Mana, Shamans, and the Cultural Misappropriation behind Fantasy Terms

[Maxperson]

Actual tribes that practice(d) cannibalism historically have religious intermediaries that are probably best described as Shamans. Who, exactly, is supposed to be the victim here?

I'll go out on a limb and say the people being eaten.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Whilst I agree that the context and manner how shamanism is mentioned in D&D has some issues, I'd be really wary of starting to purge references in real life cultural practices. As basically everyone agrees that Europoean cultures are fair game this in practice will lead to even more increased euro-centrism in depiction of a fantasy worlds. I kinda had similar misgivings regarding the Oriental Adventures debacle, as justified as a lot of the criticism was.

 

[Fenris-77]

I'll go out on a limb and say the people being eaten.

But what if that limb has been EATEN?! Muhuhahaahah!!! Nom nom nom.

 

[Maxperson]

But what if that limb has been EATEN?! Muhuhahaahah!!! Nom nom nom.

Then there's a good chance that we are dealing with Treant cannibals.

 

[Fenris-77]

Then there's a good chance that we are dealing with Treant cannibals.

Not the dreaded Treannibals! Always identified by their chewing on a toothpick while they lounge around the woods looking tough. With little carvings of tear drops next to their beady eyes.

 

[Alzrius]

Not the dreaded Treannibals! Always identified by their chewing on a toothpick while they lounge around the woods looking tough. With little carvings of tear drops next to their beady eyes.

Still better than their hillbilly cousins:

 

[Maxperson]

Not the dreaded Treannibals! Always identified by their chewing on a toothpick while they lounge around the woods looking tough. With little carvings of tear drops next to their beady eyes.

Their bite is worse than their bark.

 

[Maxperson]

Still better than their hillbilly cousins:

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[Fenris-77]

Their bite is worse than their bark.

Even the bark is good if your marinate it with some herbs and onion.

 

[Aldarc]

The word shaman has fully entered the rpg/fantasy lexicon in a very established way. It’s not just used in d&d, but dozens of games, films, computer games, books. Removing it from d&d and not the general industry at large is a drop in the ocean. More importantly the cure is worse than the disease as no actual harm has been justified... just the hypothetical idea of it.

The harm of "Plastic Shamans" have been discussed before. Again, if one were to bother reading the OP.

What kind of religious practice would you have the Lizardfolk practice? Shamanism isn't by default a good thing, it's just a description of an enormously broad range of religious practices, and the lizardfolk fit the bill anthropologically speaking, as far as cultures that might have shamans rather than some other kind of figure. Actual tribes that practice(d) cannibalism historically have religious intermediaries that are probably best described as Shamans. Who, exactly, is supposed to be the victim here?

If lizardfolk explicitly have druids, then wouldn't "druidic" be the more apt?