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Message: <blockquote data-quote="transmission89" data-source="post: 8323761" data-attributes="member: 6688441">Well, let’s not forget, it’s appalling to us in a modern context. I suspect it was viewed as a more accurate description to the citizens of caffa as the mongol horde launched diseased cadavers into their city, or to the citizens of Rome as it was sacked.The description from accounts would certainly leave a memetic legacy, a well of inspiration for authors to draw from.I’ve never said those elements aren’t there. Indeed they are. As all fiction will draw from sources that inform the author. That’s inescapable. Alas, humanity has the infinite capacity to be less than excellent to each other , and has done since the dawn of time. All works of beauty, inspiration and creativity derive on some level from these aspects as well. The different critical lenses we can use when examining the works will emphasise and magnify different parts, based on what level and approach to we want to examine a piece.To some extent, it means that each table has to ask, “how relevant is it?”  Each piece. Because even if we remove the current topic du jour, and look at a different aspect, D&D, at its heart, embraces violence. Humans historically, have been very good at it. Using it to subjugate one another, taking what they want or need. D&D Essentially glorifies it. Declares that there is a right time to take a life, that it is an appropriate solution to a conflict.Do I believe that is a problem in the game? Not at all. Do I embrace violence in real life? No. Are there works of fiction that have a positive view of violence, or also present violence as an acceptable approach? Yes.We can all be critical of every aspect of work. We also can assess the relevance of different aspects of work to the wider tale trying to be told of the game we try to play.Warfare and the desire to inflict harm is the problematic origin of combat in the game.  We don’t use it in the game to seek to literally harm others at the table. We divorce it from its original context if we find it uncomfortable or not relevant to how it’s used.Others may feel differently, about the extent of “relevance” to them. They are welcome to <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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