D&D 5E D&D Next Art Column Discussion: May

[Kobold Avenger]

AD&D was for 10 and up. Said so right on the cover.



"Scantily clad figures" - MTV, Katy Perry, Madonna, etc.

Now, Pirates of the Carribean was PG-13 in the States, which would make it PG in Canada. So, I think there is a bit of miscommunication going on because of the different standards.

And that goes beyond the "G" rating you've been arguing for. D&D was never rated "G" in movie terms. I know that books and comics do have higher allowances for depictions of violence than movies do, but when it comes to movies and the "G" rating, as in the "G" rating of 2012 which is stuff you see in typical Disney animated features, there's many ways to break that and go into at least "PG" and up territory.

 

[Hussar]

Meh, outside of a couple of books - 1e Fiend Folio forex - there's extremely little in AD&D that wouldn't pass muster in a G rated movie. Yup, a couple of boobies, and that's about it. The vast majority of it would be G with the odd bit of PG in there for "edginess".

/edit to add

I mean, I look at something like Brave and think, yup, that's pretty decently D&D to me.

 

[Klaus]

Just a quick reminder that next Wednesday, I'll start a new thread for the discussion of the June articles.

Carry on.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Meh, outside of a couple of books - 1e Fiend Folio forex - there's extremely little in AD&D that wouldn't pass muster in a G rated movie. Yup, a couple of boobies, and that's about it. The vast majority of it would be G with the odd bit of PG in there for "edginess".

No it wouldn't pass G, killing is commonplace in D&D, in fact it's presented as the default solution to all problems. In G movies, killing rarely happens, and death rarely happens. Also beyond boobs there are Zombies and other undead creatures and many monsters depicted to be too disgusting for G that would give 5 years old, the intended audience of G movies, nightmares.

In fact zombies have been a part of D&D from the start, and there really hasn't been a zombie movie that's ever been rated G. And theoretically if you showed Walking Dead as a movie, with only scenes of the survivors at camp and being civil to each other, and cut out all the scenes involving zombies, violence and them being douchebags to each other, that could pass as G.

So saying that D&D could pass as G with a few exceptions, is like saying that Walking Dead could pass as G without the zombies in it.

 

[Lalato]

So wait, is your argument that since D&D has zombies, it should have even more gore and mature content? Because that's a silly argument, if that's what you're angling for. It would be just as silly as saying that since so few examples of art go beyond G rating, that all the art should be kid-safe.

I think that both TSR and WotC have throughout the years done a great job with the artwork. It's never gone so far as to make it completely unpalatable for kids, but it has maintained a certain edginess that makes much of the art exciting to look at.

Let's keep that tradition alive and well.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

So wait, is your argument that since D&D has zombies, it should have even more gore and mature content? Because that's a silly argument, if that's what you're angling for. It would be just as silly as saying that since so few examples of art go beyond G rating, that all the art should be kid-safe.

It has had gore (Corpse-Collector comes to mind as something that wasn't in the BOVD, it's roughly PG-13 gore) and mature content to certain degrees, and you can't argue that it's always been G, because it hasn't. Most of the art has more accurately been PG, and all products should be treated as being at least PG, with the occasional allowance for more.

The zombie example and the Walking Dead comparison, is an example that any attempt to make it G, would make something that has lost most of it's substance.

Taking into account a non-movie based version of ratings. I'll directly quote the DC Comics ratings system, and titles published by DC Comics themselves:

E – EVERYONE

Appropriate for readers of all ages. May contain cartoon violence and/or some comic mischief.

Young Justice, and many the adaptions of DC animated series.

T – TEEN

Appropriate for readers age 12 and older. May contain mild violence, language and/or suggestive themes.

Superman, Batman (Batman Inc had a scene in a slaughterhouse), Wonder Woman (has some blood in the death of mythological creatures), Demon Knights, and most DC Comics titles.

T+ - TEEN PLUS

Appropriate for readers age 16 and older. May contain moderate violence, mild profanity, graphic imagery and/or suggestive themes.

Animal Man (has a man being eaten in half), Swamp Thing (has a chainsaw attack), Batwoman, I Vampire.

M – MATURE

Appropriate for readers age 18 and older. May contain intense violence, extensive profanity, nudity, sexual themes and other content suitable only for older readers.

Hellblazer, Fables and practically everything published under the Vertigo Comics label.

Using the above examples, D&D has generally been around a T rating, some books go to about T+ like BoVD or the occasional gruesome monster/scene that's existed in a couple instances in 3e.

 

[Lalato]

BovD had a warning label on it...

The vast majority of stuff according to this new scale is appropriate for 12 year olds, with a good chunk of the stuff that most players see being appropriate for younger kids. And a very few images in the monster manual that would be considered edgy for 12 year olds.

That sounds about right to me.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

BovD had a warning label on it...

The vast majority of stuff according to this new scale is appropriate for 12 year olds, with a good chunk of the stuff that most players see being appropriate for younger kids. And a very few images in the monster manual that would be considered edgy for 12 year olds.

That sounds about right to me.

And there it is, it's not suitable for all ages...

 

[Hussar]

Kobold A - Yeah, I can see your point. I wasn't really saying that all images must be absolutely G, but, rather, that most of them are. The DC rating system is about right. T for teen makes about the right benchmark.

Which, of course, is a LONG way from Mature.

 

[Lalato]

And there it is, it's not suitable for all ages...

I'm not sure I understand why you feel you've made some kind of point. I still maintain the art, even the stuff you might label as Teen+, is fine for a 10 year old. That's my personal opinion, based on my personal experience with the D&D books as a kid.

Aren't you the one that wants more mature art than even Teen+?