D&D General WotC’s Official Announcement About Diversity, Races, and D&D

Following up on recent discussions on social media, WotC has made an official announcement about diversity and the treatment of ‘race’ in D&D. Notably, the word ‘race’ is not used; in its place are the words ‘people’ and 'folk'.

 PRESS RELEASE

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Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is strength, for only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome the many challenges a D&D story presents. In that spirit, making D&D as welcoming and inclusive as possible has moved to the forefront of our priorities over the last six years. We’d like to share with you what we’ve been doing, and what we plan to do in the future to address legacy D&D content that does not reflect who we are today. We recognize that doing this isn’t about getting to a place where we can rest on our laurels but continuing to head in the right direction. We feel that being transparent about it is the best way to let our community help us to continue to calibrate our efforts.

One of the explicit design goals of 5th edition D&D is to depict humanity in all its beautiful diversity by depicting characters who represent an array of ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and beliefs. We want everyone to feel at home around the game table and to see positive reflections of themselves within our products. “Human” in D&D means everyone, not just fantasy versions of northern Europeans, and the D&D community is now more diverse than it’s ever been.

Throughout the 50-year history of D&D, some of the peoples in the game—orcs and drow being two of the prime examples—have been characterized as monstrous and evil, using descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world ethnic groups have been and continue to be denigrated. That’s just not right, and it’s not something we believe in. Despite our conscious efforts to the contrary, we have allowed some of those old descriptions to reappear in the game. We recognize that to live our values, we have to do an even better job in handling these issues. If we make mistakes, our priority is to make things right.

Here’s what we’re doing to improve:

• We present orcs and drow in a new light in two of our most recent books, Eberron: Rising from the Last War and Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. In those books, orcs and drow are just as morally and culturally complex as other peoples. We will continue that approach in future books, portraying all the peoples of D&D in relatable ways and making it clear that they are as free as humans to decide who they are and what they do.
• When every D&D book is reprinted, we have an opportunity to correct errors that we or the broader D&D community discovered in that book. Each year, we use those opportunities to fix a variety of things, including errors in judgment. In recent reprintings of Tomb of Annihilation and Curse of Strahd, for example, we changed text that was racially insensitive. Those reprints have already been printed and will be available in the months ahead. We will continue this process, reviewing each book as it comes up for a reprint and fixing such errors where they are present.
• Later this year, we will release a product (not yet announced) that offers a way for a player to customize their character’s origin, including the option to change the ability score increases that come from being an elf, a dwarf, or one of D&D's many other playable folk. This option emphasizes that each person in the game is an individual with capabilities all their own.
• Curse of Strahd included a people known as the Vistani and featured the Vistani heroine Ezmerelda. Regrettably, their depiction echoes some stereotypes associated with the Romani people in the real world. To rectify that, we’ve not only made changes to Curse of Strahd, but in two upcoming books, we will also show—working with a Romani consultant—the Vistani in a way that doesn’t rely on reductive tropes.
• We've received valuable insights from sensitivity readers on two of our recent books. We are incorporating sensitivity readers into our creative process, and we will continue to reach out to experts in various fields to help us identify our blind spots.
• We're proactively seeking new, diverse talent to join our staff and our pool of freelance writers and artists. We’ve brought in contributors who reflect the beautiful diversity of the D&D community to work on books coming out in 2021. We're going to invest even more in this approach and add a broad range of new voices to join the chorus of D&D storytelling.

And we will continue to listen to you all. We created 5th edition in conversation with the D&D community. It's a conversation that continues to this day. That's at the heart of our work—listening to the community, learning what brings you joy, and doing everything we can to provide it in every one of our books.

This part of our work will never end. We know that every day someone finds the courage to voice their truth, and we’re here to listen. We are eternally grateful for the ongoing dialog with the D&D community, and we look forward to continuing to improve D&D for generations to come.

