D&D (2024) Asians Represent: "Has WotC Fixed the D&D Monk?"

[mamba]

DND East wouldn't be called Dungeons and Dragons; thats the first thing that'd have to go if you want be assumptive that the game is effectively perfect representation wise.

Oriental Adventures?

I don’t see them creating a ‘second D&D’ under a different name

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I think Bruce Cordell is a martial artist, was anything in D&D better about martial arts when he was a designer for WotC?

 

[tetrasodium]

I'm not sure I understand your point? This is on me. I think I'm misunderstanding the correlation between the artwork and your players forcing something on you?

Wotc put out those characters as part of the leadup to the japanese d&d release. With the question of if the monk's problematic stereotypes are fixed by the packet6 monk we still have a monk in packet six that is channeling the same questionable tropes that wotc wasn't too keen on spotlighting there so it's obviously not fixed by limiting the impact of those tropes to the GM.

@mamba wrt your post58 comment, there would almost certainly need to be some mechanical changes to fit the themes and tropes of one or the other even if those are mostly replaced equipment spell & maybe feat lists.

@Charlaquin the eyes are a not so subtle hint of the target being mocked with their efforts to avoid fitting the theme of the setting

 

[Vaalingrade]

I think Bruce Cordell is a martial artist, was anything in D&D better about martial arts when he was a designer for WotC?

Looking at his body of work, he beat people up with his brain.

 

[Yaarel]

It is hard to comment, because I am less intimately familiar with various Asian cultures.

Personally, I prefer those from the respective Asian cultures to design the Monk according to Asian sensibilities.

Perhaps, the Monk becomes the "Athlete", with a more multicultural base flavor. Within it, one or more subclasses can be a specific Asian cultural esthetic. (An other Athlete subclass might be a Greek Olympian.)

Perhaps, the Druid can have a subclass for a Daoist alchemist, within it.

And so on.

What's more important to you? That the "right" people design the class or that it's fun to play?

Obviously, one of the qualifications of a "right" game designer, includes being a successful game designer. South Korea, Japan, and China are wellknown for their fantasy genres and even roleplaying games. Likewise, other areas of Asia.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Every class could use some more multicultural subclasses.

We were talking about the Monk and were talking about how we'd feel if the Fighter was singled out as 'the one from Africa' and then proceeded to also only draw on Kenyan and Congolese culture..

 

[Yaarel]

You mean those mountains in the background of Jackie Chan's "Rumble In The Bronx" were not supposed to be there? Shocked! SHOCKED, I SAY!!!

Canada has the best scifi shows.

Every scifi that I love has Canada show up in the credits somewhere.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Canada has the best scifi shows.

Every scifi that I love has Canada show up in the credits somewhere.

That's because Vancouver is the best planet.

 

[Yaarel]

That's because Vancouver is the best planet.

I have never been to Vancouver, but it is a place I want to.

 

[Charlaquin]

@Charlaquin the eyes are a not so subtle hint of the target being mocked with their efforts to avoid fitting the theme of the setting

The eyes are a silly design element, they’re not intended as mockery. It’s understandable that they might come off that way to a Western audience, since we tend to be less comfortable with comedic elements in characters who aren’t strictly comic relief, but Japanese audiences are much more receptive to levity as a normal part of characters who are still meant to be “taken seriously,” for want of a better description. Look no further than the outrageous popularity of One Piece in Japan, whereas in the US it performs relatively poorly.