D&D 5E Latest D&D Errata: Drow, Alignment, & More

Vaalingrade · Dec 15, 2021

jmartkdr2 said:
I'm not in charge of it, but that's what I'd vote for.

But more people are clamoring to call it Indigenous People's Day, because Columbus is evil and they only know the name, not the traditions.

I mean they kind of deserve a day too.

And for us to honor our treaties, stop selling their land from under them, not assume all of them are sexpots or magic...

Days for peoples aren't all their cracked up to be anyway. My people get a month and not only is it the worst month weatherwise, but people still grumble about that.

Cadence · Dec 15, 2021

FormerLurker said:
And would you have felt comfortable inviting those 40yo back to your place to continue the game?
Would you have felt comfortable going into their house?

The circumstances where it is appropriate to game with a group including 6th graders is very different from where it is ok to game with a group where the youngest player is 18+.

Cadence · Dec 15, 2021

HammerMan said:
why? do 12 year olds not know that the word or place exists (I mean I bet in the internet age most if not all 12 year olds know more about sex then I did at 18) and was this problem new, did it not matter 3,5,7, 10 years ago? I mean they are going to make a NEW Dungeons Masters guide in a year or so, and no one will notice or care if they put other things in... but by calling out errata they call attention, why?

I'm guessing a lot of folks access the game online. Removing it now at least stops some parents from needing to figure out how to explain what one is to their pre-teen reading the material that way.

Having it as one line among many in a huge list of errata doesn't really seem like calling things out to me. In any case, I have to believe there will be a big list of all the changes between 5e and 5.5 and that a lot of folks upset about it now would be upset the .

UngeheuerLich · Dec 15, 2021

HammerMan said:
yeah that doesn't sound much better... so each merchant, each slave, most beat down children are evil... in a huge metropolis?

Probalbly you mixed up "most" with "every"...

Hexmage-EN · Dec 15, 2021

It's also interesting to compare and contrast tieflings with orcs and drow. All three have an evil god in their origin story, but whereas orcs and drow have traditionally lived in homogenous communities governed by rulers who are fanatically loyal to their evil gods, tieflings live with the other player character race peoples, don't have their own communities, and aren't particularly loyal to Asmodeus (in the 4E Tiefling supplement book, at least, that's because Asmodeus already has a cosmic claim to their souls he can invoke and doesn't have to do anything else).

Now, this is probably due more to all three's original intent in D&D and how that's influenced what's come after. The original purpose of orcs and others was to be the bad guys you fought (much like how you fight moblins in Zelda, super mutants in Fallout, brutes in Halo, etc). The drow at least had a civilization you could enter without necessarily getting abducted or killed in, but was definitely evil (though Lolth being the primary deity of the drow was, if I understand correctly, a later invention when the early drow worshiped demons and Tharizdun). Tieflings, in contrast, were originally mutants born to non-tieflings who had been affected by the Lower Planes in general; being a people group with a specific link to devils was a later invention. It's very easy to imagine that had the 4E take on tieflings been the original intent for tieflings we'd have whole societies of always Lawful Evil devil worshipping tieflings alongside orcs and drow.

Bagpuss · Dec 15, 2021

Marandahir said:
WotC very clearly don't want Gnolls as playable because they see Gnolls as essentially a type of non-demon/devil/yugoloth fiend, like Night Hags, Incu/Succubi, and Rakshasas. If they for some reason stopped being Chaotic Evil, they'd no longer be Gnolls, they'd be something completely different.

Almost the exact same point has been made about Orcs, didn't stop them being changed.

Azzy · Dec 15, 2021

Micah Sweet said:
This to me suggests a lack of empathy. If you dont understand someone else's opinions, that's fine. But don't suggest that maybe there's something wrong with them for feeling that way. That just plays into those same concerns.

You can suggest whatever, but it seems unreasonable to take criticism of aspects of one's hobby as criticism of people. It's very concerning.

Umbran · Dec 15, 2021

Ruin Explorer said:
You're claiming this is something new and malicious towards you (and presumably me, given I'm 43). That's nonsensical. WotC and TSR before them have always aimed for players in their teens and twenties because those are the most likely to keep playing and spending.

Let us look at the demographics, as WotC published them this spring:

If you are 30+, you're already in a group that represents less than half of the current players. If you are 40+, that's down to 13%.

The game, to remain healthy, must over time change its focus to meet the needs and desires and style of new players. Yes, I am sorry, but you can and will age out of relevance to their plans. Sorry, to tell you, but that's the way of it.

Mind of tempest · Dec 15, 2021

Hexmage-EN said:
It's also interesting to compare and contrast tieflings with orcs and drow. All three have an evil god in their origin story, but whereas orcs and drow have traditionally lived in homogenous communities governed by rulers who are fanatically loyal to their evil gods, tieflings live with the other player character race peoples, don't have their own communities, and aren't particularly loyal to Asmodeus (in the 4E Tiefling supplement book, at least, that's because Asmodeus already has a cosmic claim to their souls he can invoke and doesn't have to do anything else).

Now, this is probably due more to all three's original intent in D&D and how that's influenced what's come after. The original purpose of orcs and others was to be the bad guys you fought (much like how you fight moblins in Zelda, super mutants in Fallout, brutes in Halo, etc). The drow at least had a civilization you could enter without necessarily getting abducted or killed in, but was definitely evil (though Lolth being the primary deity of the drow was, if I understand correctly, a later invention when the early drow worshiped demons and Tharizdun). Tieflings, in contrast, were originally mutants born to non-tieflings who had been affected by the Lower Planes in general; being a people group with a specific link to devils was a later invention. It's very easy to imagine that had the 4E take on tieflings been the original intent for tieflings we'd have whole societies of always Lawful Evil devil worshipping tieflings alongside orcs and drow.

that is an interesting consideration.

Azzy said:
You can suggest whatever, but it seems unreasonable to take criticism of aspects of one's hobby as criticism of people. It's very concerning.

concerning yes but it is utterly common as most people build their identities on the stuff they like not one whatever it is we were supposed to build them on.

UngeheuerLich · Dec 15, 2021

Blue said:
Just to support this, one of the recent big surveys gave me a rather long and comprehensive set of questions when I answered positively to playing with younger players. This seems something they have awareness and focus on.

I play with my students... And I certainly don't really want to expose them to overexaggerated brutality (like torture) and overtly sexual things.
So that is actually something WotC should keep in mind when designing core books. In Adventures or even settings, that is a different thing. You have a choice to opt in or out.

D&D 5E Latest D&D Errata: Drow, Alignment, & More

Book Updates | Sage Advice | Dungeons & Dragons

Vaalingrade

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Cadence

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Cadence

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UngeheuerLich

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Hexmage-EN

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Bagpuss

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Umbran

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