D&D General I really LOVE Stomping Goblins

[Cadence]

Honestly, all I know about Elric is Chaos, evil sword and albinism.

Going through Appendix N, I picked up one of the collected volumes (the earliest written iirc): Amazon.com

Wow, can you tell he was a young, unpolished writer when he wrote them.

You can also clearly see where the L&C in the original D&D alignment came from.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Acknowledging that there are troublesome moral considerations to making a game out of killing does not inevitably lead to the conclusion that it's wrong to play those games. It feels like a fear of that conclusion is preventing people from admitting an obvious truth.

I like slaughtering goblins, and I recognize that justifying that as ok because "they're all evil" is problematic. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop, though.

I find it weird (creepy? juvenile? sad?) how people insist there's absolutely no problem with it at all because "it's just a game" or "it's make believe" or "I can tell the difference between fact and fiction" or whatever.

 

[Maxperson]

Honestly, all I know about Elric is Chaos, evil sword and albinism.

I figured. It's a good read and will show you an inherently evil society, complete with classes, civilian cooks, artisans, etc.

 

[Maxperson]

Going through Appendix N, I picked up one of the collected volumes (the earliest written iirc): Amazon.com

Wow, can you tell he was a young, unpolished writer when he wrote them.

You can also clearly see where the L&C in the original D&D alignment came from.

And why lawful was almost always good and chaos was almost always evil in OD&D.

 

[Maxperson]

I think you grossly overestimate how accurately pop-science has been reported to you concerning genetics and behavior.

However much you want to ascribe to it, it exists. I am inherently heterosexual. The parts of my personality related to my gender, who I am attracted to, what I like, etc., was predetermined. According @Vaalingrade's argument, anyone with a gender isn't sapient, because you can't have both free will and predetermined anything relating to your personality or the way you think.

 

[Scribe]

I like slaughtering goblins, and I recognize that justifying that as ok because "they're all evil" is problematic. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop, though.

I think the logical ask is, why bother justifying it at all?

I'm not beholden to you or your table. You are not beholden to mine.

Goblins are Goblins. D&D is built on the premise of 'your table, you run it how you see fit'.

OP likes to smash goblins? Fantastic.

 

[Umbran]

I don't think it does come in. These aren't dogs, but sentient beings. It's like capturing a sociopathic/psychopathic serial killer. You don't get to just shoot him in the head, despite how evil he is. You might want to and it would certainly make things easier, but the moral thing to do is bring him in for justice.

As modern dwellers of developed nations with ubiquitous police presence, that makes sense.

But then, our developed nations with ubiquitous police presence don't generally have packs of vigilante adventurers roaming the countryside handling threats to the life and limb of the common folk. So, maybe that viewpoint needs to be adjusted for the relevant situation?

 

[Filthy Lucre]

However much you want to ascribe to it, it exists. I am inherently heterosexual. The parts of my personality related to my gender, who I am attracted to, what I like, etc., was predetermined. According @Vaalingrade's argument, anyone with a gender isn't sapient, because you can't have both free will and predetermined anything relating to your personality or the way you think.

I'm not saying you're wrong in your assessment, just that biological determinism is really hot in pop-science "journalism" and often over blown - which most things are, actually, in pretty much every field. Gotta get those clicks.

 

[billd91]

I find it weird (creepy? juvenile? sad?) how people insist there's absolutely no problem with it at all because "it's just a game" or "it's make believe" or "I can tell the difference between fact and fiction" or whatever.

Do you feel that by doing so you're being judgmental about your fellow gamers who do feel it's just a game? There's certainly a degree of it all through this thread.

Right now, it looks to me like you're expressing some ambivalence. You aren't going to stop so any problematic aspect of doing so, any creepiness/juvenileness you see, is only of limited value in changing your own behavior. Yet you suggested a degree of judgement as well. Do you really think slaughtering the goblins under the justification that it's a game is problematic? Under what justification is it not problematic? Is this even something worthy of the philosophical discussion?

 

[Cadence]

As modern dwellers of developed nations with ubiquitous police presence, that makes sense.

But then, our developed nations with ubiquitous police presence don't generally have packs of vigilante adventurers roaming the countryside handling threats to the life and limb of the common folk. So, maybe that viewpoint needs to be adjusted for the relevant situation?

It feels like there are a bunch of movies that touch on that. The one I remember that deals most directly with the issue of justice and the law not being around is The Virginian. As far as needing vigilantes, there's of course The Magnificent Seven.

The Virginian (1946 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Magnificent Seven - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org