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

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

So I wondered about the difference between this thing in a fantasy game is a racist trope and I am the racist for thinking this bad thing in a fantasy game represents this real world people.

It’s not actually hard to see a thing and think, whatever that creator’s intentions were, probably shouldn’t have gone there. And yet, sometimes, I do think problems are made where they don’t exist.

I came up with a pretty un surprising rule of three. If a thing hits three things in a historical racist trope, it’s racist. But if it only hits two, it‘s just a thing, and I’m projecting to think otherwise.

maybe this was too vague to make sense, but it’s working for me In my head tonight to see the difference.

It’s really too simplistic a rule to be effective. For instance, it could be a completely racist thing with only a single instance, if the instance in question is blatantly obvious.

It’s also possible that someone unfamiliar with a culture’s actual racist tropes might unwittingly & innocently wander into a minefield with MULTIPLE infractions. ESPECIALLY if the tropes in question are more regionally confined, or use words that are examples of linguistic false friends.

At the very least, you have to ask questions about how the person being accused of possible bigotry reacts to the accusations.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Slavery of artificial humanoids (robots/androids+ginoids, sentient golems and company) is softer and easier to be tolerated than slavery of biological humans&humanoids.

In the isekai fiction some characters can be former slaves, and only in the last time I start to read complains about manganime to be politically uncorrect for the current standards.

The worst part about Chinese censure is this may be too arbitrary and unpredictable, their rules aren't enough clear. You can't guess when it is beyond their limits. And if the Chinese goverment demands a Chinese partner, then you should take care with this. And now this is not the best time to invest there, and not only because the lockdown against the covid. Something could be allowed and tolerated in Taiwan or by Chineseamerican living in USA but not by the current goverment. An option could be start from zero with a Chinese partner, because this would know better the audience or wuxia-fandom, but then you haven't total controll over the new IP because practicaly it would be a licence. A Chineseamerican could create a setting right for the Chinese community, being totally politically correct, even a "love letter" for the Chinese civilitation, and it would be censured in China only because it was created in USA and not in their land under the control.

In my opinion 7th Sea can be potentially troublemaker because the nations are ersatz of ones from the real world, and players could change the lore to show their own point of view, or prejudices. For example the queen of Avalon could be retconected to become a reptilian alien who drinks blood of children to keep younger. But it is only fiction! isn't it?

Do you know any thing about the upcoming animated movie of an Aztec Batman? This is a good example of things should be avoided by WotC if this doesn't want troubles. I don't advice to use characters from a historical power as antagonists because the people from that country could complain about propaganda by the ones "with the beam in their own eyes". And now it is worse because conspirancy theories retell a different version of the British empire, and the UK may have to face own their own version of the black leged because the "entablishment" has been controlled by very bad people for centuries.

"Game of Thrones" is a good example about speculative fiction used to talk about politics of the real life, but relatively neutral ideologically. I guess the people can tolerate a piece of politics in the entertaiment but only when nobody talked about conservative vs liberals. Then here you may get into serious troubles.

 

[Hussar]

Heh. Just to take a real world example. Here in Japan, people who are of mixed heritage are referred to as "half" (pronounced ha fuh). And perfectly nice, sweet people have told me to my face how lucky I am to have half children. They would likely be utterly mortified to realize how unbelievably offensive that is.

What I've typically done, at least for people that I know, is, as gently as possible, let them know that this doesn't quite mean the same thing in English, and calling someone halfbreed (which is the false friend as @Dannyalcatraz mentions above) is probably not the best look and should likely be avoided as much as possible.

Granted, it took an awful lot of teeth grinding to stop me from biting people's heads off, but, again, me blowing a gasket and venting my spleen over someone who honestly is just ingnorant (as in lacking in knowledge) and 100% not malicious isn't going to be productive at all.

Not losing one's temper is sometimes a really difficult thing to do.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Heh. Just to take a real world example. Here in Japan, people who are of mixed heritage are referred to as "half" (pronounced ha fuh). And perfectly nice, sweet people have told me to my face how lucky I am to have half children. They would likely be utterly mortified to realize how unbelievably offensive that is.

What I've typically done, at least for people that I know, is, as gently as possible, let them know that this doesn't quite mean the same thing in English, and calling someone halfbreed (which is the false friend as @Dannyalcatraz mentions above) is probably not the best look and should likely be avoided as much as possible.

Granted, it took an awful lot of teeth grinding to stop me from biting people's heads off, but, again, me blowing a gasket and venting my spleen over someone who honestly is just ingnorant (as in lacking in knowledge) and 100% not malicious isn't going to be productive at all.

Not losing one's temper is sometimes a really difficult thing to do.

I lived in Germany for three years as an Army Brat. I was a 7yo black kid when I got there, and it was the mid 1970s. I had a fro.

And my Afro was a common source of amazement for the little old German ladies. I lost track of how many times I’d get patted on the head as they said “Bis ein Schafe!” (“Like a sheep!”) or something similar.

It took a bit to realize no offense was meant, especially because that word sounds a lot like “ape” (“Affe”)…

 

[Hussar]

I lived in Germany for three years as an Army Brat. I was a 7yo black kid when I got there, and it was the mid 1970s. I had a fro.

And my Afro was a common source of amazement for the little old German ladies. I lost track of how many times I’d get patted on the head as they said “Bis ein Schafe!” (“Like a sheep!”) or something similar.

