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<blockquote data-quote="Urbannen" data-source="post: 1403173" data-attributes="member: 7643">A friend and I were talking about this subject this week.&nbsp; We came to the conclusion that Basic and AD&amp;D were rooted in a mythological culture of Western Civilization, meaning Europe.&nbsp; The U.S. is becoming more inclusive and so is D&amp;D.&nbsp; I have no problem with Ember being black, for instance.&nbsp; However, there really weren't any black Europeans or Asians (she's a monk) to speak of in medieval times.&nbsp; The racial composition of D&amp;D humans is American, not European.&nbsp; White Americans (or, to be less &quot;racial&quot;) Anglo-Saxon/European Americans have less of a connection to a mythological European past than we used to, IMO.&nbsp; What was LotR, but a modern creation of European mythology?&nbsp; The creators of D&amp;D were from the north central US and were influenced by medieval wargaming and European mythic fantasy such as Tolkien.&nbsp; They were white and growing up in the 60s and 70s.&nbsp; Our culture has shifted, so that our traditional European identification has weakened.&nbsp; Now D&amp;D is more like American culture of today - more interested in the future than the past, trying to create a diverse popular culture.&nbsp; Look at how all the limits have been taken away in 3E.&nbsp; Well, why should there be limits?&nbsp; Why should the circumstances of your birth, or culture, or race limit your career advancement, as they did back in OD&amp;D?&nbsp; Modern American culture doesn't accept such limitations, and really doesn't see the basis for them.&nbsp; The universe created by the founders of D&amp;D from a collective European fantasy is now a kewl place to have adventures, not a place to communicate with the collective thought of our ancestors.&nbsp; D&amp;D characters may be placed in an archaic setting, but they speak with a modern vocabulary.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Urbannen, post: 1403173, member: 7643"] A friend and I were talking about this subject this week. We came to the conclusion that Basic and AD&D were rooted in a mythological culture of Western Civilization, meaning Europe. The U.S. is becoming more inclusive and so is D&D. I have no problem with Ember being black, for instance. However, there really weren't any black Europeans or Asians (she's a monk) to speak of in medieval times. The racial composition of D&D humans is American, not European. White Americans (or, to be less "racial") Anglo-Saxon/European Americans have less of a connection to a mythological European past than we used to, IMO. What was LotR, but a modern creation of European mythology? The creators of D&D were from the north central US and were influenced by medieval wargaming and European mythic fantasy such as Tolkien. They were white and growing up in the 60s and 70s. Our culture has shifted, so that our traditional European identification has weakened. Now D&D is more like American culture of today - more interested in the future than the past, trying to create a diverse popular culture. Look at how all the limits have been taken away in 3E. Well, why should there be limits? Why should the circumstances of your birth, or culture, or race limit your career advancement, as they did back in OD&D? Modern American culture doesn't accept such limitations, and really doesn't see the basis for them. The universe created by the founders of D&D from a collective European fantasy is now a kewl place to have adventures, not a place to communicate with the collective thought of our ancestors. D&D characters may be placed in an archaic setting, but they speak with a modern vocabulary. [/QUOTE]

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