D&D (2024) One D&D Permanently Removes The Term 'Race'

In line with many other tabletop roleplaying games, such as Pathfinder or Level Up, One D&D is removing the term 'race'. Where Pathfinder uses 'Ancestry' and Level Up uses 'Heritage', One D&D will be using 'Species'.

Moving On From 'Race' in the 2024 Core Rulebooks

We understand "race" is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds.

www.dndbeyond.com

In a blog post, WotC announced that "We have made the decision to move on from using the term "race" everywhere in One D&D, and we do not intend to return to that term."

 

[AnotherGuy]

Egyptologists have a consensus.

Heh, I cant believe "alien" conspiracies still exist. When archeologists discovered the tombs of the actual people who personally built the pyramids.

Just like ancient beekeepers describe in their tombs how to do beekeeping, the pyramid builders describe, step by step, how to build pyramids.

Archeologists (including engineers and physicists) know how they did it, can replicate it, and it "does add up".

The cutting thru stone was also done with sand as the abrasive. It was painstaking. There is some evidence, that at least some of the stand had emery (natural sapphire particles), that would make the stone cutting easier. Also there are tombs describing and showing pictures of how to cut stone.

The ancient temples with their colossal pillars were built the same way. Sliding stone by stone across the sand, and up the layerings of sand, then finally sweeping the sand away.

We will have to agree to disagree.
I will suggest you start by looking at the UnchartedX channel. There is so much more but that is a good start.

 

[Yaarel]

We will have to agree to disagree.
I will suggest you start by looking at the UnchartedX channel. There is so much more but that is a good start.

To be fair. UnchartedX is a YouTube channel that is dedicated to "super advanced ancient tech". Its focus will inherently indulge conspiracy theories.

(Heh, and I am sure he is doing it on purpose, but one of the guests, Randall Carlson, has the same handsgesture as the Ancient Aliens guy.)

There is a consensus among professional archeologists around the world, because we know how the ancients built the pyramids.

The UnchartedX is one persons exploration of the weirder aspects of archeology.



That said.

Ancient Egyptians were the most technologically advanced culture of that age. We can see in their tombs the descriptions of the breadth of their scientific achievements, including, engieering, geometry, chemistry, gemology, artificial gems, metallurgy, astronomy, zoology, farming techniques, medicine. Classical Egypt correctly calculated the circumference of the Earth. And so on. Much of what we credit Greece for, came from Egypt.



And there are genuine Egyptological mysteries. For example, there is an ongoing debate about the age of the Sphynx at Giza. Archeologists tend assume, it was built at the same time as the pyramids. But geologists judging by erosion patterns insist the Sphynx must be older than 10,000 years. Thus it was already sacred when the pyramid builders built around it. I tend to agree with the geologists.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

We know next to nothing about what the Pharaohs actually said. I'm not convinced they'd be more benevolent than the Roman Emperors when their rule was absolute....but anyways.

Also, incest. Yes, it wasn't a taboo as much as it is in our societies. It wasn't considered evil. Even if it doesn't concern the PCs themselves, is it something that one would want for its NPCs? "Your patron is the daughter of Ramses II, and also his wife, along this several of her stepsisters" doesn't sound like a non-controversial pitch for an adventure. I wouldn't have a problem with it, since I would accept that playing in a setting set in another time exposes to strange moral choices, but I'm pretty sure it's not for everyone.

Romans were also horrible people by our standards (and had horrible people even among them, some of which might be horribler, some who might be closer to our sensibility: a guy saying "gods don't exist unless proven, your Emperor apotheosis story is a children tale and we're just rotting after death, show me the scientific proof of your stories and I'll consider it, in the meantime I won't take part in your silly cult" would probably end up considered evil at the time, while this stance is neutral from our point of view.

Heck, reading this board, I can see that 1980 and 1990's and even 2000's people from Earth were also horrible people... I don't think it's possible to find a past setting without horrible people as a whole. (Which doesn't mean they can't be used as setting! It just needs a sticker on it and a GM that selects what part of the setting to highlight, according to player tastes: one could play in Ancient Egypt without nearing a royal court).

 

[Jahydin]

I read lots of comments and spent a long time thinking about it, but personally still dislike the change.

I like the fact all humans fall under the same "race" in D&D. Feels more unifying than just being part of the same species.

With all the racial contention in the world I think it's nice to escape into a fantasy world where we are all just one race: human.

