D&D (2024) One D&D Permanently Removes The Term 'Race'

In line with many other tabletop roleplaying games, such as Pathfinder or Level Up, One D&D is removing the term 'race'. Where Pathfinder uses 'Ancestry' and Level Up uses 'Heritage', One D&D will be using 'Species'.

Moving On From 'Race' in the 2024 Core Rulebooks

We understand "race" is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds.

www.dndbeyond.com

In a blog post, WotC announced that "We have made the decision to move on from using the term "race" everywhere in One D&D, and we do not intend to return to that term."

 

[Remathilis]

I don't think Dark Sun is problematic, but I also don't have WotC's headaches trying to avoid offending everyone.

To be fair, I don't find it problematic*, but very lazy design. They took an ancient culture, changed one letter in the name, and called it a fantasy culture.

* Of course, I'm not familiar enough with either the culture or with Dark Sun to determine if there are any more profound problems.

 

[Micah Sweet]

To be fair, I don't find it problematic*, but very lazy design. They took an ancient culture, changed one letter in the name, and called it a fantasy culture.

* Of course, I'm not familiar enough with either the culture or with Dark Sun to determine if there are any more profound problems.

Maybe so, but it is what it is. New stories can and should be more creative.

 

[Yaarel]

Each of the seven city-states is inspired by an ancient Earth civilization, at least in terms of aesthetic conventions. Urik is Uruk, for instance, while Balic is Rome and Nibenay is Angkor, etc.

There is an extremely welldone homebrew update for Dark Sun for 5e.

It used illustrations from the archeology of these reallife places, as well as incorporating their motifs in its art.

My response was mixed.

On the one hand, connecting these in-setting locations to in-reallife places, made the setting even cooler.

On the other hand, these reallife places are culturally sacred today. For example, modern Egyptians are knowledgeable about and extremely proud of their antiquity from Ancient Egypt. One needs to address Ancient Egyptian themes with modern sensitivities in mind.

I assume the same is true in Iraq: Sumeria and Akkadia are culturally sacred today.

Rome has all of European history whitewashing, lionizing, and glorifying Ancient Rome. But the Ancient Romans themselves often said things that are over-the-top Evil and proud of it. So, for a narrative to have the Roman government being unjust or featuring corrupt Evil organizations, Europeans basically shrug.

 

[AnotherGuy]

On the other hand, these reallife places are culturally sacred today. For example, modern Egyptians are knowledgeable about and extremely proud of their antiquity from Ancient Egypt. One needs to address Ancient Egyptian themes with modern sensitivities in mind.

I assume the same is true in Iraq: Sumeria and Akkadia are culturally sacred today.

Rome has all of European history whitewashing, lionizing, and glorifying Ancient Rome. But the Ancient Romans themselves often said things that are over-the-top Evil and proud of it. So, for a narrative to have the Roman government being unjust or featuring corrupt Evil organizations, Europeans basically shrug.

I think it's unfair to bash Roman history and then look so fondly on Ancient Egypt given their slave culture and worry about the sensibilities of modern Egyptians when they are so far removed from Pharaoic history, culture and religion. And to claim (without basis) that Egyptians and people from the Middle East are so knowledgeable about their past also seems out of place as if the Italians don't know their own history. Such a peculiar statement to make. Fact is no one is sure how they actually built those pyramids that's the knowledge we are dealing with.

 

[MGibster]

It's weird what some people can live with and what they can't live without as far as changes to their favorite franchises go. I couldn't care less about psionics in Dark Sun. Drop it or keep it in the setting, I don't particularly care, but what of the things I did enjoy about the setting was that it was so different from the typical D&D game. I like the brutality in the setting and think removing it would be a loss for the setting as whole.

I assume the same is true in Iraq: Sumeria and Akkadia are culturally sacred today.

We often get mixed messages when it comes to RPG settings.

Player 1: I wish we had more non-European inspired settings.

Player 2: Well how about this setting inspired by the people living in the Fertile Crescent circa 3,000-1,500 BCE. I'm talking Sumerians, Akkadians, etc., etc.

Player: 3: Nah, we can't do that. It'd be cultural appropriation or something.

Player 2: Okay, how about we just play in a psuedo-Medieval/Early Modern Europe like we always do?

Players 1 & 3: Sounds like a plan.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There is an extremely welldone homebrew update for Dark Sun for 5e.

It used illustrations from the archeology of these reallife places, as well as incorporating their motifs in its art.

My response was mixed.

On the one hand, connecting these in-setting locations to in-reallife places, made the setting even cooler.

On the other hand, these reallife places are culturally sacred today. For example, modern Egyptians are knowledgeable about and extremely proud of their antiquity from Ancient Egypt. One needs to address Ancient Egyptian themes with modern sensitivities in mind.

I assume the same is true in Iraq: Sumeria and Akkadia are culturally sacred today.

Rome has all of European history whitewashing, lionizing, and glorifying Ancient Rome. But the Ancient Romans themselves often said things that are over-the-top Evil and proud of it. So, for a narrative to have the Roman government being unjust or featuring corrupt Evil organizations, Europeans basically shrug.

Do you have a link to the Dark Sun product?

 

[Yaarel]

I think it's unfair to bash Roman history

Heh, it sounds unfair to bash Ancient Roman history ... until you read for yourself some of the things the emperor and others actually said! And proudly did.

