D&D 5E D&D and who it's aimed at

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Is this a problem too?

So, sanitizing, to maximize sales.



Right, because as you said, no way we get Conan anymore, we need to sanitize, for Sales.

Yeah, I'm going to end the conversation here. It doesn't matter who is "technically correct" here on the topic of what sanitizing actually is. Conan really is not relevant to D&D anymore, and hasn't been for decades. And most people weren't complaining about no longer having near-nude adventurers chopping through hoards of enemies, they were complaining about the presence of space hamsters and festivals in a couple of D&D books.

 

[Malmuria]

And besides, it was rhetorical. They actively are going through and removing things via errata. They are not going to go back and actively put anything that could be remotely called out as offensive, or even within spitting distance of 'problematic' into the game and put a full marketing push behind it.

Twitter would go nuclear.

So it's not that they are targeting a younger or child demographic, which is the claim that is being made by some. It's that wotc are aiming their products to include, or at least not prematurely put off, a more diverse audience: POC, women, people who are non-straight and/or non-cis. There's a connotation in people's minds that something being "offensive" is the same as it being "for mature audiences" (mostly, I would argue, because of corporate doublespeak from movie and video game companies). But that actually obscures the real issue, which is that things like chainmail bikinis were taken out of the art not because of their salaciousness per se, but because the objectification of women turns away a huge group of potential customers.

You can point to any number of wotc products from 2020 to see a variety of tones and styles, as has been done in this thread. That includes horror (Rime, Van Richten's), classic fantasy (Fizban's, Netherdeep), and more whimsical fare (Witchlight, Strixhaven). But that's not what people focus on when they look at those books.

For example, the art and and marketing for Van Richten's is all about horror and dread:

Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft - Marketplace - D&D Beyond

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">Unleash the horrors of Ravenloft in this campaign sourcebook for the world's greatest roleplaying game.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><strong>The Digital edition is only $10 when you choose Digital + Physical.</strong></p>

dnd.wizards.com

FACE YOUR FEARS​

Unleash the horrors of Ravenloft in this campaign sourcebook for the world's greatest roleplaying game.
Terror stalks the nightmare realms of Ravenloft. No one knows this better than monster scholar Rudolph Van Richten. To arm a new generation against the creatures of the night, Van Richten has compiled his correspondence and case files into this tome of eerie tales and chilling truths.
Discover the mysteries of Ravenloft, mist-shrouded lands where infamous Darklords lurk among ageless vampires, zombie hordes, cosmic terrors, and worse. Then make your choice. Will you create your own Domains of Dread, settings to host endless terrifying adventures? Or will you join the ranks of haunted heroes who embrace macabre lineages, dual-edged Dark Gifts, haunted subclasses, and other forbidden powers?

But what did a lot of people focus on? The fact that it included some safety tools (and that one image had a character in a wheelchair).

 

[Scribe]

But what did a lot of people focus on? The fact that it included some safety tools (and that one image had a character in a wheelchair).

Right, I flipped through that book the other day, and the art is very safe.

 

[Scribe]

Yeah, I'm going to end the conversation here. It doesn't matter who is "technically correct" here on the topic of what sanitizing actually is. Conan really is not relevant to D&D anymore, and hasn't been for decades. And most people weren't complaining about no longer having near-nude adventurers chopping through hoards of enemies, they were complaining about the presence of space hamsters and festivals in a couple of D&D books.

Which is fine, but its just the continuation of a general shift in tone, a sanitization.

 

[Oofta]

That's as likely as a Disco subclass for Bards...

Did you get a sneak peak at the next UA as well?

 

[Hussar]

I mean, to ME, thats 100% what 'sanitization' would mean in this case. I'm baffled as to what else it would be.

Cleaning up, the things which wizards no longer thinks are palatable to the target demographic. - Sanitization.

Ok.

If by "target demographic" you mean, well, everyone, then, sure, it's sanitization.

Not quite sure why that seems to be a negative thing then.

 

[Malmuria]

If sanitization or disneyification covers everything from non-sexist art to displacer beast kittens, then conversation about any "trends" will be very reductive and limited.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft - rebooted Ravenloft that misses the mark of the original campaign setting.

I love this book. Sure, there are a few changes from how Ravenloft was in previous editions, but most of them are fairly minor/unimportant to the setting and easy to undo if you really want to. The monsters, Dark Gifts, player options, and official explanations for the Domains of Dread in 5e are well worth buying if you like Ravenloft.

• Wild Beyond the Witchlight - displacer beast kittens and talk your way out of fluffy challenges.

There's only one displacer beast kitten, and you are not required to talk your way out of any encounter. There are violent and nonviolent solutions to every encounter, enemy, and NPC that you encounter in the adventure.

• Fizban's Treasury of Dragons - boring book about the most boring creatures in the game.

Fizban's gives dragons more to do than just be the big flying lizards that they're so often portrayed as. The monsters in this book are really well designed (compared to the Monster Manual's stat blocks, at least), the player options are great, and they changed the lore of the dragons to make them much more interesting than they were before.

• Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos - Harry Potter by way of modern American college life

Pretty accurate. The book is primarily an adventure with barely any setting information out side of the campus. This one is kind of a meh book, IMO.

• Call of the Netherdeep - I'm not into Critical Role

You don't have to be to enjoy this book. I'm not, but I think that it's one of the better D&D adventures in this edition. Not as good as Curse of Strahd or Tomb of Annihilation, but definitely better than Princes of the Apocalypse, Tyranny of Dragons, or Storm King's Thunder.

• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel - More cuddly kittens and adorableness

Not at all. From what we've seen, some of the adventures are actually quite dark, and while the book is colorful, that doesn't mean that it's "adorable" or "cuddly". There's an adventure focusing around racism, one focusing around a cult, another focusing around the Dia de los Muertos in a D&D setting, and so on. There are a few more fluffy aspects of it, but from what's been released about it so far, it's definitely not just "cuddly kittens and adorableness".

 

[Scribe]

If by "target demographic" you mean, well, everyone, then, sure, it's sanitization.

I have zero issues with Conan. It seems others do.

So, not everyone, I suppose.

 

[Scribe]

If sanitization or disneyification covers everything from non-sexist art to displacer beast kittens, then conversation about any "trends" will be very reductive and limited.

Not if its an ongoing trend in direction?