D&D General The New York Times on D&D

[SteveC]

There are almost certainly people who can compartmentalize their beliefs. But before deciding this is true categorically, it's probably worth looking over those Twitter threads I posted and the other views those folks espouse.

It's interesting that you say this. In the real world, I work with politics some of the time, and I am aware of the underlying politics of a lot of people who post here. I have found that the people whose politics I agree with the most tend not to have gaming play styles in common with me. And a lot of people who I disagree with the politics on have play styles that I really like. And I'd play a game or have a beverage with any of you.

To me, a person's politics don't mean much of anything when it comes to gaming. Over the years, I've found it harder to just game with people and respect that we may disagree on things out in the world. But I have found that you can be on almost any side of a political/social position and still be a smart and kind person. And still be a fun gamer. And conversely, be someone I don't want to game with either I suppose. One of the things I really like about Enworld is that we don't talk politics here.

 

[Hussar]

See the missed point here is no one ever gives a rat’s petoot how you play at home.

No one cares. No one is judging anyone for what they do at home.

But when people are insisting that we retain demonstrably racist elements in the game, THEN there’s a problem.

“Oh I don’t think it’s racist” doesn’t really fly anymore. More than enough people do think that certain things carry too much racist baggage and aren’t too sad to see it ejected from the game.

What people are really arguing for is they want their playstyle enshrined in the books. They want WotC’s blessing so they can carry on the way they’ve been doing it for years and not have to defend it.

 

[Remathilis]

See the missed point here is no one ever gives a rat’s petoot how you play at home.

No one cares. No one is judging anyone for what they do at home.

But when people are insisting that we retain demonstrably racist elements in the game, THEN there’s a problem.

“Oh I don’t think it’s racist” doesn’t really fly anymore. More than enough people do think that certain things carry too much racist baggage and aren’t too sad to see it ejected from the game.

What people are really arguing for is they want their playstyle enshrined in the books. They want WotC’s blessing so they can carry on the way they’ve been doing it for years and not have to defend it.

Absolutely. Which is what I said earlier. It's about getting your preferred style as the default one.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Yes, this debate is not about orcs. It's about systemic racism and removing all instances of systemic racism from all aspects of society. In the process as words and ideas are vilified people feel like they're being a vilified as well, either outright or implicitly, and they of course get offended, rightly. It's all rather fanatical really. From races to bloodlines to gypsies. In this very thread it has been suggested that lineage is a racist term. The hadoozee thing is a great example of this. That piece of art is not a racist and it's not insensitive. It is an example of overreach.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Race as class! Race as class!

 

[TiQuinn]

From races to bloodlines to gypsies. In this very thread it has been suggested that lineage is a racist term. The hadoozee thing is a great example of this. That piece of art is not a racist and it's not insensitive. It is an example of overreach.

It was suggested that lineage has been used as the basis for racism historically which is an accurate statement, and to say that something is not racist because you personally don’t see it reflect your experience doesn’t make that true for others.

 

[Mecheon]

What's wrong with species? It seems pretty obvious that a dwarf and a tabaxi are not the same species.

"Species" is a scientific term that falls apart due to its lack of a real definition in real life, yet alone trying to use it for fantasy

Plus, well, it doesn't even encapsulate most of the races. Aasimar, tieflings and genasi aren't species, for example, and yet they're treated like one

Race is also a bad word for it because it once again fails the aasimar/tiefling/genasi check. I've stuck with ancestry being the most appropriate as it kind of just works

 

[Hussar]

Species is probably the best of the bunch really. Sure it’s not one hundred per cent accurate but blanket terms rarely are. After all, define “forest”. You can’t. But we all use it and we all have no problem using it even though it’s a fairly vague word that cannot be clearly defined.

Species carries zero baggage, does not require ignoring uncomfortable definitions and associations. It works.

Sure it might not be the perfect term but it’s still better than others.

 

[Remathilis]

"Species" is a scientific term that falls apart due to its lack of a real definition in real life, yet alone trying to use it for fantasy

Plus, well, it doesn't even encapsulate most of the races. Aasimar, tieflings and genasi aren't species, for example, and yet they're treated like one

Race is also a bad word for it because it once again fails the aasimar/tiefling/genasi check. I've stuck with ancestry being the most appropriate as it kind of just works

Ancestry fails the warforged test. So does heritage and lineage.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

I for one am likely to maintain most orcish populations as being predominantly evil in the majority of my games (though I AM presently running an Eberron campaign where they clearly are not). I still embrace the shift toward divorcing species from particular alignments; or what are clearly cultural identities. For the simple reason that I don't want to see things like my players slaughtering children and non-combatants and then trying to justify such atrocities as being anything but hideously evil acts. On top of the fact that I generally prefer
more realistic and nuanced evil. As it happens, IIRC, as recently as 2014 WotC published an adventure path, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, where the party is likely to come across a chromatic dragon's egg. And the adventure just sort of presumes that the party will destroy the egg... a baby, sentient creature... because chromatic dragons are evil. (For the ignorant around here who don't actually understand the TTRPG community, Hoard of the Dragon Queen was the very first 5e adventure path released by WotC; but it was actually written for them by... Kobold Press)