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'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'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's the creator of D&D tossing in his two cents, by the way. Since we'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

(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'S LEGACY AND CONTEXT.)

muting this thread now, be aware that "ackshually by pointing out this trope'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