D&D General RA Salvatore Wants To Correct Drizzt’s Racist Tropes

In an interview with Polygon, the author talks about how the drow are currently being redefined in D&D, and how he wants to be part of that process.

”But on the other hand, if the drow are being portrayed as evil, that’s a trope that has to go away, be buried under the deepest pit, and never brought out again. I was unaware of that. I admit it. I was oblivious.

Drow are now split into (at least) three types — the familiar Udadrow of Menzoberranzan, the arctic-themed Aevendrow, and the jungle-themed Lorendrow. Salvatore's new novel, Starlight Enclave, helps to expand the drows' role in the narrative.

D&D’s Drizzt books were built on racist tropes. R.A. Salvatore wants to change that

‘If the drow are being portrayed as evil, that’s a trope that has to go away’

www.polygon.com

In 2020 WotC made a public statement about how they would be treating drow and orcs going forward -- "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. "

Commitment to Diversity | Dungeons & Dragons

D&D continues to be made as diverse as possible with the reminder that only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome obstacles.

dnd.wizards.com

 

[Sacrosanct]

"The less we objectified women, the more women started gaming. Gee, who would have thunk?"

Correlation does not equal causation. There may be less objectification BECAUSE more women are playing, and it's easier to sell them books if you don't offend them.

Never ascribe virtue to what can be explained by good old-fashioned greed.

Good thing we have decades of letters and articles and Dragon editorials that tell us how and why this change began to happen.

Also, there is a quote function, you know. Cutting and pasting my text without quoting doesn't notify me you're responding to me, and it's hard to keep a conversation going if I don't know you're responding to me. It also shows up to everyone who may have placed me on ignore for one reason or another.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

We're afraid of things which are dangerous. But we're not afraid of the dark as adults... Why?

I was afraid of the dark until my late 20's, personally, because there was an irrational fear of something I couldn't see being just out of sight. It's also why I'm still afraid of the ocean and never get in it.

Also, darkness is used a lot in visual horror media.

As for why people sleep in darkness, it's because for the vast majority of human existence there was no other choice.

In summary, I'm unconvinced that being afraid of the dark is just a cultural construct.

 

[pumasleeve]

The critique of drow isn’t about intent. Nobody is claiming that they were intended to be a racist stereotype, and “drow have dark skin = racist” is not an argument anyone is making.

Good rule of thumb: if a good-faith critique seems totally asinine to you, you’ve probably misunderstood it.

If we are acting in good faith, please dont put words in my mouth. I never said anything is asinine. I could go through this thread and quote many posts where they said the dark skin color of the drow and orcs perpetuates/is influenced by stereotypes and is therefore racist, but Im not going to. Please, feel free to explain to me what I have misunderstood.

 

[Umbran]

PEACE just to be pollcorrect.

Mod Note:
I noted, upthread, that use of "politically correct" was going to get folks in trouble.

You're done in this thread.

Anyone else want to push the envelope?

 

[Charlaquin]

That may not be what you are concerned about Charlaquin. But there seems to be quite a multiplicity of takes going on here.

It certainly might seem that way if you don’t understand the pretty consistent position folks critiquing the drow have. Granted, people have their own particular perspective on the issue, but there’s a pretty unified underlying critique and it ain’t “having a dark-skinned race in our fantasy game leads to real-world racism.”

Again, if a good-faith critique seems totally asinine, you’ve probably misunderstood it.

 

[Sacrosanct]

The argument that drow can't be racist because they aren't real is a bad one.

All racist portrayals involve an element of fiction, sometimes a very strong element. If they were 100% truthful portrayals they could not be racist, because racism always involves a lie.

Nazi propaganda employed images of a vampire bat with the head of a caricature of a Jewish person, or a rat with a similar head. American anti-Japanese WWII propaganda featured the "Tokio Kid" -- a monstrous being with pointed ears, fangs, and claws.

Part-antisemitic caricature/part-bat creatures, part-antisemitic caricature/part-rat creatures, and the goblin-like Tokio kid are all fictional. No such beings exist. They are imaginary monsters. But that doesn't prevent such depictions from being racist.

They worked by bringing together both the real (or at least something perceived to be real, such as racist caricatures) and the fictional -- the monstrous. Drow also combine the real -- dark skin -- with the monstrous.

The intent of Nazi and WWII propaganda was different, but it is not the purpose of this post to argue about intent. The point is that the argument that drow or any other fictional creation can't be racist because it's not real is a bad one. All racist depictions are fictional, sometimes fantastically so.

Indeed. I was thinking about that earlier. One of the most common ways to depict someone with pejorative racial stereotypes is to dehumanize them--turn them into monstrous versions of people. Exaggerate features, etc. Therefore, you are turning them into something very much not real. Racism depends on ignorance. So therefore, as you say, that argument is a very flawed one to make.

 

[Steampunkette]

I was afraid of the dark until my late 20's, personally, because there was an irrational fear of something I couldn't see being just out of sight. It's also why I'm still afraid of the ocean and never get in it.

Also, darkness is used a lot in horror movies.

All true. I also have serious and continuous Leporiphobia. Like chronic.

And no. There was no Bad Touch Easter Bunny involved. I've just -always- been afraid of Rabbits with a deep seated dread in the pit of my stomach that escapes out of my mouth in screams of terror.

This is not a joke. I'm being 100% Serious, here. It's a real thing.

Doesn't mean Rabbits were dangerous to humans at literally -any- point in the entirety of human or even primate existence on the planet. It's just funky wiring in my brain.

I was just trying to go with the Evolutionary Psychology Darkness = Bad argument.

 

[Nefermandias]

Everyone is good, there is no evil. I got it. Drows are good, but their pr is bad. Everyone loves everyone, If there is a conflict it is just a big misunderstanding. All good. All hug each other. PEACE just to be polcorrect
.

You say that ironically, but I honestly fear the day all fictional works are going to be forced to conform to that.

 

[Charlaquin]

And, just to note, there's a very strong argument that, when referring to "dark elves" the Norse were not speaking about color of skin, but darkness of spirit or heart.

Also possibly hair color. They seem to have associated a great deal of personality traits to hair color.

 

[Sacrosanct]

All true. I also have serious and continuous Leporiphobia. Like chronic.

And no. There was no Bad Touch Easter Bunny involved. I've just -always- been afraid of Rabbits with a deep seated dread in the pit of my stomach that escapes out of my mouth in screams of terror.

This is not a joke. I'm being 100% Serious, here. It's a real thing.

Doesn't mean Rabbits were dangerous to humans at literally -any- point in the entirety of human or even primate existence on the planet. It's just funky wiring in my brain.

I was just trying to go with the Evolutionary Psychology Darkness = Bad argument.

The chances of getting killed by a rabbit may be very low, but it's never Zero.

As a kid, we raised rabbits. All that screaming when we had to butcher them? The early mornings taking out all of their freezing water cans and replacing them, all before school started? I still have a half inch scar on my thumb where a rabbit bit me to the bone as a kid.

So no, you're not being unreasonable to me lol.