WotC WotC's Chris Perkins On D&D's Inclusivity Processes Going Forward

Over on D&D Beyond, WotC's Chris Perkins has written a blog entry about how the company's processes have been changed to improve the way the D&D studio deals with harmful content and inclusivity. This follows recent issues with racist content in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and involves working with external cultural consultants.

The studio’s new process mandates that every word, illustration, and map must be reviewed by multiple outside cultural consultants prior to publication.

Leveling Up Our Creative Process: Learnings From Spelljammer

In this blog post, I'll talk about how we in the D&D Studio are changing our review process following the problematic content that appeared in Spell...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

The Polish? Yes. Their entire country got partitioned twice and is now in a different place then it originally was. And even when they had their own country they were dominated by Germany and the UDSSR, including violent purges and near catastrophic engineered starvation. And even today, or at least in the last century the other people of Europe looked down on them with them being near synonymous as thief.

And the word slave was thought for a long time to come from the name of the slavic culture which should tell you how they fared in history, being a playball of other powers and, for example, for centuries having their children stolen to be trained into religious warriors.

As I am not educated enough on this topic, I will not push back on your claims. That would be irresponsible of me. I'll leave it up to someone with more knowledge on this topic to push back.

However, I will say that if the polish people are still somehow as discriminated against in the modern world as Black people, a fantasy country echoing historical excuses for that discrimination would be as messed up as the Hadozee.

 

[Azzy]

The Polish? Yes. Their entire country got partitioned twice and is now in a different place then it originally was. And even when they had their own country they were dominated by Germany and the UDSSR, including violent purges and near catastrophic engineered starvation.

Again, when the Polish (or anyone else) actually complain about their !Not-depictions or find that the imagery and words use to depict them mirrors real-world denigration, we will listen to them and not dismiss them.

African Americans and Asian Americans (among others) face denigration and bigotry as recently as now.

 

[FrogReaver]

Again, when the Polish (or anyone else) actually complain about their !Not-depictions or find that the imagery and words use to depict them mirrors real-world denigration, we will listen to them and not dismiss them.

African Americans and Asian Americans (among others) face denigration and bigotry as recently as now.

Isn’t it also true that Americans in many other countries also face denigration?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Isn’t it also true that Americans in many other countries also face denigration?

Are/Were they kidnapped from America and enslaved? Are they prevented from voting? Are they killed by law enforcement at disproportionate levels?

 

[bedir than]

Isn’t it also true that Americans in many other countries also face denigration?

Is this the oppression Olympics?

 

[Azzy]

Isn’t it also true that Americans in many other countries also face denigration?

How many Americans in other countries are attacked, have their rights trampled, or denied their basic humanity?

 

[Ixal]

As I am not educated enough on this topic, I will not push back on your claims. That would be irresponsible of me. I'll leave it up to someone with more knowledge on this topic to push back.

However, I will say that if the polish people are still somehow as discriminated against in the modern world as Black people, a fantasy country echoing historical excuses for that discrimination would be as messed up as the Hadozee.

Its of course not equal to the discrimination of black people (Jim Crow, Redlining, ect.) but there were many variations of the saying "just stolen and now in Poland"

Depending on the number of partitions of Poland, depending on how you count it could be as often as 7 times with the country stopping to exist multiple times.

About the child stealing, it was called Devshirme where they travelled the Balkans, forcibly abducding boys and men between 8 and 20 years old to train them into warriors and sometimes eunuchs which lasted 200 years.

Devshirme - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GMforPowergamers]

That’s precisely my point. I’d say it enhances my position rather than diminishes it.

how?

If I say I took offense to you making fun of 1/3 my heritage, and someone next to me says 'nah I don't mind' how does that help your position... I am still offended.

If you DON'T insult that heritage neither of us are offended.

 

[bedir than]

Its of course not equal to the discrimination of black people (Jim Crow, Redlining, ect.) but there were many variations of the saying "just stolen and now in Poland"

Depending on the number of partitions of Poland, depending on how you count it could be as often as 7 times with the country stopping to exist multiple times.

About the child stealing, it was called Devshirme (roughly: blood tax) where they travelled the Balkans, forcibly abducding boys and men between 8 and 20 years old to train them into warriors which lasted 200 years.

Devshirme - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Is your position that Black Americans deserved to be mocked and harmed in D&D products because the D&D products don't have negative representation of Poles or Slavs?

Or is there a specific product you are questioning that should be reviewed? And the harm done in Spelljammer can be removed?

There's a real improvement that WotC is trying. They'll listen. They'll act. That's good. They are being better than they were.

 

[Azzy]

Its of course not equal to the discrimination of black people (Jim Crow, Redlining, ect.) but there were many variations of the saying "just stolen and now in Poland"

Depending on the number of partitions of Poland, depending on how you count it could be as often as 7 times with the country stopping to exist multiple times.

About the child stealing, it was called Devshirme (roughly: blood tax) where they travelled the Balkans, forcibly abducding boys and men between 8 and 20 years old to train them into warriors which lasted 200 years.

Devshirme - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This stopped in 1648, though. A more relevant example of Polish would be the nazi-era Germany's call for "the complete destruction of all Poles".