Not for any foreseeable future

I was reading

https://reason.com/2023/04/05/dungeons-dragons-half-elf-half-orc-racist-woke-pc/
Is Dungeons & Dragons Eliminating ‘Inherently Racist’ Half-Elves, Half-Orcs?

After reading it, I’m pretty sure we will never see a new edition of Dark Sun for any forseeable future 😰

My beloved setting is far too problematic.

I wrote it in Dark Sun – Athas Facebook group; among people stating similar ideas I was struck by this one:

Knowing real world adults who have mixed heritage and had to grow up with the whole “half” idea, this is a good step forward to banishing the idea of race from the game. Sorry you’re all too busy being mad the kids are on your lawn playing their rock music and the world is changing.

I felt the urge to answer:

I was not judging that idea, I was stating that Dark Sun touches so many issues that are sorely problematic in the US of America that I think they will not make a new edition on Dark Sun. There’s a huge difference.

Even if I’m an Italian living near Monza I am devoted to St. Charles Lwanga (see Saint Charles Lwanga (see also a previous post on this blog ) and also Saint David Tanko (he hasn’t been officially declared saint but martyrs are saint by definition).

I haven’t visited the US of America since 2004 and I’m not well informed on its recent social evolution so I can’t really have a grounded opinion on it. As far I can say a too extreme Gini index ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient ) plays an important part of all social issues plaguing some parts of the US of America.

You actually can’t banish the concept of species in a game having elves, orcs, halfings and humans. Let’s use asectical, technical words: you can’t also banish the concept of hybrids. Read

“In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_(biology)

Even Muls’ name and concept (strength, sterility and so on) is patently taken from the equine mule ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule )

The US of America is spiraling like the late roman empire, no pun intended. The analogies are far too many not to note it.

I’m saving this here because I fear this thread will be soon deleted.

Here’s some other interesing answer to my two lines post:

Who cares what Hasbro comes up with. Stop buying their garbage and make it your own game.

They can say whatever they want, you are the DM and have final say on anything that hits your table.

Jim Humpries

Ok. They write stories that talk about demons that drag an entite city in Hell and cannot talk about slavery? I think this cancel culture is a bit too much. Slavery does not disappear just because “you” do not say the word!

Even in really civized countries there is a form of slavery (i.e. underpaid jobs).

Carlo Tietz

I also felt the urge to add that «of course my appeal to St Charles and St David is a manifest case of “excusatio non petita”, or like we use to say in Italy “mettere le mani avanti”. Just in case»

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