 

[Charlaquin]

The problem is that people can't say or write anything in this day and age without feeling as if they're walking on egg shells. Every single word is put under a microscope and analyzed to death in order to search for signs of bigotry, racism, and I don't know what else.

Not really. If you listen to the voices of marginalized people and really pay attention to what they say is hurting them and how it hurts them, there are clear common themes. If you take the time to understand the issues, it becomes clear why all the slippery slope arguments and false equivalences are nonsense.

 

[Zardnaar]

Which does lead to the next question: where are those other orcs?

Ok, from a world-building perspective (a minor concern in the grand scheme, but here me out) the notion that orcs are no longer "evil tribal savages" creates several implications for D&D settings. Because it implies the existence of "good peaceable civilized" orcs. Orcs that settled in one place and began a more agrarian or at the very least became hunter-gatherers who live in relative co-existence with their neighbors. They would have land holdings, possibly develop some manner of governance, and form a nation or city-state. They would trade with others and possibly form mutual defense pacts, or at least some non-aggression agreements with neighbors. Of course, resources are always limited and conflict would break out, resulting in everything from espionage to outright war. It could also lead to things like conquest, displacement, or oppression, but if we're trying to break the "orc as minority stand-in" we should probably avoid making them a conquered or oppressed people.

You would, ideally, repeat the process above for most of the humanoid races: orcs, goblinoids, kobolds, gnolls, xvarts, bullywugs, grungs, giths, lizardfolk, sahuagin, etc. Now some of them (much like rarer PC races) wouldn't need massive holdings or nations; there is no more a need for a grung kingdom than there is for a goliath one. But if we assume the larger races are diverse enough warrant multiple examples of non-evil origins, then some will need representation on a macro-scale. Simply put, if you intend to break the stereotype of the savage evil tribesman orc, you need enough counter-examples to make an impact. You need a nation of them.

Now, Eberron lucked out here because they broke the mold long before breaking the mold was cool. They gave orcs both thier traditional role (savages in the Mhor Hold) and a nontraditional one (non-aggressive druidic mystics) and have focused on the latter quite successfully. Similarly, Wildemount has an entire Empire made out the classic "evil monster" humanoids working in relative harmony. However, it is a much bigger problem in classic settings like Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk, were orcs have mostly filled the savage raider role. I guess it might be possible to retro-fit the land of Many Arrows in Faerun to being a home for non-evil orcs and its possible the Bright Desert on Oerth could fill a similar role, but both will be changes to the setting as known. A lot of ink is going to have to be used to create places for these new orcs and such to come from.

(Other settings have different degrees of luck avoiding the trope; Ravenloft hates all humanoids and lacks native orcs, Dragonlance likewise lacks orcs but arguments about draconions might be an issue. Birthright lacks orcs but has goblins in spades. Mystara has an orc land (Thar) that would work for non-evil orcs, and nobody bats an eyelash at an orc in Sigil)

Of course, this is assuming WotC is serious about shying away from the racist stereotyping of orcs and drow. If future books continue to only place them in the role of antagonists, then all the "orcs are as free to choose thier destiny as elves" is just screed. They will have to appear in non-antagonistic roles. Orc villages. Drow tavern-keepers. Goblin trader caravans. They will (at the very least) have to be given the same treatment as tieflings, half-orcs and dragonborn are now. The line between "monstrous" humanoid and "PC humanoid" is going to blur.

It will be interesting to see how such notions change things like campaign settings, adventure writing, and sourcebooks going forward.

Dragonlance has bigger stereotpyes than the other settings.

KKK type elves, stupid gully dwarves, kleptomaniac Kender on meth. Tinker gnnomes.

Probably why I never liked the setting. All the races are caricatures.

Draconians about the least of that settings problems.

Darksun has slavery, genocide, climate change but it was an allegory for how bad Slavers were (they're the villains), genocide (90s ethnic cleansing in Balkans), and concerns about pollution/climate change (this predates Twitter by decades).

 

[Remathilis]

Dragonlance has bigger stereotpyes than the other settings.

