Some old D&D products such as Oriental Adventures (1e) and Fiend Folio (1e) have a disclaimer at the bottom of their DMs Guild listings.
It reads;
We recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website, does not reflect the values of the Dungeon & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.
The addition comes after Asians Represent Podcast co-host Daniel Kwan shared on Twitter that they found TSR’s handling of Asian cultures in Oriental Adventures 1e harmful.
The comment contrasts Wizards of the Coast continuing to make money from old books while committing to a new and better approach to diversity in D&D.
Kwan also said that he did not find the Asian-themed Legend of the Five Rings offensive.
It’s been a tough few days for the DMs Guild who also found themselves in the spotlight by asking lascivious art in Curse of Hearts an “adventure” with gay vampires to be censored. The request, refused by the author, sparked a debate as to whether the RPG industry treats art intended for the straight male gaze the same as art for everyone else.
As a result, the DMs Guild opened conversions with Wizards of the Coast around content guidelines. It may well have been these same conversations that have resulted in the new legacy content disclaimer appearing on old WotC titles.
No doubt, the disclaimer will be too much for some gamers and labelled an overreaction. For others, it will not be enough as the company is still making money from insensitive content. However, despite the debate in the community, the disclaimer hurts no one and marks the conversations the industry continues to have.
Update
Late last night, Wizards of the Coast took to social media to acknowledge the change and note the disclaimer had appeared before they had a chance to communicate their plans.
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What a complete pile of crap. Science has shown that racial diversity is in fact NOT a strength, regardless of what these far-left ideaologues want to force on us. Check the Putnam studies. Additionally I honor my ancestors and they were not wrong then, they lived in a time that is different than now and did the best they could with what knowledge they had. Saying that they were wrong because of modern sensibilities is in fact incredibly offensive to me. But these radical communist infiltrators do not care if they offend people like me because I’m white. Very sad,… Read more »
For those who might be interested, a good synopsis and further reading on the Putnam Studies can be found on the Scientific American. They note that Putnam himself filed papers objecting to the use of his research making a case against diversity. Future studies revealed that the dataset actually shows distrust from White people who feel uncomfortable living amongst minorities. So, Putnam’s research actually shows WotC is right to tackle the issue, as the problem comes from prejudice rather than diversity. It’s an excellent study to bring up.
You all are as bad as the satanic panic. The Christians failed to remove these books from shelves but you folks will finish the job for them.
Pointing out science makes me as bad as religious fundamentalists? Huh-uh? That makes no sense.
These warnings that you’re buying an old book from a previous era keep these books on the shelves. That’s what you want, right?
No, supporting the people who caused the disclaimer does. They are as mad about the disclaimer as the players who now play a racist game. They want it removed not disclaimer-ed and now that it is labeled as racist and backwards that gives them more tools to get the job of removing it done.
D&D is not a racist game. The label doesn’t say D&D is a racist game. The label defends D&D from accusations of racism by making the claim that the writers were simply showing commonly found prejudices from their time. I really feel it hurts the game to say “because there’s now a label” it is now racist to buy these 1e books, but if that label was not there then it would be fine to buy these 1e books. There was racism in football, but that doesn’t make every footfall a racist! The Washington Redskins are about to change their… Read more »
A person on twitter has this much power? Thank god the satanic panic did not have twitter we would have no D&D to talk about banning today..
I’m all for diversity and equality, but not the Marxist revision of our gaming history. Our traditions are not racist. Save D&D from the SJWs!
Venger, America had a civil war over slavery. Racism is built into the traditions of the country, stop being revisionist about it.
I’ve no bloody idea why you’re bringing Marxism into it.
Lastly, do you know what the word “revision” means? I only ask because these disclaimers don’t change a bloody word in these old D&D products. They enable them to be sold as-is.
I’m acutely aware that anyone can come along here and claim to be Venger Satanis and I’m wondering if that’s what happened here given the drivel in this comment.
I did not leave that previous comment. Anyone who knows me knows that I am in favor of giving adults the information they need to make informed decisions.