Regarding the other fantasy "races", I think they are a great tool to explore completely alien cultures as well as exaggerated and/or slightly tweaked real world cultures since using different species provides a distinct line between the real world and fiction.

There will always be bad actors who will use that line to "code" harmful stereotypes into their fantasy, but it only gives them power if people let it. One, if the stereotype in question isn't taken seriously or just not known (I'm of the opinion all stereotypes should be forgotten as fast as they are learned), then the bad literature loses "teeth". Second, if everyone refuses to compare fictional species to real world races (I sure don't), the bad literature also loses its "teeth". Third, if we could just trust that we're all mostly on the same side, silly coincidences can just be laughed and dismissed without all the over the top dramatics.

Seems much saner the alternative: forever altering, revising, and censoring all our art to the sensibilities of whoever is currently in a position to end your career. I can't help but think WotC is an Ouroboros situation and eventually it will ruin them.

 

[Olrox17]

My impression is, some of the Roman emperors were unusually ruthless, even by ancient standards.

Besides the gladiatorial events in the Colosseum are literally, "murder as a sport". It is difficult to find a clearer definition of Evil.

My impression is that ancient Romans were no more or less cruel than other civilizations around them, we just have an unusually high amount of written information about them compared to everybody else, some of which might have been exaggerated to paint specific historical figures in a negative light for political reasons.
Besides, more recent archeology suggests that gladiatorial events were in large part non-lethal, "staged" fights performed by professional athletes, not unlike modern pro wrestling. That's not to say that nobody ever died in the arena, of course: execution by gladiatorial combat was a thing.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

My impression is that ancient Romans were no more or less cruel than other civilizations around them, we just have an unusually high amount of written information about them compared to everybody else, some of which might have been exaggerated to paint specific historical figures in a negative light for political reasons.
Besides, more recent archeology suggests that gladiatorial events were in large part non-lethal, "staged" fights performed by professional athletes, not unlike modern pro wrestling. That's not to say that nobody ever died in the arena, of course: execution by gladiatorial combat was a thing.

There were carreer gladiators, which isn't very plausible if lethality was high.

 

[AnotherGuy]

To be fair. UnchartedX is a YouTube channel that is dedicated to "super advanced ancient tech". Its focus will inherently indulge conspiracy theories.

Yes, because everything the mainstream doesn't accept is quickly labelled a conspiracy theory so it can be misaligned and easily dismissed.

There is a consensus among professional archeologists around the world, because we know how the ancients built the pyramids.
The UnchartedX is one persons exploration of the weirder aspects of archeology.

(snip)

And there are genuine Egyptological mysteries. For example, there is an ongoing debate about the age of the Sphynx at Giza. Archeologists tend assume, it was built at the same time as the pyramids. But geologists judging by erosion patterns insist the Sphynx must be older than 10,000 years. Thus it was already sacred when the pyramid builders built around it. I tend to agree with the geologists.

This is exactly the problem that exists that the so-called professional archaeologists who are unwilling to explore different hypothesis nevermind update the current dogma given the mountain of growing evidence which tears holes through The Narrative.
There is a video between Graham Hancock debating the very thing you stipulate here re the Sphynx with the head honcho of Egypt who dismissed him (without reason I might add) as well as the German Archaeological Institute that determined age of the Gobleki Tepe in Turkey to be over 11,000 years in age. There is massive gatekeeping by professionals - to keep the current paradigm fixed.

And if you do not toe-the-line you are quickly smeared and the funding stops. That is not how science progresses.

 

[Horwath]

At a time when we should be figuring out how to program AI to behave compassionately, we are more often training AI to autonomously kill humans in warfare.

That would require to AI be programmed with empathy, that this many humans lack also.

Target recognition is so much simpler. We had more than 30 years of bots in FPS to practice that on.

 

[Remathilis]

The pyramid debate is pointless; extraterrestrials from Alpha Centuri built them as our roadmap to the stars after humanity enters the fourth period of enlightenment and abandons nuclear war for space exploration. I saw that on the History Channel, so it must be true!

 

[Horwath]

The pyramid debate is pointless; extraterrestrials from Alpha Centuri built them as our roadmap to the stars after humanity enters the fourth period of enlightenment and abandons nuclear war for space exploration. I saw that on the History Channel, so it must be true!

map left by our human/cylon ancestors that will show us the way to 12 colonies of Kobol.