KKK type elves, stupid gully dwarves, kleptomaniac Kender on meth. Tinker gnnomes.

Probably why I never liked the setting. All the races are caricatures.

Draconians about the least of that settings problems.

I was focused on the orc problem, but yeah... Dragonlance has quite a few skeletons to get rid of...

 

[Sadras]

I am in full agreement with this. But I think you can agree that as we enrich, if we find tropes that are harmful ethnic stereotypes, we can throw those out with the chainmail bikinis? Then we can come up with other justifications and descriptions that are not entrenched in the history of racism in our media?

I agree D&D was created from a male Eurocentric perspective of the medieval times adding in caricatures of people, a hodge podge of mythical monsters, religious and cultural trappings and other paranormal fantastical elements. Those elements have evolved through various editions, other games and media. Mechanics were discarded to allow female characters to achieve the same potential as male characters, art was changed as it was deemed too sexual, a splinter of good drow was created, an elven god evolved who was pansexual, some humanoids were given more depth, gender fluid characters popped up in modules, images of PoC started appearing within the core rulebooks and became prominent NPCs (Marshall Ulder Ravenguard, Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate) in the literature and AP's.

I really felt that last one, the representation of PoC and non-whites as heroes and NPCs was the massive door opener to the rest of the ever growing fanbase of our hobby. But somehow it is not.

We now have to look at the roots of some of our beloved antagonists and find issues with them. The trope of Civilzation vs the Uneducated Savage Brute is a trope, yes inspired from humanity's racist history, during simpler times. But it is a fun trope within D&D and now we have heroes PoC who lead the Flaming Fist to battle these the endess horde of savages.
Are we now also going to complain about the rise in Black on Black violence or Flaming Fist brutality within our hobby?

I mean where does it stop? I'm all for giving more life to the humanoids, the Scourge of Civilisation. Build them up, enrich them, steal from WoW and get inspired, change someone of the artwork, make someone good, make some bad, make some misunderstood, but this constant drone that people are being fataly hurt by this fantasy based game because of racists tendencies in the lore of some creatures is a leap too far for me, sorry.

We as creators (designers and players) draw on RL inspirations or from the media, literature of all periods, from popculture, from anime and from history. As long as we have everyone represented (genders and people) and mechanics that suit us - what does the rest matter? Make more PoC heroes and NPCs, colourwash the game.

Demons are savage and endless in number, always more being created, they are grotesque and strong, uneducated, pure evil and likely never white. Surely that will be an issue someday.
How about Black Speech? Is that racist? Is anyone's life worsened by that?

Goblins in GAZ5 have yurts? Is that racist to the steppe people of Central Asia?
Then there is some logic one also has to apply. We started with eurocentric model, so we have towns, castles, fortresses - to defend against evil others and against dragons. How are the PCs, the civilised folk gonna defend their settlement made full of yurts.
Civilisation will generally mean more technology. (exceptions exist obviously). Therefore the uncivilised, the wild, the barbaric - will likely not have the same level of technology, BUT they might have the power of runes, blood magic, elements, primal powers. They are also going to need to survive with the constant threat of enemies and the elements - how do they continue survive. Fecundity. Yes, the dirty word.

Again, I'm all for some more PoC in the mythos, more pansexuals, more gender fluids, more depth to some of the antagonists - it is the rest of it which I believe is but just utter nonsense.

WE are the PCs. WE are not the Monsters. The Monsters were inspired by Fear - fear of the other, fear of the unknown, fear inspired from religion, fear inspired from madness, fear inspired by our nightmares, fear inspired by pain, fear inspired by love, fear of the otherworldly, fear inspired by the elements, fear of god, and yes fear inspired by racism.

Embrace the fragility of humanity with all its pros and cons and play the game you want.

 

[Panda-s1]

But that's the thing. The majority of humans needed to make cities in order to protect themselves.

Lizardfolk don't make cities because they would hamper their abilities instead of complimenting them. They swim a lot better and faster than humans do (granting them underwater mobility) and breathe underwater.

