D&D 5E WOTC Possibly Removing "Druids" for Religious/Cultural Sensitivity Reasons

[Mannahnin]

Eh. Priest is way more generic than cleric. We would say ’a priest of Zeus’ or ”a priest of Ra’ etc.

Priest IS the broad, culturally agnostic term.

Yup. It's certainly more broad and encompassing than "Cleric", and doesn't have the inherent contradiction of calling a fighting miracle worker by a name closely related to "clerk".

priest - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

en.wiktionary.org

From Middle English prest, preest, from Old English prēost (“priest”), from Late Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros), from πρέσβυς (présbus, “elder, older”). Reinforced in Middle English by Old French prestre, also from Latin presbyter.

Noun[edit]​

priest (plural priests, feminine priestess)

1. a religious clergyman (clergywoman, clergyperson) who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple quotations ▼
   The priest at the Catholic church heard his confession.
   The Shinto priest burnt incense for his ancestors.
   The Israelite priests were descended from Moses' brother Aaron.

 

[Scribe]

Dice & Nerds. let's just cut to the chase.

Objection, "nerd" is offensive.

 

[Sacrosanct]

we might only be left with "Book" as the title.

Haven't you heard? WotC is getting rid of books. The game will be known as "null" going forward...

 

[Umbran]

No, it's not. speaking as a Catholic here.

priest​

noun​

And, if we find another dictionary with a slightly different, more encompassing definition? Hint: I have found several.

Dictionaries will not save you in trying to reserve a word for your own use. You'll need another argument.

 

[MGibster]

Objection, "nerd" is offensive.

Okay, we'll use dork. Dice & Dorks keeps the alliteration anyway. Oh, but dork might be sexist. This is hard work.

 

[Reynard]

When I took my anthropology courses many years ago priest was the term that was used to describe someone who was authorized by a religious organization to guide the religious beliefs of others.

I guess we should ask what it is "clerics" actually do, and see if we can find a word that describes it. At their core, they channel divine power. Some clerics might lead flocks or perform rites, but it isn't actually necessary.

So I vote "channeler."

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yup. It's certainly more broad and encompassing than "Cleric", and doesn't have the inherent contradiction of calling a fighting miracle worker by a name closely related to "clerk".

priest - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

en.wiktionary.org

This is why wiki isn't a great source. Because they aren't called "Shinto priests". They are called "Kannushi". That entry was created by someone trying to translate a word into English and just used "priest" for whatever reason.

 

[Sacrosanct]

And, if we find another dictionary with a slightly different, more encompassing definition? Hint: I have found several.

Dictionaries will not save you in trying to reserve a word for your own use. You'll need another argument.

Never claimed it was my own word for my own use. I said it was very narrow (which it is). I also said it has a lot of baggage assigned to it (because it does). Thus, it's not a good word to use to replace cleric with.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

This is why wiki isn't a great source. Because they aren't called "Shinto priests". They are called "Kannushi". That entry was created by someone trying to translate a word into English and just used "priest" for whatever reason.

That reason is ‘priest’ being the generic word for such people in English language.

 

[Tony Vargas]

And, if we find another dictionary with a slightly different, more encompassing definition? Hint: I have found several.

Here's a cute one:

Noun​

cleric (plural clerics)

1. A member of the clergy.
2. (role-playing games) A spellcaster class that receives their spells (especially healing) from their deity.