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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Marandahir" data-source="post: 8411862" data-attributes="member: 6803643">Maybe! I do think that Bard, Druid, Monk, Paladin, Cavalier, and Warlock are terms that have adopted other meanings over time. Kensei and Samurai are very specific terms that really shouldn't have been used in the game, though. And Barbarian is actually one of the worse offenders; it's still a derogatory term that doesn't at all describe what the class does or is. I'm sure that more than a few Imaziɣen would find this class name offensive to this day, similar to how the Romany have found Vistani as extremely offensive depictions.This does not mean we don't include fantasy approximations of real world cultures or in other ways celebrate those cultures. Vistani don't have to go away. Barbarians don't have to go away. Heck, Kara-Tur doesn't have to stop existing in the Realms. It's the WAY these tropes are utilised, that we don't reduce them down to stereotypes, that we LISTEN to the concerns of the people who come from said cultures, that we put their stories front and center rather than forcing orientalist fantasy cliches written by old white men into the spotlight to capitalize on the fandoms of Japanophiles (admittedly, including yours truly). I won't deny that I have copies of the 1e and 3e Oriental Adventures. These books are horribly offensive and were wrong then and are wrong now. But there IS a draw to the fiction and genre, and when I was young and stupid I thought these books could help me capture some of that flavour I enjoyed. And at our home games you have the space to explore tropes and cliches that you may find fun while others might find it offensive. That's for YOUR table to figure out what you all feel comfortable with. MY issue is rather with publicly sanctioned culturally-insensitive stereotypes published in books, making it seem like if you want to play a Samurai character, you have to BE as Samurai Fighter. Or if you use the Samurai Fighter subclass, then you're automatically a Japanese noble-warrior, not a Dhakaani Hobgoblin or Elvish Blademaster, complete with all the anime puns and Weeaboo-Weeaboo shaming and snickering.  And as I said before, I have little issue with the Samurai subclass mechanics. My solution as originally posed - that seemingly derailed the thread, I'm sorry everyone - was that if we move Maneuvers into a dial that all Fighters can access without a feat or fighting style, and no longer have two Fighter subclasses are are completely generic but with completely different mechanics, then the name Battle Master can be moved over to take on the Samurai subclass features. It doesn't need to be called a Knight. Battle Master captures the idea that Samurai is trying to talk about, too, without pigeonholing into a single culture.</blockquote>

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