WotC WotC's Chris Perkins On D&D's Inclusivity Processes Going Forward

Over on D&D Beyond, WotC's Chris Perkins has written a blog entry about how the company's processes have been changed to improve the way the D&D studio deals with harmful content and inclusivity. This follows recent issues with racist content in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and involves working with external cultural consultants.

The studio’s new process mandates that every word, illustration, and map must be reviewed by multiple outside cultural consultants prior to publication.

Leveling Up Our Creative Process: Learnings From Spelljammer

In this blog post, I'll talk about how we in the D&D Studio are changing our review process following the problematic content that appeared in Spell...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Incenjucar]

Not to mention we have Hannibal media already.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I feel the question about cannibalism as a cultural practice is a little bit more complex.

In Hannibal, it is clear that the cannibal is a bad guy. I don't think you're supposed to feel empathy. It expounds the value that cannibalism = bad.

If we were seeing a RPG setting based on a real-life customary cannibalism, and the real-life cultural group accepted that, I'd expect the setting to underline that it was part of the practices, and I'd like the rules to support it. For example, if there was a rite to eat a part of a fallen warrior to gain a part of his strength as a sort of burial rite, AND the setting was including magic, I'd like eating part of a fallen one to provide some kind of mechanical bonus to reflect the practice as it is perceived. So, cannibalism will not only sound tolerated and supported, but attractive.

In that case, I can see a higher level of disconnect in audiences, because there might be a group that doesn't want cannibalism to be shown AT ALL, some that will accept bad guys to be cannibals and only a smaller, third subset that would have no problem practicing cannibalism as part of roleplaying a cannibal without moral quandary about it.

And there would literally no way to please BOTH the one wanting cultural cannibalism to be depicted respectfully AND the one who wouldn't want to see cannibalism in their PG13 entertainment.

 

[Zardnaar]

Even without the racial component... slavery is owning another person. It's offensive.

And remember that this line of discussion also included cannibalism. Are we honestly this far gone that there's cannibalism apologia?

No but I'm saying if it is included it's not automatically racist or whatever.

Stuff

i.stuff.co.nz

What I'm saying is you could conceivably have an indigenous produced product that included it.

Remember earlier they were discussing a Polynesian product. I'm not familiar with said product.

It's offensive to Americans but it was practed here, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

I don't see it being included but a product could reference it and depending on how it was don't, who wrote it, and what they were trying to achieve it may or may not be offensive.

Remember we're talking about a game where we basically kill stuff for fun.

 

[MGibster]

Even without the racial component... slavery is owning another person. It's offensive.

If we're going to avoid offensive practices in we're going to end up with My Little Pony the RPG. Bad guys do offensive things. It's why they're bad guys.

And remember that this line of discussion also included cannibalism. Are we honestly this far gone that there's cannibalism apologia?

There's a big difference between arguing something is okay to include in a game and defending the practice in real life. I haven't seen anyone here offer an defense of cannibalism or slavery, just its use in a game.

 

[Vaalingrade]

If we're going to avoid offensive practices in we're going to end up with My Little Pony the RPG. Bad guys do offensive things. It's why they're bad guys.

There's a lot of noxious crap we can say 'bad guys do' that I bet you wouldn't allow 10 feet from your games and wouldn't buy a book that includes it, to say nothing of the sheer volume represented by D&D's love afraid with having everybody being either slaver or former slave.

 

[Incenjucar]

I assure you that the My Little Pony RPG has adequately horrible villains. That franchise has love-eating pod people.

 

[Faolyn]

Sounds like the Forgotten Realms to me! Americans are not really any better at writing European-inspired fantasy settings than they are writing Asian-inspired fantasy settings.

True...

I think maybe the Realms has enough stuff that's completely fantasy (at least in the Sword Coast part of it) that kind of doesn't matter so much?

 

[MGibster]

There's a lot of noxious crap we can say 'bad guys do' that I bet you wouldn't allow 10 feet from your games and wouldn't buy a book that includes it, to say nothing of the sheer volume represented by D&D's love afraid with having everybody being either slaver or former slave.

I'm sure there's lots of noxious crap I wouldn't allow within 10 feet of my table, but I don't think my preferences are some sort of moral imperative.

 

[Incenjucar]

It's worth keeping in mind that cannibalism is practiced by living cultures in various forms as mentioned earlier, and these are not the same as the murderous cannibal concept. Still a danged risky thing given prions, etc.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I'm sure there's lots of noxious crap I wouldn't allow within 10 feet of my table, but I don't think my preferences are some sort of moral imperative.

We used to play evil characters fairly often when we were younger. I have no interest anymore.

I like both my campaign and the ones I play In focused on more honorable benevolent protagonists.

But we do kick evil’s ass where possible and some bad guys derive others of liberty, murder etc.

It’s at our table but we strive against it. I in no way think that promotes it!