What is happening at LRI?

We've been pretty quiet the past couple of months and I know there is a long delay between publications. I thought I would publish an update to the blog here in case anyone is interested in knowing that we're still around!

We have been dealing with a couple of personal things (life, you know), and I have actually changed employers. Yes I have a fulltime dayjob, which is one of the reasons that my wife and I don't have more time to publish more material. However, it keeps the lights on so that's a good thing!

At present we are working on the following projects:

Game Masters Rulebook 

    The Game Master's Rulebook is complete and we have been in the art and layout phase for several months now. At present, the goal is to have it published by EOY which we are tracking to! Once we have all of the remaining content, we will need to: 

•     Finalize TOC
•     Finalize Index
•     Prep formats for publication
•     Submit material/Request Proofs
•     Approve Proofs/Publish to DTRPG

A small amount of material which was previously unpublished in the beta version will appear in the GM Rulebook.

•     2 New exotic playable races
•     Map of Hdathem

New World Map! 

    We have commissioned a talented map artist (Misjay Maps) to redraw the sample world map that was included with the beta rules a couple of years back. So far, what I have seen is a huge improvement of the existing map and will compliment the release of the Game Master's Rulebook immensely!

You can see Misjay's work on the map of Raven's Stand in the QuickStart Adventure!

New Character Sheet Forms 

    We honestly don't know what else we're going to change, but these will at least contain the information necessary to support the Advanced Magic Rules (Which are also appearing as an appendix in the GM Rulebook).

'Beasts and Lore' of Sonnegard compendium

    Currently this is only in the writing phase. I'm further behind than I would like. Depending on how the rest of this year goes, we hope to have this one ready for release in late 2022 but we'll see. The idea for this book really became an obvious necessity to us. Having finalized the rulesets in the first two books, we saw that new players and GMs would need a little bit more content to ground them in the setting before taking off and 'filling in the map' as it were. Don't worry, we're still going to leave plenty of blanks, but I think that we could stand publishing a little bit more of the setting content.

    This book will include:

•     More Creatures (I don't have an exact count, we won't know till we finish)
•     Additional background information on the setting
•     Reworked Stat Block for creatures (much easier to read than those in the GM Rulebook)

Other stuff

• Playtesting, never stop gaming!
• We're both evaluating writing some adventure material for other systems.(I won't say which yet though ;) We'll be sure to publish updates if this looks like it is going somewhere!

Coming up.. we'll talk more about inspiration and 'flavors' of running a game or campaign for Swords & Shaman of Sonnegard.

Just Wrapped up Virtual Chupacabracon

 After a year's hiatus from GMing conventions, we took the dive into virtual Chupacabracon this year.

I GM hosted two games of S&SoS this year, one filled up completely, the other empty. Which was abit of disparity from our first year which ended with 3 full games over 2 days. All in all, I'm not at all disappointed though. 

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that GMing at conventions takes alot out of me. The preparation, the attention to detail and to the player queues. This is definitely more challenging to handle remotely as you can't always see body language or for that matter, even tell exactly who is speaking sometimes!

It is so challenging, yet so rewarding! Every time I GM, players surprise me with their responses and ideas and I learn something.

For anyone thinking about running a game at a convention who hasn't before, a few things:

Playtesting your adventure

While this is not necessary, and many GMs are masters of improvisation, having a playtest group can be invaluable. Running through the adventure can help you to work out all of the 'kinks'. You may spot a typo you made, a character sheet that may need another piece of equipment, a weak plot hook and so on. Additionally this gives you the ability to 'time' the session.  By keeping track of how long this session takes, you can better make adjustments to time box it during gameplay at the con when you have a limited time alotment.

