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

[Tony Vargas]

Think about historic figures, and ponder which ones come closest to the 'adventurer' job description.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Think about historic figures, and ponder which ones come closest to the 'adventurer' job description.

There's a reason "murderhobo" gets thrown around as much as it does.

 

[Scribe]

The term druid is not being removed. This was a clickbait article misrepresenting a quotation.

I feel this is somehow lost in the weeds, yet here we are, 16 pages deep.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I feel this is somehow lost in the weeds, yet here we are, 16 pages deep.

It's the fault of those darn druids casting Plant Growth!

 

[Epic Meepo]

I feel this is somehow lost in the weeds, yet here we are, 16 pages deep.

I think even the weeds got left behind at least 10 pages ago.

 

[Arnie_Wan_Kenobi]

Yep. Where I live we cut feet off statues of conquistadors. (Really.)

Apropos of nothing, "Onate's Foot" was one of the first episodes of "99% Invisible" I listened to.

 

[Lanefan]

I have never met a neo-pagan who was offended by D&D ‘s paganism. We don’t care.

I have; and while I myself don't care much, there's certainly those as do.

I don't want to get rid of the Druid name because of any Pagan connections, I want to get rid of it to cut the class loose from the single culture it's tied to now.

That’s why I’m one of few people who care that the Bard is divorced from its origins, and no one else cares. It’s not from a surviving culture, it’s from a past that we have vanishingly little connection to in the modern day, and it was generecised by the descendants of that culture. I hate it because I find the 5e Bard thematically bland as cardboard, basically just a less interesting rogue with spells, and the folkloric Bard is actually interesting and could do things other classes don’t do.

Though it would have the same tied-to-one-culture problem as does Druid, one could use the name Skald for the Bard class. Bard, though, is certainly more generic, and thus probably better even if blander.

 

[Lanefan]

...villains in the past...

Apropos of nothing else, "Villains in the Past" might be one of the better band names I've heard in a while...

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I don't like when somebody tries to "gaslight" me. I have to believe nothing said by un unknown person who unrespect me. If I am using the reason, why should I believe totally any thing written in internet? I have the right to doubt to search the truth. Nobody should force me to agree him.

Most likely is druid not being removed. But we are talking about what are the criteria for the limis when we try to avoid offending sensibilities by other groups. My opinion is the criteria is not being really coherent, because some things could be "cancelled" but other are allowed.

Why would be offensive if in a module of Spelljammers the evil astral orcs (scro is a horrible name) wear clothing as Otoman corsaris, but if it is as Spanish conquerors then it is OK?

I hope this example to enough soft to explain how the speculative fiction can used as a propaganda weapon to create a new black legend against a rival superpower. Lets imagine in the next years Russian and Chinese webcomics being published in internet in English languange. And then we could see a lot of pejorative tropes against the fictional version of Northamerica and the British empire. Then all the cities of the "Confederation" are like clones of Detroit, a true cyberpunk Distopy, and when we talk about about the "Avalonian empire" the image is not better. A true distopy where Charle Dicken's tales are Walt Disney cartoon next to this, and where the queen Victory-Elisabeth, the high-priestess of the Regalist Church, really is a worshipper of a Lovecraftian deity, and the Avalonian noble houses are also cultists, even with human sacrifices, and drinking blood of tortured children to keep younger. And we aren't talking about one or two titles, but all the fiction from those nations are fulled with anti-WASP propaganda. How would you feel? Or the bid bad guy is a vespian dragon, a kaiju mixture of wasp and bald eagle.

 

[MGibster]

Most likely is druid not being removed. But we are talking about what are the criteria for the limis when we try to avoid offending sensibilities by other groups. My opinion is the criteria is not being really coherent, because some things could be "cancelled" but other are allowed.

It's never going to be coherent because each culture comes with its own particular baggage. What might be acceptable in Spain may not be acceptable in the United States or Norway. Even among people who share a common language, Americans and our fine cousins in Great Britain, there is not a concensus over the acceptability of certain words. I have heard Australians and British people use a certain word that I was brought up never, ever to call someone, but to them its no big deal. If I go to great Britain and I hear people use that word, I'm just going to shrug my shoulders and get on with my life. If a British person is here, they should refrain from using it. When in Rome, right?

Another reason it's never going to be coherent is because our sensibilities aren't set in stone. Rather our sensibilities are in a constant state of flux as we negotiate with ourselves and with others as to what is acceptable. And we are not always going to agree on what is acceptable. Personally, I think all your ideas about taking people from the history of Britain and using them as fodder to create villains for an RPG are great. (And it's not beause I suscribe to the Mel Gibson theory of Brits in history.) There's plenty of fodder from the United States you can use. I like George Washington, but feel free to use him because he's got some problematic elements.

Authors are going to continue to use what we know of history, and maybe even current events, to influence our games. I like that people want to be considerate of the feelings of others. It's a positive step in the right direction. But the truth is you can't make everyone happy. And just because someone finds something offensive doesn't necessarily mean you should change anything. Give it a good look, sure, but sometimes part of negotiating those sensibilities means you don't agree to change.