D&D 5E Content Warning Labels? Yeah or Nay?

[Snarf Zagyg]

It's never a bad idea to preface your work with a discussion of the contents. If that means there should be a warning, then do it and preferrably somewhere on the cover. That could serve as a selling point for adults but also to prevent kids from buying it.

Having once been. a child, and being still aware of children, I can reliably inform you that if there is no enforceable mechanism ... then warning labels makes many children much, much, much more likely to buy products.

Then primary purpose is for parents to let them more easily police the child's purchases, so you don't end up one day having weird conversations like, "Wait a minute, that musician Prince, with his song Doves Cry ... I know I bought you the Purple Rain album, but what exactly is he singing about in this Darling Nikki track again?"

Or so I hear.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Having once been. a child, and being still aware of children, I can reliably inform you that if there is no enforceable mechanism ... then warning labels makes many children much, much, much more likely to buy products.

Then primary purpose is for parents to let them more easily police the child's purchases

Isn't that the best of both worlds? You sell to the regular target group that don't care about warning labels, you lose the audience of people who wouldn't want to read your book in the first place (so, you lessen the risk of criticism), you can exert your artistic creativity without restraining yourself (hey, I told you on the cover it wasn't for everyone!) and you increase the attractivity of your work among a target group that is actively seeking books with advisory labels.


Mmm...

Warning label: liking this post is a priviledge granted only to the most intelligent, beatiful and wise readers. Use your best judgment before liking!

 

[Blue Orange]

Isn't that the best of both worlds? You sell to the regular target group that don't care about warning labels, you lose the audience of people who wouldn't want to read your book in the first place (so, you lessen the risk of criticism), you can exert your artistic creativity without restraining yourself (hey, I told you on the cover it wasn't for everyone!) and you increase the attractivity of your work among a target group that is actively seeking books with advisory labels.

Yeah, that's what I figured.

I'm actually in favor of market segmentation. Everyone gets what they want.

I do think the 'prevent kids from buying it' is more of a thing from 30 years ago. Nowadays they just search the web and find an illegal copy. The kids are always better with the new technology.

 

[TheSword]

Again, a game that isn't up front about what it is, that ambushes with questionable content is going to poison the well against is creators and the product line. Remember early edgelord Pathfinder and the stigma they created for themselves? Could have saved themselves some pain if they just let people know maybe they didn't want to interact with their book with the hillbilly ogres or white panel van demon lord instead of making it a 'fun' surprise' and earning a hearty 'Thanks, I hate it' in return.

What kind of warning would you put on Hook Mountain Massacre? And what on earth is ‘white panel van demon lord’?

The ogres and ogrekin were generally seen as the best part of a well received adventure. I wasn’t aware of any stigma towards Paizo. Rather they were the progressive option for people who liked D&D.

 

[seebs]

The current project I'm working on is a folklore book based on original folklore (creatures will be depicted as how they were in original mythology rather than in modern RPGs and media). There's a lot of great stuff from those stories, but because they are often very dark, and in time that was....not very progressive, many of the creatures have a lore that includes things like ableism, sexism, assault, violation of consent, abduction, torture, and child abuse.

For those creatures, I have a "CONTENT WARNING" label next to the creature name, and in the Introduction section, I have this part:

Author's Note: Because the purpose of this book is to capture the original stories and portrayals of the creatures of folklore, there may be issues that are considered problematic by modern standards. Most of these myths and fables were created in a time or culture where issues such as misogyny, ethnic stereotyping, and ableism were part of the story, whether directly or indirectly. This book does not endorse any of these beliefs, and it is encouraged that any aspect you may find problematic for your game be modified or ignored. There are a lot of potential great stories to be told using original myths, but we must also be willing to acknowledge problematic aspects of those stories. Take what you want from this book, and ignore the rest.
Many of the core themes about fairies resonate in nearly every culture and may be triggering. These themes focus heavily on abduction, violating consent, sexual assault, child abuse, and mild torture. I feel it is my responsibility to call out references to these themes and have them labeled. This will be in the creature entry as “CONTENT WARNING” next to the creature’s name. Whenever possible, we have tried to tone down the references to those themes. Make no mistake, because they exist in folklore (and thus in this book), they are not to be celebrated, but viewed with caution. The inclusion of the “CONTENT WARNING” is to alert you ahead of time, so you can skip past them if you choose.

So my question to the community is, is something like that worth it? Is it off-putting? Not needed? Do you appreciate it, or would it turn you away?

I think things like this are pretty solidly good. Most of this content won't bother most people, but the people who are bothered by it have usually had enough horrible crap happen to them already in their lives and do not need more, and especially don't need it as surprises. You might also consider a couple of icons that you could use for specific things, although the more I think about it, the more I think that a tiny little stick-figure rape icon is going to be a really bad choice and probably content-warning is a better choice. But making it possible to distinguish the KIND of content warning is a potentially nice thing.

 

[Vaalingrade]

What kind of warning would you put on Hook Mountain Massacre? And what on earth is ‘white panel van demon lord’?

Folca, demon lord of strangers, abduction and sweets.

Seriously.

The ogres and ogrekin were generally seen as the best part of a well received adventure. I wasn’t aware of any stigma towards Paizo. Rather they were the progressive option for people who liked D&D.

It's more like they're seen as fronting as progressive (don't think the correct term would be allowed here) with their choices for iconics and character options while for a long time still having regressive values in the game and corporate culture.

 

[MGibster]

The ogres and ogrekin were generally seen as the best part of a well received adventure. I wasn’t aware of any stigma towards Paizo. Rather they were the progressive option for people who liked D&D.

One of those hillbilly ogres killed my Rogue with a well placed critical while using a rusty hook. One of my most memorable deaths in D&D. Good times.

 

[billd91]

The 'Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics' label increased sales back in the 90s if I remember right.

I think the end result is largely a wash, though it did manage to help places like Walmart to brand themselves as “family friendly” by keeping out albums with warning labels. In the internet era, it’s so easy for the kids to get the explicit version, I’m guessing it does virtually nothing.

 

[Dire Bare]

The kids are always better with the new technology.

Off-topic but, as a teacher . . . no they aren't. Kids are terrible with technology.

A few kids are, of course, good with tech . . . they figure out how to circumvent school restrictions on district-issued laptops to play video games and enable chat features . . . the rest of the kids just copy or hand over their computers to the geniuses.

When it comes to using tech for practical purposes . . . . hoo-boy, kids today are worse than your grandma! In my experience, of course.

 

[J.Quondam]

When it comes to using tech for practical purposes . . . . hoo-boy, kids today are worse than your grandma! In my experience, of course.

"Alexa, do my homework!"