Separate the Necessary from Unnecessary Content

After having created your incredible work of art, you should spend some time reviewing which pieces of content are necessary to the gameplay and story experience, and which pieces simply add more flair or are even entirely unnecessary to advance the game. This can be tricky, you may be proud of that extra map you drew up and it might add hours of enjoyable game play, but if it puts you 2 hours over time, the players may never have an opportunity to conclude the adventure. Can you take the major plot devices from that encounter area and overlay them back into the adventure without the map if necessary?  Can some encounters be 'evacuated' if need be of a puzzle or challenge at the last minute if the story must be streamlined?  

Keep a mental note, or better, mark these areas in your written notes so that you can expand or compress your adventure as needed to suit the speed at which the table consumes your content.

Pregen Characters

Just always have some, and be sure to create more pregens than you have seats at the game if possible. This will at least leave players feeling less 'stuck' with a certain pregen.

Understanding Visual and tactile Aides vs Verbal Immersion

Visual aides are awesome, and can help with immersion and player engagement. Some tips on how or when to use them.

When you have a handout or aid to show the players, be sure to give a moment for them to digest this without your narration. When you give players something to view visually, you will be fighting with their attention verbally or otherwise, so use this as a chance to let yourself catchup. Reread a note you had, or answer questions another PC might have. PCs not reviewing the visual aid, could be asked for input and participation during this window, a simple 'what is your character doing?'.

Be prepared for PCs to draw wrong conclusions from a visual.. or conclusions that sound great, but you hadn't thought of them yourself!

PrePrint Encounter Notes / Monster Stat Blocks

I like to keep a separate folder for the monster stat blocks when I'm at the convention. Additionally, it helps to place them in order in which they are likely to be encountered in the adventure, this way I can minimize searching for information when the encounter comes up and focus more on exchanges with the players.

Keeping everyone engaged

It goes without saying that you want to keep everyone engaged. Remotely, this can be even more difficult when it isn't possible to make eye contact. However, be sure to give everyone an opportunity to act. During combat sessions, typically the mechanics facilitate this. However, out of combat, it may be necessary to periodically break and ask other players in the party, 'what is your character doing?'. This is a good way to remind everyone that they are acting as a group and gives less outspoken players a chance to interject.

Start with a lower level adventure

Adventures including characters with a limited range of abilities and powers helps to limit the amount of information you will need to be familiar with. Familiarity means less time spent doing page flip. Less time page flipping means more direct interaction with the players. In a magic or technological setting, it is a good idea to review the spells or special effects that may come into play before the game.

Ok, but I have done none of these things!

Don't panic! You've got this. The thing is, many of the other players may have been in your shoes. Additionally, everyone playing at the table WANTS you to succeed. Anyone joining a game wanting to see it fail is being disingenious and really doesn't belong there. Leverage this common goal of having fun to your advantage.

As a sidenote, there was an excellent seminar on running horror games this year. It was hosted by industry giants, Aaron de Orive, Darren Watts, James Lowder, Jeb Boyt & Ken Hite. Interestingly, when asked, they generally conceded that most horror campaigns they have ever run have been brief in comparison with other traditional rpgs. Many of them being 1 or 2 shots. I suspect this has a great deal to do with the story driven nature of horror and the need for buy in.

Anyway, all in all it was a great time and I hope that they can host some more games in person in 2022. I highly recommend this con for anyone looking to play some different indy games.

Setting Limits: Part 3 (The Setting, What is 'in', vs what is 'out'.)

Continuing the topic this week on Setting Limits in your home game. Today I will be reviewing why you should set limits in your campaign setting. Most importantly, you should have some idea of what is 'in' and what is 'out' in your own campaign.

Avoid the temptation to 'throw in everything'.
Contemporary game design in many online games is more open to the concept of 'anything goes' as a character archetype or game mechanic. This has been very successful in some digital genres which thrive on gamified instant gratification. (See my earlier post about simulation scale and playing the game for game sake vs story). These games provide high value, short term entertainment based purely on mechanics, but generally fall very short in the 'story' game aspect.

Roleplaying games by nature have a story element. Depending on how closely you choose to lean in that direction, your game becomes more dependent on continuity in this regard.

