Dungeons & Dragons Confirms “Sensitivity Readers” and Announces They Will Change The Nature Of Race Mechanics Moving Forward
Wizards of the Coast and their Dungeons & Dragons team confirmed they have used “sensitivity readers” in their latest campaign books and announced they will be changing the nature of race mechanics moving forward.
Principal Rules Designer for Dungeons & Dragons Jeremy Crawford shared Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons & Dragons new vision for the game to Twitter.
Diversity and Dungeons & Dragons — this article states where our hearts are and where we’re going: https://t.co/TPWmkHrAwy #DnD pic.twitter.com/sX3AzkaKWW
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) June 18, 2020
In the blog post it explains that “Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is strength, for only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome the many challenges a D&D story presents.”
It continues, “In that spirit, making D&D as welcoming and inclusive as possible has moved to the forefront of our priorities over the last six years.”
They then detail some of the changes they will be making in their upcoming 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
Specifically they note they will “depict humanity in all its beautiful diversity by depicting characters who represent an array of ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and beliefs.”
They add, “‘Human’ in D&D means everyone, not just fantasy versions of northern Europeans, and the D&D community is now more diverse than it’s ever been.”
Oddly enough in their Basic Rules on their website it already details that players can customize their characters. It specifically states, “You choose your character’s age and the color of his or her hair, eyes, and skin. To add a touch of distinctiveness, you might want to give your character an unusual or memorable physical characteristic, such as a scar, a limp, or a tattoo.”
It’s unclear why they would believe that humans would only refer to northern Europeans when their own rules already state they are customizable.
Their update on the state of the game continues noting they will make significant changes to orcs and drow. It details, “Throughout the 50-year history of D&D, some of the peoples in the game—orcs and drow being two of the prime examples—have been characterized as monstrous and evil, using descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world ethnic groups have been and continue to be denigrated.”
They then self flog themselves stating, “That’s just not right, and it’s not something we believe in. Despite our conscious efforts to the contrary, we have allowed some of those old descriptions to reappear in the game. We recognize that to live our values, we have to do an even better job in handling these issues. If we make mistakes, our priority is to make things right.”
Finally, the blog post highlights six major changes that players can expect to see in Dungeons & Dragons moving forward.
First, they state they will rework the orcs and drow.
“We present orcs and drow in a new light in two of our most recent books, Eberron: Rising from the Last War and Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount. In those books, orcs and drow are just as morally and culturally complex as other peoples. We will continue that approach in future books, portraying all the peoples of D&D in relatable ways and making it clear that they are as free as humans to decide who they are and what they do.”
Second, they will issue reprints “to correct errors” specifically changing text they deem “racially insensitive.”
“When every D&D book is reprinted, we have an opportunity to correct errors that we or the broader D&D community discovered in that book. Each year, we use those opportunities to fix a variety of things, including errors in judgment. In recent reprintings of Tomb of Annihilation and Curse of Strahd, for example, we changed text that was racially insensitive. Those reprints have already been printed and will be available in the months ahead. We will continue this process, reviewing each book as it comes up for a reprint and fixing such errors where they are present.”
Third they will introduce a new customization product.
“Later this year, we will release a product (not yet announced) that offers a way for a player to customize their character’s origin, including the option to change the ability score increases that come from being an elf, a dwarf, or one of D&D’s many other playable folk. This option emphasizes that each person in the game is an individual with capabilities all their own.”
Fourth they will radically alter the Vistani due to “stereotypes associated with the Romani people in the real world.”
“Curse of Strahd included a people known as the Vistani and featured the Vistani heroine Ezmerelda. Regrettably, their depiction echoes some stereotypes associated with the Romani people in the real world. To rectify that, we’ve not only made changes to Curse of Strahd, but in two upcoming books, we will also show—working with a Romani consultant—the Vistani in a way that doesn’t rely on reductive tropes.”
Fifth they confirm the use of sensitivity readers and indicate they will continue to employ them.
“We’ve received valuable insights from sensitivity readers on two of our recent books. We are incorporating sensitivity readers into our creative process, and we will continue to reach out to experts in various fields to help us identify our blind spots.”
Finally they explain they will employ what appear to be diversity quotas when it comes to hiring.
“We’re proactively seeking new, diverse talent to join our staff and our pool of freelance writers and artists. We’ve brought in contributors who reflect the beautiful diversity of the D&D community to work on books coming out in 2021. We’re going to invest even more in this approach and add a broad range of new voices to join the chorus of D&D storytelling.”
Despite these changes, a certain segment of people believe it is not enough and demanded more.
