D&D 5E World of Farland Now Embraces Asian, African, and Indian Cultures

The World of Farland has been online thoughout various iterations of D&D for as long as I've been running this website. So, about 20 years. It's a dark D&D setting, ruled by evil lords based on the Seven Deadly Sins, with an tmosphere a bit like if Lord of the Rings had gone the other way. The new Realms Under Shadow hardcover supplement introduces new locations which are not dependent on European mythology. I've been sent a few previews to share!

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The World of Farland, conquered by evil and ruled by the Lords of Sin, has been online for nearly 20 years. It's a best-seller here at DTRPG. But the setting has focused on European-style fantasy up to this point. That changes now...

The evil Wintervale has conquered the continent of Farland. But other lands lie south and east of the Wintervale. Some of these exotic realms are allied with the Shadow and some resist it, but either way, they have been affected by it. These are the Realms Under Shadow...

The Realms Under Shadow are fantastic places reminiscent of the medieval cultures of Asia, Africa (including egypt), and India. This campaign supplement allows you to play a game that is not in the vein of the traditional European style fantasy. Adventure in diverse and amazing places. Battle characters and monsters that are a far cry from your usual RPG experience. This book is compatible with the 5th edition of the World's most popular RPG and is a supplement to The World of Farland Campaign Setting, although it can certainly be used on its own.

This 235 page campaign supplement includes:

• Detailed write-ups on many unique and diverse cultures
• 14 new PC races
• New player options, including 15 new class archetypes and paths; feats; and equipment
• Calendars and gods
• New Languages
• Tons of adventure hooks
• Important NPCs and locations
• Seventeen new monsters
• A full length adventure set in the Realms Under Shadow
• Much more!
• All exclusive new content that will never appear on the website.

This book comes with two maps of the geography, and it is now available in standard color hardcover and gorgeous premium color hardcover!

 

[Umbran]

And so I can agree with Umbran that it is good to respect and value people as individuals based on their inherent personhood. And I can also disagree with him that respect is more proximal to the problem than tolerance.

I think I can describe now how it isn't.....

Real culture is about opinions, beliefs, and actions and any two given cultures will be widely apart on those opinions, beliefs, and actions. Cultures are inherently incompatible.

That is... very Orson Scott Card. Given how many cultures have the Golden Rule, though, it is also very probably incorrect, at least among our fellow humans.

The question is how we go about living with people we don't think deserve our respect, and who in turn do not respect us as we would wish. Or in other words, what do you do if you are a Native American in Germany who discovers that there is this LARPing community of Germans dressing up in the trappings of your culture and pretending to be "Red Indians".

Just as there are two things we refer to as "respect"* There are actually two things we call "tolerance".

Tolerance Type 1 - Putting up with your B.S. When a co-worker is really great to be around, works hard, and is helpful, I may tolerate their habit of reheating fish in the office microwave. We do not owe each other this - it is a thing we may extend for our own reasons, because we are under duress, or the like.

Tolerance Type 2 - Recognition that having a different a different opinion, tradition, belief system, likes/dislikes, orientation, or the like does not mean someone should not have my Respect**.

So, really, the tolerance we are (or at least I am) discussing is itself about maintaining basic respect. So, Respect comes first.

A drunken fratboy in facepaint and a feathered headdress, stumbling through a "war dance" - that's B.S. and we have no need to put up with that behavior.

The German larpers? If they are hopping around all, "Whee! I am a Noble Savage!" that's B.S., and we don't need to put up with it. If they are not using it to display cultural dominance, are putting in significant amounts of research and trying to do this respectfully - There's a choice to be made as to whether that behavior should be allowed to continue. I don't claim to be the one to make that choice.




*for clarity: Type 1 - earned, and Type 2 - your inherent due as a feeling, sentient being.

**Resolving Popper's Paradox - when your belief or behavior is about not having Respect or Tolerance Type 2, it qualifies as B.S., and I don't have to put up with it.

 

[Gradine]

Cultures are inherently incompatible.

We might need to take a step back to unpack this statement a bit, because on the surface it is absolutely horrifying.

 

[Celebrim]

We might need to take a step back to unpack this statement a bit, because on the surface it is absolutely horrifying.

Thought you might think that. By all means, unpack it.

I will insist that as much as you may be horrified by it, you believe it and act as if it were true.

For example, Umbran's "we don't need to put up with it" and " a choice to be made as to whether that behavior should be allowed to continue". Even if he isn't currently claiming to be the one to make that choice, he's affirming that it is a choice.

 

[Gradine]

Thought you might think that. By all means, unpack it.

I will insist that as much as you may be horrified by it, you believe it and act as if it were true.

For example, Umbran's "we don't need to put up with it" and " a choice to be made as to whether that behavior should be allowed to continue". Even if he isn't currently claiming to be the one to make that choice, he's affirming that it is a choice.

I think you and I might have different definitions for "culture", which helps explain a lot.