Ok yeah, but you may be thinking, "Why do I want to disallow lasers.  I mean lasers are cool.".

Well imagine for a moment that someone pulled some licensing strings, and The Hobbit contained cameo appearances by the Marvel Avengers. Someone reading this may have decided that sounds like the coolest thing ever. No doubt, someone else said 'this is terrible, this idea'.

In a nutshell, there you have it. The entire story has changed, down to the genre. Not everyone will appreciate this shift. 

To paraphrase Glen Welch, "What you leave out is just as important as what you put in.".

In the film Bladerunner, there are no comic relief scenes. No one tells jokes or laughs in that movie. This works to good effect and proves Glen's point, I think. The setting painted is bleak and depressing, there is hope, yet the content reflects solemnly on the temporary nature of life.

Defining your world
When defining your setting, below are some things to strongly consider. Understand that even the best/most experienced GMs don't usually start with a complete setting. Instead they start in their corner, and paint the picture around it as things come up. Just remember, that everything you add, you are accountable for.

Inhabitants
Who lives in this setting? How many 'intelligent' creatures/races exist here that might compete or cooperate for resources? What other 'non-intelligent' life exists? Some sort of ecosystem must exist for life to thrive. If you have large predators, it suggests you also have adequate supply of prey. If one of the major races is capable of something like flight, they probably live apart from the 'ground dwellers'.

Cultures
How do the intelligent societies interact with one another? How do they survive? What do they eat? Where do they live? How do they worship? Asking these rather mundane questions about daily life can help fill in some blanks on details that make your world believable. You will likely do some of this without even thinking about it.

Geography
Maps are fun. Geography gives you some idea of the layout of the land, which can effect its inhabitants and culture greatly! If your people live in a swamp that is 80% submerged, then building space is at a premium. They likely find themselves using some type of elevated construction to stay out of the muck. Or do they only build on the 20% of land on hills, thus driving all non aquatic or airborn wildlife out of their domain? Remember, that geography is about the lay of the land, how the weather and climate effects it and how that land can effect the life there.

Technology
Technology exists because of the prevalence of two things. First an understanding of some law or laws of science. Secondly, the ability to manufacture something based upon that understanding. In general, technology advances by accessing previous gains on those two principles. It is entirely possible to have the ability to manufacture a simple firearm without possessing the knowledge to do so. Inversely it is possible to possess the knowledge without access to the equipment necessary to manufacture. Understand that technology will dramatically impact a culture and how they interact with the world. Advancing technology and the use of tools is the primary means by which humans thrive and support large populations.

Magic
Magic is an ability to manipulate the laws of nature to effect a desired outcome. An example could be a spell that casts a flame off of a bladed weapon. This burning blade might suddenly spark to life and burn whatever it comes into contact with, while not damaging the blade or wielder. It might inflict additional burning damage (more so than a normal flame). It might not be extinguishable in water. All of these are properties of magic.

These are some of the basics that I try to account for before a session '0' of the game can begin. This allows me to set the stage or tone for players in the game to understand what type of world they are gaming in and what some of the origin options might be.

Cause and Effect
Perhaps the easiest way to discuss how introduction or omission of something in your campaign can have an effect is to look at technology and magic.

Technology is a scientific implementation of real world laws of nature. Magic is the ability to change the laws of nature. However, in game mechanics cause both of them to function similarly. Understand when something new comes along that enables people, their behavior changes. When you do incorporate technology or magic, consider its impact on the world. 

Consider a science fiction world where humans can download their 'consciousness' for transfer into a cyborg, or a clone. One can imagine people using this to avoid harm to themselves. Placing yourself in multiple bodies is a possibility. Using this technology to travel vast distances nearly instantly into another body would be likely. A PCs physical statistics (and possibly mental), could be subject to fluid change depending on the body. So you can see how one major introduction will change the entire societal structure.

Cause and effect is something that is not always visited in fantasy fiction, however science fiction authors regularly explore this subject in their material. If you are planning to run a realistic fantasy game, I recommend spending some time researching good science fiction.  