My own “His Flesh Becomes My Key” carries a trigger warning “Warning: there are mature themes and cosmic alienage within… madness may result.” so I obviously approve of them.
This author claims that the disclaimer “hurts no one,” which in fact is not true. WoTC’s statement makes the accusation that, “These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today.” In sense, they are accusing the original writers and designers of being racist. There had already been backlash towards these people for their work in the 70s and 80’s in an unfair attack on their character with not proof of their personal beliefs. This is more and more obvious that this ME culture who cherishes so-called inclusion and acceptance are blindly labeling people not by their actions but by their… Read more »
If the backlash has already happened, then adding the disclaimer didn’t cause it. The presence of the disclaimer does not change the contents of the book, it makes no new allegations and acts as a warning for those who may be unaware of the problem. It hurts no one, it allows the books to remain on sale without revision, and therefore fans of legacy D&D content should support it.
As a brown kid in the 70s and 80s AD&D was one of the few things that was inclusive now you labeled it as hate. I got called a devil worshiper for playing AD&D in the 70s, 80s and 90s now in the 2000s I am a uncle tom and my white friends are labeled as racists for playing AD&D. You dont get it labels have always came with these games and they always hurt. People who dont even play AD&D are condemning it. They call stats racist FFS! How can you even be interested in the hobby if stuff… Read more »
Hold on Mitch, I think you’re piling things on top of one another. This warning label does not say “stats are racist”. The warning label doesn’t say “If you buy this book then you are racist”. It does not! What this warning label says is that there are might be occasions in this book which feel prejudicial. That’s factually accurate, and the label doesn’t affect the content in any way. In the 1st edition Fiend Folio, the Githyanki are a “race of humans”, they are liberated slaves, and they are evil. If you’re born Githyanki, then you’re evil. Cast “Detect… Read more »
No Andrew Girdwood but the 26 hour video that caused it to happen did say stats are racist. They also said there is no real culture not mentioning the suggested reading for real culture, No Asians who tested it not mentioning the Japanese play testers and contributors mentioned by name in the thank you section. They also called other universal mechanics racist. You have no idea why this disclaimer was even done but you have so many opinions on it. TSR was one of the first companies to use ethnic play testers for ethnic products and now every product they… Read more »
Gosh. If you’re hanging your argument that it was some 26-hour long video that’s solely responsible for the disclaimer being placed, then that rather underlines your response. It wasn’t just a video. There have been years of intelligent, carefully researched, and articulate commentary on the subject.
Wizards of the Coast then published a commitment to diversity, and that brought the matter to ahead.
The label does not demonize the books. The label allows the books to be sold despite WotC’s current diversity guidelines so isn’t it a good thing that it’s there?
Also people get upset by MLP because there is three races of ponies but that dont make it wrong they should not have to label it as hurtful because someone cant deal with the thought. If you find the game disturbing because of Githyanki how did you get into it to start with? It is imaginary! People find Klingons disturbing. Do they need a lable now too? I have never seen anyone in real life open a book and go oh wow they treat monsters so woke I love this game. What they do look at is art seeing themselves… Read more »
If you rarely see people of colour talking about this, then I suspect you’re not as widely researched as you might want to be.
And the last thing, the people who caused the disclaimer are as mad about it as the people who love AD&D they wanted all the products pulled. They are also mad that all TSR products and older WotC products up to 4e got the disclaimer they were targeting ethnic products like Kara-Tur. Have you not read any of this? It is a twitter movement that started it all and youtube vids by people who do not understand AD&D and leave out things like the Japanese contributors and testers. They are not happy and they still want it all removed. That… Read more »
Some people want WotC to drop the old catalogue of products. WotC clearly doesn’t want to and are hoping this disclaimer will let these original scans remain for sale. Given that, I find it hard to back D&D fans who are anti-label. Remember; the Satanic Panic was a) an attempt to get D&D products pulled and b) wrong – D&D is not a form of devil worship. In contrast, the label is a) a way to keep D&D products from being pulled and b) correct – WotC has said that some of the content in these old books do not… Read more »