Hey, all.

We’re living in a time of inequality. Across the U.S. and across the world, people are coming together to protest police brutality and systemic racism against Black people. This is the time to take a stand however we can. I’ve included links to resources here, and I encourage you to check them out:

Resources—petitions to sign, causes to donate to, and other resources: https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/#

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Black AF Roundtable of TTRPG Creators—an hour-long conversation between Black creators about “race, racism and being black in in the RPG space”: Twitch VOD and Youtube

Part two (three hours): Twitch VOD and Youtube

At D&D Live 2020: Youtube

To bring this back around to D&D, let’s keep in mind that the stories we tell can perpetuate harmful ideas. Dungeons & Dragons was created by a group of white men in the 70s; it’s got baggage that has carried forward into 5th edition. For example, we still have people groups that are represented as being almost always evil—the dark-skinned drow and the superstitious, tribalistic orcs, both of which are antagonistic towards the “civilized” peoples (humans, dwarves, halflings, elves, etc.). Does D&D need that? Does that belong in your game?

What stories are you telling with your game?

If you’re incorporating real-world issues into your game, are you doing it empathetically and truthfully (and with the consent of other players)? Or are you using them as shallow plot devices?

Are these your stories to tell?

It’s okay to recognize that you were wrong and change your actions based on information you didn’t have before. I still have plenty more to learn. Let’s keep listening, learning, and taking action.

Stay safe, everyone.

-Hannah

Update: Wizards of the Coast has released a statement about what they’re doing to address problems with their depiction of orcs, drow, and the Vistani people, plus other notes on what they’re doing to improve.

We’ve seen some of these improvements in the form of edits to Tomb of Annihilation and Curse of Strahd. Many of these are edits to descriptive language. Here’s a link for some deeper considerations for an anti-racist portrayal of the Vistani people (that go beyond simply removing some words).