Case in point, the archetype of the dwarf. We're conditioned that dwarves live in vast cavernous cities, deep underground. They eat and drink heartily and enjoy ale as much as mining. Where does this ale come from? How do they grow grain crops underground? Presumably they should have excellent sanitation and septic systems? Why do we have nothing about this in their lore?

If you want the setting to be believable, at some point you may have to at least consider these things. These small considerations will help develop the world and even flesh out your encounter areas for you. Now we have dwarves trading with outsiders for grain which they must store somewhere in their underground. The same dwarves probably have a septic system which could be quite hazardous. It takes little effort to incorporate this and it becomes excellent filler for your game. 

Ok a little ranty, and a little rambly.
I know this was abit of a ramble. But there is just so much to consider when you incorporate something into a setting. Setting is a huge conversation piece at session '0'. You should prepare the players for what sort of game setting you plan to run and what is definitely 'in' and 'out'. This will help you set boundaries to build a campaign in your style, while keeping it believable.

Setting Limits: Part 2 (Player Motivations/Behaviors)

Just as the Simulation Scale can help you when identifying rules implementations, understanding your player's behavior tendencies can help you to tailor game content.

Everyone sees the game table a little differently. Over the years, I have observed a few motivational tendencies in players that I will share that you may want to watch for. These give you clues as to what plot devices the PCs will tend to latch onto, and what things bring them entertainment. Often times a player will exhibit multiple motivational tendencies.

Explorer

Players motivated by exploration tend to crave world content. If someone in your group volunteers to draw maps of each encounter, then you may have an explorer. Explorers are fun and allow you to dangle rewards that aren't limited to a pure monetary 'treasure' value. Keep in mind that explorers are sometimes easily distracted and may pull the party off task. If you take the time to describe a feature in the landscape, be prepared for them to want to investigate. You can use this to your advantage as well, just be careful when adding content to your game.

Completionist

Completionists feel the need to explore, loot and 'beat' everything you have prepared. A completionist will volunteer to return to a lair or dungeon and face almost certain death, just to see what is behind the last door. When playing with a completionist, be cognizant of how much content you have time blocked. A mega dungeon can provide nearly endless entertainment, or prove a burden for the rest of the table. Some completionists may thoroughly search every room for secret. Others will not be happy unless they have uncovered every encounter. Be sure to tailor the amount of content you have so that you satisfy the completionists without hanging up the campaign.

Treasure Hunter

This player's character is motivated primarily by greed. For this player, the acquisition aspect of the game brings a great deal of enjoyment. This can be tricky to balance. By making treasure rare, you increase its value and meaning when the PCs acquire it. However, treasure hunters generally become dissatisfied if some treasure isn't forthcoming. Some players expect treasure after every encounter, while others will be satisfied knowing that some will come as they adventure in search of an artifact, or some alien technology. Treasure frequency is a rarely discussed and a great topic to cover during session '0'.

Murder Hobo

I won't spend too much time on this behavior as there is plenty of information already out there. The short is, that unless the entire table consists of murder hobos, this player will likely cause dissatisfaction with other players. In particular, Murder Hobos may upset the Story Player as they tend to attack significant npcs. If this is the case, understand that instances of roleplay may make the murder hobo uncomfortable. Discussing the level of 'roleplay' and backstory required in session '0' is important in setting the expectation and determining if this is the  right gaming table for everyone in the group.

Story Player

In many ways, story driven players are almost opposite of the murder hobo. These players tend to find satisfaction in interaction with NPCs in the game. If you have a player who spends a great deal of time writing 'backstory' for their character, then they may be a story player. You can take advantage of this by incorporating their backstory into your campaign. Be wary though, such players may also have a tendency to become attached to their well fleshed out characters. For session '0', discussion about how much backstory is acceptable, and what the backstory is, is important. If the player decides their character is a cyborg 'sleeper' agent unaware of their history, that may not fit neatly in the game you are planning to run. Additionally, always discuss relative danger and the potential of character death. If not all of your players are story driven, then you will have to play a juggling act between story and action which is not too uncommon.

