I see the new D&D fans are having their first brush-up against the 30+ year old WELL-KNOWN history of orcs as deeply problematic racist stand-ins, and it& #39;s not going well.

New folks: Nobody is going to take your orcs away. Shit, I play them when I get the chance. Being green and shouty is fun. But you know how you love D&D being all progressive and inclusive? Part of that is insisting they do better when they fall short.

They& #39;re not going to delete your half-orc rogue because someone called them out on the internet. Fucking relax.

Also, if you think this is bad, you should see the ur-alignment argument, "Can a Lawful Good paladin kill a baby orc without losing his paladin status?"

(Here& #39;s the creator of D&D tossing in his two cents, by the way. Since we& #39;re ripping off the band-aid today, yes, Gary Gygax was a horrifying arch-conservative and massive racist. This is from three years before his death.) https://twitter.com/FreyjaErlings/status/1180544774723571712">https://twitter.com/FreyjaErl...

(And yes, you are still allowed to play and enjoy D&D in spite of that. But the HISTORY IS THERE AND IT INFORMS THE PRODUCT& #39;S LEGACY AND CONTEXT.)

muting this thread now, be aware that "ackshually by pointing out this trope& #39;s racist roots and history you are the TRUE racist" is not the good look you might think it is. Mebbe learn a thing instead: https://jamesmendezhodes.com/blog/2019/1/13/orcs-britons-and-the-martial-race-myth-part-i-a-species-built-for-racial-terror">https://jamesmendezhodes.com/blog/2019...