason whatsoever for it to be labeled "Mature Audiences", especially compared with some of the stuff from WotC that is not labeled as such.
It also deals with moral issues. Figuring out if orc babies are inherently evil is a mature discussion. Grey areas 'taint' your standard hack 'n slash adventure that D&D normally deals with, the book deals with those grey things, granted it still assumes a perfect moral good and evil, but it allows for the concept of redemption, so in the above example,
a half-orc paladin stumbles apon two succubi who say that they love eachother, if succubi are inherently evil with no concept of good, they can't experience love, so the pally could slaughter away without any feelings of remorse. But if they can feel love, and are being truthful, then that means they can't be completely evil, so they could be redeemed, so what does a paladin do, she can't just kill them outright. A 'mature' campaign can allow for the second, an 'immature' one never does.
Orc babies - The orc is the standard 'evil force' in many campaigns, in a standard 'immature' game, the concept is almost always never considered, and if it is, orcs would be considered inherently evil. But what if they weren't, what if the only reason they raid is because they were displaced/enslaved by another human kingdom, and so they have developed a view that humans are evil from years of fighting/slavery, when the good kingdom represented by the PCs show up, what do they do?
You could of course use the book without such discussion, without grey areas, but the text is there, moral relativity is there, so 'Mature' it is.
Mature does not have to equal violence or sex, this is an illusion brought on by the MPAA.
I hope the above makes sense, I typed abit to fast, and I do need sleep. mmmm sleeeep.
RX
a half-orc paladin stumbles apon two succubi who say that they love eachother, if succubi are inherently evil with no concept of good, they can't experience love, so the pally could slaughter away without any feelings of remorse. But if they can feel love, and are being truthful, then that means they can't be completely evil, so they could be redeemed, so what does a paladin do, she can't just kill them outright. A 'mature' campaign can allow for the second, an 'immature' one never does.
Orc babies - The orc is the standard 'evil force' in many campaigns, in a standard 'immature' game, the concept is almost always never considered, and if it is, orcs would be considered inherently evil. But what if they weren't, what if the only reason they raid is because they were displaced/enslaved by another human kingdom, and so they have developed a view that humans are evil from years of fighting/slavery, when the good kingdom represented by the PCs show up, what do they do?
You could of course use the book without such discussion, without grey areas, but the text is there, moral relativity is there, so 'Mature' it is.
Mature does not have to equal violence or sex, this is an illusion brought on by the MPAA.
I hope the above makes sense, I typed abit to fast, and I do need sleep. mmmm sleeeep.
RX
MulhorandSage
First Post
Because being good in a morally complex world is more mature than killing a creature and taking its stuff. 
Scott Bennie
Scott Bennie
Last edited:
CRGreathouse
Community Supporter
Actually, after reading the BoED (partway), I'm glad that they put the sticker there. As the introduction states, there are aspects of real-world religious practices included, and I could see people being offended by a particular treatment. Putting a mature sticker is a fair move: thinking about morality requires maturity, real-world religion is touchy, and the BoED is in the same series as the BoVD.
LoneWolf23
First Post
Considering the big-time morality arguments I've participated with on the Wizard boards, I have to agree that the Book of Exalted Deeds deserves a Maturity Label. There are quite a few gamers who seem to lack the maturity to look at questions of morality in a calm, rational matter.
And there are far too many who think that Good should act like Evil, only with shinier hats.
And there are far too many who think that Good should act like Evil, only with shinier hats.
Trainz
Explorer
RingXero,
I agree that many of the aspects of BoED address issues that a minimum of maturity is required to grasp and understand.
HOWEVER...
Let's take Orwell's 1984. You do need a lot of maturity to grasp it to a satisfactory level. However it is not labeled "mature".
Why ?
When a product is labeled "mature", it is to warn against:
1) Sex,
2) violence, or
3) profanity.
BoED doesn't contain more of these than other non-mature-labeled WotC products.
Thus, Marketing.
And to enhance my point, the label on the cover doesn't say:"Some of the contents of this book are beyhond the grasp of children and some teenagers", no, it says:
WARNING !
Content is
intended
for mature
audiences only.
So... quite a tease, wouldn't you say ?
All that said, BoED is my favourite non-core book. Quite a little gem. I'm sure the teaser WARNING! wasn't a Wyatt idea.
I agree that many of the aspects of BoED address issues that a minimum of maturity is required to grasp and understand.
HOWEVER...
Let's take Orwell's 1984. You do need a lot of maturity to grasp it to a satisfactory level. However it is not labeled "mature".
Why ?
When a product is labeled "mature", it is to warn against:
1) Sex,
2) violence, or
3) profanity.
BoED doesn't contain more of these than other non-mature-labeled WotC products.
Thus, Marketing.
And to enhance my point, the label on the cover doesn't say:"Some of the contents of this book are beyhond the grasp of children and some teenagers", no, it says:
WARNING !
Content is
intended
for mature
audiences only.
So... quite a tease, wouldn't you say ?
All that said, BoED is my favourite non-core book. Quite a little gem. I'm sure the teaser WARNING! wasn't a Wyatt idea.
