Current Events > Twitter trying to cancel dungeons and dragons now

(+) Yeah! (+)

Apparently a black LGBT former employee at Wotc did a tell all and they aren't quite as racially friendly as their message to BLM last month seemed to convey.

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Diversity hire was pretty upset to find out they were just a diversity hire.

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Shadow20201 posted...

Diversity hire was pretty upset to find out they were just a diversity hire.

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A D&D playing co-worker is telling me that there are people who are trying to cancel orcs because they are racially offensive.

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Wii_Shaker posted...

A D&D playing co-worker is telling me that there are people who are trying to cancel orcs because they are racially offensive.

Not cancel them, just make it so that not all of them are baby murdering barbaric savages.
Tolkien even had trouble portraying them like that way back in LOTR and they've been slowly changed anyway by settings like Exandria, Azeroth, and Eberron.

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What the fuck, @AlisLandale

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Cowthief posted...

Not cancel them, just make it so that not all of them are baby murdering barbaric savages.
Tolkien even had trouble portraying them like that way back in LOTR and they've been slowly changed anyway by settings like Exandria, Azeroth, and Eberron.

So it's an Orc culture thing? Not about Orcs being a racist portrayal of tribal folks?

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Guide posted...

What the fuck, @AlisLandale

lmao. It was supposed to be a reference to how TC didnt give us a link to the twitter thread.

but then after rereading the OP I realized that it could be misinterpreted pretty badly so I decided to delete it >_>


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Cowthief posted...

Tolkien even had trouble portraying them like that way back in LOTR and they've been slowly changed anyway by settings like Exandria, Azeroth, and Eberron.

Matt Mercer must feel so weird that his world is now being mentioned alongside Azeroth and Eberron <_<

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AlisLandale posted...

lmao. It was supposed to be a reference to how TC didnt give us a link to the twitter thread.

but then after rereading the OP I realized that it could be misinterpreted pretty badly so I decided to delete it >_>

Lmao whoops

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AlisLandale posted...

lmao. It was supposed to be a reference to how TC didnt give us a link to the twitter thread.

but then after rereading the OP I realized that it could be misinterpreted pretty badly so I decided to delete it >_>

Ah fair lmao sorry

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Religious nutts and soccer moms were trying to cancel it in 80's
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Why cant I post in all caps... soo outraged right now

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I hope wotc burn to the ground
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No but seriously, cant find anything on a google search except week-old stories about Drow and Orcs and shit.

Wheres the twitter thread >_>

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I guess they cast invoke prejudice.

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AlisLandale posted...

No but seriously, cant find anything on a google search except week-old stories about Drow and Orcs and shit.

Wheres the twitter thread >_>

https://ruinmyweek.com/trending/problematic-orcs-debate/

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AlisLandale posted...

lmao. It was supposed to be a reference to how TC didnt give us a link to the twitter thread.

but then after rereading the OP I realized that it could be misinterpreted pretty badly so I decided to delete it >_>

lmao

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AlisLandale posted...

No but seriously, cant find anything on a google search except week-old stories about Drow and Orcs and shit.

Wheres the twitter thread >_>

https://mobile.twitter.com/DungeonCommandr/status/1279208531103629312
Been seeing people calling for a mass transfer to pathfinder on my Twitter since this broke

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you always know the people making a fuss over this stuff have never actually played the thing they're complaining about

these guidelines are for a player who selected orc as his race and wants ideas for character flaws (and to emphasize that monstrous races are trading worse reactions from people for their better mechanics)

"it uses language that is similar to the language used by colonizers"--ok. players are not going to make that connection. their thought process is "haha the humans insulted me? i draw my greataxe and go into a rage!"

OTOH, that ex-employee's tell-all is pretty damning!

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The movie was horrible. Not even Jeremy Irons could save that mess.
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Yeah...thats a definite yikes.

Will be curious to see if anything unfolds from this.

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Cowthief posted...

https://mobile.twitter.com/DungeonCommandr/status/1279208531103629312
Been seeing people calling for a mass transfer to pathfinder on my Twitter since this broke

Just gonna quote a reddit post talking about this.

I take stories like this with a lot of skepticism and I'll explain why.

I've worked as a contractor for many companies. By nature, you are an appendage hired on temporarily to take on the extra workload from the permanent employees. If a permanent position opens up while you're there, you have a leg up on outside applicants, but you're not promised a permanent place there and the full time employees will always have more sway than you. They will be responsible for the most important projects, and their work and opinions will be given more weight.

