tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post2372845334296544779..comments2023-06-15T11:59:39.572-04:00Comments on DYVERS: Is Dungeons and Dragons is a Race Fueled, Hate Machine?Dyvershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-66978245409874177942014-02-20T05:00:16.914-05:002014-02-20T05:00:16.914-05:00@Andrew: Dude. You need to change your college m...@Andrew: Dude. You need to change your college major. It's starting to seriously affect your self-awareness.Jeff V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09773383148220245208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-11449836162850667552014-02-20T04:58:03.688-05:002014-02-20T04:58:03.688-05:00Oh, for Christ's sake. It's a GAME, for c...Oh, for Christ's sake. It's a GAME, for crying out loud -- a form of escapism used by most of us to ESCAPE from the real-world dick-slappers that want to turn everything into a "socially conscious metaphor" for whatever the cause-du-jour is. We go there precisely because we don't have to watch everything we say or do to make sure we haven't offended some overly Jeff V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09773383148220245208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-8047562053640320742014-02-14T23:30:17.383-05:002014-02-14T23:30:17.383-05:00And I suggest that you remember that sometimes a t...And I suggest that you remember that sometimes a tree is just a tree and not a metaphor on the nature of life. <br /><br />Our orks, elves, dwarves, and goblins can be nothing more than imaginary creatures set up for our imaginary characters to fight and overcome. They do not have to have another meaning reflecting the fucked up world view that some people see expressed in everything. Dyvershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-22689403035930173992014-02-14T16:24:48.986-05:002014-02-14T16:24:48.986-05:00You show me any trait that is true of all human be...You show me any trait that is true of all human beings and I will show you a trait that elves and orcs and goblins have. They are in fact human. Humans with funny ears or noses or forehead or teeth. But ultimately humans in every single way that at all matters. <br />If you can't understand something as simple as that, the general trope of cloaking a made-up human societal group with a Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05077116392950757591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-11309365084475166652014-02-05T23:20:24.749-05:002014-02-05T23:20:24.749-05:00The answer to that is obvious. Since we see the ev...The answer to that is obvious. Since we see the events from the perspective of the PCs, they are Freedom Fighters, of course.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-81988512164423985862014-02-04T20:46:08.531-05:002014-02-04T20:46:08.531-05:00Good point about the inimicals. Many of the inimic...Good point about the inimicals. Many of the inimical species seem to have precisely those nasty ambitions we abhor.<br /><br />So then. Player Characters: Terrorists? Or Freedom Fighters?Principe dell'Estriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18090298455153620573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-68876925311297492542014-02-04T13:55:26.880-05:002014-02-04T13:55:26.880-05:00"There are no enemies within D&D and all ...<i>"There are no enemies within D&D and all its knock-offs that could possibly be used to represent an aggressive enslaving nation that controls the entire world, humiliates and debases the human citizens and subjects them to slavery and genocide at the worst or controls their every mobility and keeps them restricted to the land toiling away with the threat of imprisonment or death."faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-24995972089736237252014-02-03T23:02:31.603-05:002014-02-03T23:02:31.603-05:00One of the intrinsically western arguments that sp...One of the intrinsically western arguments that spring out of the west, such as this one, is the ideal that ONLY Westerners invaded foriegn lands, seized women and raped them, created slaves, committed mass murder or otherwise produced empires built upon human bones. In all the other hubris-driven ideas that Westerners have had about imposing their culture on other people, the truly interesting Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-47214280156379947322014-02-03T20:41:32.281-05:002014-02-03T20:41:32.281-05:00Late to the party but I think what often happens i...Late to the party but I think what often happens is that people find some areas where the thing (in this case D&D) is a partial fit for some theory (in this case an analysis of "othering in colonialism" or something) and they jump to the (unwarranted) conclusion that this thing is REALLY all about the theory...or the theory is all there is to the thing. For example, someone once Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-89950270657944505502014-02-03T07:30:55.991-05:002014-02-03T07:30:55.991-05:00will be subscribingwill be subscribingMarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793781986788315513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-66794340658856624982014-02-03T07:24:25.078-05:002014-02-03T07:24:25.078-05:00JDJarvis beat me to that,
"orcs are humans. A...JDJarvis beat me to that,<br />"orcs are humans. As are elves. As are dwarfs. As are goblins. "<br />is not correct. They are fantasy constructs, any thing human apllied to them comes from teh viewer, because they can be anythign you want them to be.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793781986788315513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-27301285822568377522014-02-03T06:41:20.283-05:002014-02-03T06:41:20.283-05:00Thanks! Obviously, I already read yours....