It took a bit to realize no offense was meant, especially because that word sounds a lot like “ape” (“Affe”)…

Disclaimer - I am in no way, shape or form trying to compare the things i've had to deal with to what others have - this is one pissing contest I would lose by a mile

I've lived in Asia most of my adult life and it has given me a somewhat different perspective on things. When a person is in the minority (whatever that minority happens to be), many things come home to you that don't even register when you are a member of the majority. People who have never experienced being a minority really don't understand because it's just so alien from your perspective.

When you are a minority, you are always, always wrong. Because if you were right, you would be in the majority. The majority cannot be wrong because if they were wrong, then they wouldn't be the majority. I'm not explaining that well, but, I hope my point is getting through. So, when people talk about how they don't see why this or that thing is a problem in gaming, it's almost always rooted in, I hate using this word because it's so loaded, but, it's almost always rooted in privilege.

When you're the majority, everything around you is FOR you. The food at the supermarket. The restaurants. The newspapers. The television shows. The movies. EVERYTHING is for you. Because you're the majority and capitalism being what it is, means that it makes the most economic sense to gear everything to you. And it spills over into so many things. Like the sort of casual racism that people engage in all the time, without even realizing it.

It think what people fail to understand a lot of times is that racism isn't just the frothing at the mouth wing nut that is screaming at the hated group du jour. That's not the kind of racism that you see very often. At least, I fervently hope that it isn't. No, the bigotry that minorities face day in and day out is the little stuff that never, ever, ever stops.

Which is why I don't ever understand why people are against making changes that cost them nothing. Taking out the minstrelsy image from Spelljammer costs no one a single thing. It costs nothing. And it makes some people happy. Why would anyone oppose that?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I lived in Germany for three years as an Army Brat. I was a 7yo black kid when I got there, and it was the mid 1970s. I had a fro.

And my Afro was a common source of amazement for the little old German ladies. I lost track of how many times I’d get patted on the head as they said “Bis ein Schafe!” (“Like a sheep!”) or something similar.

It took a bit to realize no offense was meant, especially because that word sounds a lot like “ape” (“Affe”)…

Little old german ladys were touchy to every child back then... :/
Good thing this has changed a bit.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Which is why I don't ever understand why people are against making changes that cost them nothing. Taking out the minstrelsy image from Spelljammer costs no one a single thing. It costs nothing. And it makes some people happy. Why would anyone oppose that?

Although I recognize the unfairness and injustice, I'm not quite (yet?) willing to take drastic steps to address inequity, such as not giving my own kids the kinds of advantages I'm able to provide them, even though the end result is to perpetuate that inequity.

But adjust the content and lore of a make-believe game about elves and dragons? Sure, I can at least do that much. I mean, there's not much less I can do, except maybe nothing at all. It blows my mind that some people can't even do that much without kicking and screaming about how unjust the world is.

 

[Umbran]

It blows my mind that some people can't even do that much without kicking and screaming about how unjust the world is.

When you are used to being at the top of the heap, asking you to treat others equally/equitably feels like oppression.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Although I recognize the unfairness and injustice, I'm not quite (yet?) willing to take drastic steps to address inequity, such as not giving my own kids the kinds of advantages I'm able to provide them, even though the end result is to perpetuate that inequity.

that is a big way the problem keeps up... but I can't imagine the solution.

I am no billionaire not a millionaire and not even well off, BUT if I had been handed wealth even knowing what I know now about the privilege of wealth, as much as I would try to help where I could, I would still want to hand down my wealth to my kids my nieces and nephews ect...
If I could just make a call and get my nephew who is really into robotics into MIT i would. And if some nameless faceless person I will never know is hurt because they COULDN'T go to MIT because he took that last spot, I would loose no sleep over it.

It's easy to say "Lets tear down the system" but at the end of the day if YOU and YOUR FAMILY has to choose 'us or them' with no name or face to 'them' it's hard not to choose US...

heck imagine your house is on fire, you have no way out. You call 911 and they tell you, "Sir we have 1 fire truck, we can save your family or this other family you don't know... we will let YOU decide" now should you have that choice no. Do you know (if you are a good person) you shouldn't have that power YES... BUT, how do you NOT use it to save Your family?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

When you are used to being at the top of the heap, asking you to treat others equally/equitably feels like oppression.

oh yeah that's a big one...

part of it is the limit on, while everything.

if you knew 100 movies would be made in 2025, and 50 were going to be small budget ones you most likely wont see even if you want to until it is streaming, and of the 50 left normally 24 of them would be the style YOU PERSONALLY like... but this year they decised that those 24 are 'too ______' so instead they will take half of them and make other types of movies... so now that list of 100 movies that you used to pick between 24 and go to the theaters twice a month are not limited to 12... cutting YOUR movie selection in half. Is it more fair, maybe, but it does feel like "why aren't they making movies I like"

Brining this around to D&D (finally) you can look at it with what books get put out. If we get 4 rules supplements and 6 adventures and 2 campaign settings in 2025 that is 1 book a month (I think that is actually more then what WotC averages but someone can call me on it if I am wrong) for 1D&D... if all 4 rules supplements are for people who like combat and gamiest mechanics then the people who like narrative will feel slighted and so too will people who want social primary will as well... BUT if those 4 get split 2 for combat 1 for exploration 1 for social and the two combat ones 1 is gameist and combat as war and one is narrative and combat as sport, that seems like a fair split... but that guy that got 4 rule supliments the year before that were all main combat with gameist and combat as war style can feel "hey why are they pulling away from my style"