D&D General On Early D&D and Problematic Faves: How to Grapple with the Sins of the Past

[Umbran]

And I didn't say people should be explicit, just that sex should factor in more.

The problem is in telling other people what they "should" do about sex. As if you knew better than them what was good for them with regards to sex, or something.

 

[the Jester]

Len Lakofka's infamous article "Notes on Women & Magic" from Dragon #3 is the oldest such thing in the game I'm aware of.

I've never heard of this. Can you briefly summarize what it put forward?

 

[Cadence]

I've never heard of this. Can you briefly summarize what it put forward?

Copy at internet archive

https://archive.org/details/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine003/page/n5/mode/2up

It also gives female level titles and has spells of seduction and charming men.

 

[Reynard]

The problem is in telling other people what they "should" do about sex. As if you knew better than them what was good for them with regards to sex, or something.

You regularly seem to overweight the use of the word "should" as if it were some kind of mandate, and then respond with righteous indignation. Maybe consider taking the word at face value instead.

 

[MGibster]

It gives female level titles, gives women Beauty instead of Charisma, and lets them use it to charm males.

I can't wait to start calling level 1 Rogues "Hags" to get that old time gaming vibe. I think Len missed an opportunity with the Fighting Woman by calling her a Gladiator instead of a Gladiatrix.

 

[the Jester]

Copy at internet archive

https://archive.org/details/DragonMagazine260_201801/DragonMagazine003/page/n5/mode/2up

View attachment 372667

It also gives female level titles and has spells of seduction and charming men.

View attachment 372669

Thanks!

I started reading the level titles and was like, "These are basically just the feminine version of old level titles." Then I got to the rogue. Level 1: "Wench".... YIKES!

 

[Alzrius]

I can't wait to start calling level 1 Rogues "Hags" to get that old time gaming vibe. I think Len missed an opportunity with the Fighting Woman by calling her a Gladiator instead of a Gladiatrix.

For what it's worth, no less eminent a D&D historian than Jon Peterson commented on Lakofka's article quite a few years ago (in a protracted back-and-forth set of comments with the author of a fairly slanted article), reminding us that it happened in a broader context. To quote Peterson:

And yes, as we see above, Len Lakoka went very wrong with this. But showing that in isolation misses the real lesson: his proposal got the kind of pushback you get when you go very wrong. He was roundly condemned, and the editor of the Dragon basically retracted the article (calling it non-canonical and “sexist”). Lakofka’s portrayal was not something the gaming community condoned, or even tolerated – it was the sort of thing that could get you hung in effigy, as my article shows. Presenting this without the context that came before and after Lakofka’s article gives the distorted sense that it was representative of designers’ or the community’s stance towards “women’s bodies.” The hobby was at the time still an overwhelmingly male community struggling with inclusivity, but these early, clumsy attempts to provide for “women gamers” were glimmers of progress, if only as teachable moments, and severing them from the popular reaction exaggerates their influence and importance.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

If Science Fiction a work of art? Individual things within D&D can be art but the thing itself? Basically, it is a game but not like monopoly. Is a players handbook a work of art? It is full of art but it is a set or instructions to a game.
D&D is not a work of anything, it is a collective, and a whole bunch of things.

I dunno... RPGs are creative endeavors, that inspire emotion, inspiration, and engagement. Can writing be art? Are stories and poetry and books considered art? Can character sheets be art? Is the art director who composes the layout of an entire book engaging in artistic expression?

I think RPGs are art, some of it good. I can easily be inspired by the resulting creation.

 

[Cadence]

Thanks!

I started reading the level titles and was like, "These are basically just the feminine version of old level titles." Then I got to the rogue. Level 1: "Wench".... YIKES!

Ack! I had stopped reading the level titles before I got to thieves because they all seemed reasonable... youch!

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

It really is amazing watching JKR go from beloved to reviled over the years. I remember when she at least tried to keep the mask on. Now she reveals in her hatred.

I've heard WB (they own the publishing rights, right?) may buy her out. I think that would be wise. Get the brand away from her.

Well, evil people become popular all the time (look at Hollywood), because humans love art and artists who evoke emotion in them. Humans worship and seek to express gratitude. But blind mass worship and power often leads to corruption and disconnection of the hero from the people. We humans often assume and invent a person's goodness and personality in our minds, filling in the blanks of what we don't know with our own biases. "They would NEVER! Oh wait, they did? I never saw that coming!" How many of us have had our heroes be exposed to be very much less than we had built up in our minds?

JK was always the way she is. Most fans just didn't know. They believed the illusion, and filled in their own blanks to justify their adoration. It happens with so many people who become scrutinized by fame, their privacy compromised by fans and enemies alike. Evil and good are not binary. It's not a balancing act. A good act like feeding the homeless does not wipe out one's evil of oppressing other groups. An aforementioned homeless person might see that person as a pure hero if there is a veil hiding the rest of their darkness.

For example, here are almost no true good (NG politicians. Most vote along party lines for a variety of laws that oppress someone's rights, despite hoping that the good things they do get more traction in the public eye. Which is why a two-party system can easily point out the true and valid evils of their opposition, and focus on their own good, while they themselves engage in both.

D&D makes me thing about the spectrum of alignment a lot. It really helped me understand Goodness in a way that historical and modern methods have failed to accomplish.

Live in your highest frequency! Embrace love and kindness! Be Neutral (True) Good!