 

[Zardnaar]

My theory is just be respectful, cultural. appropriation used to be called diffusion.

Every successful culture has done it. I've seen Jordanian kids dressed up as cowboys and Indians so go figure.

 

[Celebrim]

I think you and I might have different definitions for "culture", which helps explain a lot.

Even if it did, it would prove my point.

 

[Tonguez]

Yeah, but what do you do when, "Those ignorant people refuse to change! They refuse to accept that my superior and respectful cultural beliefs are better than their inferior and disrespectful beliefs!"

At some point you have to deal with the fact that those LARPing Germans don't feel they are being disrespectful, and have been in communication with other members of your community who didn't treat them as if they were being disrespectful, and no amount of your education is changing their minds.

So do you just keep calling them "ignorant" "jerks" and hope that works? Do you go around feeling disrespected and outraged? What do you do?

You used the world "intolerable". I hope you understand how terrible the implications of that word really are and what the word really means.

At the end of the day it comes down to authority, both in terms of source of authority and respect for that authority.

as a NZ “Maori” I see examples of the haka being performed all over the world, most recently by Japanese school children, but previously by American football players, Italian models, Belgian hipsters and drunken Englishmen.

I consider it my duty to monitor and assess it, the source of my authority being ancestry and knowledge of the subject.

respectfulness is a huge part of the assessment criteria, it’s the reason why Japanese school kids (who were taught by a Maori) and Hawaiian actors get a pass whereas Italians models and drunken English don’t

I raise the Belgian example as I was involved after a group decided to do a mock haka there. My cousin who lives in Flanders gave me a call to address the issue. As an isolated minority in Belgium it required respectful education and calling on the support of local museums to promote the message - which indeed was one of respect

My theory is just be respectful, cultural. appropriation used to be called diffusion.

Every successful culture has done it. I've seen Jordanian kids dressed up as cowboys and Indians so go figure.

the issue is one of Authority,kids playing dress up is one thing, but it becomes problematic amongst adults when those with no connection to a cultureclaim a right to give meaning to cultural concepts or to interpretsymbols and practice for their own benefit. It’s especially so with minority cultures with very little global influence beyond their own cultural artifacts - which is why no one really worries about appropriation of US, Anglo or Chinese culture since those groups have sufficient global influence to define themselves.

 

[Zardnaar]

At the end of the day it comes down to authority, both in terms of source of authority and respect for that authority.

as a NZ “Maori” I see examples of the haka being performed all over the world, most recently by Japanese school children, but previously by American football players, Italian models, Belgian hipsters and drunken Englishmen.

I consider it my duty to monitor and assess it, the source of my authority being ancestry and knowledge of the subject.

respectfulness is a huge part of the assessment criteria, it’s the reason why Japanese school kids (who were taught by a Maori) and Hawaiian actors get a pass whereas Italians models and drunken English don’t

I raise the Belgian example as I was involved after a group decided to do a mock haka there. My cousin who lives in Flanders gave me a call to address the issue.



the issue is one of Authority,kids playing dress up is one thing, but it becomes problematic amongst adults when those with no connection to a cultureclaim a right to give meaning to cultural concepts or to interpretsymbols and practice for their own benefit. It’s especially so with minority cultures with very little global influence beyond their own cultural artifacts - which is why no one really worries about appropriation of US, Anglo or Chinese culture since those groups have sufficient global influence to define themselves.

I was trying to explain D&D to a Maori in the 90s as it's heavily based on European myth and legend.

A Dragon article had Polynesian weapons in it for D&D and he thought it was great. YMMV of course.

Polynesian themes were also in the Barbarians Handbook, not sure how people would feel about that but I'm not a fan of the berzerker thing they borrowed from the Vikings.

 

[Weiley31]

Being offended by the term Exotic makes no sense to me, it's not insulting, all it implies is an exciting uniqueness to something. I'd love to be called exotic, but I'm Canadian and no one finds Canadians exotic . I want to be exotic for once!!!

YOUR EXOTIC!!!!

 

[Gradine]

Even if it did, it would prove my point.

It wouldn't at all though. There is a world of a difference between "we need to not tolerate intolerance" and "Cultures are inherently incompatible" as a giant blanket statement. You're not making anything remotely approaching sense at this point.

There is nothing inherently incompatible with culture as a concept or cultures writ large. In actuality, it is hatred and violence that is inherently incompatible with culture.

Edit: This is because hatred and violence are qualities of ideologies, not cultures. The are obviously a number of ideologies centered specifically around these qualities that must not be tolerated; must not be allowed to propagate and flourish if any cultures are to flourish in freedom and peaceful coexistence.

For instance; the Neo-Nazism calls for the eradication of cultures; anti-Neo-Nazi efforts call for the eradication of an ideology. There are not equivalent in any way, shape or form, which is, as far as I can tell, the point you are trying to make in calling insinuating that folks like me or Umbran with our Popper's Paradox are being hypocritical on this point.