D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Gothic Lineages & New Race/Culture Distinction

The latest Unearthed Arcana contains the Dhampir, Reborn, and Hexblood races. The Dhampir is a half-vampire; the Hexblood is a character which has made a pact with a hag; and the Reborn is somebody brought back to life.

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Perhaps the bigger news is this declaration on how race is to be handled in future D&D books as it joins other games by stating that:

"...the race options in this article and in future D&D books lack the Ability Score Increase trait, the Language trait, the Alignment trait, and any other trait that is purely cultural. Racial traits henceforth reflect only the physical or magical realities of being a player character who’s a member of a particular lineage. Such traits include things like darkvision, a breath weapon (as in the dragonborn), or innate magical ability (as in the forest gnome). Such traits don’t include cultural characteristics, like language or training with a weapon or a tool, and the traits also don’t include an alignment suggestion, since alignment is a choice for each individual, not a characteristic shared by a lineage."

 

[Aldarc]

I suggest you to inform yourself better about the topic.

...says the guy who thinks 1001 Nights represents Arabia authentically.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There is no singular and traceable traduction of OTON, so... no meaning in ask.

"Traduction"? I assume you mean translation. In which case, yes there is, English 1706.

For your english traduction, sorry, not my edition. All stories are Islamic.

Definitely false. Some are older than Islam, others are from SE Asia.

All refers to islamic middle east world.

And this is why it's a problem. So much wrong, starting with not everyone in the middle east is a Muslim, and not all Muslims come from the middle east.

And is a corpus of cultural heritage that, even if treated as popular literature by ultra conservative islam,

"Ultra Conservative" being a pejorative term. It's certainly popular literature by anyone's measure - not that there is anything inherently with being popular literature. It's just a very bad way to learn about a culture.

it considered a fine representation of the islamic world as Decameron (Boccaccio) is a very good source of information for day by day life of Reinassance.

Yeah, also very dumb. It's like saying Star Trek is a good source of information on American culture.

I'm sorry but google has its limits when trying to be useful in regard of this kind of information. I suggest you to read OTON and DECAMERON directly and then read a little bit of history books or a critical review.

This kind of strategy to deconstruct oppositive arguments is quite disturbing so better to go back to the focus. Otherwise I will not respond anymore.

The focus is ignorance. Now, there is nothing wrong with ignorance. It's inevitable, as it's impossible to know everything, or indeed any more than a tiny fraction of all the things that are knowable. The problem is the people who don't know or refuse to admit their ignorance - "it doesn't offend me, ergo it's impossible for it to offend anyone else".

But, sure, I know that talking to the wilfully blind is a pointless exercise, other than as an opportunity to gain amusement by giving them an opportunity display their foolishness. So let's end it there.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Maybe I should add that the British TV show 'Allo 'Allo! is an excellent way to learn about Italian culture?

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Being Italian, your experrience of not finding it offensive carries a lot less weight than someone of the culture being represented finding it offensive. You do not have the perspective or experiences that they do. If you want to see what actual Middle Easterners and those of Middle Eastern descent have to say on the matter of Al Qadim, I'll direct you to this series of videos.

I respect their point of view, but I can wishper in your hear that the whole Faerunian reconstruction of Reinassance, as Italian, is pretty idiotic if not offensive. But I enjoy it. Maybe I can make a youtube video explaining the issues of FR in regard of Italian culture... but don't feel myself motivated about it, because it is fiction. I can cope with it. Sorry for your youtube videos but I'm not so good in english to understand, but I truly would because I'm very curious about. Maybe I'll try, with a lot of patience because, giving that FR is not offensive in regard to Italian reinassance but it is very stereotyping about, I believe the same for AlQadim to Middle East. But to stereotype is different to offend. You can laugh about naive stereotypes, but to be offended is another matter of fact.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Maybe I should add that the British TV show 'Allo 'Allo! is an excellent way to learn about Italian culture?

To read AlQadim to know Arabian culture is stupid.
Maybe when you play a game don't want to learn a culture. Maybe you want to live adventures like the one you read in Arabian Nights, and buy Al Qadim. I still do not view any link you posted saying that Middle East culture reject Arabian Nights. Only link to how AlQadim can be a stereotyped view of Middle Age Middle East. This is true exactly as FR to Reinassance. Don't move the focus.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I though you had finished?

To read AlQadim to know Arabian culture is stupid.
Maybe when you play a game don't want to learn a culture.

The thing is, you do. Or at least people think they do. You have deluded yourself that you know about Arabic culture because you have read a book of fairy tales. This is why such depictions are harmful, and why people get offended when they see their culture parodied.

For example, as someone of Scottish Jacobite heritage, I find the writings of Walter Scott quite offensive for romanticising the genocide of Highland culture. I would not expect someone who is not Scottish to feel the same, but that doesn't make my feelings any less real.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

"Traduction"? I assume you mean translation. In which case, yes there is, English 1706.

Excuse my poor english

Definitely false. Some are older than Islam, others are from SE Asia.

Obviously, being as heterogeneous as it is. But you are keeping to move the focus.

And this is why it's a problem. So much wrong, starting with not everyone in the middle east is a Muslim, and not all Muslims come from the middle east.

Thanks for the precious information.

The focus is ignorance.

The focus is fictionalized version of real cultures and where is the point between being offended by the stereotype in this ficional reconstruction.
Focus is interpretation VS overinterpretation.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Excuse my poor english

I could, or I could think "I can write English, so surely everyone can write English".

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

I though you had finished?

The thing is, you do. Or at least people think they do. You have deluded yourself that you know about Arabic culture because you have read a book of fairy tales. This is why such depictions are harmful, and why people get offended when they see their culture parodied.

No. Sorry. I've sad that between Arabian Nights and Al Qadim there is not so much difference. Al Qadim being the DnD version of a flavour that can be enjoyed in Arabian Nights. This is completely another thing to say.

For example, as someone of Scottish Jacobite heritage, I find the writings of Walter Scott quite offensive for romanticising the genocide of highland culture.

And you are right to feel so. But again, to find the genocide of the Orcs written in a fantasy fiction as a metaphore of genocide of highland culture would be over-interpretation. Do you agree?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And you are right to feel so. But again, to find the genocide of the Orcs written in a fantasy fiction as a metaphore of genocide of highland culture would be over-interpretation. Do you agree?

Highlanders aren't Black.