D&D 5E Orion Black No Longer a D&D Designer [UPDATED!]

WotC employee Orion Black announced yesterday that they were no longer working for the company or on D&D, citing the corporate culture at the company.

"It's July 3th and I no longer work for Wizards of the Coast. I no longer work on D&D, the little that I did. This is going to be a long thread and my last for quite a while, so bear with me.

I took the job for two reasons. The first was for the dream. To escape poverty doing what I love, writing and making games. The second was to make D&D welcoming to the millions who are scorned by it.

A lot of people had hope for D&D that they carried with me. While some people were upset to see me work for a corporation that overshadows indie, others hoped that I would be able to make real change. I tried. I failed. And I lost a lot.

Liking a tweet or post, RTing, or even following people who speak ill of WotC can lose you your job in an instant. That's why you never see it happen. @Zbeg is 100% correct. It's a silencing tool. I can say more now.

Kindness doesn't replace respect. Working within your comfort zone doesnt support change. Most people in that group were not ready for me to be there, a nonbinary Black person who would actually critique their problems. Idk what they expected.

I worked hard for a very long time. I got a lot of smiles and vocal support, but it was followed by inaction and being ignored. My coworkers were frustrated for me, and still are now. I confided in them often, cried on shoulders on a few occasions.

I realized at one point that leadership had given me 2 assignments over about 5 months. It was mostly me asking project leads for work, searching out opportunities. Leadership didnt really care about me or my growth. I had to.

I firmly believe that I was a diversity hire. There was no expectation for me to do much of anything. I probably disrupted them by being vocal and following up. It didnt matter if I was supported by seniors and positive.

I think genuine people proposed me as an option and it was accepted because it would look like a radical positive change. It would help quiet vocal outrage. And because I had to stay silent, it was a safe bet.

I started to lose all of my confidence. I started to lose trust in myself. After finding out that I wasnt getting an extension or FTE, I resolved to just finish things out and take care of myself. To stop fighting and to just survive, quietly. But it just kept getting worse.

They would talk about how they're going to start working on treating staff better, retaining contractors, actually answering questions. How much they were invested in diversity and change even though they hired two cis white dudes into two big leadership positions during this. One of whom claimed that he doesnt know what he's doing. No naughty word. I never want to hear "maybe they just hire the best person for the job" again.

I found out that some of my work was stolen, which destroyed me. It lined up with a project they were going to do and I had sent it in to someone in leadership months ago. The project was announced and this person who contributed "forgot" that we had a meeting where I gave them my ideas, and then a follow up document the day after. I knew nothing was going to be done about it. Someone else told me that the person said sorry that they forgot. That's it.

I was really losing my ability to do much of anything. I have depression and anxiety and ADHD, all of which I manage pretty well. But those parts of me were under the pressure of being ignored, disrespected, "forgotten", and not being able to say a word to the world.

Then, as social unrest continued global due to BLM, the D&D team comes out with their statement. It was like a slap in the face. How much they care about people of color, how much changing things (that I and others had been pushing for months, if not longer) was just going to happen now. It took weeks of protesting across the globe to get D&D to do what people they hired have been already telling them to fix. You cannot, CANNOT say Black lives matter when you cannot respect the Black people who you exploit at 1/3rd your pay, for progressive ideas you pick apart until it's comfortable, for your millions of profit year over year. People of color can make art and freelance, but are never hired. D&D takes what they want from marginalized people, give them scraps, and claim progress.

I spent my time in that building worrying about how much people hated me for working there. I spent a lot of time thinking about how much it hurt to work there. I had and still have supporters, and many. Thanks to you all for being my voice and speaking out when I could not. But I felt so isolated and alone. If not for some coworkers who checked in on me, who were going through the same things? I would've quit. Every angry statement about D&D felt personal because I couldn't fix it. Because I failed, whether it was my fault or not. I felt like I was being trashed by everyone because I could not disconnect what I set as a personal responsibility from the state of the game. That part IS my fault.

But I wound up as I am now because of all of this and much, much more. I am depressed. I am unable to write. I constantly question if anything I create is worth anything. I feel like I let everyone down, and no matter how much people tell me I didnt, that doesnt change. I feel guilty for not being what y'all needed me to be, what I wanted to be, and betrayed for how I was treated at that company. It's an exceptionally kind place on the D&D team. People are very nice to each other in a very genuine way that I truly enjoyed. However, that doesnt replace respect. That doesnt delete how I was treated. It doesnt change the fact that I honestly never want to play a trpg again and am definitely not working in that field anymore.

I know that I'm probably losing a ton of opportunities writing elsewhere because of what I've said here, as well as what I've sent in internally. It may mean that I will return to poverty, which makes me feel like a failure to my race, my family, and my partner who I want to provide the world. But under all these things, I have my integrity. I worked my ass off. I did my best for as long as I could. And I didnt let them treat me like that without telling the world what needs to be said.

