D&D General RA Salvatore Wants To Correct Drizzt’s Racist Tropes

In an interview with Polygon, the author talks about how the drow are currently being redefined in D&D, and how he wants to be part of that process.

”But on the other hand, if the drow are being portrayed as evil, that’s a trope that has to go away, be buried under the deepest pit, and never brought out again. I was unaware of that. I admit it. I was oblivious.

Drow are now split into (at least) three types — the familiar Udadrow of Menzoberranzan, the arctic-themed Aevendrow, and the jungle-themed Lorendrow. Salvatore's new novel, Starlight Enclave, helps to expand the drows' role in the narrative.

D&D’s Drizzt books were built on racist tropes. R.A. Salvatore wants to change that

‘If the drow are being portrayed as evil, that’s a trope that has to go away’

www.polygon.com

In 2020 WotC made a public statement about how they would be treating drow and orcs going forward -- "Throughout the 50-year history of D&D, some of the peoples in the game—orcs and drow being two of the prime examples—have been characterized as monstrous and evil, using descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world ethnic groups have been and continue to be denigrated. That’s just not right, and it’s not something we believe in. "

Commitment to Diversity | Dungeons & Dragons

D&D continues to be made as diverse as possible with the reminder that only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome obstacles.

dnd.wizards.com

 

[DEFCON 1]

"He's saying he was oblivious to connection between drow/dark skinned and black people."

As there is no connection, he was and still is right to ignore this.

You're just looking to get yourself thrown out of the thread, aren't you?

 

[Dragonsbane]

I am glad times are changing, and people are being liberated from the oppressive past many have and are suffering through.

Honestly, 100% sincerity here. I never thought of any real-world race when I read any drow books or lore. The trope never occurred to me. Or my players. Or anyone I spoke with on my NWN server, nor on forums until the last year perhaps. The drow seemed like a bizarre matriarchy that would have imploded if not for plot immunity, something alien, something sinister and totally non-human.

I am not saying the racism or bigotry is not there. Just that I never got that from the books. Sadly I feel the need to say this lest I be attacked.

If they retcon the races, how about all the evil acts all the characters did in the books?

 

[Parmandur]

Ehhhhhh...

"If you'd been a -white- man who grew up in the 60s it -might- not have been obvious to you" would be a better thing to write, there.

Black people have -long- known about the connection. And women have long known that Women in Power = Evil is really rough, too. And he's been confronted about it, many times, over the years. On and offline. This isn't new. This isn't "We realized this in 2020".

I'm also shocked by the number of people who are like "He's gonna change it to be less racist? I'm out!" that's... I mean go for it, friends, but that's tellin' all on yourselves.

Why would you be shocked by that, that happens whenever this sort of thing comes up?

I totally beleive that Salvatore grew as a person: it happens.

 

[Steampunkette]

Having followed him for a while, I think he's legitimately wanting to be a better person in this context, and yeah, even growing up in the 80s and 90s as white male, the connection between drow=black people never once occurred to me until I started seeing others make that connection. So I'm sure he truly didn't know the full connection. the important thing is that he's wanting to be better, and that's what we should be encouraging, right?

Agreed. But not shocked. Not after seeing the responses to the other changes WoTC has made over the past year or so.

Definitely a good thing that he's trying to change and change things. No question, there. Hat off to the man for finally "Getting It" after all these years.

I have a hard time believing black people would be actually offended by the mere existence of the drow elves.

You don't have to "Believe" it. You can find out, yourself, by reading the many, many, -many- articles and blog-posts about it since the 90s at the latest. And then instead of "Believing" you can "Know". Which is way better, anyhow.

 

[Guest 7025638]

You're just looking to get yourself thrown out of the thread, aren't you?

I really don't care. There's a room for other opinion, and the problem is with this artificial troublemaking. There's nothing wrong how the drows are, and never was.

 

[embee]

Look, I have 3 and they are terrible.

My children are all wonderful and I'm not just saying that because they are literate, able to pull up my browser history and comment logs, and quick to rat me out.

They are little delights.

 

[Sacrosanct]

You don't have to "Believe" it. You can find out, yourself, by reading the many, many, -many- articles and blog-posts about it since the 90s at the latest. And then instead of "Believing" you can "Know". Which is way better, anyhow.

Indeed. Kind of a strange comment to make.

"I don't believe that group different than me would believe that."
"Well, good news. All you have to do is ask them."

I mean, I don't get to dictate what another group of people believes or not, so to deny that their opinion even exists is a weird way to phrase things.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I really don't care. There's a room for other opinion, and the problem is with this artificial troublemaking. There's nothing wrong how the drows are, and never was.

Well, luckily for you... you can continue to run drow exactly as you please, even if other books re-write things. No one can take that away from you. You'll just have to accept that how you run drow will be different than how they are portrayed going forward.

 

[Stormonu]

I really don't care. There's a room for other opinion, and the problem is with this artificial troublemaking. There's nothing wrong how the drows are, and never was.

It’s one of those things that you don’t see until someone points it out, then you can’t unsee it. You then have to decide how you’re going to react to it going forward. My drow will remain dark-skinned (with an albino offshoot) and matriarchal, but I will be more careful not to attempt to tie it to any real-world culture.

 

[Nefermandias]

Definitely a good thing that he's trying to change and change things. No question, there. Hat off to the man for finally "Getting It" after all these years.

You don't have to "Believe" it. You can find out, yourself, by reading the many, many, -many- articles and blog-posts about it since the 90s at the latest. And then instead of "Believing" you can "Know". Which is way better, anyhow.

Oh, I have no doubt that dozens of articles have been published on this subject in many platforms since the drows were first described back in the 70's.
What I can't wrap my mind around is the notion that ACTUAL black people would be ACTUALLY offended by the skin color of a fantasy species in a fantasy game... Nobody would say in good faith that they actually think the Drow are some attempt to depict an ethnicity from the real world.