And to claim (without basis) that Egyptians and people from the Middle East are so knowledgeable about their past also seems out of place as if the Italians don't know their own history.

Of course, modern Italians are knowledgeable about and proud of Ancient Rome. But they are also aware of its less than admirable aspects.

Besides, since most of Europe was actually part of the Roman Empire, when Europeans critique Rome, it is often an "insider" point-of-view.

and then look so fondly on Ancient Egypt given their slave culture and worry about the sensibilities of modern Egyptians when they are so far removed from Pharaoic history, culture and religion.

Ancient Egyptian slavery was mainly indentured servitude, doing work to pay off a debt. It became the foundation of a quasi-socialist system, where the pharaonic state owned everything, thus demanding taxes, but supplying collective projects and wellfare for the Egyptian citizenry.

The situation was different for foreigners, however, who were captured in war or captured and sold to Egypt. The slavery for noncitizens was actually slavery.

Fact is no one is sure how they actually built those pyramids that's the knowledge we are dealing with.

Today, archeologists know exactly how Egyptians built the pyramids.

Happily, archeologists found the tombs of the people who build the pyramids.

Because of the Egyptian custom of writing the accomplishments of the dead on the wall murals of the tombs, the people described how they built the pyramids.

Basically, they created an artificial mountain of sand. They used sand to slide the massive stone bricks (ashlars). Then made a ramp of sand to slide the bricks up to the next higher level. Then made the sand ramp higher and higher, as the height of the pyramid construction progressed. When they placed their top stone and were finally done, they swept away the sand.

Archeologists now have found where they dumped the sand afterward, and where they got the sand from.

 

[Yaarel]

Do you have a link to the Dark Sun product?

There is an Enworld thread for it.

It is a fanwork called: Dark Sun - City-State of Urik.

Like I mentioned, the reallife archeology makes the setting cool.

But the Dark Sun setting is Evil, with the emperors personally being Evil, and the political ideology and the institutional slavery being Evil.

It kinda does end up demonizing an "other" reallife culture.

The Dark Sun setting has many aspects that I like. Personally, I love the psionics, elementalism, and godlessness. I am less enthusiastic about the slavery, dictatorship, and post-apocalyptic despair. I would prefer options to have a homebase that is more utopian, that strives to build a better city society, with a real chance of healing the planet.

For other players, the nihilism is part of what they like about the setting. I would be happy if there were options of how to decide the mood of the setting by the DM choosing which cities are present on the planet.

I hope there is a way to salvage the interesting aspects of the Dark Sun setting.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Heh, it sounds unfair to bash Ancient Roman history ... until you read for yourself some of the things the emperor and others actually said! And proudly did.

Ancient Egyptian slavery was mainly indentured servitude, doing work to pay off a debt. It became the foundation of a quasi-socialist system, where the pharaonic state owned everything, thus demanding taxes, but supplying collective projects and wellfare for the Egyptian citizenry.

The situation was sometimes different for foreigners, however, who were captured in war or captured and sold to Egypt. The slavery for noncitizens was actually slavery.

We know next to nothing about what the Pharaohs actually said. I'm not convinced they'd be more benevolent than the Roman Emperors when their rule was absolute....but anyways.
.

Today, archeologist know exactly how Egyptians built the pyramids.

That is not true. There is no consensus.

Happily, archeologists found the tombs of the people who build the pyramids.

Because of the Egyptian custom of writing the accomplishments of the dead on the wall murals of the tombs, the people described how they built the pyramids.

Basically, they created an artificial mountain of sand. They used sand to slide the massive stone bricks (ashlars). Then made a ramp of sand to slide the bricks to the next higher level. Then made the sand ramp higher and higher, as the height of the pyramid construction progressed. When they placed their top stone and were finally done, they swept away the sand.

Archeologist now have found where they dumped the sand afterward, and where they got the sand from.

Yeah that's what is fed to the general public. If one delves deeper i.e weight and number of the stones, location of the quarry, the materials/tools needed to cut the stone, time required to make a single sarcophagus....etc you'd see that explanation does not add up.

 

[Yaarel]

We know next to nothing about what the Pharaohs actually said. I'm not convinced they'd be more benevolent than the Roman Emperors when their rule was absolute....but anyways.

My impression is, some of the Roman emperors were unusually ruthless, even by ancient standards.

Besides the gladiatorial events in the Colosseum are literally, "murder as a sport". It is difficult to find a clearer definition of Evil.

That is not true. There is no consensus.

Egyptologists have a consensus.

Yeah that's what is fed to the general public. If one delves deeper i.e weight and number of the stones, location of the quarry, the materials/tools needed to cut the stone, time required to make a single sarcophagus....etc you'd see that explanation does not add up.

Heh, I cant believe "alien" conspiracies still exist. When archeologists discovered the tombs of the actual people who personally built the pyramids.

Just like ancient beekeepers describe in their tombs how to do beekeeping, the pyramid builders describe, step by step, how to build pyramids.

Archeologists (including engineers and physicists) know how they did it, can replicate it, and it "does add up".

The cutting thru stone was also done with sand as the abrasive. It was painstaking. There is some evidence, that at least some of the stand had emery (natural sapphire particles), that would make the stone cutting easier. Also there are tombs describing and showing pictures of how to cut stone.

The ancient temples with their colossal pillars were built the same way. Sliding stone by stone across the sand, and up the layerings of sand, then finally sweeping the sand away.