D&D 5E Oriental Adventures 5e: How would you do it?

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Tales of the Celestial Kingdom(s) might best be organized pseudo-IRL.

Yeah, so "celestial" isn't a great choice either...

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

So would it be okay to call it Asian Adventures? Or is that also offensive? I honestly don't know. I never knew oriental was considered an offensive word.

Probably a bad idea also, since it doesn't occur in Asia. It's better tied to a specific setting. For example, they didn't call the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide "Eurpoean Adventures".

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

[sblock]I wonder if the debate around the word 'oriental' is an 'American thing'? I know it is a no-no according to federal law now. My co-worker's PHD is in the area of Oriental Studies - I've always wondered how that figures in to the debate. I'm originally from the UK but have lived in Japan and Taiwan, having relationships with lovely people in both countries and have dealt with the uglier side of prejudice though never encountered folks using the word, 'oriental' in an attempt to be offensive. They seem to have more than enough physically descriptive terms to choose from! Saying this, I have met some of the most well spoken and behaved people, who have been careful to never use a word one might consider a slur, and yet have displayed utterly disgusting behavior towards people from other countries and cultures. So I'm a firm believe of the intent being more important than a specific word or phrase.

However, with regards to WOTC, being an American company first and foremost, it would be wise to drop the phrase Oriental, simply to reduce the amount of complications it might cause. [/sblock]

If they focus on Japanese culture, I think they should go with, 'The Big Beautiful Book of Weebo Wonders'. There should be a half-naked cat lady of questionable age on the front cover.

Then they could re-brand the PHB as, 'The Original Occidental Handbook for Players'.

 

[Azzy]

So would it be okay to call it Asian Adventures? Or is that also offensive? I honestly don't know. I never knew oriental was considered an offensive word.

I'm the wrong person to ask, as I'm not Asian. But I don't think it would be.

Personally, I wouldn't refer to it as Asian Adventures. But that simply because it refers to a real-world area and breaks the fantasy vibe. I'd have the same problem with a "European Adventures" for the same reason. Of course, that's just me.

 

[Mirtek]

So would it be okay to call it Asian Adventures? Or is that also offensive? I honestly don't know. I never knew oriental was considered an offensive word.

Must be an american thing. Funny how they make a fuss about a term like oriental but are fine with how the vistani are presented in CoS. That would be a no-go from an european POV

So, while Western Europe, yes, does have some cultural differences, they are on the same scale that Brooklyn, Texas, and San Francisco have Cultural differences.

Now this would cause a lot of western europeans to make a big fuss

 

[Azzy]

Follow up question. Why is putting every Asian culture in a blender and taking elements for your setting wrong. Have we not done the same to European cultures with most D&D settings?

Personally, I don't think it's terribly wrong, but unfortunately that hasn't been done in D&D. It's typically Japanese culture spammed with some other Asian cultures sprinkled in as an afterthought (ooh, have a Mongolian barbarian, a Chinese Kung-Fu Monk, and a Chinese Taoist-style Wizard, with your seven Japanese-inspired classes). I think it'd be better if an fantasy Asian sourcebook actually gave a more equitable amount of space devoted to elements derived from different cultures.

That's why I think that making it a Kara-Tur sourcebook would be a better way to go, as Kara-Tur has countries based on multiple East Asian cultures (of course it has two Japans and two Chinas, but at least it has more that).

 

[lowkey13]

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[Azzy]

What?

The Germans, the British, the French, and the Italians aren't all exactly the same? Huh.

Well, duh! The Germans have bratwurst, the British have spotted dick, the French have baguettes, and the Italians have spaghetti.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Now this would cause a lot of western europeans to make a big fuss

I've lived and traveled in Europe, and I've lived and traveled in the US. There is a MUCH bigger difference in culture and attitude between Southern California and Texas, and between Germany and France. Don't let the (mostly) shared English language between the two fool you. The culture is as different as Germany and Turkey, in my experience if I were to make a comparison. California is much more like western Europe with progressive views, and Texas is much more like a theocracy with deep conservative views.

So if western Europeans made a fuss about that claim, it's only because they have never seen the difference between Californians and Texans. There is also more literal distance between California and Texas than most western European countries, which makes a big difference as well.

 

[lowkey13]

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