Recent content by Dire Bare

Well, the "male gaze" isn't binary but comes in degrees. Having character descriptions that focus more on female beauty than on other character descriptions is one level, having sexy elves with no pants is another level above that!

Innovation does not always equate to improvement. Innovations, good or bad, don't always "stick". You may or may not like the innovations made. But still, it's innovation. And there is plenty of it within each edition of D&D over the past 50 years. Less so than in some other games, but it's...

Wait . . . I thought D&D has not innovated over the past 50 years . . .

Then why are we having the conversation if you don't care what others think?

Shrug. Okay. Agree to disagree. Innovation isn't binary, it's a matter of degree. Are the various D&D editions the most innovative games ever? No, of course not. But to argue they did not significantly innovate at all . . . well, again, agree to disagree. There's also some pretty innovative...

AD&D was a significant innovation from original D&D. 3rd Edition was a significant innovation from old school D&D. 4th Edition was a significant innovation from 3rd. To the point where cranky fans claimed it was not even D&D! And, I'd also argue that 5th Edition innovated significantly from...

Yes, more.

I love D&D! Both the game, the larger hobby, and the brand. I don't think that is misplaced, it's been an important part of my life since I was a kid in elementary a LONG time ago . . . But I do think that folks put too much onto the game and the company that publishes it, an entitlement for...

What WotC does is important for the hobby and for many fans. What WotC does doesn't have to determine what you are playing at your table. Both can be true. WotC does innovate within the current edition of the game, both before and after the 2024 revision. Other companies have innovated upon...

Well, innovation doesn't always mean "better", it just means "different". But on the balance, innovation is a good thing. Pushes design forward, even if not every change is a hit. But not everything needs to be innovative, or wildly innovative. D&D 2024 is an innovative game and makes changes...

Complete lack of innovation? Okay.

I sure do love folks with these types of toxic opinions. I hope the game tons of people love playing fails so that maybe I'll get a game I would like. Toxic. Thank goodness D&D 2024 is doing exceedingly well. Not so you don't maybe get a game you might like, but so that the folks who are...

Context matters. When doing a new adaptation of existing material and deciding how to cast the characters . . . is the character's ethnicity an important part of their story? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Not only that, but ethnicity swapping can be neutral or it can punch down. It blows...

Dude, you keep straying into ridiculous territory. Nobody is arguing that we should have different actors per episode or anything like that. Make some real arguments.

Yes. It is problematic. But you are missing the point. If the single character of Laurana is portrayed as white, ignoring all else . . . is that problematic? Not necessarily. It's not the individual character, but rather the entire cast. Is the majority of the cast white? Are the main...