Trust actions, not words. Not "look at how much we freelance so and so", because freelancing is exploitation of diversity with no support for the freelancer. Not "here we finally did what we KNOW we should've done a long time ago", because they only care about how optics turn to dollars. EVERYTHING involving D&D will continue to farm marginalized people for the looks and never put them in leadership. They wont be put on staff. They will be held at arms length. I hope they prove me wrong.

A lot of BIPOC and other marginalized people are trying to make their way by using D&D. Dont shame them for that. Think about how much, and when you wield your anger, that it is done righteously.

That said, I dont recommend to anyone, working for the D&D department of Wizards of the Coast."

Orion's Tweet about this. They also cite this statement, The Wizards I Know, by Zaiem Beg.

WotC's PR person, Greg Tito, commented publicly on the issue.

This should not have happened the way it did & I'll continue to fight so it does not happen again. I'm sorry if I let you down, Orion. You deserve better.

In response to an observation that this required more than just a PR statement or donation, and that it required diversity at the executive level he continued:

I have said almost these exact words for years, and more recently to executives put in charge of a community they don't understand. I am in the awful position of saying things I believe without the company making even a single, simple action of real change.

UPDATE! WotC has issued a short statement:

We sincerely apologize to Orion Black for the negative experiences they had as a contractor with the D&D franchise team. Their statement is being taken seriously and is an opportunity for us to improve the experiences of all those who contribute to our company and community. We're not perfect and we know there is more work to do. The ongoing dialogue with our community is critical to make meaningful change. We remain committed to making D&D a more inclusive community by supporting voices from people of all backgrounds.

 

[dave2008]

I've never checked to see if a candidate gave themselves whatever name they're using. If I saw Orion Black's resume on my desk I would just assume that what their parents named them. A former coworker of mine changed her first name to sound more "professional." i.e. She didn't want her first name to sound too black when looking for a job. I think it's horrible how some candidates are rejected base primarily on their name.

A friend of my son's at university used his name (my son's) in a creative writing assignment and the professor told him my son's name was not believable and he should change it! So I guess I fall into that crazy child naming bracket!

 

[Myrdin Potter]

The very top of WoTC is the Hasbro corporate HQ in Rhode Island. I am not sure what the overall diversity profile of Hasbro is, but I doubt that WoTC would operate in a vacuum.

WoTC rarely ever hires on the 6 month contractors as full employees and you tend not to retain contractors past a certain length of time as they are then assumed to be employees. It does not appear that the contract was terminated early, so Orion was not fired.

It is incredibly difficult to change corporate culture as a contractor unless you were specifically hired to do that. Orion’s post was extremely vague without naming any specific people or examples.

I have had black employees tell me that even in a diverse company, being the only black there can cause a subtle anxiety. So I can see that even is ok circumstances it may not be great.

I take some of the statements with a grain of salt. I am not sure what Orion would consider to be a senior leader, but it is not uncommon for leaders to claim to not know what they are doing. Usually it is false modesty and an attempt to solicit feedback.

I also think that people over associate and project from the hobby to the company. I play D&D and run 2 5e games right now, but there are so many other RPG and third party material that I don’t need WoTC to do anything. Intellectually, I am a Hasbro shareholder, so I expect them to generate profit, but I find many of their adventures to read like they were written by committee. Too many design credits.Even today, they heavily lean on freelancers.

 

[Helldritch]

Please let me know how it turns out when you explain to a black person how their feelings about cultural representation in D&D are invalid.

Worked out really well with Al Quasim with my muslim friend. Worked out very well with my friend Sipion. Who's by the way Haitian. Black as the night. Funny as hell. Brilliant like a star. He's an engineer travelling round the world and did find my arguments on Huns quite on accurate. So were my arguments on the Roman empire and the drows. We don't get see each other much, but we're still in touch. We were discussing the happenings on the RPG and the BLM comparison that we see on these forums. He's no longer involved in RPG, too much travel for work so when he's at home, he stays with his family. I can tell you that he does not feel as many seems to say he should be feeling. Nor is his daughter and his two sons. He is married with a white woman. They've never been looked down by anyone in Quebec (at least that is what he says) but they have been looked upon and sneered at when they were traveling in other countries.

He feels like I do. A game is a game. Do what you want with it. Fight for equality in the real world. Not in what you think you see in the books.

 

[whimsychris123]

I would just like to throw out there that there is a common misperception that people who don't agree with the interpretive that sees orcs as racist or who want OA shelved etc, are all politically or culturally conservative. That simply isn't true; there are many on the left who feel like certain sub-sets of the left are going too far. Meaning, there is a diversity of outlooks on the left.

I don’t feel like this is a liberal versus conservative issue. It’s about whether BIPOC feel marginalized by the content of the game. And of course, BIPOC have a variety of viewpoints as well. But at what point do WotC and those of us who host or DM games decide it’s time to make changes to our games? When 25% of minorities take issue with orcs? 50%? 75%? And who are any of us who have not personally dealt with daily prejudice to say these voices that find orcs problematic are wrong?