Slayer

Slayers look forward to the tactical aspect of the game, primarily combat. Some slayers may tend to ignore or tune out during story progression, so be aware of this. If you have entire sessions without some form of combat, this person may grow bored unless they have other behavioral motivations to occupy them.

All Star

All stars typically want to be at the center of all of the action. Contribution is a very important motivator for the all star. This individual may be a min/maxer or a leader but not always. Obviously you want to allow the all star to contribute or they will become frustrated. However, it is very important to present opportunities where all party members can contribute. For this reason, look for encounters and scenarios that give each player opportunities to contribute to the session, or they will likely find themselves simply watching the game as the All Star takes over.

Min/Maxer

Min/Maxers can come from any range of styles of play, but generally this player feels compelled to 'optimize' their character sheet. Min/maxers are often uncomfortable with the idea that their character may not always have the best advantage. This can make roleplay challenging, if you are intent on a story focused campaign. Also be extremely careful about the rulesets you incorporate, the more supplemental rules you add to your campaign, the more material the min/maxer has to research to become a powerhouse that you didn't see coming. Be sure to review character sheets with your players periodically. Also, similarly with the all star, find ways to balance the min/maxer's ability to overshadow other players, while also throwing them periodic opportunities to utilize their optimized attributes.

Leader

Some tables have multiple leaders, and others have none. Frequently, a leader won't become apparent until gameplay begins. Try to spot them in session '0' if you can. This individual will tend toward making executive decisions for the party. Some PCs are leaders simply because of roleplay, but more often than not, the actual player that people are most comfortable leading will stand out. If your party has multiple leaders, this can be a problem and you may have to tell your players that they need to sort this out or delegate who will be in charge of what. If your party lacks leadership, then you as the GM have a bigger challenge. The party may have difficulty focusing on plot hooks and may flounder on which path to take. You may have to nudge them a little for them to accomplish things, and that is ok. They will likely look to you for direction.

While this list is no way meant to suggest that everyone fits neatly into a category, or that these are all of the motivations of players, it should get you thinking about playstyle and motivation. If you haven't figured out by now, everyone at the table has a different approach to gaming.

It is for this reason exactly, that you should evaluate and discuss with everyone what type of game content and rules you intend to run with. Setting limits is a positive thing that sets expectations and will lead to a better game.

Next up, Campaign Setting and World Limits.

Setting Limits in your Campaign: Part 1

I was reading some comments and posts today which characterized GMs which do not allow whatever the players want at the table as 'lazy' or lacking creativity.   

In defense of preparation and boundaries, I would like to share some thoughts. Specifically I want to talk about session '0', setting and rules clarifications and why I think that drawing some lines up is a healthy thing for your home game.

What do you mean I can't play a koopah/dragon turtle gunslinger in your low fantasy game?

Several years ago, I was DMing a 3.5e game in our custom setting which would eventually become the 'Sonnegard' setting. While the players genuinely enjoyed the setting, I found myself bending rules frequently to accommodate setting. Eventually, new players were bringing in prestige classes and other findings from the many 3.5e supplements.

I found myself telling the players 'you can't do that' and 'that doesn't fit the setting' quite frequently.  I consider myself a pro-player GM. I think that player agency is paramount to running a successful game. Inversely, GM agency over the world and setting are equally paramount.

It was in large part because of these instances, that my wife and I chose to create a new game. This new game would be one where I could point out what the player's 'can' do a little more frequently. Though all of the setting restrictions still existed, new mechanics and options could be implemented that better suited the setting.

While our response was admittedly extreme, it was liberating and eye opening.

The TTRPG 'Simulation Scale'

In roleplaying, I believe there is a scale in which gamers tend to fall. For simplicity sake, I'll call it the simulation scale. The concept is that all RPGs are an abstract simulation of events that take place in our imagination to some degree or another. The scale is not meant to be comprehensive, but a general guideline that I think of when attempting to understand fundamentally what type of system/homebrew people might enjoy. 

