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[Henadic Theologian]

Wrong. If you use something that isn’t yours it’s stealing, and if it’s been horribly misrepresented for over a hundred years, it’s not unreasonable to be upset.

But the bottom line is, it doesn’t matter if you are incapable of understanding why someone is upset, because that’s not your call to make. You can either apologise and try not to do it again, or you can be a total jerk.

If you can't be polite I see no reason to continue to discuss this with you.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

The dragonborn in 3e were something else entirely, if memory serves. Bahamut created them via other humanoids (odd).

The dragonborn as we know them today came to Faerûn via the Spellplague or thereabouts in the 4e era. Still very recent in historical terms; they’d be easily identified as aliens. All elves, gnomes and dwarves either remember or know someone who remembers when they weren’t around.

The orcs are native, except for a subsect of them, who arrived nearly 20,000 years beforehand. No one remembers, and I’m not sure anyone knows except for, say, an aboleth. I’m also somewhat unclear about the need of this plot considering there are native orcs, but maybe some of the FR loremasters can clarify.

I don’t think dragonborn aliens is a particularly elegant solution, but Erin Evans gave them a lot of interesting cultural flavor in her novels.



On the topic of real-world deities; it’s very hard to avoid with FR. Tyr, Loviatar, Mielikki, Silvanus, etc. all bear their original names. Some just have their names swapped (e.g. Sune is Venus, written backwards without the V).

I agree that these were dead religions and pure mythology when first introduced to FR, and their recent revival is something Ed couldn’t have foreseen. Nonetheless, mythology is reinterpreted in fiction all the time, and I’ve never seen much discourse about it outside of TTRPG spaces.

It's not just hard, it's outright impossible, it's so utterly baked into setting and has been for decades.

Sune being Venus backwards without the V just blew my mind. Would have explain the rumours that Sune is just another name for Aphrodite/Venus.

WotC literally just released Kratos and Freya cards for MtG, so they can't be too worried about it.

Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles MtG set or secret Lair is just a matter of time.

 

[Amphytrion]

It's not just hard, it's outright impossible, it's so utterly baked into setting and has been for decades.

Sune being Venus backwards without the V just blew my mind. Would have explain the rumours that Sune is just another name for Aphrodite/Venus.

A handful of FR deities were first Greco-Roman gods who later got renamed. Lathander is a renamed Apollo, etc. Sune's renaming was however less imaginative than the rest.

Another forum member dug up an original source from FR's early days a while ago that kept the original names before rebranding, but now I cannot find it.

WotC literally just released Kratos and Freya cards for MtG, so they can't be too worried about it.

Percy Jackson/Kane Chronicles MtG set or secret Lair is just a matter of time.

I think this is a good way to sense how WotC is looking at this; thank you for the picture.

In a sense, it's an adaptation of an adaptation, far removed from the original myth and completely unconcerned about accuracy. I think WotC has maybe just ruled that there aren't enough neo-pagans to outweigh the profit in adapting these popular myths. Then again, it's not even guaranteed that a majority of neo-pagans would be upset at all.

 

[Parmandur]

I think that would be much more of an issue then Greek or Egyptian Gods, although those are Gods are worshipped still today, but the Pagan community really doesn't make a big deal about it, but some times the Hindu community does get upset at particular depiction, but never D&D.

Literally the last time thst D&D used a resl world deity in s product, over 3 years ago, someone said:

"Spelljammer preview video has Hecate as Chaotic Evil, which has going WTF?"

"Out of all the faiths that believe in Hecate, only in certain Gnostic & Satanic (no I don't know why some Satanists worship Hecate, but they do) sects is Hecate viewed as evil. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hecate is referred to tender hearted. The Chaldean Oracles called her The Mother of Angels. The Neopatonists viewed her as omnibelevent."

"For those of you who wonder why I wanted to see Jesus statted up with a loot table in the Biblical 5e setting, this kind of stuff is why."

"And despite praying to Hecate daily, I'm not offended, a little blasmphy keeps Zealotry at bay and is spiritual valuable, I'm just disappointed that they have such a naughty word understanding of Hecate. If they wanted a Chaotic Evil Greek God, that is what Typhon is for."

H

D&D 5E (2014) Thread 'Why the heck does D&D have Hecate as Chaotic Evil'

Aug 8, 2022

Spelljammer preview video has Hecate as Chaotic Evil, which has going WTF?

Out of all the faiths that believe in Hecate, only in certain Gnostic & Satanic (no I don't know why some Satanists worship Hecate, but they do) sects is Hecate viewed as evil. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hecate is referred to tender hearted. The Chaldean Oracles called her The Mother of Angels. The Neopatonists viewed her as omnibelevent.

For those of you who wonder why I wanted to see Jesus statted up with a loot table in the Biblical 5e setting, this kind of stuff is why.

And despite praying to Hecate...

• Henadic Theologian
• Replies: 84
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

• 

I think that's mostly because there isn't much overlap between D&D players and Hindus.

In 2025, actually quite a bit of overlap. My sister's primary D&D group was mostly Hindu, but she is a software engineer in Seattle so thstthe scene.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

I agree that these were dead religions and pure mythology when first introduced to FR, and their recent revival is something Ed couldn’t have foreseen. Nonetheless, mythology is reinterpreted in fiction all the time, and I’ve never seen much discourse about it outside of TTRPG spaces.