Okay,...Thanks! Obviously, I already read yours....<br /><br />Okay, well http://dualdais.blogspot.com/ is the more active of the two, but it is only tangentially rpg-related (Tekumel, but all fluff, no crunch)Principe dell'Estriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18090298455153620573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-75993013613459105502014-02-03T00:06:50.711-05:002014-02-03T00:06:50.711-05:00Which blog of yours do you suggest I start reading...Which blog of yours do you suggest I start reading? You're a fun cat and I'd like to see more of what you've got my friend. :)Dyvershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-31732702988327276292014-02-02T23:34:19.238-05:002014-02-02T23:34:19.238-05:00("Sometimes having people read your blog is r...("Sometimes having people read your blog is really cool." yes! always! ...or so I imagine..... my own occupies a microscopic niche and thus has very few - but exceptionally cool - readers)Principe dell'Estriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18090298455153620573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-13819289804294195132014-02-02T23:15:02.112-05:002014-02-02T23:15:02.112-05:00Yes, there is a long literary tradition of explori...Yes, there is a long literary tradition of exploring the distant and alien "other." Occasionally committing acts of violence against the beings encountered, but often not. Usually the long-term goal is simply to find.....something. And the short-term goal, often the cause of said violence, is simply survival. Not colonialism. Gulliver's Travels is another example. More recently, Principe dell'Estriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18090298455153620573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-55336862028310437472014-02-02T22:54:10.883-05:002014-02-02T22:54:10.883-05:00See, you ask a question and JDJarvis comes along w...See, you ask a question and JDJarvis comes along with an excellent answer. <br /><br />Sometimes having people read your blog is really cool.Dyvershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-38884242595432199112014-02-02T22:34:13.201-05:002014-02-02T22:34:13.201-05:00D&D isn't new or exclusively western in ha...D&D isn't new or exclusively western in having the action take place in the beyond or among the lawless the oddesy stretches beyond the land of lawful men (into. The unconscious), The Outlaws of The Water Margin was started before most of Europe realized the promise of the rennisance and it features bandits and thieves who build an army. <br />Wild times and places beyond the normal rulesJDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-72435914474954614432014-02-02T19:47:49.654-05:002014-02-02T19:47:49.654-05:00Now that's a meaningful question.Now that's a meaningful question.Dyvershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-24308325631090499722014-02-02T19:40:54.773-05:002014-02-02T19:40:54.773-05:00I don't think we fail to see it, I think it ju...I don't think we fail to see it, I think it just doesn't quite ring true. You do touch on some of the reasons I think we can't just dismiss this critique out of hand. Yes there is something real there. But is it racism? <br /><br />Have a look at Adam Thornton's post above. Is D&D grounded at least in part on a wild west manifest-destiny worldview that desires a lawless Principe dell'Estriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18090298455153620573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-84561584543251990522014-02-02T16:59:36.995-05:002014-02-02T16:59:36.995-05:00True words JDJarvis.True words JDJarvis.Dyvershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-84597785867998491492014-02-02T16:59:04.824-05:002014-02-02T16:59:04.824-05:00Yeah, no. I think you're manufacturing an argu...Yeah, no. I think you're manufacturing an argument that isn't there because you want to believe that this is a real problem, and it isn't. Dyvershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032957275132817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-66391917512883782962014-02-02T16:49:24.518-05:002014-02-02T16:49:24.518-05:00So if the game wasn't about dungeons and drago...So if the game wasn't about dungeons and dragons you would have to rewrite huge portions of the game, imagine that...JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-68465795201046050422014-02-02T16:46:25.037-05:002014-02-02T16:46:25.037-05:00Except of course orcs aren't humans, elves are...Except of course orcs aren't humans, elves aren't humans, dwarves aren't humans...JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-88558779540168823682014-02-02T15:14:11.049-05:002014-02-02T15:14:11.049-05:00The whole narrative of the game is the very Britis...The whole narrative of the game is the very British Imperialistic attitude that lead to the creation of America, that in a weird way subtly justifies the slaughter of the Native Americans to make way for the proper peoples-- the "demi-humans" not the "humanoids". Of course, in the context of other British-imperialized nations the identity changes.... the Orcs can be the Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05077116392950757591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124770754805827894.post-50019699980323629162014-02-02T15:13:39.053-05:002014-02-02T15:13:39.053-05:00I think you are unfairly side-stepping the real is...I think you are unfairly side-stepping the real issue with these arguments. I don't know... maybe you just fail to see it. Maybe I can illustrate a little better.<br /><br />First, let's clear up one thing real quick-- orcs are humans. As are elves. As are dwarfs. As are goblins. They are all humans. Everything that applies to humans applies to them, it's as simple as that. They are Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05077116392950757591noreply@blogger.com