Wish I could delete this.

[billd91]

I fail to understand the claim of anti-Semitic in the use phylactery. I can understand (barely) wanting to separate the word phylactery of a Lich from an item in a RW religion, but to claim anti-Semitism feels like a stretch.

Are we really suggesting there is portion of players who are anti-Semitic that are using the word phylactery in D&D to act out their anti-Semitism? Why wouldn't they use the word tefillin if they are so anti-Semitic?

It's not like the blatant anti-Semitism of references to blood magic or controlling the media/Hollywood that you got from Nazis or from modern anti-Semites in the US. It's really more of a micro-aggression when you realize that phylactery is a synonym for teffilin that probably entered the lexicon through Biblical translation. And since its use in D&D is largely for an unholy device... well, you get the picture. Almost certainly never intended to be anti-Semitic, it's a pretty Judaism-specific term used for something of dubious in-game morality. Being a Greek word rather than Hebrew doesn't really change that.

I'll probably be using the term soul cage or reliquary when the party starts looking for Dragotha's soul in my Age of Worms campaign.

 

[Morrus]

That’s good. Sounds like a reasonable compromise.

We do exactly what GDPR says we have to do—the only personal information we store are email and IP address (we have no other information about a user, or any credit card details, or anything else). Users have the ability to edit their own posts, so we have provided that functionality to them to use at their choice, or not.

 

[Rabulias]

And since its use in D&D is largely for an unholy device... well, you get the picture.

While I understand some people's concerns with the use of the word "phylactery" in the current edition, back in AD&D there were other phylactery magic items, like the phylactery of faithfulness and the phylactery of long years, which were beneficial items.

 

[Alzrius]

While I understand some people's concerns with the use of the word "phylactery" in the current edition, back in AD&D there were other phylactery magic items, like the phylactery of faithfulness and the phylactery of long years, which were beneficial items.

Also, #NotAllLiches are evil.

 

[billd91]

While I understand some people's concerns with the use of the word "phylactery" in the current edition, back in AD&D there were other phylactery magic items, like the phylactery of faithfulness and the phylactery of long years, which were beneficial items.

Yes, and arguably neither of those (particularly the phylactery of faithfulness given the use of the tefillin) is the same kind of negative appropriation as the use as a lich's soul jar. Use in a positive form (items for religious characters) doesn't mean that the use in the other form (lich soul jar/reliquary) isn't problematic.

 

[Parmandur]

I fail to understand the claim of anti-Semitic in the use phylactery. I can understand (barely) wanting to separate the word phylactery of a Lich from an item in a RW religion, but to claim anti-Semitism feels like a stretch.

Are we really suggesting there is portion of players who are anti-Semitic that are using the word phylactery in D&D to act out their anti-Semitism? Why wouldn't they use the word tefillin if they are so anti-Semitic?

Someone doesn't have to be an antisemite to spread an antisemitic meme. As I said, I doubt Gygax or whoever was an antisemite, but rather a thesaurus monger.

 

[Parmandur]

While I understand some people's concerns with the use of the word "phylactery" in the current edition, back in AD&D there were other phylactery magic items, like the phylactery of faithfulness and the phylactery of long years, which were beneficial items.

Yes, bit notably those didn't make it through the years, just the really negative one did. And those were really obviously tefellin, so the writers were not entirely ignorant of the concept at the time.

 

[Gradine]

You know a thread has taken a wrong turn when the first page is full of fun goofs and you skip ahead to the last page and people are arguing about anti-Semitism.

 

[payn]

You know a thread has taken a wrong turn when the first page is full of fun goofs and you skip ahead to the last page and people are arguing about anti-Semitism.

I too, wish the OP could delete this thread now.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

You know a thread has taken a wrong turn when the first page is full of fun goofs and you skip ahead to the last page and people are arguing about anti-Semitism.

Agreed