I would say if just one of my players has an issue with my portrayal of orcs, then it’s time to adjust my game. WotC has to do their own soul searching about serving their audience, but I don’t think they can legitimately do so without BIPOC in positions of creative power within the company.

 

[dave2008]

The whole "Diversity in D&D" post was nothing more than a token gesture from WotC announcing that they are on the "We support BLM bandwagon" that's been happening lately in the rpg industry while not even understanding what's really happening in the world today.

WotC has shifted the entire direction of D&D and Magic the Gathering lately to fit the online narrative being pushed by SJW's. Banning cards in MtG for 'racism', reimagining Orcs and Drow to fit far left interpretations of racism without any regard for actual history or origins in our myths, claiming they are pro-diversity while stripping diversity from these games.

This two statements are opposed to each other. First you say they are making "token gesture(s)," which implies they are not really making any changes and then in the next statment you claim they have: "...shifted the entire direction of D&D..."

So which is it? Is WorC making token changes or shifting the entire direction? It can't be both. Personally I don't think that you can answer that because we really don't know at this point. Also, I'm pretty left (my partner more so) and I can assure the we have no interpretations of how Orcs and Drow should be interpreted in D&D. I think most of the left just doesn't care about D&D and fantasy ttRPG's in general. Also, allowing Orcs to be "good" doesn't strip diversity from the game. If it does anything it adds to it. You can still play all evil Orcs. Adding options does not limit them in this instance.

FYI, I have good/neutral orcs & goblins in my games since the 80s. Do you know why? Because of J.R.R. Tolkien. I read and watched the Hobbit many times before I ever picked up LotR and I have always preferred it. In the Hobit goblins are much more nuanced than straight up evil murder beasts. So that was how i depicted them in my fiction.

D&D needs a new home. One that will honor it for what it is and how important the game is to the history of gaming. Right now WotC is destroying the legacy of D&D.

Yes it does. I'm trying to raise the money to buy it now. Unfortunately it is so popular the price keeps going up and up! Ever time I check I have to raise my offer.

 

[Mercurius]

I don’t feel like this is a liberal versus conservative issue. It’s about whether BIPOC feel marginalized by the content of the game. And of course, BIPOC have a variety of viewpoints as well. But at what point do WotC and those of us who host or DM games decide it’s time to make changes to our games? When 25% of minorities take issue with orcs? 50%? 75%? And who are any of us who have not personally dealt with daily prejudice to say these voices that find orcs problematic are wrong?

I would say if just one of my players has an issue with my portrayal of orcs, then it’s time to adjust my game. WotC has to do their own soul searching about serving their audience, but I don’t think they can legitimately do so without BIPOC in positions of creative power within the company.

Yes, we can and should all adjust our campaigns to serve the needs of our players. I think everyone agrees on that. And I also agree that WotC would be well served by having a more diverse staff. The problem, though, is that this issue is less about the ethnic demographic of the person, and more about their interpretive framework. As you said, "BIPOC have a variety of viewpoints." There is no way to hire the exact right number of people of every possible ideological perspective from every possible demographic. In the end, we're all individuals with varying perspectives. WotC has to make judgement calls and cannot possibly please everyone.

 

[Umbran]

WotC has shifted the entire direction of D&D and Magic the Gathering lately to fit the online narrative being pushed by SJW's.

Mod Note:

This is the second time that you've been warned about your dismissive and pejorative use of the term "SJW". The last was just a few days ago, it is odd that you had forgotten it.

I suggest you not aim to earn a third such warning.

 

[Umbran]

And yet, in general society, they clearly are used as partisan wedge issues.

Mod Note:

That's getting into broader politics. Please do not explore this further on these forums. Thank you.

 

[whimsychris123]

A game is a game. Do what you want with it. Fight for equality in the real world. Not in what you think you see in the books.

It’s not that I disagree with this, but my main point is that perhaps one ought to listen rather than lecture, particularly when people feel disenfranchised.

 

[Minigiant]

I would just like to throw out there that there is a common misperception that people who don't agree with the interpretion that sees orcs as racist or who want OA shelved etc, are all politically or culturally conservative. That simply isn't true; there are many on the left who feel like certain sub-sets of the left are going too far. Meaning, there is a diversity of outlooks on the left.

I just proposed a discussion elsewhere about how the past dichotomy of political thought in the left and right axis is more or less dead due to the internet allowing lesser known social and economic ideologies to being bigger and more well known. Much how a human kingdom might be alliedwith elven one and a dwarven one in a war but be in the war for different reasons and have completely different ideas of what to do when the war is won.

This is yet another problem for smaller, closerknit industries like RPGs, minis, TCGs, cooking, or womens fashion. Not only does these small communities need to actively incorporate the identities of their new potential customers into positions of power for growth.... there are 10-12 different ways and ideas to do it (and 10-12 ways and ideas to oppose it). So they have to choose which option to go before they hit the brick wall and the shareholder eat their corpses.

We humans tend to focus heavily on our feelings and emotions than the money, timespan, loigistics, and the raw leadership numbers itself.