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.

 

[Argyle King]

Hypothetically, if a project written by an "author of Asian descent" still includes the same material, is it considered less offensive?

 

[Yaarel]

Hypothetically, if a project written by an "author of Asian descent" still includes the same material, is it considered less offensive?

There needs to be several people from the culture vetting the content.

 

[Oofta]

Hypothetically, if a project written by an "author of Asian descent" still includes the same material, is it considered less offensive?

Being descended from someone of a certain culture in no way makes you an expert on that culture's beliefs or history. That's why they should be using consultants.

 

[Reynard]

Being descended from someone of a certain culture in no way makes you an expert on that culture's beliefs or history. That's why they should be using consultants.

What, I wonder, is the acceptable degree of potential offense. One can assume you will never reach 0%, so what are we willing to allow? What level of pushback is just free press? That's probably where the answer lies.

 

[Oofta]

What, I wonder, is the acceptable degree of potential offense. One can assume you will never reach 0%, so what are we willing to allow? What level of pushback is just free press? That's probably where the answer lies.

Well, it's pretty obvious that some people will take offense at just about anything these days. Doesn't mean they shouldn't take reasonable efforts to minimize offenses.

 

[Reynard]

Well, it's pretty obvious that some people will take offense at just about anything these days. Doesn't mean they shouldn't take reasonable efforts to minimize offenses.

Certainly. But, again, if they aren't just thinly veiling real history and cultures, they can avoid at least some of that off the bat. And incidentally make something that isn't yet another boring retread.

 

[Clint_L]

Well, it's pretty obvious that some people will take offense at just about anything these days. Doesn't mean they shouldn't take reasonable efforts to minimize offenses.

Agreed. This has always been true. You can't account for everyone's sensibilities. That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be kind and polite. If something I am saying is offending someone, I generally stop, regardless of whether I think their being offended makes sense from my perspective. I don't know there are contexts.

There are exceptions, of course. Sometimes, you just gotta stick to your guns. But if it's just me using an expression that someone else finds hurtful? Why am I gonna make that the hill to die on?

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Being descended from someone of a certain culture in no way makes you an expert on that culture's beliefs or history. That's why they should be using consultants.

Sure, but being a "consultant" doesn't make you an expert either. I notice Radiant Citadel brought up - I didn't actually find any of the "appropriate" experts there presenting anything more interesting or creative than guys from the days of yore. Hell, the adventure in Candlekeep Mysteries was written by one of the critics of Oriental Adventures, and it was just as cliched as anything Zeb Cook came up with.

 

[CleverNickName]

Like I've said in other threads, there's nothing wrong with using real-world people, history, and mythology as inspiration for your fantasy. The key is to do it respectfully. As long as Wizards of the Coast ponies up the cost of some cultural sensitivity consultants, maybe a historian also, they can avoid some of the more common mistakes that people run into.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Like I've said in other threads, there's nothing wrong with using real-world people, history, and mythology as inspiration for your fantasy. The key is to do it respectfully. As long as Wizards of the Coast ponies up the cost of some cultural sensitivity consultants, maybe a historian also, they can avoid some of the more common mistakes that people run into.

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