Grumpy Wizard had a post called Colonialism in D&D: A Rebuttal that rebuts a Dwellers of the Forbidden City Post/Poll called Race, Colonialism and Dungeons and Dragons - A Story in Two Parts about Colonialism in D&D. Grumpy Wizard made some really good points, but then closed comments so I figure I'll make a short post out of it, because I have an opinion.
I'll start with a quote from Gary Gygax's B2 the Keep on the Borderlands. This module is not only ranked very high in every poll of modules I've ever seen but because it shipped with the Basic Set for awhile it has been played (and replayed) probably more than any other module. I think it would be fair to say that the module helped form most peoples opinion of what the game was about during its early years.
The Realm of mankind is narrow and constricted. Always the forces ot Chaos press upon its borders, seeking to en-slave its populace, rape its riches, and steal its treasures. If it were not for a stout few, many in the Realm would indeed fall prey to the evil which surrounds them. Yet, there are al- ways certain exceptional and brave members of humanity, as well as similar individuals among its allies — dwarves, elves, and halflings — who rise above the common level and join battle to stave off the darkness which would otherwise overwhelm the land. Bold adventurers trom the Realm set off for the Borderlands to seek their fortune. It is these adventurers who, provided they survive the challenge, carry the battle to the enemy.
Great point and another good example of how the colonialism argument doesn't hold any water.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking back to my blog.
Hmm, a ravening endless horde of barbarians is going to steal our women and plunder our wealth unless we send our brave soldiers into their enclaves to kill them down to the last? I'm sure that this narrative has never been applied to indigenous peoples in order to justify the colonialist atrocities perpetrated by European powers!
ReplyDeleteYes, within the fiction of the fantasy setting of Keep on the Borderlands, the adventuring heroes may well be totally justified in slaying all the orcs and goblins that cross their path, because in this fantasy world, orcs and goblins are explicitly ontologically evil beings. But that is not the point that Dwellers in the Forbidden City is trying to make. The point is that a core assumption made by D&D (that irredeemably-evil races of outsiders whose cultures possess nothing of meaningful value are morally justified targets for violence and plunder) is an inherently colonialist narrative. It is an uncritical repetition of the propaganda used in real life to justify horrible injustice.
Because certain words, phrases, and concepts are used by racists they are forever censored? That seems a bit over the top.
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