D&D (2024) How did I miss this about the Half races/ancestries

[Alzrius]

It's bad science because science has very little place in a fantasy world where real-world physical limitations are a mere suggestion.

That's not "bad science," that's "a different philosophy of game design and development."

Having Strength caps on women makes as much sense as having dragons that weigh many tons but can still fly. If you can allow for the latter, you can allow for the former.

Again, that's a debate with regard to the nature of the game, insofar as modes of engagement, design, expectations, etc. go, none of which have anything to do with science whatsoever. Calling it "bad science" is therefore a falsehood, and deserves to be called out as such.

 

[Bedrockgames]

It's okay to call them savages if their preferred model of living is to scale my walls, steal my stuff, and kill my family, right?

My wife calls me a barbarian all the time because I am American. I just think she has a good sense of humor when she says stuff like that

 

[Incenjucar]

I generally believe people when they inform me in good faith that something hurts them.

I also want D&D to grow with the times and to not be a permanent relic of the ethics of the suburbs of the 1970s.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

These are literally questions I got from friends when Volo’s came out. It doesn’t matter that orcs don’t exist. They are portrayed using tropes pulled from white colonialist perceptions of African and American Indigenous peoples, and so how we talk about them will reflect that to readers who see the connection.

Does it make it any better that I always pictured orcs as based on the Germanic tribes?

 

[MGibster]

I also want D&D to grow with the times and to not be a permanent relic of the ethics of the suburbs of the 1970s.

I'm not abandoning my Disco Bard.

GM: Okay, the Ogre swings his club, hits, and, ouch! You take 28 points of damage.

Barbarian: Oh, man! I'm down.

Disco Bard: I can save you!

Barbarian: No, I'd rather die.

GM: It's Disco Bard's turn. What do you do?

Disco Bard: <Ahem>
Well you can tell by the way I use my lute/
I'm a ladies man, no time to play/
Music loud and women warm I've been kicked around/
Since Snarf was born/
And now it's alright, it's okay/
And you may look the other way/
We can try to understand/
The Gygaxian master plan/

:rolls a 7 on a d8:

Whether you're a wizard or a little magic-user/
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive/
Feel the city shakin' and everyody breakin'/
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Barbarian: Just let me die.

 

[Faolyn]

That's not "bad science," that's "a different philosophy of game design and development."

Sure. Imposing realistic physical limitations for one thing for realism is somehow fine, whereas other realistic physical limitations are handwaved away due to rule of cool is also somehow fine, and not at all hypocritical or sexist.

 

[Alzrius]

Sure. Imposing realistic physical limitations for one thing for realism is somehow fine, whereas other realistic physical limitations are handwaved away due to rule of cool is also somehow fine, and not at all hypocritical or sexist.

"Fantasy" is not a catch-all for "no aspects of realism apply anywhere." Different people will have different areas where they want fantasy to supersede concerns of realism, and having more realism in some areas and not in others is in no way hypocritical.

Likewise, I find little-to-no justification for making judgment calls about someone's character based on the fantasies they partake in. People who write stories about a serial killer who solves crimes are not saying that serial killers are good people, people who play conquest-simulation games are not advocates of colonialism, people who play murderhobos are not violent people, etc.

But at least we've gotten off of the whole "it's bad science!" bit now, though, so I suppose that's progress.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The resurgence of anti semitism in the US is one of my gravest concerns. Particularly because it really felt like it was on its way out. Part of why this issue is such a concern for me is I think the some of the attitude expressed in this post has actually contributed to the danger by giving cover and by ratcheting up the tension and violence. The people violent racists harm are the ones I am worried about. Yes you should defend people who are under threat but you also shouldn’t escalate the violence or the danger by cranking things to ten in all cases

I genuinely don’t believe that it is possible to discuss this further without ignoring moderation, so I’m going to bow out.

I hope you can come around to centering the question “does this game element make everyone feel welcome, or does it make some folks feel unsafe?” Over “is the language spicy enough to be fun for me?”

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

"Fantasy" is not a catch-all for "no aspects of realism apply anywhere." Different people will have different areas where they want fantasy to supersede concerns of realism, and having more realism in some areas and not in others is in no way hypocritical.

Likewise, I find little-to-no justification for making judgment calls about someone's character based on the fantasies they partake in. People who write stories about a serial killer who solves crimes are not saying that serial killers are good people, people who play conquest-simulation games are not advocates of colonialism, people who play murderhobos are not violent people, etc.

But at least we've gotten off of the whole "it's bad science!" bit now, though, so I suppose that's progress.

It doesn't matter. When it comes to the fantasy RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, I will fight for the normalization of any genders and playable species to be able to have any ability score that can be achieved by the same ability score generation methodology in the core rules. Science (or "realism") be damned. There can be any fantasy explanation for these results that transcends the limits of our world's biological science (we only have humans in our world). And I think Wizards leans towards that way of thinking.

"Real world biology" is an argument I wouldn't even consider. If someone wants to limit female or halfling strength, or orc intelligence, they can force those exclusionary preferences into the microcosm of their own house rules or games. But it doesn't belong in the D&D core rules.

 

[Alzrius]

It doesn't matter.

To you. Other people feel differently, and that's okay.