How the heck does barricading themselves in four walls benefits them in any way?

What's next? Asking druids to live inside metal domes?

First of all being a druid is a choice, and druids come from all sorts of different cultures and people.

secondly humans don't need cities to protect themselves, and you can make barricades without a city. hell last i checked most cities today aren't walled off. there's also value in creating a larger society. nothing is stopping lizardfolk from doing this, and they don't have to make cities the same way humans have, they can make cities that are protected by water and only accessible via swimming.

also having certain advantages doesn't mean much? elves and dwarves have things that humans don't but I'm pretty sure they're usually described as making cities. hell dragonborn have breathweapons, and are huge and powerful, do they need cities to protect themselves? not really, but they've been described as having their own empire in the past, and I'm sure that includes making cities.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Not really. If you listen to the voices of marginalized people and really pay attention to what they say is hurting them and how it hurts them, there are clear common themes. If you take the time to understand the issues, it becomes clear why all the slippery slope arguments and false equivalences are nonsense.

I think the fact that we're having this conversation is evidence that what seems clear to you is not so clear to everyone. And simply blaming them for not listening hard enough is unlikely to clarify matters. "Position X is obvious, and if you think Y you're just not paying attention." How well would you react to this, if it were directed at you?

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Great question!

Does the fight between Inigo and Westley represent “violence against men” to you? Does it have parallels to a problem in society where a disempowered population is systematically mistreated by an empowered group? Does it glorify this behavior? If so, you may be on to something. Maybe I’m missing it, but in another 20 years I’ll see it, too.

Likewise with the ROUS. Is “violence against giant rodents that try to eat us” an issue in our culture? Again, maybe it is and I haven’t noticed it.

Im not discussing orcs or racism anymore....my tank is empty on that energy.

My observations about you (and others) from this thread is that we have a very different set of lenses through which we filter our observations and I am thankful that my lens is mine and your lens is yours.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I mean where does it stop? I'm all for giving more life to the humanoids, the Scourge of Civilisation. Build them up, enrich them, steal from WoW and get inspired, change someone of the artwork, make someone good, make some bad, make some misunderstood, but this constant drone that people are being fataly hurt (and feelings) by this fantasy based game because of racists tendencies in the lore of some creatures is a leap too far for me, sorry.

Here's a thought: why should it stop?

Reflecting on our media is a cycle that has been going on for a long time and should continue for a long time. We should be reflecting, discussing, revising and re-examining the ways we tell stories. And when we have the opportunity to do better, we should do so.

So much of your reply there was wild conjecture based on absolutely nothing WotC said. I challenge you to think about real, actual actions we could take, rather than your fears based on wild exaggerations.

As for the fatality of racism... Have you been paying attention? For hundreds of years, racism has been used as a justification to kill people. I am not saying, and have never said, that racism in D&D has killed people. But the ideologies that lead to the deaths of unarmed black men, women, and children are embedded in D&D as well. Why stand in the way when we could instead talk about all the exciting ways there are to excise those ideologies?

 

[Zardnaar]

I agree D&D was created from a male Eurocentric perspective of the medieval times adding in caricatures of people, a hodge podge of mythical monsters, religious and cultural trappings and other paranormal fantastical elements. Those elements have evolved through various editions, other games and media. Mechanics were discarded to allow female characters to achieve the same potential as male characters, art was changed as it was deemed too sexual, a splinter of good drow was created, an elven god evolved who was pansexual, some humanoids were given more depth, gender fluid characters popped up in modules, images of PoC started appearing within the core rulebooks and became prominent NPCs (Marshall Ulder Ravenguard, Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate) in the literature and AP's.

I really felt that last one, the representation of PoC and non-whites as heroes and NPCs was the massive door opener to the rest of the ever growing fanbase of our hobby. But somehow it is not.

