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D&D Looks To Cut Down On Racial Differences Going Forward
Races and classes have been the central aspects of character creation since the beginning of Dungeons & Dragons – well, not quite the beginning, since Elf used to be a class in original D&D. However, based on a twitter thread by D&D's Jeremy Crawford, it looks like Wizards of the Coast will be moving toward less drastic racial mechanics, especially in regard to races traditionally considered "monster races."
Crawford pointed out the differences between the orcs found in Volo's Guide to Monsters and those found in the Exandria and Eberron settings, saying that the latter reflects the direction that the D&D team is headed in regard to monsters. The Exandria and Eberron orcs lack the -2 penalty to Intelligence and the required evil alignment. This reflects the fact that in these settings orcs are mostly considered another type of people – with all the varieties in personality and temperament that come with that – rather than fodder for player characters to fight.
[...] It is worth noting that this comes on the heels of a Twitter discussion on the racist history of orcs, initially spawned by a screenshot of the description of orcs in Volo's Guide to Monsters. Tolkien initially portrayed orcs as caricatures of Mongolians, and orcs have been racial stereotypes of other races over and over (see World of Warcraft or Bright). Dungeons & Dragons is not immune to this – even outside of the orc issue, races like the Vistani appear as Romani stereotypes.
Diversity and Dungeons & Dragons
Throughout the 50-year history of D&D, some of the peoples in the game—orcs and drow being two of the prime examples—have been characterized as monstrous and evil, using descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world ethnic groups have been and continue to be denigrated. That's just not right, and it's not something we believe in. Despite our conscious efforts to the contrary, we have allowed some of those old descriptions to reappear in the game. We recognize that to live our values, we have to do an even better job in handling these issues. If we make mistakes, our priority is to make things right.
See also: Dungeons & Dragons Designers Clarify How Gnolls Differ From Other D&D Creatures
Related: Gender and Appearance Stereotypes Travel to World of Warcraft
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 20 2020, @10:06PM (16 children)
with SJW excrement.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Saturday June 20 2020, @10:20PM (11 children)
Well I for one think D&D getting politically correct doesn't come one minute too soon: this game has been turning nerdy teenagers into raging Nazis for 50 years and it's high time it stopped.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 20 2020, @10:22PM (6 children)
Not to mention Satan worshipers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Sunday June 21 2020, @06:12AM (1 child)
When I was a kid, D&D was considered Satanic by the authoritarian assholes of my time. Looks like authoritarian assholery is bipartisan.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @03:53PM
if you view the political spectrum as a circle and the top right is libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism and the top left is types of anarchism, then the democrat and republican parties are on the bottom of the circle where all the authoritarianism is.
(Score: 2) by Kalas on Sunday June 21 2020, @10:02AM (2 children)
This delightful parody video [newgrounds.com] was actually my introduction to D&D all those years ago. Thanks for reminding me it existed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @06:03PM (1 child)
I think they were called Chic Flics or something, but they used to run in that Radio Shack magaine and a few other places, giving these little stories of how the satanic and evil dungeon masters corrupted members of their groups, how people were ignored and shunned when their characters died, etc.
It's some hilarious shit in the same vein as Reefer Madness.
Given the SJWization of D&D maybe it's time to go back and reflect on them and how they relate to the un-caracaturization of standard fantasy races.
(Score: 2) by Kalas on Sunday June 21 2020, @07:48PM
You're thinking of Chick tracts. [wikipedia.org] I wasn't aware he ever covered D&D but it's true and a film [wikipedia.org] was made about it. I'll probably check it out later for shits and giggles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @08:56AM
muslims? yes, but that is not polite to say in public
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 20 2020, @10:22PM (2 children)
I must have missed the epidemic of nerdy teenagers building their own working gas chambers.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Saturday June 20 2020, @10:25PM
You mustn't have entered a teenager's room full of dirty laundry for a long time then.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @03:43AM
It says a lot that both the parent and GP were both modded as funny, rather than more appropriate mods. It really isn't amusing to say people are Nazis that aren't advocating actual Nazi policies or at least pushing for racial purity.
(Score: 3, Touché) by RamiK on Sunday June 21 2020, @01:02AM
Well... [wikipedia.org]
compiling...
(Score: -1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @12:44AM
Oooh, a whiny man child that didn't RTFA and grt a clue. Oh well, the rest if humanity will move on and you'll be arrested in 5-20 years for taking your anger out on others.
I doubt the judge will care about your 3.5 rules and how you went into a berserker rage and should be let off with a nerdy insanity plea.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @03:57AM (2 children)
The puritans who hated that game were never Christians. They were 'karens'. They used Christianity as a device to show outrage. They have taken upon themselves a new cause. The cause of 'justice'. The only problem is their form of justice is one of hatred and dividing people into ever smaller groups. Remember it is not about you. It is about them showing to others how pure they are. They have also found a new method to 'fixing' things. Put yourself in the jobs that allow you to 'fix it'. Then kick out anyone who disagrees with you. Why not it worked for the brown shirts and red guard.
Repent now sinners! You have offended their sense of justice!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Bot on Sunday June 21 2020, @05:03AM
yep, the Divine Justice Warriors.
People should wrap their head around the concept of evil having no ideology whatsoever. If praising Jesus advance their agenda, they do it. If it's satan time, they switch.
Good people instead see their cherished models of the world destroyed in one second and they enter the denial - rage - bargaining - acceptance phase. No, you should have a trigger to weed out noise. As soon as the traitors reveal, you simply find the most inconvenient way and time to stop supporting them.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @03:59PM
except all this cultural marxism is actually a tool for white genocide.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/Es3WG7JKJUGB/ [bitchute.com]