That is a catch 22. I would say yes & no. It is racist against drow, but they are a fictional race. They have European features because the are elves. If they were depicted with African style features, somebody would scream racism because of it. If drow culture was depicted with a flavor associated with some aspect of black culture, there would be somebody claiming it depicts black people as evil. There really is no way to make people happy with this. The bottom line is drow were loosely based off of Scandinavian legends, so they are fine as is. There is a definite lack of black people if RPGs, but again, I chalk that up to the European nature of most RPG settings.
I don't think that the Drow represent a racist attitude in gaming personally. But I do think that cultures other than European should be better represented.
I read somewhere that Wizards Iconic Fighter Redgar was originally black, but as the artists drew him he eventually became white. I don't think it was an intentional slight, but more of an oversight on controlling what the artists interpretation was.
On the flip side, Drizzt is one of the Most Iconic Heroic Characters that D&D has had.
@ Lumrunner, I have actually heard that Redgar was added because there were no "classic white warriors" in the artwork and WotC wanted to have some. I forget where I read that, but it was in a post about how Redgar has become a kind of inside joke within the WotC staff as a result, as an illustration of the ridiculousness that the marketing department would intervene in that way.
@ Louis, I definitely think that it is racist. But it is only the icy tip of a much larger berg. I think a game where good races are all light skinned and the evil races are all dark skinned is inherently racist. Whether conscious or not, it is. And that is why I think there is not a representative amount of people of color playing RPGs as other media.
However, I think this will change over time. Especially if WotC continues their freefall into oblivion.
The foundation of fantasy role playing is a small group of popular and historical sources.
European romances European myths 20th Century fantasy pulps 20th Century fantasy epics
Conan was a celt, Lord of the Rings was rooted in Anglo Saxon tradition, Arthur is king of the Britons.
Only as the RPG industry expanded and evolved has this founding concept become old-fashioned. As a result, other culture's myths have found their way into the genre.
from the linked post -"Black WHITE people, who are evil and sacrifice people, totally interesting"
ReplyDeleteThey aren't people, they're made up, totally fictional elves.
That is a catch 22. I would say yes & no. It is racist against drow, but they are a fictional race. They have European features because the are elves. If they were depicted with African style features, somebody would scream racism because of it. If drow culture was depicted with a flavor associated with some aspect of black culture, there would be somebody claiming it depicts black people as evil. There really is no way to make people happy with this. The bottom line is drow were loosely based off of Scandinavian legends, so they are fine as is. There is a definite lack of black people if RPGs, but again, I chalk that up to the European nature of most RPG settings.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Drow represent a racist attitude in gaming personally. But I do think that cultures other than European should be better represented.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that Wizards Iconic Fighter Redgar was originally black, but as the artists drew him he eventually became white. I don't think it was an intentional slight, but more of an oversight on controlling what the artists interpretation was.
On the flip side, Drizzt is one of the Most Iconic Heroic Characters that D&D has had.
@ Lumrunner, I have actually heard that Redgar was added because there were no "classic white warriors" in the artwork and WotC wanted to have some. I forget where I read that, but it was in a post about how Redgar has become a kind of inside joke within the WotC staff as a result, as an illustration of the ridiculousness that the marketing department would intervene in that way.
ReplyDelete@ Louis, I definitely think that it is racist. But it is only the icy tip of a much larger berg. I think a game where good races are all light skinned and the evil races are all dark skinned is inherently racist. Whether conscious or not, it is. And that is why I think there is not a representative amount of people of color playing RPGs as other media.
However, I think this will change over time. Especially if WotC continues their freefall into oblivion.
The foundation of fantasy role playing is a small group of popular and historical sources.
ReplyDeleteEuropean romances
European myths
20th Century fantasy pulps
20th Century fantasy epics
Conan was a celt, Lord of the Rings was rooted in Anglo Saxon tradition, Arthur is king of the Britons.
Only as the RPG industry expanded and evolved has this founding concept become old-fashioned. As a result, other culture's myths have found their way into the genre.