D&D 5E Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks Would Like To Explore Kara-Tur

According to Reddit poster bwrusso, who was in a small group investor meeting with Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks last week, Hasbro's CEO (who was previously President of Wizards of the Coast before being promoted to his current position) currently plays in a Kara-Tur campaign and would personally like to see that setting explored further.

Kara-Tur is part of the Forgotten Realms, and is inspired by real-world East and Southeast Asia cultures, including China, Japan, Mongolia, and other regions. It was originally published in the 1985 book Oriental Adventures, and has since appeared in other formats including a boxed set in 1988. Eight adventure modules for the setting were published in the late 80s. In 2015's Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Kara-Tur is briefly described.

Cocks also touched on Spanish-language translations of D&D books in Latin America, and indicated that there were distribution issues with former licensing agreements in that region.

 

[Vaalingrade]

It's almost as if the issue wasn't one of legality or copyright...

 

[Nymrod]

Y'know, I think the Sundering would be a great option to divorce Kara-Tur from FR and put it on its own world, and then update Kara-Tur to meet modern sensitivities. Same with Maztica. (And we can go back to ignoring Horde?)

Anyone asks, WotC can say they used to be connected to FR, but that is no longer the case and anything left behind on FR is just a dead-end legacy.

I think that while Kara Tur was insensitive in how blatant it translated real world cultures, it did not necessarily have problematic elements like Maztica did. You would certainly have to make many changes and adaptations but it should be doable. Maztica . . . I don't know how that's doable. Just say that most of Maztica remained in Abeir and replace it with laerakond. Then you can add back Anchorome to the map over it.

 

[Reynard]

The aesthetics are unique and there are prominent archetypes that are under-served in existing D&D. I don't think we need to look for depth in what people enjoy.

That is true of a whole host of non Eurocentric historical times and places, but ancient and medieval East Asia are the only ones that get constant TTRPG adaptations. There is something there that doesn't apply to Africa, India or MesoAmerica. Yes, all those things have some representation, but not nearly to the degree of ninjas and Kung fu monks.

 

[Morrus]

Which cultures require the hiring of grifters- sorry, cultural sensitivity consultants, because D&D has been misrepresenting European culture for 50 years.

European culture isn't discriminated against and doesn't suffer endemic disadvantages in our society. After all these years on the internet and 20 years on this forum, and you still don't understand that's what it's about? Punching up and punching down? The mind boggles how somebody could be so completely oblivious. But I guess not everybody is clever. Anyway, you won't be posting again in this thread.

 

[Faolyn]

For example, from Wikipedia "Western World".

"Despite being located in the Far East, a country like Japan, in some contexts, is considered a part of the West as it aligns with the ideals of Western-style democracy."

It actually doesn't matter what Wikipedia says about Japan now, because Japan wasn't "the western world" 400-1,000 years ago, which is the vaguely-defined time period of culture and technology that Kara Tur would be in.

 

[Undrave]

Like they did with Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, the upcoming Tarkir set most likely, and Radiant Citadel (heck you could have the Asian-American writers and consulants from Radiant Citadel come back to help with a Kara Tur book, they have the experience now).

If there was ever a "damn the cannon, full rewrite ahead!" setting, this is it!

My thought exactly.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I think Kara-Tur was meant to be in Oerth originally, but was brought to Toril once Forgotten Realms became more popular.

 

[beta-ray]

Sort of tangentially: what is the obsession with East Asian fantasy in the context of D&D anyway? Is it just a trickle down effect of pulp orientalism? If so, maybe we shouldn't be doing it at all? There is no doubt that American popular culture really loves its martial artists, but is that enough to explain it?

Not sure it is an obsession, but it may be something a lot of folks are interested in (just not sure if obsessed would be a good description). I think a bunch of what came into D&D comes from pulp roots, that doesn't mean D&D should have never come about.

I'm probably not your typical case, but my interest comes through my own roots and upbringing. I'm 100% American, but am ethnically Japanese. Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of Japanese popular culture. Not only samurai films, but folk tales, anime, and manga. It's difficult to say exactly what is different about those media, but they do feel different from most of the non-Japanese media I devoured.

Aside from the non-human realms presented in D&D, I'm interested in how those would look through the eyes of another culture that have the kind of spirits that yokai represent, along with some of the other aesthetics that were presented to me growing up.

Does that have to be in the form of an official setting? Of course not, but to me that would be cool. Just in my opinion, I don't care if they present a Kara Tur in name only (base it on a different thing or say that is the "foreigners" name for it for all I care) but I'd like to see a vaguely Japanese setting in D&D.

That's just me though.

 

[TheSword]

Yeah. Clear from this thread that Kara-Tur is about as likely as a full Dark Sun campaign setting and adventure.

I’d love to be wrong on both counts… don’t think I will be.

 

[CleverNickName]

Man, what a day. I'm finally getting unburied from a mountain of work, and finally able to relax and think about this.

You know, a lot of recent Kickstarters have really embraced the wuxia/anime influence, and they turned out to be runaway success stories. Three of them together have banked fifteen and a half million dollars (Avatar Legends, Ryoko's Guide to Yokai Realms, and Obojima Tales from the Tall Grass.) It was only a matter of time until this genre made a blip on Hasbro's radar. I'm surprised it took this long, actually.

Such a project could really stand out, especially if it is presented as a more gritty, classic alternative to the cartoony cozy Ghibli stuff (no shade here; I have huge respect for that whole category). And Wizards of the Coast already has two sets of IP that they could use: Kara-Tur or Kamigawa (from M:tG). Between the two, Kara-Tur has the best chance of success IMO because it has such a long history in the hobby. It already has that "classic" feel.

Of course they'll make changes; they have to align with modern consumer sensibilities. And of course the fans will be upset about any changes; we always are: we all have different ideas of what should change, and why, and by how much. But there's clearly a demand for this category, and it sounds like WotC has noticed.