WHY do I only see older white men representing D&D? We need MORE representation, especially queer/trans visibilty and BIPOC, in ALL ASPECTS of your company.
— 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 (@heathernewkirk) June 18, 2020
Another person specifically wanted ethnic and race-based hiring.
I’ve seen Dungeons & Dragons post.
This means they’ve heard us. Keep pushing. Don’t let up on the gas. Keep making stuff, keep giving to indie artists and platforms. Raise them up. FORCE them to compete or die.
It’s the only way this gets better.
Oh and #FireMikeMearls .
— Vince Smith – “You do what you can.” (@DichotomusPrime) June 18, 2020
Y’know how we always say “it’s not enough to be non-racist, you must be anti-racist?” That applies here.
Not just Romani consultants.
Not just Black contractors.
Full-time Romani narrative designers. Black franchise creative directors. Trans artists. Disabled rules designers.
— Vince Smith – “You do what you can.” (@DichotomusPrime) June 18, 2020
They’re not a single indie creator making up for a mistake. They’re a billion dollar corporation. Call me harsh if you want but they don’t get participation trophies for removing slurs from their books.
Y’know what my threshold is? When I see them discouraging looting of–>
— Vince Smith – “You do what you can.” (@DichotomusPrime) June 18, 2020
sacred and cultural sites as a core gameplay concept. That is my threshold for even considering that the next edition won’t just be “D&D, now with 30% white supremacy?”
But nah. The abusers off your staff permanently and BIPOC at the wheel making decisions. THAT’S the play.
— Vince Smith – “You do what you can.” (@DichotomusPrime) June 18, 2020
Related: Man Who Claimed Orcs Are Racist Wants More Racism in The Witcher TRPG
One person advocated for the removal of the word “race” from the game.
1/ There are a zillion alternatives to Dungeons and Dragons already, so this is an academic point, but I think 6th edition would be wise to make two changes that would drastically reduce legacy problems and erase the word “race” from the character sheet:
— Mike Craft (@craftmike) June 21, 2020
2/ First, make Reincarnation (already a spell with roots in the early versions of the game) central to the mechanics of the system. Everyone you meet used to be a different type of creature. No sense of biological determinism because WHO you are is independent of WHAT you are.
— Mike Craft (@craftmike) June 21, 2020
3/ Many players will miss the templates and traits associated with “races” so add astrology (extremely thematic for a predominantly medieval setting) to character creation. Moon signs have darkvision, Builder signs have tool proficiency, whatever
— Mike Craft (@craftmike) June 21, 2020
4/ Eliminate rules-based species identification between humanoids. If you’re human-shaped, your creature type is humanoid. All other traits are culturally originated. It’s a game about wizards and dragons. Be imaginative.
— Mike Craft (@craftmike) June 21, 2020
Others reacted to the announcement with bewilderment and in some cases disappointment at radical changes to the core game.
Orcs and Drows are not people. They are mithological monsters. They are not representatives of no one real people. How people who suposed to be D&D lovers want to change the core defintions of the game?
— A.F. Wagner Jr (@AFWagnerJr1) June 18, 2020
I see you’re bending the knee to the modern day neo-puritans who will always find something offensive about anything. I mean, we’re going after fucking pancake syrup today.
So glad I stopped at 3.5.
— TrueTanker sitting in the cupola (@TrueTanker) June 18, 2020
Got a deep thought brewing for Dungeons and Dragons, and it’s taking me a while to try and remove colonial, racist aspects from the core topic. It fundamentally changes that game though…where does that take us #dnd5e
— Matthew Wilkins (@OnceAndFutureDr) June 21, 2020
Good stuff. https://t.co/qQZeyhMqok
Only one issue. @Wizards…No person on Earth should mind how Orcs and Drow are described. They are a fantasy race. Nothing wrong with them being evil themed. It is ridiculous to change them.#dungeonsanddragons
— JustMeBeingMe (@LehrerVagabon87) June 18, 2020
Wizards of the Coast: We’re making orcs and drow more nuanced.
Me: So…will you stop making gnolls “Always Chaotic Evil?”
Wizards: HAHA FUCK YOU WE’RE RECLASSIFYING THEM AS FIENDS SO NO ONE WILL FEEL SORRY FOR THEM!#DungeonsAndDragons pic.twitter.com/FwXEezQdii
— Level 20 Gnoll Bard (@Lvl20GnollBard) June 20, 2020
What do you think of these changes by Wizards of the Coast as they move forward with the next edition of Dungeons and Dragons? Do you plan on purchasing Dungeons & Dragons following this announcement? Let me know your thoughts!
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