Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Spirits Bard and Undeath Warlock

We have a new UA release with two subclasses. The College of Spirits Bard is a fortune teller or spirit medium type character with a big random effect table. Meanwhile the Undeath Pact Warlock is a a do-over of the Undying Pact Warlock.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

But no one is saying that it is okay to be "racist" against an entire race or that an entire race is "nothing but oppressors".

As I stated in my previous post, the spiritualist stereotype doesn't apply to just the British—spiritualism was very popular in the US (especially after the American Civil war), and other countries, too. So, no British were harmed in the making of this subclass.

Secondly, the British aren't a race (actually, race doesn't even exist, it's a social construct that has no grounding in genetics), they're a nationality.

Thirdly, I'm not calling the British, themselves, oppressor. I'm stating the fact that the British have a history of being oppressors (along with several other European nations, the US, Australia, etc.) up to relatively recent times. So, this idea that you have of me saying that the British are "nothing but oppressors" is categorically false.

Fourthly, I'm not saying that it's okay to be prejudiced against British people (I like quite a few Brits — @Morrus being a fine example).

What I WAS saying is that, because of an unequal power dynamic, that it is far more hurtful to stereotype (or otherwise disparage) a group that has been/is oppressed than it is to a group that has more social/political power. Making fun of the filthy rich, for instance, isn't nearly as hurtful to the rich (who have extreme privilege) than making fun of the poor for poor people (who are underprivileged). That may not seem ideologically fair on the surface, but when you consider the inequality involved between the two groups, you'll see that the potential harm is also inversely unequal.

Yes.

Also a problem is the American (especially white/European-based) dominance of message boards, such as these.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

For the record it is also not possible to be racist towards white people.

For the record, this statement is factually incorrect. Let’s try to keep the utter BS to a minimum.

EVERYONE.

 

[Azzy]

Besides, slavery and imperialism is older than the Bible. Many − most − human cultures have inflicted some form of slavery and imperialism.

Do you really want to go there? Seriously? You're bringing up slavery?

First, just because one person does something wrong doesn't mean that a second person that does it shouldn't be held accountable.

Secondly, "some form of slavery" weren't "justified" by using pseudoscience and religion to dehumanize an entire "race" of people and use them for hereditary chattel slavery in which the could be murdered, raped, be seperated from their families, have their children sold off, and have their culture, religion, language, and history forcefully suppressed and typically with no way to buy themselves out of bondage. And even those that were freed for whatever reason were then further oppressed by the ideology that they were subhuman. Yes, all slavery is bad—but not all slavery was equally bad.

Imperialism was bad no matter who did it, so I don't know why you're even going there.

The United Kingdom in modern times was THE FIRST NATION EVER in the history of the human species TO OUTLAW SLAVERY! And then they eventually gave up their empire and founded democracies around the planet.

If you're going to try to appeal to premodern history to apologize for modern slavery, then you're going to have to accept that there were some premodern cultures that didn't practise slavery, either. Cyrus the Great of Persia was an abolitionist, Gregory of Nyssa was opposed to slavery, too.

Rather than blame Brits for slavery, we should all be buying them a beer!

Wut? Who's blaming the British for slavery? Seriously, you've gone off on a weird tangent.

 

[Azzy]

Heh.

To philosophize that it is ok to be racist against an entire race because that race is nothing except oppressors ...

How could that possibly be Good?

The philosophy is begging to do Evil.

I will be happy to drop the defensiveness, if others drop the racist hatespeech against white Americans.

What hate speech is that?

 

[Azzy]

For the record, this statement is factually incorrect. Let’s try to keep the utter BS to a minimum.

EVERYONE.

To be fair, a lot of sociologists are separating the terms "racism" and "racial prejudice". Racial prejudice is something that anyone can be guilty of against any other "race". Racism, however is systemic and requires an unequal power structure to exist. Thus, it is possible for someone to have racial prejudice against "white people", but it is not possible to be "racist" against "white people" in countries where they are the majority and have majority control over their country socially, politically, economically, etc. So, I think Ad_hoc's post was simply using a different definition of the term than it's typically use colloquially.

That said, racial prejudice is bad, too. Let''s have none of that, either.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

To be fair

I don't think you are being.

 

[Marandahir]

That's cool.

Also, Conquest Paladins multiclassed with the Undead Warlock are very good, with the Frightening ability once every round.

Sounds like another way to approach an Arthas-style Death Knight (the Hexblade is certainly narratively appropriate, too).

 

[Azzy]

I don't think you are being.

For pointing out the different usage of common terms in academia? Would it also be unfair to point out that the word "theory" has a much different meaning in scientific parlance than it does in everday usage?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

To be fair, a lot of sociologists separating the terms "racism" and "racial prejudice". Racial prejudice is something that anyone can be guilty of against any other "race". Racism, however is systemic and requires an unequal power structure to exist.

The attempt to make a distinction between “racism“ and “racial prejudice” is an utter BS hypothesis, based on my experiences with my fellow people of color. It’s a distinction with absolutely no difference- bigots of color are perfectly capable of impacting Caucasians negatively in subsections of society within their control.

Even if it were true, one need only look at what happened to some white people in South Africa after the fall of Apartheid for an example that will meet the definition. Regardless of the history, some white farmers- and only white farmers- were driven off of the land they farmed by threats of death...fully backed by elements of the government. Sometimes, initiated by government agents.

And that’s not the only example in the world.

Not only that, “You can’t be racist to whites.” Is both a dog-whistle for one side trying to claim victimhood due to a double standard AND a lie bigots of color tell in order to absolve themselves of potential repercussions for their actions. So let’s not use it around here.

And furthermore, don’t respond to moderator action- characterized by orange or red text- in thread. That’s a violation of the site ToS.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Protect the Weak

-Tenets of the Oath of Devotion (PHB).

Why only the weak? Isn't it unfair for the paladin not to offer equal protection to the strong?