D&D 5E D&D's Inclusivity Language Alterations In Core Rules

In recent months, WotC has altered some of the text found in the original 5th Edition core rulebooks to accommodate D&D's ongoing move towards inclusivity. Many of these changes are reflected on D&D Beyond already--mainly small terminology alterations in descriptive text, rather than rules changes.

Teos Abadia (also known as Alphastream) has compiled a list of these changes. I've posted a very abbreviated, paraphrased version below, but please do check out his site for the full list and context.

• Savage foes changed to brutal, merciless, or ruthless.
• Barbarian hordes changed to invading hordes.
• References to civilized people and places removed.
• Madness or insanity removed or changed to other words like chaos.
• Usage of orcs as evil foes changed to other words like raiders.
• Terms like dim-witted and other synonyms of low intelligence raced with words like incurious.
• Language alterations surrounding gender.
• Fat removed or changed to big.
• Use of terms referring to slavery reduced or altered.
• Use of dark when referring to evil changed to words like vile or dangerous.

This is by no means the full list, and much more context can be found on Alphastream's blog post.

 

[Clint_L]

I don't know if others on this particular forum feel that the current wotc neo-5e d&d...

Why do you insist on writing it like this? You do so repeatedly, like almost every post. I feel like there's a code that I'm supposed to understand, but I'm not. What point are you making? We all know who the publisher is, and that 5e is the current D&D. So there must be a reason you aren't just writing "5e."

 

[Aldarc]

To be fair, thst is German-American culture, which at this point is another thing altogether.

Most German immigrants to the USA/American Colonies came from regions other than Bavaria: e.g., Rhineland-Palatinate,* Hesse, Hanover, and Swabia/Baden-Württemburg. If you go to these areas dressed in Trachten, you will get some pretty strange stares.

* Pennsylvania Dutch is a sub-dialect of Palatinate German.

 

[DarkCrisis]

No you don’t. Because that is not the argument. It never was.

Oh it definitely has been. Atleast referring to Tolkien’s Orcs.

But yes, the other part which I forgot being “a society where everyone is evil.” Even though that’s never been true (in Faerun). See such characters as Drizzt.

Which again they are imaginary fake people so even if they are “all evil” literally because “a Wizard did it / evil god” it doesn’t t matter because they aren’t real.

Like I get Cobra wants to take over the world but I’m pretty dang sure they and GI Joe don’t actually exist. Same with the Smurfs and the Transformers. Or better yet for a mono culture: dang near any aliens in Star Trek. It’s just stories and they are all just props. Merely words on a page for our self insert heroes to fight and loot or barter with or ask to join our imaginary kingdoms.

 

[Corinnguard]

it is okay to put an entire people into one conceptual box and then use that as justification for harming or abusing them.

Unfortunately it is easier to put an entire people into one conceptual box. It doesn't require much thought or effort to do. It can also be passed from one generation to the next. What we need to do is to constantly remind ourselves that groups of people are made up of individuals who have their own way of living and experiencing the world around them. No two people, not even identical twins are alike.

 

[AstroCat]

Why do you insist on writing it like this? You do so repeatedly, like almost every post. I feel like there's a code that I'm supposed to understand, but I'm not. What point are you making? We all know who the publisher is, and that 5e is the current D&D. So there must be a reason you aren't just writing "5e."

I consider 5e before the last 2-3 years almost a different game, that's all. Launch 5e compared to now are very differentiated for me.
It'll just be easier maybe when 6e, 5.5e, one d&d, etc.. comes out... maybe, sort of, kind of... maybe not.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Is it really appropriation? Here in the United States, we've been celebrating St. Patrick's Day since the 18th century, before the colonist decided to separate from the British. We had a flood of Irish Catholic immigrants in the 1850s and St. Patrick's Day became a more important part of American culture. We didn't appropriate the holiday, it was freely shared with us by Irish immigrants.

I'm not talking about sharing the holiday - the Irish have happily shared the holiday with the world. I'm talking about the tendency for people in the US on major news outlets to put on fake Irish Accents on that holiday and do cringe-worthy impressions that would be considered full-on racist stereotypes if it were perpetrated against any other group.

 

[MGibster]

Your local customs can't make you another nationality.

You know it's not literal, right? Fair enough. I'll stop this particular tangent because it's not going to go anywhere good.

 

[Morrus]

Oh it definitely has been. Atleast referring to Tolkien’s Orcs.

But yes, the other part which I forgot being “a society where everyone is evil.” Even though that’s never been true (in Faerun). See such characters as Drizzt.

Which again they are imaginary fake people so even if they are “all evil” literally because “a Wizard did it / evil god” it doesn’t t matter because they aren’t real.

Like I get Cobra wants to take over the world but I’m pretty dang sure they and GI Joe don’t actually exist. Same with the Smurfs and the Transformers. Or better yet for a mono culture: dang near any aliens in Star Trek. It’s just stories and they are all just props. Merely words on a page for our self insert heroes to fight and loot or barter with or ask to join our imaginary kingdoms.

I understand. Despite it being 2023 and this being the internet, you still don't understand what the actual conversation is about. If you haven't picked it up by now, you're not going to. It's a choice at this point.

 

[Parmandur]

Most German immigrants to the USA/American Colonies came from regions other than Bavaria: e.g., Rhineland-Palatinate,* Hesse, Hanover, and Swabia/Baden-Württemburg. If you go to these areas dressed in Trachten, you will get some pretty strange stares.

* Pennsylvania Dutch is a sub-dialect of Palatinate German.

Yes, but in the past 100-150 years of living in Wisconsin or Ohio, a new  gestalt German-American culture has evolved. And yeah sure, a lot of Bavarian distinctive kind of came out on top, but they are still German-American traditions now (source: being of mostly non-Bavarian German heritage out of the Ameican Midwest). So yeah, it is surprising to people whose ancestors in the 19th century came from the Rhineland or Swabia or Prussia or ehat have you find that their culture is different from Germany proper. But that's how culture evolves.

 

[Clint_L]

It goes so hugely beyond the "silly, as in not any one thing is big deal" word changes, it's all of it in totality, the art, content, mechanics, lore or lack there of, all of contribute to wotc's lack of appeal for me. This was just "another thing", albeit a smaller one in the big pile of deterrent to enjoyment that has built up over the last 2-3 years.

Before this I was fully on board the 5e train, I bought all the content on release, and ran campaigns with tons of terrain, minis and effort. We even used do AL a lot at the cons, now we've abandoned all of it. We were "whales", meaning we spent our hobby disposable income generously in the wotc camp, and now all our funds go elsewhere, they lost us almost completely at this point.

All the effort and spend goes to to other vendors, still tons of terrain, minis props, hobby enjoyment just none to wotc any more. We still love the hobby and enjoy sharing it with family, friends and introducing it to our children, just wotc isn't the vehicle any more like it used to be.

Okay, I think I get it.

Not being into the game anymore is cool. What I find problematic is that you keep linking your personal dissatisfaction to entire fanbase, by suggesting that WotC is painting themselves into a corner (I believe you wrote) and similar sentiments. Which is an odd argument, given that the current edition is the most popular version of D&D, to a stupendous degree.

I suggest that it's not them, it's you. You aren't really the target demographic anymore. Neither am I.