Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Barbarian and Monk

Unearthed Arcana makes an unexpected return (the last one was back in May) with a three-page PDF containing two subclasses -- Path of the Wild Soul for the barbarian, and Way of the Astral Self for the monk.

 

[Parmandur]

I think I will just nod and pretend to know what this whole R&M stuff is about. Too zany for me seems a likely response.

A new box set coming out in November:

Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty | Dungeons & Dragons

Learn more about Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty.

dnd.wizards.com

 

[Garthanos]

A new box set coming out in November:

Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty | Dungeons & Dragons

Learn more about Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty.

dnd.wizards.com

OMG I know who exactly that will.... either thrill or ANNOY in seriously silly ways.

 

[Parmandur]

OMG I know who exactly that will.... either thrill or ANNOY in seriously silly ways.

Why not both?

It's certainly thinking outside the box: the comics crossover is supposedly quite fun, and apparently both sides really put aside corporate ego to make it happen and let Patrick Rothfuss and Jim Zub have their way with both IPs. Unusual in this day and age.

 

[Garthanos]

Why not both?

It's certainly thinking outside the box: the comics crossover is supposedly quite fun, and apparently both sides really put aside corporate ego to make it happen and let Patrick Rothfuss and Jim Zub have their way with both IPs. Unusual in this day and age.

I will report back...if it'ss not anti-climactic though

 

[lkj]

Ya know...the timing for this test would also work very, very well for the Rick & Morty boxed set. And the potential zaniness is a real fit there.

Those evil bastards, will i have to buy this box???

Ah. Yeah. If they are still developing Rick and Morty then these are good candidates. But I will still his out for planar!

AD

 

[Garthanos]

ok I thought i only grabbed the meme she replied with the one with one character using the other as a human shield .... saying Ummm.... not as vivid of response as I hoped but hey

 

[Parmandur]

Ah. Yeah. If they are still developing Rick and Morty then these are good candidates. But I will still his out for planar!

AD

Well, the timing works out, based on turnaround on previous UA articles and final products.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Well, no, the word robota goes back in Slavic languages for "forced labor," i.e. slavery. Applied to artificially created forms comes from the play R.U.R ("Rossum's Universal Robots") by Karel Čapek doing a modern take on the Golem legend with a touch of Marxism:

"The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people, called roboti (robots), from synthetic organic matter. They are not exactly robots by the current definition of the term: they are living flesh and blood creatures rather than machinery and are closer to the modern idea of androids or replicants. They may be mistaken for humans and can think for themselves. They seem happy to work for humans at first, but a robot rebellion leads to the extinction of the human race."

Obviously, the Warforged are not robots like the ones assembling cars in factories, but they are straight up literary robots.

Using words in a way that you know damn well no one else is using them isn’t arguing in good faith.

Robot in modern English refers to mechanical automatons, not slaves.

 

[Parmandur]

Using words in a way that you know damn well no one else is using them isn’t arguing in good faith.

Robot in modern English refers to mechanical automatons, not slaves.

There is an equivocation in modern English usage, between robots as an engineering phenomenon (assembly lines, drones, etc.) and robots as a narrative trope: the engineering came after the narrative trope, and when people talk about robots in science fiction they do in fact mean that trops. The narrative trope is that of the Golem, or Brazen Head, or Talos, or Frankenstein's Monster. Data is a Golem/robot, Asimov's robots are Golems, Star Wars Droids are Golems, etc.

Similarly, D&D Golems are robots, all of them. There is a precise identity between the concepts. Indeed, TVTropes discusses Golems in these terms:

"More loosely the term can be applied to any robot that is explicitly run on magic rather than technology. Talos, a mythical Greek giant made out of forged bronze, is a good example."

"SeeRock Monster, Living Statue, Frankenstein's Monster, Snowlems and Artificial Human. Usually a Perpetual-Motion Monster. Sentient Golems may be Nature Loving Robots, doubly so if whatever they are made of has a natural theme to it."

Golem - TV Tropes

The Golem is a creature from Jewish folklore which was a figure animated by a holy man. It was generally unable to speak, lacked a soul, and followed orders like an automaton. The original Hebrew word can mean "an unshaped form" or figuratively " …

tvtropes.org

Now, again, I like Eberron and Warforged, and their story (which is noticably derived from modern robot versions the Golem mythos). But anybosy you pull off the street that will look at them and say "wow, is that a magic robot?" And saying that "they are not magical robots, they are sentient Golems" is going to be the case of using words differently from how people normally use them.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

That's fine in a comparative media context, the same as referring to Mr. Spock as a Half-elf. The problem with using robot instead of golem in a discussion of a fantasy setting is it brings along undue baggage. It leaves people with impressions that aren't warranted, most famously that Eberron is steampunk.