Your table is YOUR table.

[Reynard]

Every time the "orc alignment" discussion reignites around here, I feel like it is important to remind people that what you do at your table -- especially in your home, with your friends you have playing with for 20+ years -- is up to you. The only thing that matters is the comfort and safety of the people at that table, and if you are open and honest every can have their trope cake and eat it too.

Obviously, the farther from "private" your table gets, the more aware you should be of the people who might happen upon your game. That doesn't mean you MUST do a thing, or NEVER do a thing , it just means you need to think about the choices you make in relation to your surroundings. [ETA: for clarity, I am talking about public play, like cons and store games etc.]

My point is that there is no moral imperative that WotC or anyone else can hand down upon you or your game. "Do what thou wilt, let it harm none" is a good credo to go with here. But also "judge not lest ye be judged." That is to say: let people enjoy their game the way they want to play it.

Certainly publishers have to make decisions regarding sensitive topics, their audience, and the public at large. But as a group of people enjoying a past time, you don't need to immerse yourself in these debates.

 

[Umbran]

Yep.

We can add to this that nobody is entitled to specific things from a particular game. That a publisher makes choices that don't match what you do at your table is not a betrayal, nor a personal attack.

On the flip side, the publisher choosing to match what you do is not a validation that what you do is objectively superior, either.

 

[TiQuinn]

I don’t think it’s an issue of people customizing the game for their table. Repeatedly in these conversations, I’m reading over and over again that the people who have an issue with the changes are aware that they can do what they please, and will do so.

What I believe is the issue is that the shift in the game as printed doesn’t reflect their viewpoint, and that bothers them, and frankly, I think that’s not just a TTRPG matter. That’s an all-media issue, be it video games, comic books, movies, animation, you name it. People see it as an external moral imposition that doesn’t reflect their POV and now the printed page no longer reflects their POV, and it prompts a reaction.

 

[Reynard]

I don’t think it’s an issue of people customizing the game for their table. Repeatedly in these conversations, I’m reading over and over again that the people who have an issue with the changes are aware that they can do what they please, and will do so.

I think some people say that, but there are also lots of people that treat it like an existential threat to their own game.

 

[Umbran]

That’s an all-media issue, be it video games, comic books, movies, animation, you name it. People see it as an external moral imposition that doesn’t reflect their POV and now the printed page no longer reflects their POV, and it prompts a reaction.

Then they should start looking at it like the music industry. Times change. New music comes out, and since s person's musical tastes are typically set when they are young, the new stuff won't match the old tastes. Find your oldies station and leave the kids alone, man.

If you (generic, not TiQuinn) are engaged in the RPG equivalent of the old guy complaining about, "Kids today and their hippity-hop music!" that shouldn't be considered anyone else's problem.

 

[Scribe]

I think some people say that, but there are also lots of people that treat it like an existential threat to their own game.

Its not about home tables. It really isnt. Its about controlling hearts and minds, and the future of the game.

 

[Bomberooski]

Then they should start looking at it like the music industry. Times change. New music comes out, and since s person's musical tastes are typically set when they are young, the new stuff won't match the old tastes. Find your oldies station and leave the kids alone, man.

If you (generic, not TiQuinn) are engaged in the RPG equivalent of the old guy complaining about, "Kids today and their hippity-hop music!" that shouldn't be considered anyone else's problem.

This.

For us old guys we got a lot of products (TTRPG, tv shows, books, etc. in the entertainment world) geared towards us in our youths that our parents thought were dumb. This is the cycle.

 

[aco175]

What I believe is the issue is that the shift in the game as printed doesn’t reflect their viewpoint, and that bothers them, and frankly, I think that’s not just a TTRPG matter. That’s an all-media issue, be it video games, comic books, movies, animation, you name it. People see it as an external moral imposition that doesn’t reflect their POV and now the printed page no longer reflects their POV, and it prompts a reaction.

I can see this. This touches upon the big changes we see in government, at least in the USA, right now. Average people see the pendulum swing too far one way and vote for change. When that change becomes too much, they will vote for change again and the pendulum will swing back the other way. Add this to social media where some are trying to force others into saying and doing something they may not agree with, maybe under threat of being called names and maybe even exposing where you live and such. It is more a society thing right now over just a gaming thing.

I think everyone here agrees and knows my table is mine and I can be whatever I want it to be. If I lose players for it, I can change or get new players. Some of the problem for me is that I do not understand the need for the changes. I have been playing for 40+ years with certain norms and now the game is different. The expectation is there to change and go along if you want to talk about the game online or play in other groups online or at shops and conventions rather then just your basement group.

Can I make a 5.5e module to sell on DMsGuild and take the FR setting back 100 years and have orcs be the bad guys? I can make it and try to post it. It may or may not be sent back for whatever reason.

 

[Aldarc]

Actually "my table" belongs to one of my players since we game at his house. It would probably be pretty rude if I claimed his furniture as mine.

 

[Reynard]

Actually "my table" belongs to one of my players since we game at his house. It would probably be pretty rude if I claimed his furniture as mine.

Just lick it and then it is yours.

I don't make the rules.