D&D 4E 1/2 Orcs in 4E (Rich Baker scoop)

[Wolfspider]

I hate to say it, but it really feels like WotC is migrating toward "Rated G" games -- no matter what the age or maturity of the people playing them.

If true, this would match the general trend in recent years to appeal to younger consumers in the music and movie industries.

Financially speaking, it seems to be a smart move since this group, which includes the so-called tweens, seems to have awesome purchasing power.

 

[sckeener]

Ergo, it should come as no surprise that WotC would want to reexamine and tread carefully regarding existing canon/preconception that brings up genuinely disturbing subject matter.

There is nothing disturbing about being a half-orc. All being a half-orc says is their ancestors at some point were an orc and something else.

it's aimed at a fairly wide age demographic

No, it is aimed at parents that want to control content for their kids (the books) while allowing the parents to access the material online for a fee. Wotc is having and eating their cake at the additional cost of the adults or teenagers playing the game.

And I think it is waste of time. Kids won't have any concept unless an adult explains what could have happened to create a half-orc. They'll only think the parents of the half-orc were a human and an orc. Nothing else.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I say leave half-orcs, and orcs, period, where they belong, in Middle-Earth.

Nah, I like the completely non-Tolkienesque orcs in Eberron way too much. It's the only setting which uses all the "core" material yet abandons Tolkienesque tropes for something genuinely interesting.

 

[IanB]

And I think it is waste of time. Kids won't have any concept unless an adult explains what could have happened to create a half-orc. They'll only think the parents of the half-orc were a human and an orc. Nothing else.

I am relatively certain it has little or nothing to do with kids, and everything to do with an attempt to shift their player base away from being overwhelmingly male. There are a lot of other data points over the last several years that point to that.

 

[sckeener]

If true, this would match the general trend in recent years to appeal to younger consumers in the music and movie industries.

Financially speaking, it seems to be a smart move since this group, which includes the so-called tweens, seems to have awesome purchasing power.

I don't know how much purchasing power they have...aren't the music and movie industries saying they are losing money (because of pirating)?

offtopic (only partially) Personally I think the music industry is doing bad because they are making junk....

I don't WotC making junk. I want the material they produce to be as engaging now as 25 years in the future.

I think I'll start my kids off with AD&D, 1st ed. Half-orcs, demons and devils...all the things that made me, as a 3rd grader at the time, interested in the game (admittedly I mistakenly bought the Deities and Demigods as my first book...Lovecraft and Moorcock... )

 

[buzz]

There is nothing disturbing about being a half-orc. All being a half-orc says is their ancestors at some point were an orc and something else.

I'm referring to the disturbing aspect of one take on their origin that we've been discussing for eight pages.

I have no idea where the rest of your post is coming from.

 

[Wolfspider]

I don't know how much purchasing power they have...aren't the music and movie industries saying they are losing money (because of pirating)?

Well, that's what they claim...but that's a subject best avoided here or anywhere.

As far as the purchasing power of tweens goes, here's an interesting article that discusses some issues at work:

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2005/id20051012_606473.htm

By the way, the soundtrack to the Disney film High School Musical was the number one best-selling album of 2006.

 

[Spatula]

They're not based on the uruk-hai from LoTR; they're based on the half-orcs from LoTR. If I had my trilogy handy I'd provide a quote, but they're quite different.

One and the same from what I recall. But they were supposed to look like ugly humans (there was one in bree acting as a spy), not the bestial things depicted in the movies (and 3e).

 

[Wolfspider]

One and the same from what I recall.

Incorrect.

Uruk-hai

Half-orcs

 

[zaphyre]

D&D is a game about heroic adventure fantasy in a world that's morally mostly black and white, and it's aimed at a fairly wide age demographic. I.e., D&D != V:tM.

I disagree. If I wanted to play a fictional character in a morally mostly black and white world - then I'd go find a video game. For me at least, D&D (and other RPGs) give me a chance to build stories with in-depth characters. I enjoy sci-fi/fantasy books with fleshed out characters, good & bad experiences in their past that define when, why, and how they interact with the world around them. I don't pick up books anymore to simply read about a heroic fellow who happened to save the world. After reading 2 or 3, those all tend to sound the same.

I just think WotC needs to back off on their interpretation of character origins. In many games, the only person that cares about the backstory - is the player him/herself. And really, what is it hurting? Half-orcs could be the product of an uncooperative coupling, they could be the result of a sorcerous spell, a loving relationship (scary - but true), or some meddling from a deity or demon/devil. Why force everybody into a single option unless you're trying to limit the range of the story-telling in the game?

While I get that they want/need to protect themselves and ensure that parents will be willing to buy their products (I have 2 kids -- so really get that aspect), I also think that defining too much of the world severely limits players' options.