D&D 5E D&D Celebration Schedule Announced

WotC has posted the schedule for it's D&D Celebration online event taking place from 18th-20th September.

The event includes a range of panels and live games, including sessions on Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, mental health, inclusive dungeon design, and including asian stories in your games. These include people such as Daniel Kwan (Asians Represent) and Sara Thompson (The Combat Wheelchair), who have both spoken publicly about problematic issues in D&D.

 

[marv]

Seems like projecting a nitpick into cause to dismantle the entire argument. Your argument is especially troubling when you're standing up to defend blatantly racist texts and their white authors from criticism by people who's cultures were caricatured by the book. Shame on you.

Ease up in the public shaming. You don’t know me. You don’t know my work for social justice and that I prefer Paizo’s adventures because as a company they do a pretty good job as both inclusive hiring and content.
It makes me sad that you feel the very first Asian themed D&D supplement doesn’t deserve a Serious scholarly analysis rather than something played for laughs and fame. Shame. Shame on you for disrespecting our hobby that we both clearly love.
I am heartened to hear that they did a follow up podcast and plan to listen to it tonight.
Tolerance and inclusivity are essential for our hobby (and every other aspect of our lives).

 

[Marandahir]

Ease up in the public shaming. You don’t know me. You don’t know my work for social justice and that I prefer Paizo’s adventures because as a company they do a pretty good job as both inclusive hiring and content.
It makes me sad that you feel the very first Asian themed D&D supplement doesn’t deserve a Serious scholarly analysis rather than something played for laughs and fame. Shame. Shame on you for disrespecting our hobby that we both clearly love.
I am heartened to hear that they did a follow up podcast and plan to listen to it tonight.
Tolerance and inclusivity are essential for our hobby (and every other aspect of our lives).

Standing up for the authors over the people harmed by the work ≠ serious scholarly analysis.
No I don't know you. I am glad to hear some of your words above, but find it sickening that the first impulses of so many in this hobby that we love is to defend white men's racism when it's criticised by BIPOC, as if they have somehow any sort of comparable levers of power in this society.

Good on you to do social justice work. But that's not an excuse for enabling racism.

 

[marv]

Standing up for the authors over the people harmed by the work ≠ serious scholarly analysis.
No I don't know you. I am glad to hear some of your words above, but find it sickening that the first impulses of so many in this hobby that we love is to defend white men's racism when it's criticised by BIPOC, as if they have somehow any sort of comparable levers of power in this society.

Good on you to do social justice work. But that's not an excuse for enabling racism.

I am not qualified to do a serious scholarly analysis, nor did I once imply I was. But more importantly, .... I’ll stop. Your mind is closed. You assume too much.

 

[marv]

Here you go:

Episode 21: Reflecting on Oriental Adventures and Al-Qadim – The One Shot Podcast Network

Just finished listening. They have definitely matured a great deal in a short period of time. I definitely feel a lot better about them taking part in the Celebration. Their intentions are good.

I still, however, feel strongly that painting OA with one modern brush is wrong. It deserves a constructive analysis. Not the presumption of racism. That is unhelpfull, only feeds an echo chamber and does noting to improve our hobby.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

It is really problematic to look at something that was written 40 years ago and hold it to the same standards. There are countless things which were different back then and you need to treat those times as different culture too...
I mean 50 years ago a woman had to ask her husband for permission that she may keep working instead of being a house wife.

I did cringe however when I found in a modern child's book about home improvements, that the only persons actually doing it were father and son and the girls asked questions while the mother brought food... not a book I would want my son to read and I would probably feel that way about oriental adventures or stories about Cowboys and Indians.

Edit: and if I read my son historical books I put it into historical context.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

WotC doesn't only want a reconciliation, making peace, to bury the hatchet, but also to conquer the Asian market. Really it wast the best possible reputation among Asian fandom and companies. We can bet Hasbro and WotC will try to be as politically correct as possible. Maybe there were some mistakes time ago, but sometimes a bad step is better than nothing. Asians should see D&D as a great opportunity to introduce their cultures into our society.

My fear is more about the own predjudices and conflicts with their neighbors countries. Today talking about China sounds as metioning the rope in hanged man's house ( = saying something about an inconfortable thread). Homebred and 3PPs settings based in Asian civilitations could show Mongolians-like hobgoblins as evil empire, and some Chineses could complain about this as an allegory against their fatherland (and maybe they are right). In India lots of Chinese apps have been banned, even videogames as the battle royal PUGB.

I would dare to say WotC has started plans for the return of Kara-Tur setting, of course asking advice to consultants from different Asian countries. Maybe even we could see some coproduction by Hasbro and differents Asian companies, not only from Japan or China but also other, for example South-Korea. Maybe even gameshows as Critical Role by Asian wannabe Idols based in OA xuanhuan fiction. Even some mangakas could use the open licence to get the races and monsters to publish manga/manwha/manhua webtoons.

 

[Mecheon]

It is really problematic to look at something that was written 40 years ago and hold it to the same standards. There are countless things which were different back then and you need to treat those times as different culture too...

Stuff from 40 years ago isn't generally being sold in a modern context though. OA is, so therein lies the issue and why it will be judged on today's standards.

I would dare to say WotC has started plans for the return of Kara-Tur setting,

Luis, mate, I don't know how to say 'you're wrong' in a nice manner as to why they would not want to touch Kara-Tur, a tainted -mess- that even I identified as such back when 3rd Edition OA came out. Kara-Tur was not coming back at the start of 5E, and its especially not coming back now that the MtG stuff is proven a seller and Tarkir exists.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I haven't said Kara-Tur was coming soon. The fact is if we are lucky the playtest of UA will arrive in 2021. Today manganime or otaku franchises are making a lot of money, and this could be a good hook if Hasbro/WotC wants to resurrect old, or create new, franchises. Maybe Kara-Tur arrives after other lines, or to create a complete oriental continent in Greyhawk, or something like wuxia in a fantasy western civilitation, something as Hercules&Xena. WotC doesn't need to print more books, but adding Kara-Tur as sub-setting in DM Guilds and awaiting the reaction by the fandom. I guess the list of best-sellers in DM Guilds are as audence ratings and an easy way to know what lines are most popular among the fandom, and according this date getting ready the plans for the next years. Other reason to justify there is still an open door for the return is Perfect World Entertaiment, the Chinese company of the videogame Newerwinter Online. Why not this contribute with its own ideas experiences and ideas for a spin-off set in the East region?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Stuff from 40 years ago isn't generally being sold in a modern context though. OA is, so therein lies the issue and why it will be judged on today's standards.

You quoted only the first half of my post. You left out the part, where I said about putting into modern context. Which is actually done with a disclaimer. Maybe there could be done more (maybe marking certain passages as problematic in a modern context), but just putting it out of sight is no option either.

 

[Mecheon]

You quoted only the first half of my post. You left out the part, where I said about putting into modern context. Which is actually done with a disclaimer. Maybe there could be done more (maybe marking certain passages as problematic in a modern context), but just putting it out of sight is no option either.

The disclaimer didn't exist when they did the whole thing and now exists as a response to that

Its just, we can't forgive stuff for historical context if its just being thrown up with no warnings of that context. Its one thing to scrounge something old up and another if its being sold