D&D 5E What happened to the Hermaphrodites???

[abirdcall]

For anyone who cares to read some more on Zak S:

http://ettinjiggywithit.tumblr.com/post/106855388993/that-time-zak-smith-ran-a-harassment-blog

On alt-right tactics in general:

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ght-online-humor-as-a-weapon-facism?CMP=fb_gu


(tl;dr - 'I'm not harrassing/abusing people, it's all just a joke!)

 

[jaelis]

Thank you, it certainly supports refraining from using hermaphrodite to describe actual human beings or fictional human beings.

However, mythological and pseudo-mythological deities have a different context.

Dungeons and Dragons was smart to remove the term "hermaphrodite" to avoid needless controversy. However, in the context it was used it should have been held as harmless.

Like DB pointed out, the issue is not referring to Corellon as a hermaphrodite. Deities in dnd have all sorts of weird physical characteristics, no one cares.

But the passage goes on to say "some elves in the multiverse are made in Corellon's image." So it is not just a mythological deity, it is a player character race that is being discussed. And since the point of that discussion is to provide an opening for intersex characters, it misfires to call them hermaphrodites.

 

[MackMcMacky]

Like DB pointed out, the issue is not referring to Corellon as a hermaphrodite. Deities in dnd have all sorts of weird physical characteristics, no one cares.

But the passage goes on to say "some elves in the multiverse are made in Corellon's image." So it is not just a mythological deity, it is a player character race that is being discussed. And since the point of that discussion is to provide an opening for intersex characters, it misfires to call them hermaphrodites.

Only if you want it to.

Elves aren't human. It only matters if you identify Elves as essentially like us which plenty of literary tradition concerning the elf argues they are not essentially like us.

 

[MackMcMacky]

For anyone who cares to read some more on Zak S:

http://ettinjiggywithit.tumblr.com/post/106855388993/that-time-zak-smith-ran-a-harassment-blog

On alt-right tactics in general:

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ght-online-humor-as-a-weapon-facism?CMP=fb_gu


(tl;dr - 'I'm not harrassing/abusing people, it's all just a joke!)

Are you suggesting he is a member of the alt.right?

Why do we care who was consulted for 5E if no objectionable material was included in the game? Is there objectionable material in the game? (I haven't found any but I wasn't really searching for it either.)

 

[cbwjm]

I've always left Corellon as male in my games, he may appear androgynous in some art but I still always considered him male and left him as the father of the elven race. This is probably due to learning about him and then learning about his consorts and his ex, it just fit better for me if he was male. I don't recall ever reading about him being a hermaphrodite until this thread popped up. I'm not sure which printing I have, I may not have even read that section as I may not have deemed it important.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I've always left Corellon as male in my games, he may appear androgynous in some art but I still always considered him male and left him as the father of the elven race. This is probably due to learning about him and then learning about his consorts and his ex, it just fit better for me if he was male. I don't recall ever reading about him being a hermaphrodite until this thread popped up. I'm not sure which printing I have, I may not have even read that section as I may not have deemed it important.

I'm sort of in the same boat. I think Corellon's gender-fluidity may have been mentioned in 1E or 2E, but I cut my teeth on 3E and there, to the best of my knowledge, there was no indication that he was anything other than male. Failing of 3E for not preserving that aspect of the lore? Failing of 1E/2E for not making a bigger deal about it? Who knows?

 

[jaelis]

TBH I don't remember anything about Corellon being androgynous from any edition. But if it's a new thing that's cool.

But I've got to say it's kind of astonishing that the real wiki has an article on the elven pantheon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf_deities

 

[cbwjm]

Don't Hanali, Sehanine, and Aerdrie also merge together sometimes into some Goddess with an angry sounding name?

 

[Mirtek]

I'm sort of in the same boat. I think Corellon's gender-fluidity may have been mentioned in 1E or 2E, but I cut my teeth on 3E and there, to the best of my knowledge, there was no indication that he was anything other than male. Failing of 3E for not preserving that aspect of the lore? Failing of 1E/2E for not making a bigger deal about it? Who knows?

I believe it has always been given a sentence ot two how he looked androgynous, but beyond that he always acted like a straight male including having a wife (or rather three wives who occasionaly merge into one super-wife). I don't recall him ever be described as being romantically involved with anything but female deities

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I don't recall him ever be described as being romantically involved with anything but female deities

Well, that doesn't necessarily mean he's male, just closed-minded.