Flintlock but scary or something dunno not feeling it this year
@flintlock.bsky.social
stupid people think it's cool, smart people think it's a joke, also cool
Also reactions to D&D like Heroes or Warhammer who very much go "actually, adventuring parties aren't heroes, they're scum".
November 11, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Also reactions to D&D like Heroes or Warhammer who very much go "actually, adventuring parties aren't heroes, they're scum".
8/ And I can point to RPG people of Gygax's generation criticising sexism in RPGs in the letter pages of White Dwarf. I can point to teenage schoolboys apologising the the fact they couldn't find an alternative for the generic "he" in their books. People could and were doing better AT THE TIME.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
8/ And I can point to RPG people of Gygax's generation criticising sexism in RPGs in the letter pages of White Dwarf. I can point to teenage schoolboys apologising the the fact they couldn't find an alternative for the generic "he" in their books. People could and were doing better AT THE TIME.
7/ This isn't about "oh, the 70s RPG scene was bad" or "oh, D&D is of its time". This is about Gygax and D&D and his worldview and what they mean for this specific game. Because Kevin is a pretty mild comparison.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
7/ This isn't about "oh, the 70s RPG scene was bad" or "oh, D&D is of its time". This is about Gygax and D&D and his worldview and what they mean for this specific game. Because Kevin is a pretty mild comparison.
6/ I see a man who, no matter how pleasant he might have been to some fans on a personal level, was objectively subscribed to a worldview I consider appalling and wrong.
And that's the Gygax legacy we have to reckon with. An awful man was involved in making a good RPG.
And that's the Gygax legacy we have to reckon with. An awful man was involved in making a good RPG.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
6/ I see a man who, no matter how pleasant he might have been to some fans on a personal level, was objectively subscribed to a worldview I consider appalling and wrong.
And that's the Gygax legacy we have to reckon with. An awful man was involved in making a good RPG.
And that's the Gygax legacy we have to reckon with. An awful man was involved in making a good RPG.
5/ I can't dislike him, even while I cringe at him at times.
I see none of that with Gygax. I see a man ideologically committed to sexism and racism, whose response to criticism was to make very clear he meant it.
I see a man who went out of his way not to be inclusive, not who was "clumsy".
I see none of that with Gygax. I see a man ideologically committed to sexism and racism, whose response to criticism was to make very clear he meant it.
I see a man who went out of his way not to be inclusive, not who was "clumsy".
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
5/ I can't dislike him, even while I cringe at him at times.
I see none of that with Gygax. I see a man ideologically committed to sexism and racism, whose response to criticism was to make very clear he meant it.
I see a man who went out of his way not to be inclusive, not who was "clumsy".
I see none of that with Gygax. I see a man ideologically committed to sexism and racism, whose response to criticism was to make very clear he meant it.
I see a man who went out of his way not to be inclusive, not who was "clumsy".
4/ But I look at that incident or his rather clumsy reporting of running RPGs for kids and "girls like it as much as boys" and I don't see a bad guy. I see a boomer who can be a bit silly and outdated, but wants to do the right thing and genuinely is horrified at the idea of not being inclusive.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
4/ But I look at that incident or his rather clumsy reporting of running RPGs for kids and "girls like it as much as boys" and I don't see a bad guy. I see a boomer who can be a bit silly and outdated, but wants to do the right thing and genuinely is horrified at the idea of not being inclusive.
3/ It was gone by the reprint.
Whereas Gygax's response to being criticised for sexism was to double down and say he should add rules for rape and sexual slavery.
I'm not claiming Siembieda is a beacon of progressive politics by any means.
Whereas Gygax's response to being criticised for sexism was to double down and say he should add rules for rape and sexual slavery.
I'm not claiming Siembieda is a beacon of progressive politics by any means.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
3/ It was gone by the reprint.
Whereas Gygax's response to being criticised for sexism was to double down and say he should add rules for rape and sexual slavery.
I'm not claiming Siembieda is a beacon of progressive politics by any means.
Whereas Gygax's response to being criticised for sexism was to double down and say he should add rules for rape and sexual slavery.
I'm not claiming Siembieda is a beacon of progressive politics by any means.
2/ So far, so Gygax. The difference is what happened next. People pointed out to Kevin Siembieda (head honcho at Palladium) that this was bigoted and wrong. And Kevin went "shit shit shit" and ran to the warehouse to cover the offending part of his stock with stickers.
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
2/ So far, so Gygax. The difference is what happened next. People pointed out to Kevin Siembieda (head honcho at Palladium) that this was bigoted and wrong. And Kevin went "shit shit shit" and ran to the warehouse to cover the offending part of his stock with stickers.
21/ It's also the case it's good for their careers to mean it in public. These things are complex. There is rarely only one agenda at play, whether that's ideological (my antipathy to 5e as a corporate produced dominator of the market) or commercial.
Question everything, including my motives. /end
Question everything, including my motives. /end
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
21/ It's also the case it's good for their careers to mean it in public. These things are complex. There is rarely only one agenda at play, whether that's ideological (my antipathy to 5e as a corporate produced dominator of the market) or commercial.
Question everything, including my motives. /end
Question everything, including my motives. /end
20/ Merely to take as you would any other corporate funded academic research. It's an important part of the picture but not something to take as the final say. The same goes for D&D funded writers talking about how D&D is committed to diversity now.
They may very well mean it.
They may very well mean it.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
20/ Merely to take as you would any other corporate funded academic research. It's an important part of the picture but not something to take as the final say. The same goes for D&D funded writers talking about how D&D is committed to diversity now.
They may very well mean it.
They may very well mean it.
