Dragonsbane
Proud Grognard
Hard to believe someone is really upset this creature is described this way. Shocking oversensitivity in my opinion.
It isn't a... real... creature.
It isn't a... real... creature.
D&D 5E I thought WotC was removing biological morals?
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Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Powrie (Red Caps) come from the Borderlands about the River Tweed (Tweed being an old Brythonic word for Border) between English Northumbria and Scotland. As a contested Borderland the area was unstable and subject to reivers and general lawlessness and thats reflected in the folklore where people sleeping in ruins and old castles tend to get murdered and robbed - most Red Caps are homicidal but the one in Grantully Castle would bestow good fortune on anyone who caught it.
It always amused me that Peyo’s Papa Smurf has a Red Cap
I haven’t seen anybody upset. Who are you referring to?
Zubatcarteira
Now you're infected by the Musical Doodle
Clearly, they should have just made Orcs and Drow be fey as well.
Larnievc
Hero
I think the more ‘alien’ the creature is the more comfortable I am with them being evil. After all a mindflayer simply does not care about it’s cattle any more than we care about a an apple.
But by any normal human morality eating brains of people is evil and the common races that can be player characters basically are humans in hats so anything along the lines of what aberrations, demons, devils and dark fey get up to is totes evil, I expect.
I know it’s subjective but a Red Cap is alien enough for me to be happy with it being hard wired evil.
But by any normal human morality eating brains of people is evil and the common races that can be player characters basically are humans in hats so anything along the lines of what aberrations, demons, devils and dark fey get up to is totes evil, I expect.
I know it’s subjective but a Red Cap is alien enough for me to be happy with it being hard wired evil.
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Doug McCrae
Legend
CONTENT WARNING: VERY RACIST IMAGES, BEHIND SPOILER
The first two images are from the antisemitic Nazi paper Der Stürmer. The second two are from American anti-Japanese propaganda. All four depict imaginary monsters. All four are racist. Racism doesn't depend on realness. In fact, some level of fantasy is a vital component.
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LordEntrails
Hero
I think WotC is struggling with changing society and trying to figure out where everything fits.
When I grew up, orcs were evil, plain and simple. As a teen in the early 80's, I did not know enough of the world to think an orc could have any real-world equivalent or that someone could construe such a creature to be an analog for any real entity. Same with drow, elves, dwarves, etc.
Now, that's not our social awareness. Real and damaging analogies have been tied to these fantasy races.
But, D&D is still mostly a game about good heroes fighting evil creatures. At it's core it does not have, or frequently thrive very well, in a complex moral or ethical setting where the party should explore each NPC they cross paths with to determine how one should relate to them. (friend, adversary, kill...).
For many, their is still the desire to set aside the complications of the real world, and just role play some fantasy where one can do heroic and bold things, save the town/kingdom/world from evil, and not be troubled by nuance.
And WotC is struggling to maintain such, while recognizing that real-world bigotry represented in their fantasy fiction is harmful to real-world people. It is not a challenge I envy.
When I grew up, orcs were evil, plain and simple. As a teen in the early 80's, I did not know enough of the world to think an orc could have any real-world equivalent or that someone could construe such a creature to be an analog for any real entity. Same with drow, elves, dwarves, etc.
Now, that's not our social awareness. Real and damaging analogies have been tied to these fantasy races.
But, D&D is still mostly a game about good heroes fighting evil creatures. At it's core it does not have, or frequently thrive very well, in a complex moral or ethical setting where the party should explore each NPC they cross paths with to determine how one should relate to them. (friend, adversary, kill...).
For many, their is still the desire to set aside the complications of the real world, and just role play some fantasy where one can do heroic and bold things, save the town/kingdom/world from evil, and not be troubled by nuance.
And WotC is struggling to maintain such, while recognizing that real-world bigotry represented in their fantasy fiction is harmful to real-world people. It is not a challenge I envy.
jgsugden
Legend
The myth of the Redcap arises from the atrocities committed along the Border between Scotland and England. Allowing the semi-allegorical embodiment of those atrocities to have the option to be heroic is problematic in a different way.
If we're going to say these creatures should not be inherently evil, then I believe we should not have them included in the game, as allowing them to be "ok" is sending a wrong message as well.
If we're going to say these creatures should not be inherently evil, then I believe we should not have them included in the game, as allowing them to be "ok" is sending a wrong message as well.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
Has it been two weeks already? Huh, time really flies nowadays...I guess it is time for another "racial alignment" thread.
But yeah, I don't think this really counts. As others have pointed out, I think the differences here are (1) a redcap is a fey creature, not a humanoid; (2) it is formed, not "born", and (3) it is the physical embodiment of an evil act, not a society at large. A fourth point might be that a Redcap is not intended to be a playable race, but that's only tangent to the topic.
But yeah, I don't think this really counts. As others have pointed out, I think the differences here are (1) a redcap is a fey creature, not a humanoid; (2) it is formed, not "born", and (3) it is the physical embodiment of an evil act, not a society at large. A fourth point might be that a Redcap is not intended to be a playable race, but that's only tangent to the topic.
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Bayushi_seikuro
Hero
Personally, I haven't seen online anyone offended by the redcaps being evil. I do feel that, with anything in life, some people will try to find a justification to be upset, or 'if you're changing X about what I like, then why not change Y and Z?'
It feels like a magnification of discussing things like 'What level/classes is Conan? Robin Hood? King Arthur?' Or even in game mechanics where people will say without a doubt mechanically a katana should be infinitely better than a longsword in D&D. Whether its true or not... just rule whatever at home.
Again, speaking for myself, I haven't had a NEED for orcs to always be evil for a long time. I respect that some people, in the games they want to run or stories they want to tell, do need that. But if I were to have a player come to me about a certain race meaning something to them, I would absolutely change or find a work around for it. YMMV
It feels like a magnification of discussing things like 'What level/classes is Conan? Robin Hood? King Arthur?' Or even in game mechanics where people will say without a doubt mechanically a katana should be infinitely better than a longsword in D&D. Whether its true or not... just rule whatever at home.
Again, speaking for myself, I haven't had a NEED for orcs to always be evil for a long time. I respect that some people, in the games they want to run or stories they want to tell, do need that. But if I were to have a player come to me about a certain race meaning something to them, I would absolutely change or find a work around for it. YMMV
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