They were not "dead" religions, the creators at TSR were simply unaware of their practices at the time, and simply because a religion is "dead" doesn't make it any more or less sacred.


All unfalsifiable claims of the supernatural should be treated equally, because they all have equal evidence. If one supernatural belief is to be respected, then all should, or the inverse. There is no more or less evidence for the existence of Vishnu, Zeus, J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, Kolob, Xenu, Jehovah, Peter Pan, Frankenstein or Superman.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Literally the last time thst D&D used a resl world deity in s product, over 3 years ago, someone said:

"Spelljammer preview video has Hecate as Chaotic Evil, which has going WTF?"

"Out of all the faiths that believe in Hecate, only in certain Gnostic & Satanic (no I don't know why some Satanists worship Hecate, but they do) sects is Hecate viewed as evil. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hecate is referred to tender hearted. The Chaldean Oracles called her The Mother of Angels. The Neopatonists viewed her as omnibelevent."

"For those of you who wonder why I wanted to see Jesus statted up with a loot table in the Biblical 5e setting, this kind of stuff is why."

"And despite praying to Hecate daily, I'm not offended, a little blasmphy keeps Zealotry at bay and is spiritual valuable, I'm just disappointed that they have such a naughty word understanding of Hecate. If they wanted a Chaotic Evil Greek God, that is what Typhon is for."

H

D&D 5E (2014) Thread 'Why the heck does D&D have Hecate as Chaotic Evil'

Aug 8, 2022

Spelljammer preview video has Hecate as Chaotic Evil, which has going WTF?

Out of all the faiths that believe in Hecate, only in certain Gnostic & Satanic (no I don't know why some Satanists worship Hecate, but they do) sects is Hecate viewed as evil. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hecate is referred to tender hearted. The Chaldean Oracles called her The Mother of Angels. The Neopatonists viewed her as omnibelevent.

For those of you who wonder why I wanted to see Jesus statted up with a loot table in the Biblical 5e setting, this kind of stuff is why.

And despite praying to Hecate...

• Henadic Theologian
• Replies: 84
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

• 

In 2025, actually quite a bit of overlap. My sister's primary D&D group was mostly Hindu, but she is a software engineer in Seattle so thstthe scene.

How dare you use my words against me .

For the record I wasn't upset, just surprised. I regret the post now. I mean I get it, she has alot of dark imagery.

Honestly them ditching alignment for Deities solved the issue anyways. Now certain folks can make the BDSM Chaotic Good Cleric of Lovitar they always wanted to .

Notice how both alignment and domains aren't on the Deity Table for the DM Screen?

 

[TravDoc42]

Notice how both alignment and domains aren't on the Deity Table for the DM Screen?

I think this ties in with how the new 2024 DMG's approach to Gods and alignment, with a focus on a god's outer plane as an indicator of tendency towards alignment, but not a hard and fast rule.

 

[TravDoc42]

Now certain folks can make the BDSM Chaotic Good Cleric of Lovitar they always wanted to .

Some of my regular players will be happy to hear this!

 

[Parmandur]

How dare you use my words against me .

For the record I wasn't upset, just surprised. I regret the post now. I mean I get it, she has alot of dark imagery.

Honestly them ditching alignment for Deities solved the issue anyways. Now certain folks can make the BDSM Chaotic Good Cleric of Lovitar they always wanted to .

I mean, not to pick on you personally...but this was the precise last time WotC released anything that had a straight up real world deity, the scrubbed from Planescape and the Core books.

And evdnif you were more bemused than offended...no way sensitivity readers let that stand now.

Notice how both alignment and domains aren't on the Deity Table for the DM Screen?

Yup, this table looks exactly like the 2024 Greyhawk deity table in the DMG. This DM screen shows a lot of similarities with the Greyhawk DM screen B&G released last year with their DMG premium map pack:

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Wrong. If you use something that isn’t yours it’s stealing, and if it’s been horribly misrepresented for over a hundred years, it’s not unreasonable to be upset.

But the bottom line is, it doesn’t matter if you are incapable of understanding why someone is upset, because that’s not your call to make. You can either apologise and try not to do it again, or you can be a total jerk.

Culture doesn't physically exist and can be replicated indefinitely with no cost. You cannot "steal" an idea, meme or culture, only replicate it.

If someone is upset that you took their idea and did something unexpected with it... tough. Isn't that just called being a grognard? Don't we make fun of people who get mad when others "play D&D incorrectly?" Shouldn't we likewise make fun of people who get mad when others "do religion incorrectly" or "do fashion incorrectly?"

Just because you personally, say, put a lot of cultural cachet into a plains indian war bonnet doesn't at all mean that others necessarily have to value your art in the same way, and as long as they replicate without physically taking away actual property, no one is harmed unless you feel that your culture gives you a right to control peoples' freedom of expression.

When Duchamp created LHOOQ he appropriated the Mona Lisa, but he did not damage it; he just made a copy.

If any crime is being committed with cultural appropriation, and I use the term loosely, it is not theft; it's piracy.