We now have to look at the roots of some of our beloved antagonists and find issues with them. The trope of Civilzation vs the Uneducated Savage Brute is a trope, yes inspired from humanity's racist history, during simpler times. But it is a fun trope within D&D and now we have heroes PoC who lead the Flaming Fist to battle these the endess horde of savages.
Are we now also going to complain about the rise in Black on Black violence or Flaming Fist brutality within our hobby?

I mean where does it stop? I'm all for giving more life to the humanoids, the Scourge of Civilisation. Build them up, enrich them, steal from WoW and get inspired, change someone of the artwork, make someone good, make some bad, make some misunderstood, but this constant drone that people are being fataly hurt (and feelings) by this fantasy based game because of racists tendencies in the lore of some creatures is a leap too far for me, sorry.

We as creators (designers and players) draw on RL inspirations or from the media, literature of all periods, from popculture, from anime and from history. As long as we have everyone represented (genders and people) and mechanics that suit us - what does the rest matter? Make more PoC heroes and NPCs, colourwash the game.

Demons are savage and endless in number, always more being created, they are grotesque and strong, uneducated, pure evil and likely never white. Surely that will be an issue someday.
How about Black Speech? Is that racist? Is anyone's life worsened by that?

Goblins in GAZ5 have yurts? Is that racist to the steppe people of Central Asia?
Then there is some logic one also has to apply. We started with eurocentric model, so we have towns, castles, fortresses - to defend against evil others and against dragons. How are the PCs, the civilised folk gonna defend their settlement made full of yurts.
Civilisation will generally mean more technology. (exceptions exist obviously). Therefore the uncivilised, the wild, the barbaric - will likely not have the same level of technology, BUT they might have the power of runes, blood magic, elements, primal powers.

Again, I'm all for some more PoC in the mythos, more pansexuals, more gender fluids, more depth to some of the antagonists - it is the rest of it which I just have think is but just utter nonsense.

WE are the PCs. WE are not the Monsters. The Monsters were inspired by Fear - fear of the other, fear of the unknown, fear inspired from religion, fear inspired from madness, fear inspired by our nightmares, fear inspired by pain, fear inspired by love, fear of the otherworldly, fear inspired by the elements, fear of god, and yes fear inspired by racism.

Embrace the fragility of humanity with all its pros and cons and play the game you want.

They've made a huge amount of effort it's still white nerds lol. You're getting more women but they're usually white female nerds.

D&D appeals to middle class university types IMHO.

It's obviously based heavily off European myths and legends.

It's going to be a lot harder to break out of its class based appeal than any amount of diversity will.

The main reason is financial. I suspect most people here don't actually understand real poverty. Intellectually they might.

Example "D&D is only $20 on Amazon don't be so cheap".

When I started the PHB was equivalent to a weeks rent on a room. Tens of millions of Americans are out if a job, D&D is probably a low priority.

I grew up poor, it was really rough when I was a kid. Started work age 13, buying my own clothes and shoes aged 15, kicked out of school aged 16.

Poverty sucked it's a real downer. Went to uni later in life (it's free/cheaper, automatic entry later in life).

I bought D&D with money I didn't spend on booze, tobacco and pot which was what most of my friends were spending money on.

Bought my first PC aged 22. If you're really poor owning a computer or internet connection not an option.

No amount of posting on Twitter is going to change that basic fact IMHO. D&D players tend to be well educated.

Wasn't born in America dodged the trailer park I suppose. Lucky me.

 

[thatparanoidguy]

That could only been forged when their leader managed to ally or conquer a large number of neighouring tribes to forge a giant horde much larger than anything the many arrows could muster on their own.

So while there is still a many arrows tribe and dark arrow keep still exists, this is merely the state they were in before they got their kingdom.

Now that you mention it the D&D Live map does mention other Orc Tribes with The Tribes of Many-Arrows being the strongest. So I still think reformation is on the table.

But yeah after this I hope they never go back to status qua with resetting thier place in the world. It's so boring to throw away story development.

I STILL cannot get over how many times Marvel & DC comics did that. One more day still causes me angst.