D&D 5E Don't play "stupid" characters. It is ableist.

[Paul Farquhar]

Well, we've asked ad_hoc to elaborate but he hasn't, to my knowledge..

Who can tell, when they have put everyone on ignore?

 

[Faolyn]

Who can tell, when they have put everyone on ignore?

It's gotten that bad, huh?

Now I wonder if the reason he posted this thread to begin with is people were telling he he wasn't explaining himself clearly or otherwise didn't communicate his thoughts well, and he took that to mean they were insulting his intelligence.

 

[Irlo]

Is the goliath making fun of the short halfling, or is the goliath's player making fun of short people?

And, to be more analogous to the situation in the original post, is the halfling’s player playing a halfling as a mockery of short people?

 

[Charlaquin]

Who can tell, when they have put everyone on ignore?

It's gotten that bad, huh?

Now I wonder if the reason he posted this thread to begin with is people were telling he he wasn't explaining himself clearly or otherwise didn't communicate his thoughts well, and he took that to mean they were insulting his intelligence.

IIRC, ad_hoc tends to put people on ignore temporarily, then remove them from their ignore list after there’s been some time to let the dust settle.

 

[ReshiIRE]

I think commenting on someone's ignore list habits is wildly offtopic and unproductive. Some people have put me on ignore and... I just don't comment on it because it doesn't matter?

 

[Charlaquin]

I think commenting on someone's ignore list habits is wildly offtopic and unproductive. Some people have put me on ignore and... I just don't comment on it because it doesn't matter?

Very true. Mea culpa.

 

[Scott Christian]

Is the goliath making fun of the short halfling, or is the goliath's player making fun of short people?

My dad hates Disney films because he has noticed the short characters are always getting pushed around by tall characters. He also plays D&D I’m pretty confident he would not appreciate height-based jokes being made in game, in-character or otherwise.

Yeah, I think that is something that should probably be avoided too, unless you know for sure that everyone at the table is ok with it.

And, to be more analogous to the situation in the original post, is the halfling’s player playing a halfling as a mockery of short people?

@Faolyn - Do you see where the confusion can come in when this subject is broached? Charlaquin is clearly implying to avoid it, regardless of intent. You are saying the fault lies with intent. The OP post stated:

When you play 'stupid' characters are you are saying that there are stupid people and then you are imitating those people.

The idea of 'stupid' and 'smart' is rooted in ableism.

It does not say when you play stupid characters with the intent of mocking, it just says when you play stupid characters.

I feel everyone here can agree that the intentional mocking of a real person for their intellectual handicap is abhorrible. It is the lowest of the low. And, thank goodness, my friends and I never played that way - even as teens. But, presenting a doltish person with other traits as a fantasy character - I think that is where the community becomes split?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I wasn't aware that expression was considered a "dog whistle" !? Who is it supposed to "alert"? The intention on my behalf was merely to point out that life—real or fantasy—is inherently not fair, and that the sanest approach was to acknowledge that.

Mod Note:

(emphasis mine)

1) Had you put it that way, there wouldn’t be an issue. It’s a culture war term, and can be seen in articles from Slate, the NYT, WaPo, and other outlets that pop up on the first page of a Google search. (That your usage was almost in perfect alignment to those using the term in a negative way makes me suspect you’re aware of that, but I’m feeling nice today.) And,

2) you’ve been here long enough to know that commenting on moderation in thread is against the rules. This is the only time you get to walk on this without getting points.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

And, to be more analogous to the situation in the original post, is the halfling’s player playing a halfling as a mockery of short people?

Or a mockery of Hobbits?

 

[ReshiIRE]

Life is not fair, that is true.

Which is why we must ensure that life is as fair as possible and people have as good as possible of a life, free from violence, discrimination, and hate... no?

And tackle the sources of unfairness, such as wealth inequality? And those who would style themselves as our masters?