Will you make transsexual Elves canon in your games ?

[Maxperson]

It’s hardly a retcon. It’s a small ability addition to the race which doesn’t remove any abilities, only applies in a small number of cases, and is already covered in the lore of earlier additions. Let’s not exaggerate the impact on the race of elves as a whole. It makes almost no difference to most players and probably makes a big positive difference to those that it does matter to.

@pming There is a world of difference between recognizing a currently marginalized segment of society within the elf race (a mainstream popular heroic race) and relegating them to a monster-race off shoot of a brain eating fundamentally dishonest creature. If you don’t see a relevance to that I’m not going to try and change your world view. I’ll just say it matters to the people it matters to, and is irrelevant to those it doesn’t matter to.

The whole exercise has Zero negative impact and yet there are still some people who come up with convoluted ways to write it off. It’s the internet I guess.

It does have an impact, though. Whether someone is for or against transgender, and I am for it in the real world, the game isn't the real world. I go to the game for 3-4 hours once a week to get away from real world issues and just enjoy an adventure in a fantasy world. Bringing real world issues like transgender, racism, religion, crazy politicians, etc. into the game destroys that escape. That's not to say that it would make the game bad, but it wouldn't be the restful escape from reality that I use D&D for. Others drink and do drugs to escape. I don't. I use gaming.

 

[Eltab]

Honest question: have there been any examples (say in this thread or one of its predecessors) indicating that the Blessing is drawing particular attention from that sort of person?

Honest answer: Not yet; the Blessing is new material.

However I am anticipating - not with pleasure - a string of horror stories built around a player who figures out the Blessing can be treated like the Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity* and uses it to humiliate another player (and themself in the bargain, although I doubt they'll notice that part until after it's too late).

* The original Girdle was cursed and had / has 'Gotcha!' written all over it

MoonSong knows his/her own table. If the other player(s) will turn the Blessing into a Curse, then better to leave it aside for now.

 

[Eltab]

Though the best term for it is maybe not "controversial." Maybe unusual and perplexing would be a better term.

(Emphasis mine.)

You win the Insightful Quote of the Day award.

 

[TheSword]

It does have an impact, though. Whether someone is for or against transgender, and I am for it in the real world, the game isn't the real world. I go to the game for 3-4 hours once a week to get away from real world issues and just enjoy an adventure in a fantasy world. Bringing real world issues like transgender, racism, religion, crazy politicians, etc. into the game destroys that escape. That's not to say that it would make the game bad, but it wouldn't be the restful escape from reality that I use D&D for. Others drink and do drugs to escape. I don't. I use gaming.

It seems like you’re being pretty selective about what ‘real world’ issues you bring into the game and which disturb your restful escape. I mean what about gay characters? Do they disturb your rest? Shall we brush out the gay characters from 5e products like Curse of Strahd? What about black characters, if it disturbs you we can whitewash them out? At the end of the day women only got the vote in the last century, we can go full tolkein and take women out of games as well.

Either

A: Both DM and players are cool with the occasional trans elf. There’s no issue.

B: Neither DM or players are interested with the concept. There’s no issue

C: A player would like to explore the idea, but the DM won’t let them. That DM needs to take a good hard look at themselves and ask some real questions about their motives.

So no, I absolutely reject your argument that it has an impact.

 

[Cyrinishad]

I have nothing against the Blessing of Corellon, what I have problem with is the kind of disruption that it enables.

Weird... This actually sounds more like the problem I have with "Fireball"... LoL.

 

[MoonSong]

It seems like you’re being pretty selective about what ‘real world’ issues you bring into the game and which disturb your restful escape. I mean what about gay characters? Do they disturb your rest? Shall we brush out the gay characters from 5e products like Curse of Strahd? What about black characters, if it disturbs you we can whitewash them out? At the end of the day women only got the vote in the last century, we can go full tolkein and take women out of games as well.

Either

A: Both DM and players are cool with the occasional trans elf. There’s no issue.

B: Neither DM or players are interested with the concept. There’s no issue

C: A player would like to explore the idea, but the DM won’t let them. That DM needs to take a good hard look at themselves and ask some real questions about their motives.

So no, I absolutely reject your argument that it has an impact.

Of course one is selective, everybody's upbringing and values are different. There's stuff that makes me uncomfortable. -Like sicaliptic jokes, making a mockery of women, or foreigners treating things I hold sacred like playthings without caring about the significance -. Why is it a moral imperative that I have to include it in my games if it makes me uncomfortable? Why is it morally reprehensible that I decide to disregard an optional rule on an optional book that I have no interest in and that I cannot afford even if I was? More so since I've already said that I plan to say yes anyway if a player really needed it since my problem isn't with the rule itself but the misuse of it-as there are way more perverts than transgender people in my environment-? (Oh wait, apparently that is also a bad thing? )

 

[TheSword]

Of course one is selective, everybody's upbringing and values are different. There's stuff that makes me uncomfortable. -Like sicaliptic jokes, making a mockery of women, or foreigners treating things I hold sacred like playthings without caring about the significance -. Why is it a moral imperative that I have to include it in my games if it makes me uncomfortable? Why is it morally reprehensible that I decide to disregard an optional rule on an optional book that I have no interest in and that I cannot afford even if I was? More so since I've already said that I plan to say yes anyway if a player really needed it since my problem isn't with the rule itself but the misuse of it-as there are way more perverts than transgender people in my environment-? (Oh wait, apparently that is also a bad thing? )

Sure, but if you fall into point C expect that to be called out in the same way you’d be called out for being racist, mysoginistic or homophobic. Let’s not have any thinkly veiled excuses claiming that it’s anythkng other than what it is.

If it’s point B, who cares. Do what you want.

You claim to fall into point A, so I really don’t understand what you’re causing a fuss about.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Others drink and do drugs to escape. I don't. I use gaming.

I advocate for all 3.

Not necessarily simultaneously, but that has been fun too.

 

[mrpopstar]

With regard to the term transexual, an androgynous appearance and fluid gender expression serve just as well without us having to discuss genitalia at the gaming table.

That being said, I'm an advocate for inclusion. If it makes others feel more included than they did previously, I say bring it on. This diversifies and enriches our hobby!

 

[Charlaquin]

I go to the game for 3-4 hours once a week to get away from real world issues and just enjoy an adventure in a fantasy world. Bringing real world issues like transgender, racism, religion, crazy politicians, etc. into the game destroys that escape. That's not to say that it would make the game bad, but it wouldn't be the restful escape from reality that I use D&D for. Others drink and do drugs to escape. I don't. I use gaming.

Trans folks use gaming as an escape too. Making our gender an issue in the game ruins that escape for many of us just as much as it does for you. There are probably some of us who want to use the game to examine real-world gender issues in a safe environment, but most of us deal with quite enough of that crap in real life, and just want to play a character who is like us and have it not be a big deal. To escape to a world where we can just be trans and have it not be an issue. So if “bringing real world issues into the game” is your reason for not allowing the blessing of Corellon in your games, your fears are probably misplaced. More often than not, trans people who might want to use it don’t want to bring real-world issues into the game either. They want to be themselves and have it not be an issue.

Also, has no one who doesn’t want to allow the blessing of Corellon ever played Eberron?