D&D 5E Don't play "stupid" characters. It is ableist.

[Doctor Futurity]

I mean, look at like Grog from Critical Role for a pretty standard example of what I believe the OP is talking about here. Is Travis Willingham actively disdainful of folks with mental disabilities? I very much doubt it. Does his portrayal of a “stupid” character indirectly impact how some people who view it think about intelligence? Of course.

I'll have to take a look. I believe I am one of like five people who have never tuned in to Critical Role (or any recorded game session, actually....I feel life is too short to spend time watching others play when I could, y'now, just actually play).

So does Grog act as a stereotype or something with harmful representation? Part of me doesn't want to sell people short on their own ability to think critically on things, but the last decade of the internet has sort of disabused me of that notion, too.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'll have to take a look. I believe I am one of like five people who have never tuned in to Critical Role (or any recorded game session, actually....I feel life is too short to spend time watching others play when I could, y'now, just actually play).

So does Grog act as a stereotype or something with harmful representation? Part of me doesn't want to sell people short on their own ability to think critically on things, but the last decade of the internet has sort of disabused me of that notion, too.

Frankly, Grog was a bad example. I think he was a perfectly fine character. I reached for him as an example more because of the size of CR’s platform than anything particularly wrong with Travis Willingham’s portrayal of his character, and that was a mistake on my part. I would withdraw this example if I could.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Grog is unintelligent and impulsive, not mentally disabled*. That's the difference people are refusing to see.

Gros is not smart, not by a long shot, but he is able to care for himself and display basic problem solving skills

It's not about a character being dumb, it's about a character being mockingly portrayed as having a mental disability, often as punishment for dumping INT or as comic relief about that disability.

*The original promo for Grog tows real freaking close to the line with him talking about knowing an array of shapes and colors, but the actual character never displays this level of... issue.

 

[ReshiIRE]

It also helps that Grog had many moments of wisdom and understanding, and especially during a certain arc involving his friend, he genuinely tried and understood the problem once his friend pointed it out.