D&D 5E Content Warning Labels? Yeah or Nay?

[el-remmen]

So something more like this? I think I like this better than the "CONTENT WARNING" text.

Yes, but I would move it to the left closer to or before where it says "GLASHTYN (CR 4)"

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I agree with @Oofta on the solution to implement. On the other hand what I find missing is a mention of which real life folklore it comes from, for people who would wabt to know more.

 

[S'mon]

The current project I'm working on is a folklore book based on original folklore (creatures will be depicted as how they were in original mythology rather than in modern RPGs and media). There's a lot of great stuff from those stories, but because they are often very dark, and in time that was....not very progressive, many of the creatures have a lore that includes things like ableism, sexism, assault, violation of consent, abduction, torture, and child abuse.

For those creatures, I have a "CONTENT WARNING" label next to the creature name, and in the Introduction section, I have this part:

Author's Note: Because the purpose of this book is to capture the original stories and portrayals of the creatures of folklore, there may be issues that are considered problematic by modern standards. Most of these myths and fables were created in a time or culture where issues such as misogyny, ethnic stereotyping, and ableism were part of the story, whether directly or indirectly. This book does not endorse any of these beliefs, and it is encouraged that any aspect you may find problematic for your game be modified or ignored. There are a lot of potential great stories to be told using original myths, but we must also be willing to acknowledge problematic aspects of those stories. Take what you want from this book, and ignore the rest.
Many of the core themes about fairies resonate in nearly every culture and may be triggering. These themes focus heavily on abduction, violating consent, sexual assault, child abuse, and mild torture. I feel it is my responsibility to call out references to these themes and have them labeled. This will be in the creature entry as “CONTENT WARNING” next to the creature’s name. Whenever possible, we have tried to tone down the references to those themes. Make no mistake, because they exist in folklore (and thus in this book), they are not to be celebrated, but viewed with caution. The inclusion of the “CONTENT WARNING” is to alert you ahead of time, so you can skip past them if you choose.

So my question to the community is, is something like that worth it? Is it off-putting? Not needed? Do you appreciate it, or would it turn you away?

Been rereading the RPGnet read through of Odyssey of the Dragon Lords, which I am running, and there are a LOT of complaints about the lack of content warning in the material, even though it is pretty toned down by actual Greek myth standards. Some of the less well informed posters seemed to think the authors must have been including stuff for their own 'magical realm' type gratification.
If it's important to you to avoid that reaction - and I'm pretty sure it is - some kind of "This is not the Disney version" content warning seems worthwhile. Your draft here looks very long to me, and I think the warning should attach to the whole work. I don't think "Skip over Page XX!" is a good idea. So I would cut out the bolded part, and possibly edit down the remaining text a bit. But a short pre-sale content warning seems like a reasonable approach to me.

 

[aco175]

You likely need something, keep it simple and treat people like adults and let them decide.

I'd shy from going overboard, else nobody pays attention.

 

[S'mon]

For example, here is what would appear for the Myling (ignore the formatting). It's...pretty grim and can be quite triggering for survivors of child abuse.

Myling CR 4 (CONTENT WARNING)
The lore behind the myling is exceptionally dark. These are ghosts and spirits of unwanted children killed by their parents and not having received proper burial. In certain regions throughout history, parents have committed infanticide for a number of reasons, not all of them necessarily rooted in evil. While many of them certainly were for evil reasons, oftentimes the parents were desperate with no other options before them, and had to make a choice to kill their own children, or to have the entire family starve. Or the mother was forced to kill the child by someone in a position of power. It sounds horrific today, and certainly is, but in some areas during certain parts of history, there were no alternatives or preventive measures available to mothers.

I would not include that, certainly not a section like that for every monster. The only time that could be reasonable IMO would be in the pre-sale blurb for a Myling-centric adventure.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yes, but I would move it to the left closer to or before where it says "GLASHTYN (CR 4)"

I agree with @Oofta on the solution to implement. On the other hand what I find missing is a mention of which real life folklore it comes from, for people who would wabt to know more.

Better?

 

[HammerMan]

Better?

no matter how this ends Sacrosanct, thank you for trying.

 

[Malmuria]

Better?

View attachment 146815

Once someone has bought into the premise of the material, I'm not sure an icon on each monster is necessary. I'd rather there be a little section at the front that is not only a content warning, but talks a bit about how to run potentially triggering material at the table. This could be anything from safety tools, to best practices, to critical reflections on what draws you to the original material and how you use it.

 

[jmartkdr2]

So something more like this? I think I like this better than the "CONTENT WARNING" text. (Also, the icon would appear in the Author's Note paragraph, so it would be defined there. Also ignore the CR4 and CR2 disparity; this was a quick mock-up)

View attachment 146812

Something like that - yes, fine. That particular placement doesn't seem bold enough - I'd put the ! by the name or 'behavior' section.

But from what you've said, it seems like most if not all of the entries will need a warning, at which point it becomes less useful at the monster-entry level. Just put a short warning on the back cover and a thorough author's note in the introduction.

Because at some point it's like putting allergen warnings next to each product in a nut store.

 

[aco175]

You know the next question will be if I can play one of these.