The left side of the scale tends toward mechanical game play. This is where you find players who enjoy playing the game for the sake of the game. Often times, players on this end of the spectrum may view the game objective as a means to acquisition and advancement of the PC. Another tendency of players on this side of the scale is the tendency to be more 'rules' focused.

The right side of the scale tends toward roleplay. The concept that the 'abstraction' is less focused on rules and mechanics and more toward story. The left and right do not have to be mutually exclusive, and many gamers find themselves deriving equal enjoyment from both aspects of play.

The scale is also divided from top to bottom.

The top half of the scale leans toward crunchy mechanics. Players here prefer to have more rules and formulas to create more robust outcomes.

The bottom half of the scale leans toward rules light systems. Players falling in this area tend to prefer more expedient conflict resolution or at least prefer that the variation in outcome can be determined with less 'crunch'.

This isn't meant to be some major psychological graph or anything like that, but players and GMs probably have some idea of what gives them enjoyment and if they lean to one degree or another on the simulation scale.

Using what you know about your group

Every table will have a unique feel, and you will likely find that the people at your table fall in different places on the scale. Gamemasters should be aware of this and keep in mind what type of game drives the players. As a GM, you will have to craft out a set of rules and a setting that is enjoyable for the entire table. You should put careful consideration into what rulesets you intend to use, and how adherent to those rules you will be. After some careful decision making, I suggest making a list of all core rulesets you intend to include and take some time to document any 'house' rules you intend to incorporate into a shareable document. Setting these aside as the 'core rules' of your game prevents confusion down the road regarding supplemental rules or expectations at the table.

Welcome 2021!

Is anything happening at Lost Relic Industries?

So it has been quite awhile since I posted anything and Lost Relic Industries has been relatively quiet on social media in 2020.

Behind the scenes was a different story.

2020 was a tough year for me personally. My day job that pays all the bills saw quite a bit of turnover and as a result, I was putting in extra time to pick up all the slack. 

That coupled with, writing, running a custom game campaign, and hosting a podcast, something had to give.

So midyear last year, I took a break from hosting RPG Coast to Coast. This was primarily because I simply didn't have any extra time to coordinate lining up the guests, and frequently I was working those nights as well.

The Cons..

Conventions just didn't work out very well for us in 2020. We had some favorite conventions cancelled early in the year. We also found ourselves having to cancel mid year for personal reasons. The few remaining on our list were sponsoring political organizations. That's just not something we want to do. 

We are hoping that a few of the conventions will be better geared for online play this year and that may be something we are able to accommodate. 

So what DID we do?

Despite all this, we did accomplish what we set out to do last year.  We produced a new quickstart guide which included basic rules, pregens and an adventure to ease new players into the game!

Swords & Shaman of Sonnegard QuickStart-Adventure 'The Beast of Murghadem'

This release contains a beautifully illustrated map by Misjay Maps as well as illustrations from Juan Ochoa .

We also managed to complete all editing and layout, and received the final art for our  

Swords & Shaman of Sonnegard Player's Book!

We worked very hard to offer this in essentially four formats as our first fully published book, and we were very excited to get it approved and live on DriveThruRPG before the end of year!  

Again, Juan Ochoa does a wonderful job of illustrating and making this a beautiful and fun book.

Cool, so what about 2021?

Well, we still have this other book. The Game Master's Book. We've been working diligently on making changes, corrections and a couple of really cool additions to this book from the present beta format. At present we are working to have this book illustrated to the same degree of quality as the Player's Book and with luck, we will have it released this year.

Also expect to see at least one hack for S&SoS. :) After having playtested for a few years now, we're still wanting to improve. We are compiling a short list of changes to publish in a free 'Advanced Magic Rules' pdf. The focus of this would be to move away from a pseudo vancian/daily spell system, toward a point driven magic system. There are a couple of other goodies in there as well!

