Deva or Aasimar?

[Arnwyn]

Aasimar, since it's related to aasimon.

2e flavor rules. That's right - I said it.

 

[The Little Raven]

I in fact DO pronounce it correctly.

Yet you say it makes you think of the word "diva," despite you knowing that it is pronounced entirely differently and means something different.

Unfortunately most others do not. I've yet to hear a D&D player say it correctly let alone a non-D&D player.

So, it's a silly choice because a bunch of people can't be bothered to learn to pronounce it correctly? How about instead of giving in to their lack of knowledge and saying it should be discarded because they mangle it, you try educating them instead? Or maybe we should just drop all words from D&D that some people might not pronounce correctly?

Please get off the high horse (again) mourn.

Please get off the "It makes me think of Mariah Carey because people can't be bothered to educate themselves about pronunciation" bandwagon.

 

[Green Knight]

Or maybe we should just drop all words from D&D that some people might not pronounce correctly?

Isn't that why they're getting rid of the name Aasimar?

 

[doctorhook]

Isn't that why they're getting rid of the name Aasimar?

Deva is a lot easier to guess the correct pronunciation of than "aasimar" is.

Also, I don't understand how people can oppose the word "deva" because it has real-world religious connotations, and then suggest "nephilim", which is harder to spell, harder to pronounce, and has much more specific real-world religious connotations than "deva".

 

[Green Knight]

Is it? I imagine a lot of people, when first confronted by the word, would pronounce it "diva".

 

[Set]

Is it? I imagine a lot of people, when first confronted by the word, would pronounce it "diva".

I'm pretty well-edumacated on ancient religion and I still pronounce it 'diva' 'cause that's the way it looks. If I were going to pronounce it the other way, I'd spell it Daeva, which has also been used as a spelling for the term, and would be more intuitive.

And if it conjures the vision of a celestial in a little black dress singing 'Queen of the Night,' so be it. I still like it better than Aasimar, which has one too many 'a's in it for my liking.

Deva, all the way. And it fits that 2e flavor, as well, since they had Astral, Monadic and Movanic Devas back then.

 

[Larrin]

I really like the name Aasimar. Its a good name.

It just really doesn't say "half-divine" to me. If you said that name to me and asked me to figure out what kind of race i'd associate with it i'd probably pick our some half-effreet or maybe a cat person or something. It took me a long time to accept it as meaning "decended from divine", and about 5 seconds to forget i'd accepted it. Deva works, it makes the right connections in my brain. Its not half as cool of a word as Aasimar, but its a better word for the job.

 

[Estlor]

I'd go with neither, but I don't like tiefling all that much either.

I'd much rather they be Luminoth and Diabolis.

 

[Green Knight]

And if it conjures the vision of a celestial in a little black dress singing 'Queen of the Night,' so be it.

LOL! Guess we'll have to differ, as I'd rather be an ass-smear than a Queen of the Night.

I still like it better than Aasimar, which has one too many 'a's in it for my liking.

My issue with this argument is that Aasimar and Deva aren't the only two words that can be used as a name for this race. It doesn't have to be an either/or proposition if WotC doesn't want it to be. They could've stuck to Races & Classes and called them Celestials. Or they could've called them Nephilim. Or used some other mythological name. Or come up with something new altogether. It isn't a given that they must be called Aasimar or Deva, and that no other names can be considered.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Aasimar. It fits, it's what I got used to from 2e, and change for the sake of change is never a good idea. Especially if you change it because "it's too easy to pronounce as buttocks" and then immidiately make it into something even EASIER to pronounce as "Diva"