What We Lose When We Eliminate Controversial Content

[MichaelSomething]

Wait, I thought not including something if it greatly upsetted a small minority was the 5E way? That's why there's no Warlord class in 5E!

 

[Fenris-77]

Wait, I thought not including something if it greatly upsetted a small minority was the 5E way? That's why there's no Warlord class in 5E!

Good lord. We're a morass of open cans of whoopass here and you go ahead and open another can. Well played.

 

[Mesero]

Off (but also kinda on topic?) from all I read about Yasuke most historians find it unlikely that he was a slave, so no idea why he is only possible because of slavery and colonialism or how "colonialism brought him to Japan" (Africa wasn't colonized until way later).

Do I sanitize my games? No. Because that is how humans are and presenting a world where everyone is nice to each other except the monsters feels fake.
Or at least I do not purposefully sanitize it, but I can't capture all the bad things people did in history, also because I don't remember them all the time. For example for most of medieval/renaissance history religious intolerance was much more of a factor than race when it comes to if a people were mistreated, but no one has even mentioned that in this thread yet and I doubt it was one of the first things you thought of when reading "Controversial Content".

 

[billd91]

Off (but also kinda on topic?) from all I read about Yasuke most historians find it unlikely that he was a slave, so no idea why he is only possible because of slavery and colonialism or how "colonialism brought him to Japan" (Africa wasn't colonized until way later).

The “Race for Africa“ may have been later, but colonial exploitation and interference in the local cultures by missionaries had been under way in Africa a century before Yasuke was taken to Japan as a bodyguard to a Jesuit missionary. So… there’s your colonialism being what takes Yasuke to Japan.

 

[Fenris-77]

 

[UngainlyTitan]

So who, exactly is proposing we eliminate controversial content? This thread appears to be about the content of home games, leaving aside the argument about Yasuke.
I am not aware of anyone that has advocated that we not tackle topics that some may find controversial. I can see why a publisher would not want to publish stuff that may cause controversy but that does not impose limitations at the level of individual groups.
Nor am I seeing anyone advocate that it is legitimate to run with something that is upsetting to another at the table, but if a group wants to explore in an area that many would be uncomfortable with but that is known in advance and all are giving consent who is stopping you? You do not need permission from anyone else other than the participants.

Now it is a different matter if it is stuff to be published, either as content to be used at the table or the output of a game as a public performance. Then there is a duty to ones fellows to take some care as to the wider impact.

On the other hand I run and play D&D as escapist fantasy and make no apologies about that. I do not believe that there is anything wrong with escapist fantasy and to be honest I suspect that most games are run as escapist fantasy not deep explorations of the human condition.
Although there is nothing wrong with that either. By all means, strive to create high art if that is your fancy.

 

[bloodtide]

I scrub or soften nothing. My game is "unrated" beyond R, MA or X. If a player does not like this, my game is not for them. I'm an amateur historian, so there is a LOT of history in my game. Life before even 1950 was VERY different from today, and that just goes up to eleven when you start to get back before 1900, or 1800, and so on. Though this is really only talking about America and Western Europe. It can be said, maybe, that 'X' does not happen in America anymore.....but that says nothing about the whole rest of the world.

My average game does not highlight such things, but does not shy away from them if they come up.

 

[Malmuria]

View attachment 276918

Totally! But what does this have to do with fantasy adventure games? Or, to turn the question around, are fantasy adventure games the best vehicle to explore disturbing and upsetting topics from our real history?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Totally! But what does this have to do with fantasy adventure games? Or, to turn the question around, are fantasy adventure games the best vehicle to explore disturbing and upsetting topics from our real history?

To be totally honest I do not believe so but far be it for me to stop anyone trying.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I scrub or soften nothing. My game is "unrated" beyond R, MA or X. If a player does not like this, my game is not for them. I'm an amateur historian, so there is a LOT of history in my game. Life before even 1950 was VERY different from today, and that just goes up to eleven when you start to get back before 1900, or 1800, and so on. Though this is really only talking about America and Western Europe. It can be said, maybe, that 'X' does not happen in America anymore.....but that says nothing about the whole rest of the world.

My average game does not highlight such things, but does not shy away from them if they come up.

Life before 1980 was very different than to day in what is loosely called "the West"