There may be other hacks as well, but we feel there is still something missing from the game to help ground Player's and GM alike. Besides publishing the GM book we are going to begin compiling a third core book. This book will consist of the Creatures and Lore of Sonnegard. While we feel this is a necessary book, there are only two of us and one artist at present. So unfortunately, I have no expectation of this releasing in 2021.

In closing, I'd like to thank everyone who has followed and supported us. I hope 2021 is a good year and I hope you all have good gaming and make new friends at the table!

-B

Orcs are people too?

In case you didn't see it.
Earlier this week, WoTC announced that they would be changing their depiction of two classic races in the D&D lineup. According to WoTC's official announcement., Orcs and Drow need a rework because of ' descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world ethnic groups have been and continue to be denigrated'.

Essentially, they wish to portray Orcs and Drow as people too, because they have been 'unfairly' portrayed in the past.

As someone who strives to have inclusion in their game and at the table, I have always been drawn to settings that are more Swords & Sorcery related. I prefer a globe spanning setting, capable of acknowledging any number of cultures and people.

Is there any basis?
So in looking to our roots, I am greatly disappointed that I find the work of Robert E Howard to be tinged with his own style of racism. A man with such an imagination, the father of Swords and Sorcery, had difficulty seeing people as they are.  If you disagree, I suggest you read 'Shadows in Zamboula', 'The Vale of Lost Women', or 'The Horror From the Mound', and decide for yourself.

Given all that, many of us strive to advance the Swords and Sorcery genre to be the inclusive genre it should be. 

D&D however, has its own roots in classic modern fantasy. Tolkien himself, coined the word 'orc'. In his Silmarillion, he explains how the dark god Morgoth stole away some of the first elves and tortured and corrupted them. He broke their bodies, will, and souls to create the orcs. The orcs being a purely evil race and the embodiment of corruption.

So it is that the inventor of the orc, states plainly that this fictitious race was essentially born out of hell, implying that there was no redemption in them.

This tends to follow suit in early editions of D&D which places their alignment squarely as lawful evil. They were for most campaigns, a fictitious monster for which PCs would have no guilt in slaying and looting.

Ironically, Tolkien himself is sometimes accused of racism through his depiction of orcs and his heavily euro centric setting. First, Tolkien was fascinated by his Germanic heritage and there really should be no conflict between appreciation of one's own culture and the respect and appreciation for another. 

Tolkien was in fact deeply offended by the racist ideologies which took hold in Germany during the early 20th century. This is well documented and anyone researching should find ample evidence of his disapproval of using his work for racist agendas.

The drow, were more an invention of Gygax' own. Although wikipedia implies that they were inspired by a much earlier book on fairy lore. 


So definitely evil and entirely fictitious.
That both races have been depicted as evil is fairly cannon for most D&D settings. There are some notable exceptions (Drizzt Duorden). This also is common in gaming, players and characters aren't bound to be the 'same'. Each character can have a convincing reason for going against the grain and these things are often encouraged in home and public games alike.

To change the overall depiction of Orcs and Drow into a 'friendly' race, goes against nearly 50 years of D&D cannon.

Despite all this, I'm fine if WoTC wishes to change this to create something new or more interesting.  That is up to them, afterall, they legally own the IP now. It is also still a free country and we can be creative and express ourselves as we wish.


This bloggers opinion.
Up to this point, I have never been openly critical of Wizards. That ends today.

What I'm not ok with, is their statement of justification. To suggest that Orcs and Drow have been fictionally mistreated and that this somehow relates to 'real world ethnic groups', simply looks like a branding ploy.  It comes across as disingenuous to me. Frankly, I find it offensive as it makes a mockery of real people who have endured real trials and challenges.

In all honesty, it leaves me wondering what is next. Once they have attacked all substance of content, what will be left of art, games and storytelling?  All while extolling that this is for some sense of justice which to me, they seem not to actually believe in at all.