D&D 5E D&D's Inclusivity Language Alterations In Core Rules

In recent months, WotC has altered some of the text found in the original 5th Edition core rulebooks to accommodate D&D's ongoing move towards inclusivity. Many of these changes are reflected on D&D Beyond already--mainly small terminology alterations in descriptive text, rather than rules changes.

Teos Abadia (also known as Alphastream) has compiled a list of these changes. I've posted a very abbreviated, paraphrased version below, but please do check out his site for the full list and context.

• Savage foes changed to brutal, merciless, or ruthless.
• Barbarian hordes changed to invading hordes.
• References to civilized people and places removed.
• Madness or insanity removed or changed to other words like chaos.
• Usage of orcs as evil foes changed to other words like raiders.
• Terms like dim-witted and other synonyms of low intelligence raced with words like incurious.
• Language alterations surrounding gender.
• Fat removed or changed to big.
• Use of terms referring to slavery reduced or altered.
• Use of dark when referring to evil changed to words like vile or dangerous.

This is by no means the full list, and much more context can be found on Alphastream's blog post.

 

[Corinnguard]

I've enjoyed them all on some level from OG late 70s all the way through 5e up to like 2-3 years ago. I loved 5e on test/launch it was our main game for a really long time. Actually we often still play 5e, just act as if it ended a couple years ago.

I do admit, we gave 4e/Ebberon a fair try but ultimately found it not fun mechanically to play and moved over to Savage Worlds till the 5e play tests came into our group.

I've been playing 5e D&D since 2021. Before that, I was something of a collector. I collected 3.0/3.5, and 1st edition Pathfinder. Now I have an interest in Level Up.

 

[billd91]

Is it really appropriation? Here in the United States, we've been celebrating St. Patrick's Day since the 18th century, before the colonist decided to separate from the British. We had a flood of Irish Catholic immigrants in the 1850s and St. Patrick's Day became a more important part of American culture. We didn't appropriate the holiday, it was freely shared with us by Irish immigrants.

It’s not a question of celebrating St Patrick’s Day. It’s the stereotypical bad Irish accent and “Top of the morning to ye” that‘s the offensive cultural appropriation. There honestly should be a standard response to such things and I’m thinking it should be “Céad míle fyas!”

 

[AstroCat]

But you keep giving examples of things that aren't real, and also mixing it in with critiques of inclusion, which muddies your point.

Look, it's fine to not like WotC, it's fine to not like the current iteration of D&D. No one is arguing that you must, or that your tastes are wrong.

But you are posting in a thread about WotC making small changes to the language they are using in order to make their work more inclusive, and when you criticize "neo-5e" in that context, your critiques are going to look like you don't like the fact that WotC is making efforts to be more inclusive. If that's not your intent, good! But as it is, it sure looks like that's your main critique of WotC.

It goes so hugely beyond the "silly, as in not any one thing is big deal" word changes, it's all of it in totality, the art, content, mechanics, lore or lack there of, all of contribute to wotc's lack of appeal for me. This was just "another thing", albeit a smaller one in the big pile of deterrent to enjoyment that has built up over the last 2-3 years.

Before this I was fully on board the 5e train, I bought all the content on release, and ran campaigns with tons of terrain, minis and effort. We even used do AL a lot at the cons, now we've abandoned all of it. We were "whales", meaning we spent our hobby disposable income generously in the wotc camp, and now all our funds go elsewhere, they lost us almost completely at this point.

All the effort and spend goes to to other vendors, still tons of terrain, minis props, hobby enjoyment just none to wotc any more. We still love the hobby and enjoy sharing it with family, friends and introducing it to our children, just wotc isn't the vehicle any more like it used to be.

 

[Bedrockgames]

It’s not a question of celebrating St Patrick’s Day. It’s the stereotypical bad Irish accent and “Top of the morning to ye” that‘s the offensive cultural appropriation. There honestly should be a standard response to such things and I’m thinking it should be “Céad míle fyas!”

I have never heard people say top of the morning to you on Saint Patrick’s day. I have heard fake accents. But it is honestly usually from Boston Irish people of Irish decent (that is still a pretty pronounced cultural identity here).

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

There honestly should be a standard response to such things and I’m thinking it should be “Céad míle fyas!”

I mean, "póg mo thóin" is right there.

 

[Hussar]

And WoTC wanted everyone in the D&D community to know what they were planning to do. They didn't have to do it. They could have made the changes, and no one would have been the wiser. They got us to talking about it. 25 pages and counting....

Wait. What? Talk about Orwellian. This is completely rewriting history. WotC in no way made an announcement about this. That’s just not true.

We know about this because a fan noticed and made a post about it.

WotC did nothing you are saying they did.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have never heard people say top of the morning to you on Saint Patrick’s day. I have heard fake accents. But it is honestly usually from Boston Irish people of Irish decent (that is still a pretty pronounced cultural identity here).

I do wonder how people would react if a person of Irish descent was offended by the day set aside to appreciate their heritage being primarily used by many people as an excuse to get hammered on green beer.

 

[M_Natas]

It would be more honest, certainly. Whether or not that would make it “better” would depend on the context of how it was used. Such an unabashed depiction of how the unicorn myth vilifies feminine sexuality could be used an incisive deconstruction of such tropes. Or it could just be another example of such a trope that happens not to beat around the bush as much.

I would Update the Unicorn mythos to "person who is pure of heart".
First of all, it would remove the sex out of the equation and second removes the gender.
Like, it doesn't matter if you are a virgin. If you are an a-hole the Unicorn will nor touch you (or maybe just with the horn right trough your heart).

 

[FrogReaver]

I do wonder how people would react if a person of Irish descent was offended by the day set aside to appreciate their heritage being primarily used by many people as an excuse to get hammered on green beer.

Proud?

 

[Corinnguard]

Wait. What? Talk about Orwellian. This is completely rewriting history. WotC in no way made an announcement about this. That’s just not true.

We know about this because a fan noticed and made a post about it.

WotC did nothing you are saying they did.

I didn't mean to be Orwellian. I was basing my opinion on what I had read in this forum thread. To me, it sounded like this was something WoTC did.