i09 picks on D&D's 24 most ridiculous names, fails at basic reading

[Dire Bare]

1.) Half of them are kits, designed to flesh out classes rather than replace them. A peasant hero is just a fighter with some certain skills and outlook. A thug is a martial thief. Additionally, some of them are variants of other classes or racial variants.
2.) He put two in from Masque of the Red Death, a D&D setting set in 1890's LONDON.
3.) He get the facts wrong on some of them: Anchorites are specialty priest of Ezra and have none of the traits he describes.

I agree it is a poorly written article, and that the best humor and satire is based on truth, not crappy research. The "stupid D&D monsters" article from way back is hilarious because it's all true.

However, some of your criticisms fall flat, IMO.

1) Class, subclass, kit, archetype . . . whatever. They are all different variations on the same thing, character archetype.
2) So, some were from MotRD . . . still kinda stupid ideas for character classes. It would have been more clear if the author had provided that context, but it wouldn't have changed much.
3) This part I'll mostly give ya, as the article was poorly researched and poorly done. Humor looses punch when based on BS. Still, the Anchorite is a dumb idea for a class (IMO).

 

[Bedrockgames]

I
2) So, some were from MotRD . . . still kinda stupid ideas for character classes. It would have been more clear if the author had provided that context, but it wouldn't have changed much.
3) class (IMO).

I think there is plenty to criticize in masque of the red death, but the two classes he cited (laborer and dandy) fit the setting just fine (and they are not that different from what you might find in other games set in that kind if time period). I ran a number of MotRD campaigns and both those classes filled niches in the setting. Remember, the purpose of MotRD was to play stuff in the style of Dracula or Doctor Jeckyl and Mr Hyde.

 

[heptat]

http://io9.com/the-24-most-embarras...utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

I'll let you read it and then when you're doing raging, see me below...

Raging?? Raging with laughter!

 

[delericho]

The entry on the Arctic Druid is pretty dumb, although for reasons that have nothing to do with D&D. (It's not an area devoid of nature; it's a different type of nature.)

 

[ExploderWizard]

Could have been done better but the urban druid as a hipster cracked me up. I'm still wondering how Master of Chains didn't make the top 24. Talk about wanting to murder your guidance counsellor.

Oh, and "violent drunk" is a way more accurate description of fighting man than I think the author even knows.

 

[Shrander]

Forget the Jester, the Dragon Magazine class most conspicuously missing from the article was issue #72's "Jock" class. Wow, was that dumb.

The Jock was part of an April issue, as I recall, and pretty obviously intended as a joke. (Unlike, say, the Athlete class from the original XCrawl book, which was actually supposed to be playable.)

 

[Umbran]

Lighten up, Francis.

Yah. Remember the next time you laugh at a joke - consider whether or not what it depicts is 100% accurate. Then consider whether you care.

Consider what it means to not care when it is someone else's stuff being misrepresented, but caring when it is your own.

 

[the Jester]

Well, it's io9- great fun to read if you're reading for fun, but no more a paragon of accuracy or a source of real journalism than ENWorld, reddit or somethingawful.

 

[Mercurius]

No need to be offended by it.

But the article fails for another reason: no mention of any of the goofy 4E classes, like "Battlemind" (especially when combined with the goofier race, Shardmind. Yes Shardmind Battlemind is an option in 4E).

 

[Agamon]

Well, it's io9- great fun to read if you're reading for fun, but no more a paragon of accuracy or a source of real journalism than ENWorld, reddit or somethingawful.

...or Fox or CNN or MSNBC or...you're almost better off getting your news form the places you listed.