Sacrosanct
Legend
Several of the recent threads about OSR products and reactions, problem favs, etc has given me some thought.
Note: I do not want this thread to be an argument of what's really offensive and what's not., or if the writers back then were bad people. I want participation about what things you find/found troublesome in prior TSR era D&D that would turn you away from the game if presented it now, not from a rules/mechanics standpoint, but from a presentation perspective.
Let's start with some assumptions I think most of us can agree on:
What are other main issues you have seen? And how would you address it if you were in charge to go back and rewrite those games?
I think mature content is ok, if done in an inclusive and mature manner. I.e., constant illustrations of dominant men over naked helpless women, or depictions where women are the overwhelming victim of violence rather than the instigators of violence is something I would consider problematic. Older D&D did have nudity, but the problem was that it was almost exclusively female nudity, and presented in submissive manners. I think you could have a mature themed piece of art with female, male, and gender neutral representations in that art and still adhere to a sword and sorcery theme while also not reinforcing those old sexist tropes.
D&D was full of stereotypes, and while I think someone who is white can write a game about Asian, African, or other cultures can be done, it should be done with consultation from members of whatever culture you're writing about. Diversity writers do exist, and are growing. Those old stereotypes should be removed.
Gender pronouns. Most of the text, when talking about an individual, referenced "he". I think this should move to "they". Years ago in my own writing I thought I was inclusive by alternating between he and she, only to realize later I was excluding an entire group of people.
Other thoughts? As a cis white male myself, I am positive I'm missing a lot and I want to expand my knowledge of areas that others are impacted much more than I am. I acknowledge my privilege in this, so outside feedback is greatly appreciated and listened to.
Note: I do not want this thread to be an argument of what's really offensive and what's not., or if the writers back then were bad people. I want participation about what things you find/found troublesome in prior TSR era D&D that would turn you away from the game if presented it now, not from a rules/mechanics standpoint, but from a presentation perspective.
Let's start with some assumptions I think most of us can agree on:
- D&D back then was primarily written by white cis men for a white cis male demographic
- chainmail bikinis with nipples, strength caps for women, and harlot tables are almost universally frowned upon by the current gaming culture.
What are other main issues you have seen? And how would you address it if you were in charge to go back and rewrite those games?
I think mature content is ok, if done in an inclusive and mature manner. I.e., constant illustrations of dominant men over naked helpless women, or depictions where women are the overwhelming victim of violence rather than the instigators of violence is something I would consider problematic. Older D&D did have nudity, but the problem was that it was almost exclusively female nudity, and presented in submissive manners. I think you could have a mature themed piece of art with female, male, and gender neutral representations in that art and still adhere to a sword and sorcery theme while also not reinforcing those old sexist tropes.
D&D was full of stereotypes, and while I think someone who is white can write a game about Asian, African, or other cultures can be done, it should be done with consultation from members of whatever culture you're writing about. Diversity writers do exist, and are growing. Those old stereotypes should be removed.
Gender pronouns. Most of the text, when talking about an individual, referenced "he". I think this should move to "they". Years ago in my own writing I thought I was inclusive by alternating between he and she, only to realize later I was excluding an entire group of people.
Other thoughts? As a cis white male myself, I am positive I'm missing a lot and I want to expand my knowledge of areas that others are impacted much more than I am. I acknowledge my privilege in this, so outside feedback is greatly appreciated and listened to.
