Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Fair enough. I never bothered with that book anyway.
D&D General D&D: Literally Don't Understand This
- Thread starter GothmogIV
- Start date
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
I would like to point out that the people complaining “why doesn’t their clothing look medieval? D&D has to be medieval!” are taking a very privileged and Eurocentric position. Zinda, the setting for the Wages of Vice adventure that this art comes from, is based on African American life in the southern USA (specifically New Orleans) as well as Gullah/Geechee folklore. Godsbreath, the setting of Written in Blood, also draws from African American life in the American south. Non-medieval clothing is also present in that adventure.
One of the goals of the Radiant Citadel book was to explore the lived heritage and experiences of a variety of ethnic groups that aren’t often represented in D&D or other fantasy media. There are many ethnic groups that were the product of post-medieval European colonialism via forced migration, slavery, and mingling of different groups. Millions of people were stolen from their homes, sailed to a different continent, forced to speak a different language and practice a different religion, and enslaved and discriminated for centuries. African Americans are a people that are in many ways divorced from their ancestral lands, religions, lifestyles, languages, and pre-colonial history. Of course the adventures drawing from their experiences aren’t medieval. African Americans did not exist in the Middle Ages.
To complain about this art because “D&D has to be medieval” - which plenty of official settings aren’t (Dark Sun, Eberron, Ravnica, Theros, Ravenloft, Planescape, Spelljammer) - is a form of ethnic gatekeeping. It’s proclaiming that certain groups of people aren’t allowed to use their own history, experiences, and folklore for inspiration for their D&D games because you don’t like the vibe or aesthetic.
It’s really weird to me that some fans have determined that they get to decide what D&D is allowed to look like and therefore which ethnic groups are allowed to use their history and experiences in official books. I would argue that the fact that Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel didn’t feel constrained to being medieval is one of its strengths.
I would also like to point out that there is an adventure in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel based on medieval West Africa; Gold for Fools and Princes. It involves a gold mine and aurumvorax.
One of the goals of the Radiant Citadel book was to explore the lived heritage and experiences of a variety of ethnic groups that aren’t often represented in D&D or other fantasy media. There are many ethnic groups that were the product of post-medieval European colonialism via forced migration, slavery, and mingling of different groups. Millions of people were stolen from their homes, sailed to a different continent, forced to speak a different language and practice a different religion, and enslaved and discriminated for centuries. African Americans are a people that are in many ways divorced from their ancestral lands, religions, lifestyles, languages, and pre-colonial history. Of course the adventures drawing from their experiences aren’t medieval. African Americans did not exist in the Middle Ages.
To complain about this art because “D&D has to be medieval” - which plenty of official settings aren’t (Dark Sun, Eberron, Ravnica, Theros, Ravenloft, Planescape, Spelljammer) - is a form of ethnic gatekeeping. It’s proclaiming that certain groups of people aren’t allowed to use their own history, experiences, and folklore for inspiration for their D&D games because you don’t like the vibe or aesthetic.
It’s really weird to me that some fans have determined that they get to decide what D&D is allowed to look like and therefore which ethnic groups are allowed to use their history and experiences in official books. I would argue that the fact that Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel didn’t feel constrained to being medieval is one of its strengths.
I would also like to point out that there is an adventure in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel based on medieval West Africa; Gold for Fools and Princes. It involves a gold mine and aurumvorax.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Jeff Dee's boots are a core part of early D&D! Are they logical? No! But Elric is 100% from a society that would favor dopey fashion. His chest "armor" is somehow even less useful than a chainmail bikini and probably much more expensive.
pukunui
Legend
Not sure if you're directing this at me specifically or not, but I want to be clear that I am not complaining about the specific non-European cultures / ethnicities depicted in the Radiant Citadel book. I like that they gave us more variety on that front. I also want to say that I either like or am neutral about the majority of the art in that book.
For me, it's not that Godsbreath doesn't look like medieval Europe. It's that it has a 1930s southern USA vibe. I understand that this is intentional. I would be fine with it if this was a setting for a Call of Cthulhu game or a d20 Modern game or whatever. I am not fine with it as a Dungeons & Dragons setting ~ and it has nothing to do with the ethnicity or cultural aesthetics and everything to do with the perceived time period aesthetics in the art.
I don't care about the specific culture being depicted. I just want settings where armor-clad heroes wielding swords, spears, and bows won't feel out of place. Godsbreath feels more like a setting where people would not be wearing armor and would be carrying guns, not swords or bows.
This art from "Sins of Our Elders" feels more D&D to me than the art from "Written in Blood":
So that we're not stuck on the Radiant Citadel so much, how about this piece of art from the 2024 PHB? This sorcerer's outfit feels too modern to me in the same way that the Mardi Gras image in the OP does.
mamba
Legend
but Africans did
Older Beholder
Hero
My idea of fantasy includes Wish spells and portals with the potential to lead to every reality in existence.
So high heels are well within the possibilities, given the only real limits are my own imagination.
So high heels are well within the possibilities, given the only real limits are my own imagination.
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
Way to completely ignore the rest of the post. And seemingly intentionally ignore the point of it.
Scribe
Legend
One may not like it, but that's what peak performance looks like.
Azzy
ᚳᚣᚾᛖᚹᚢᛚᚠ (He/Him)
Peak performance looks unquestioningly goofy?
