Small #ttrpg thread about how to not address topics in a racist manner when you're writing them:

When I was writing one of the last adventures for #GreatWyrmsOfDrakha (Nixis's one,) I had great plans to make it a powerful statement about disparity & "age warfare."
My idea was to
to make a point of the dangerous practice of nativism as a way to counter elders from perpetuating themselves in position of responsibility (not 'power.')
One of the main "arguments" of those in power was the weakened nature of the young born outside the home world, reflected in
a series of very physical traits (which included a sickly reddish tone yo their skin... because of the Red Moon's pernicious nature & the lack of "vaala." (very esoteric concept to go into detail here.)
The product owner was very wary about it & adverse to the concept because it
"implied racism" & "racial supremacy."
I was going for that. My intention was to portray nativism as yet another tool of oppression & its own brand of "supremacy," presenting. BOTH sides as equally wrong; both had some degree of reason in their rationales & both completely unable
to see the greater danger of the divide these created.
All based in ridiculous concepts that were merely the product of CHANCE. Nothing but the fact they had been born in different worlds & a group had "off skin tone."
Much like the debates raging here since 2018 (& before that).
The product manager decided to err in favor of "non-controversial" content & frankly because the whole argument was "stupid" (again, exactly what I was going for.)
But who am I to try & challenge via metaphors of the imbecilic nature of racial supremacy, segregationist nativism
& ageism so prevalent then (2020) as it is now?
Still, precautions were taken in order to avoid using an offensive idea to lay subtext to the whole adventure's structure.
And I said: "YES. I'll #rewrite this parts & steer clear of the issue."
Sure, I was a bit appalled by the
lack of confidence in my handling the situation & themes, but I got it: this thing I wanted to express might "send out the wrong signal" (read that as: taken as an pæan instead of a vilification of a stupid, baseless ideology meant to dehumanize & subjugate The Other.
But I did
it & refocused the tension into more mundane matters (the threat of imminent death. You know me, I'm a sucker for #ExistentialHorror.)
This was meant to be one of those "morally gray" tales that ultimately showed the vileness of the "gray," but as decided by the man in charge, I
turned it into an "uncomplicated" (players wish!) race against time.
The important thing is it didn't cost me anything to do it. Concepts can be taken out or rewritten in order to not perpetuate offending ideas.
So, yes, I know from 1st hand experience reworking texts that might
be misinterpreted or misrepresented by the #readers is a matter of will.
By the same token, I can't believe something that BLATANTLY offends several peopleS & produces further division among them was not caught or converted into something else.
So, yes. I know not changing the
story of fictional simians that somehow accepted their origin as slaves, settled with it & not knowing any better, they continued to serve "their betters..."

WAS VERY CONSCIOUS DECISION.

The anger of the (WHOLE) #BIPoC community has grounds to exist.

#BEBETTER @Wizards_DnD.
Audifaz!

@UnrollHelper, por favor.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Txabier Etxeberri—post-apocalyptic pop-primitivist

Txabier Etxeberri—post-apocalyptic pop-primitivist Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(