19/ Riggs' historical work on TSR is vital and well researched. But it's very much officially improved and their are areas he can't get into without risking his income. Again, not saying he isn't a good RPG historian.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
19/ Riggs' historical work on TSR is vital and well researched. But it's very much officially improved and their are areas he can't get into without risking his income. Again, not saying he isn't a good RPG historian.
18/ What complicates this is who is writing about D&D mostly. If you look at the quoted sources in the article, most of them have a direct commercial relationship with WotC.
I am absolutely not saying their work is inaccurate or not useful because of that. Merely that funding is not a non question
I am absolutely not saying their work is inaccurate or not useful because of that. Merely that funding is not a non question
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
18/ What complicates this is who is writing about D&D mostly. If you look at the quoted sources in the article, most of them have a direct commercial relationship with WotC.
I am absolutely not saying their work is inaccurate or not useful because of that. Merely that funding is not a non question
I am absolutely not saying their work is inaccurate or not useful because of that. Merely that funding is not a non question
17/ That would mean they were having to praise D&D's rival, sometimes still commercial competitors, as having handled these issues in a superior manner to D&D. That one is a direct threat to the public image of the franchise.
They would do anything for diversity, but they won't do that.
They would do anything for diversity, but they won't do that.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
17/ That would mean they were having to praise D&D's rival, sometimes still commercial competitors, as having handled these issues in a superior manner to D&D. That one is a direct threat to the public image of the franchise.
They would do anything for diversity, but they won't do that.
They would do anything for diversity, but they won't do that.
16/ However if you get into "did Runequest approach the question of non humans in a better way than D&D?" or "Heroes had gay PCs in 1979" that's a direct threat to the brand identity of the "greatest roleplaying game in the world"
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
16/ However if you get into "did Runequest approach the question of non humans in a better way than D&D?" or "Heroes had gay PCs in 1979" that's a direct threat to the brand identity of the "greatest roleplaying game in the world"
15/ "Look, some stuff was bad but it was the 70s and everything was" doesn't portray D&D as especially guilty.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
15/ "Look, some stuff was bad but it was the 70s and everything was" doesn't portray D&D as especially guilty.
14/ It also brings up issues with official D&D history. Specifically, I've noticed that while they'll acknowledge that early D&D had issues "of its time" they are much less inclined to do comparative analysis with contemporary RPGs from that time.
Cynically, that makes sense.
Cynically, that makes sense.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
14/ It also brings up issues with official D&D history. Specifically, I've noticed that while they'll acknowledge that early D&D had issues "of its time" they are much less inclined to do comparative analysis with contemporary RPGs from that time.
Cynically, that makes sense.
Cynically, that makes sense.
13/ They merely removed consultant names from later printings and hoped we'd forget I suspect.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
13/ They merely removed consultant names from later printings and hoped we'd forget I suspect.
12/ For that matter, it was WotC who decided that Zak and Pundit should be hired as 5e consultants in 2014. If they've publicly retracted that decision I can't find it. It certainly doesn't merit its own boilerplate about diversity and historical issues.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
12/ For that matter, it was WotC who decided that Zak and Pundit should be hired as 5e consultants in 2014. If they've publicly retracted that decision I can't find it. It certainly doesn't merit its own boilerplate about diversity and historical issues.
11/ Acknowledging that WotC published material as bigoted as anything TSR put out isn't really the brand identity they want for their company. Gygax absolutely deserves all the opprobrium he gets, but it wasn't *just* Gygax.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
11/ Acknowledging that WotC published material as bigoted as anything TSR put out isn't really the brand identity they want for their company. Gygax absolutely deserves all the opprobrium he gets, but it wasn't *just* Gygax.
10/ The reason I suspect that WotC don't like talking about that outside the boilerplate disclaimer they slap on everything is that this is from 2003, not 1974. Not only that, but it happened under the oversight of Wizards of the Coast.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
10/ The reason I suspect that WotC don't like talking about that outside the boilerplate disclaimer they slap on everything is that this is from 2003, not 1974. Not only that, but it happened under the oversight of Wizards of the Coast.
9/ There are several issues with the official line.
Firstly, it was not just early D&D. One major incident that gets left out of the discussion is that time when Unearthed Arcana 3.5e described being trans as a "psychosexual disorder" and lumped it in alongside pedophilia, bestiality.
Firstly, it was not just early D&D. One major incident that gets left out of the discussion is that time when Unearthed Arcana 3.5e described being trans as a "psychosexual disorder" and lumped it in alongside pedophilia, bestiality.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
9/ There are several issues with the official line.
Firstly, it was not just early D&D. One major incident that gets left out of the discussion is that time when Unearthed Arcana 3.5e described being trans as a "psychosexual disorder" and lumped it in alongside pedophilia, bestiality.
Firstly, it was not just early D&D. One major incident that gets left out of the discussion is that time when Unearthed Arcana 3.5e described being trans as a "psychosexual disorder" and lumped it in alongside pedophilia, bestiality.
8/ Which, after all, merely reflects "ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time." Today Dungeons and Dragons "teaches that diversity is a strength". It also tends to be presented in official D&D histories as an unfortunate byproduct of the TSR era.
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
8/ Which, after all, merely reflects "ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time." Today Dungeons and Dragons "teaches that diversity is a strength". It also tends to be presented in official D&D histories as an unfortunate byproduct of the TSR era.
7/ Onto the specific relationship between WotC and here's where it gets complex. Because what they say is true as *far as it goes*, but it's as notable for what they won't say as what they will.
The official position seems to be that this is all an issue with "legacy content".
The official position seems to be that this is all an issue with "legacy content".
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
7/ Onto the specific relationship between WotC and here's where it gets complex. Because what they say is true as *far as it goes*, but it's as notable for what they won't say as what they will.
The official position seems to be that this is all an issue with "legacy content".
The official position seems to be that this is all an issue with "legacy content".