D&D General What the Melf's Guide to Greyhawk Cover Might Look Like

Below is a quick mockup of the potential cover of Melf's Guide to Greyhawk based on the Jeff Easley art revealed at Gary Con, using the current D&D 5.5E trade dress. The fonts aren't quite right, but it gives an approximate look at what the book may look like when it is released.

 

[Morrus]

They didn't need to disparage the creator for a different cultural time.

Show me on the doll where they 'disparaged the creator'.

 

[mamba]

You don't need to bring up dirty laundry about older names in the business to be inclusive.

you don’t, but there also is no reason not to call it out, esp. in a book that deals with the history of the game

 

[bedir than]

They didn't need to disparage the creator for a different cultural time

This didn't happen.

The passage in the history book didn't "disparage the creator"

New DnD book reviews old language with inclusivity consultants

Wizards of the Coast wanted to "call out" controversial language in its new DnD history book, The Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons.

www.wargamer.com

One example Tondro shares is "a parenthetical comment that's a dig at Women's Lib", a feminist political movement that pushed for equality for women.

OG D&D included an insult the entire concept of equality for women. The history book mentions that.

"We couldn't change it, because it's history", Tondro says. "So we included this material while calling it out and placing it in a historical context."

Reality exists. To not recognize the reality of sexism in the game we grew up enjoying would require a rewrite of history. Including that history is not a disparagement of the creator.

This weird demand to deify E. Gary Gygax is weird. He's not a God. And presenting his words isn't an insult towards him, his children or his family.
We've all done and said things we shouldn't have. For we are not perfect.

We shouldn't expect a game creator to be perfect either.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

This didn't happen.

The passage in the history book didn't "disparage the creator"

New DnD book reviews old language with inclusivity consultants

Wizards of the Coast wanted to "call out" controversial language in its new DnD history book, The Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons.

www.wargamer.com

OG D&D included an insult the entire concept of equality for women. The history book mentions that.

Reality exists. To not recognize the reality of sexism in the game we grew up enjoying would require a rewrite of history. Including that history is not a disparagement of the creator.

This weird demand to deify E. Gary Gygax is weird. He's not a God. And presenting his words isn't an insult towards him, his children or his family.
We've all done and said things we shouldn't have. For we are not perfect.

We shouldn't expect a game creator to be perfect either.

I've never understood how some see that book as disparaging Gygax. I like to assume that they've never actually read it, and think that it says something that it doesn't. Because otherwise... I just don't know. It points out some words he wrote, all while showing all the great things he otherwise did.

I like Gygax. He doesn't need to be without fault for me to say so. I don't like a few things that he wrote and disagree with some opinions he had. So what?

 

[Jahydin]

I've never understood how some see that book as disparaging Gygax. I like to assume that they've never actually read it, and think that it says something that it doesn't. Because otherwise... I just don't know. It points out some words he wrote, all while showing all the great things he otherwise did.

I like Gygax. He doesn't need to be without fault for me to say so. I don't like a few things that he wrote and disagree with some opinions he had. So what?

Unfortunately, there is no way to talk about this without derailing the thread, hurting feelings, and getting showered with Warnings.

 

[Mournblade94]

This didn't happen.

Incorrect. I have the book and I read it. No need to post snippets from the web.

 

[Mournblade94]

I've never understood how some see that book as disparaging Gygax. I like to assume that they've never actually read it, and think that it says something that it doesn't. Because otherwise... I just don't know. It points out some words he wrote, all while showing all the great things he otherwise did.

I like Gygax. He doesn't need to be without fault for me to say so. I don't like a few things that he wrote and disagree with some opinions he had. So what?

I read it. Cover to cover.

I dont think Gygax is without fault but im not looking to read about it in a reprint of white box.

And Twitter and blue sky after that ran with it to tweet out more misconceptions about how the game was played.

It simply didn't add anything but controversy.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I dont think Gygax is without fault but im not looking to read about it in a reprint of white box.

But it wasn't just a reprint of the white box. They did that in 2013 with no added context or other supplemental info.

Dungeons & Dragons - the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 is explicitly a history book, not a reprint. It's right there in the title. And when you read a history book, they're going to be adding context and analysis. And in this case, some of the analysis was "whoa, you could not print some of this stuff today," which no one really disputes.

Being mad that there's history in your history book is like being mad at McDonald's that there's meat in your hamburger.

 

[Mournblade94]

Show me on the doll where they 'disparaged the creator'.

It wasnt a doll. It was page 5 of in the preface section bottom of first column to the middle of the second. Apparently using Lama as a cleric level name was a crime as well. Tondo was doing nothing but being preachy.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It wasnt a doll.

He's referencing a meme.

The Show Me on the Doll Meme: How a Tragic Legal Tool Became an Internet Staple

You’ve seen it. It’s usually a blurry screencap or a crude drawing of a generic plastic figure. Maybe someone is pointing a finger at it. The caption? Some...

ponderworthy.com