Pathfinder 2E Paizo drops use of the word phylactery

[Cadence]

"Darnit, I'm really attached to this word they randomly picked from a thesaurus that shows up for one type of monster and a handful of magic items. Now you want me to check dictionaries too? WTF."

 

[MGibster]

Yeah, well, I am not of Semitic descent. My beliefs on the matter are not relevant.

I categorically reject the idea that there is any situation where I should turn off my brain and uncritically accept what someone tells me to be true. However, it doesn't have to be anti-Semitic for me to agree that using phylactery is not the best choice. After learning more about the origins of the word and how they're used in modern Judaism, I agree with choosing another word.

 

[John R Davis]

He did have a thing for very cool words.
No one was offended by its use. Several people have decided to be offended on behalf of the people who were not offended.
A word derived from another word derived from another that's evolved over 1000s year in an ultra-niche way is a terrible route to changing stuff.
All rather sad, and somewhat pathetic.

I hope the word milieu and puissant don't become befended words, as they too are awesome.

Entering a creatures home, slaughtering them, and taking all their stuff is still ok for now?

 

[billd91]

Entering a creatures home, slaughtering them, and taking all their stuff is still ok for now?

Yes, but not their vocabulary.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm a big fan of Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling, not so much), so if it ever comes up, I'd probably use hoarcrux instead.

 

[Zubatcarteira]

I'd go with the totally original Xurcroh.

 

[Umbran]

I categorically reject the idea that there is any situation where I should turn off my brain and uncritically accept what someone tells me to be true.

I didn't state any such idea.

I said my beliefs on the matter were not relevant. That phrase was carefully chosen. It presupposes that my opinions exist. I am not shutting off my brain.

Are you equating having an opinion to that opinion actually mattering? Such a position... lacks humility.

I recognize that in a great deal of what goes on in the world, my opinions are not pertinent, and I would do better to listen then to flap my jaw about them.

 

[MGibster]

I said my beliefs on the matter were not relevant. That phrase was carefully chosen. It presupposes that my opinions exist. I am not shutting off my brain.

Are you equating having an opinion to that opinion actually mattering? Such a position... lacks humility.

If someone is asking you to change your behavior then they clearly think your opinion is relevant. And that's pretty much all I care to say about the subject.

 

[Hussar]

I am Jewish. I have always had at least one other player that was Jewish and another one or two whom had a parent or grandparent that was Jewish. We have never taken offense at use of the the term phylactery.

So?

Can you let me know how many people have to be offended before we change something? And, what percentage offended do they have to be?

"Oh, sorry, you're only 12 per cent offended, so, we'll ignore you. If you were only 13 per cent offended, then we would do something."

For some reason people seem to see only the specific issue and not the general. The general idea is that it's bad to misappropriate ANY cultural elements and repurpose them. Doesn't matter what that thing is. That's not important. The important part is that it's a bad idea to do it to anyone's culture.

I mean, I mentioned earlier in this thread that the module I'm using uses real world Aztec deities as Far Realms monsters. Is this acceptable or not? And, if it's not acceptable to repurpose someone's god as a Lovecraftian monster bent on destroying the world, why is it acceptable to repurpose someone's religious artifacts as a focus for hideous, evil rites for creating monstrous, evil undead?

 

[Irlo]

Honestly I would kind of want to see more Jewish stuff in D&D, you've got several thousand years of culture at a time contemporaneous with the Middle Ages and earlier and nobody goes there because everyone's afraid of being antisemitic. Which I get. But while I fit the genetic criteria I'm not an expert in the culture, so my fantasies about kabbalistic sorcerers animating golem armies and divining the future through gematria will stay vague and unformed. Oh well.

It's not D&D, but if you can find Atlas Games' Ars Magica supplement, Kabbalah: Mythic Judaism, you'll find a lot of what you're looking for.