Should there be a "Vile/Mature" line of products?

[bramadan]

Ah, yes and if the rules and setting depicted would also be low-magic ish (at least lower then in the core DnD) which is consistent with the rather grim idea of having to actualy sacrifice something (innocence, soul, fellow humans...) for power. Then I would think I have died and gone to.... well to wherever the atheist gamers go if they are good.

 

[Tiefling]

Re: Re: Re: Rant warning

This is incorrect. There are adult publications as mentioned by Henry. In addition, I think it's more illustrative to look at media in the broader context, of which print media is but a subset. In the media industry at large there are many age restrictions on the distribution of media -- radio, internet, television, movies theatres, and software, in addition to print media.

You and I may not agree with the way the government uses these types of restrictions, but the precedent clearly exists.

Oh well. I'd never heard of one for books before (not magazines, mind you), but if so then it's one more sad thing in this world. Almost as sad as the uneven distribution of Earth's resources and the massive wars that result. Well, maybe not that sad.

But if they start age restricting a product like this, how long before they do it to my precious Song of Ice and Fire? What will I do?

 

[kenjib]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Rant warning

Oh well. I'd never heard of one for books before (not magazines, mind you), but if so then it's one more sad thing in this world. Almost as sad as the uneven distribution of Earth's resources and the massive wars that result. Well, maybe not that sad.

But if they start age restricting a product like this, how long before they do it to my precious Song of Ice and Fire? What will I do?

No big worry for now. It's mostly just porn.

 

[FireLance]

So why the heck is BOED mature??

My take is, definitions of "good" can be sensitive - even more so than definitions of "evil". Any material that seems to espouse some kind of philosophy or morality needs a certain level of maturity to be handled properly.

Apparently "good" philosophies can conflict, to the extent that they brand each other as "evil". To one person, killing an evil person is evil because killing is evil. To another person, allowing an evil person to live is evil because he can then go on and commit more evil acts. As such, a roleplaying supplement that discusses good and evil must either take into account this ambiguity (which requires maturity to handle) or state that for the purposes of the game certain acts are considered "good". It takes maturity to realise that you can't use a statement in your role-playing supplement along the lines of "smiting evil is considered to be a good act"to guide your actions when considering whether you should assassinate the local drug lord.

 

[FireLance]

To answer Anthony's queries:

A) Do you think there would be an audience?
B) Would you buy it?
C) If you supported such a line would you also evangelize it (let people know that it was out there and that it was cool)?
D) Would you defend it (there will be people who will proclaim the death of gaming if such a line were to come into existence)?
E) And finally, would you participate (post ideas, drawings, stories, etc. on a website, network with other players, help develop codes of conduct and ethics for play etc. )?

Anthony Valterra

A) Yes.
B) I would not buy it simply because its contents are considered "mature". I would buy it if it dealt with issues that are not addressed in non-"mature" products. Of course, it would also have to pass the other tests: Is it useful to me? Are the rules good and balanced? Will it add flavour to my campaign? And so on.
C) I will certainly give my opinion on it. Whether I evangelise will depend on how good it is.
D) Yes.
E) Yes.

 

[boschdevil]

A) Do you think there would be an audience?
B) Would you buy it?
C) If you supported such a line would you also evangelize it (let people know that it was out there and that it was cool)?
D) Would you defend it (there will be people who will proclaim the death of gaming if such a line were to come into existence)?
E) And finally, would you participate (post ideas, drawings, stories, etc. on a website, network with other players, help develop codes of conduct and ethics for play etc. )?

A) Yes.
B) No. Not my cup of tea.
C) No.
D) Yes, if it stayed out of core material and Dungeon magazines and Dragon magazines. If the material when into a magazine dedicted to Vile or supplements that focused on Vile, I wouldn't have much of a problem with it.
E) No.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Why is a suggestion about a "Mature Label" keep getting referenced as "vile material"?

Is that the only definition of "mature" folks associate to this concept?

 

[boschdevil]

Why is a suggestion about a "Mature Label" keep getting referenced as "vile material"?

Is that the only definition of "mature" folks associate to this concept?

Maybe because Paizo themselves noted on Dungeon issue 95 that the Vile material would be "Mature Content" on the cover. Also, we're assuming that Paizo isn't going to start publishing pornography. Hence "Mature Label".

 

[mkletch]

... a roleplaying supplement that discusses good and evil must either take into account this ambiguity (which requires maturity to handle) or state that for the purposes of the game certain acts are considered "good".

The first decent answer I've seen on this question (BoED 'mature'?). It hearkens back to SKR's tale of the crunchy vs. non-crunchy supplements. I doubt BoED is 'mature' for this reason, though that's just a SWAG.

-Fletch!

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Maybe because Paizo themselves noted on Dungeon issue 95 that the Vile material would be "Mature Content" on the cover. Also, we're assuming that Paizo isn't going to start publishing pornography. Hence "Mature Label".

Yet we have the upcoming Book of Exalted Deeds. But I don't see anyone saying "I won't buy a magazine with Exalted Material in it!" Both are in the Mature Product Line. Anyone focusing on "Vile" over "Mature" is painting this topic with a single theme, one that shows more of their own lacking of understanding concerning the product line and the proposed publishing label AV has put forth. Sorry to point this out, but it's hard to have a reasonable discussion about "mature content" when a small number of people are screaming "Vile! Vile! Vile!"