People aren’t offended I think as much as they are tired of this kind of effort to purge the language and content of games for potential issues. I think what people are missing is this is a very particular way of viewing media. Most people arent taking a fine tooth comb like this and ask for changes. I think to a lot of people it feels like there is this search for hidden problems you can only see with a very narrow lens. And it is part of a constant ongoing effort that seems to have the overall effect of making things less interesting and more bland. But it also doesn’t even appear to be addressing a problem that genuinely existed.
Certainly there may be Jewish people who are offended. But we have had lots of Jewish posters weigh in here saying they don’t think it is a problem. Personally their sentiment seems to reflect what I hear from Jewish gamers. But no group is monolithic. I suspect people who take issue are outliers. I’ve used this example before but when I was a kid my grandfather used to get Italian American magazine and they were constantly complaining about mafia media promoting negative stereotypes about Italians. But most Italian Americans loved mafia media. Because gangsters are cool. It would have been a shame if directors paid attention to that kind of concern because it really would have filed the edges down on a lot of great shows and movies. That is where I think a lot of posters who are reacting to this stuff are coming from
Asked this before, but does it need to be a problem for Jewish people to be a problem? Maybe it is being too sensitive, but I can say that as a non-jew the idea that I could be using a term for a Jewish holy artifact or practice, and connecting it to an undead serial killer monster, which is very reminiscent of hateful things said of jewish people and their practice... leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I don't like that connection. I'm not offended on behalf of them, they say it is fine, good for them... but I'm still not 100% blase about this.
And changing the name of the amulet, receptacle whatever you want to call it doesn't have to mean a loss of flavor. It could lead to an INCREASE in connections and flavor. Okay, the name they chose was pretty on the nose. But Liches are based on Koshchei, at least in part, so we could look there. His spell that gave him immortality might have been inspired by Turkish amulets in the shape of eggs. So... what if we called it that? Now instead of losing flavor, we've gained it, and made a connection to a cool mythological figure.
Yes, I know they didn't do that. They gave it a very generic name that can fit into any possible cultural setting, but instead of constantly demanding people prove if anyone was offended enough to make the change worthwhile (and how could you ever measure if any group is "offended enough") we could use this as an opportunity to play with ideas. Maybe Soul Cage is the generic name, but a lich from a culture based loosely on ancient egypt might refer to his as a Canopic Jar, referencing the mummification process. There is a chance to make something BETTER, instead of just going on about how every change is always for the worst and the first idea anyone had for something was clearly the best possible version of that idea.