I don't consider myself a minority (some consider middle-eastern non-white, but I don't feel my life experience reflects that) so I have never attributed my experience at companies to have something to do with my identity. I take it at face value that if I'm freelancing, I'm there to help, build relationships, and hopefully gain a permanent position down the road where I can really contribute and make some real change.

I don't know this person, but my impression based on their description of the situation is that they had unrealistic expectations about their work experience and felt entitled to a lot very quickly.

From their description, it sounded like this person was very quick to point out how "problematic" Wizards' products are.

WotC didn't hire this person to be lectured. They hired them to help create products for sale. If you do good work, you move up in your career. Then you're in a position where your voice has power. You can't expect to be hired as a freelancer and have management make huge structural changes just in light of your identity.
I remember reading a study about how young people are more prone to depression because they expect their work to be unrealistically meaningful and bring about change. How is that feasible in this context? You were JUST hired, as a freelancer, at a company of thousands, making a product with a 50 year old legacy. How fast do you expect things to happen for you?

If this person's priority is making change in the world, the fastest way to do that is not by working for the largest corporate producer of RPG products, it's to make and market an independent alternative. But if they want to work for WotC, the best way to do that is to conform to their culture and grow within it. Not to show up and brute force your ideology onto their team, expecting special treatment because the world is bigoted and your identity entitles you to a some kind of bullhorn.

Twitter has given them a huge platform to air their grievance now. I noticed they linked their Paypal and Venmo for support as well. I don't know, the whole thing strikes me as very one-sided and opportunistic. Wizards essentially has no way to respond to these accusations without appearing to bully a minority individual. I expect this person to be benefit hugely from this publicity and from the RPG ecosystem that Wizards has built.

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Sackgurl posted...

these guidelines are for a player who selected orc as his race and wants ideas for character flaws (and to emphasize that monstrous races are trading worse reactions from people for their better mechanics)

"it uses language that is similar to the language used by colonizers"--ok. players are not going to make that connection. their thought process is "haha the humans insulted me? i draw my greataxe and go into a rage!"

I agree with this actually. But feel like it may not be my place to argue that way since I'm white

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I would take this with a grain of salt, dude sounds like he hasn't worked many jobs to not know this is kinda similar to most corporate jobs where it's less about racism and more about "connections to the higher ups" and being the low end of the workforce.

Though that comment about them hiring dudes who have no idea what they are doing for management really hit home for me.


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Shadow20201 posted...

Diversity hire was pretty upset to find out they were just a diversity hire.

lol

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Cowthief posted...

Not cancel them, just make it so that not all of them are baby murdering barbaric savages.
Tolkien even had trouble portraying them like that way back in LOTR and they've been slowly changed anyway by settings like Exandria, Azeroth, and Eberron.

Tolkien did slip in some Orcs fought against Sauron's forces actually.

It is stated that the elves are the only race to have fought on one side during the war against Sauron, so some Orcs did rebel and fight against him.

The orcs clearly do have an honor system judging by their interactions and statements as well.

And also

Yes, I think the orcs as real a creation as anything in 'realistic' fiction ... only in real life they are on both sides, of course. For 'romance' has grown out of 'allegory', and its wars are still derived from the 'inner war' of allegory in which good is on one side and various modes of badness on the other. In real (exterior) life men are on both sides: which means a motley alliance of orcs, beasts, demons, plain naturally honest men, and angels.

Tolkien orcs were meant to represent the worst of humanity, the build and create but only weapons of war, they tear down forests and destroy nature, Tolkien hated direct allegories but orcs come pretty close to being direct commentary on industrialization when compared to the Hobbits.

Other things do make orcs just savages, but Tolkien's orcs were clearly intelligent using explosives, siege towers, and mass producing their weapons in factories.

I read this guy's statement and it sounded like he thought he was gonna march in there as a newbie and change everything "problematic" in the company then was shocked when no one cared what he had to say. He also unironically used the term "white cis males" so his opinion was instantly discarded.

Reads like someone salty he wasn't as important as he thought he was. Love how he pushed ways to give him money at the end too, very classy move.

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Vyrulisse posted...

I read this guy's statement and it sounded like he thought he was gonna march in there as a newbie and change everything "problematic" in the company then was shocked when no one cared what he had to say. He also unironically used the term "white cis males" so his opinion was instantly discarded.

Reads like someone salty he wasn't as important as he thought he was. Love how he pushed ways to give him money at the end too, very classy move.

Yeah sounds really dubious to me too.

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If you die in dnd you die irl

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