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Freshly announced today are a pair of 3-part APs, the latter of which, "Fists of the Ruby Phoenix," centers on the eponymous martial arts tournament in Tian Xia. I wanted to voice some of my worries; for the last few years (and especially since the launch of 2e), there's been a visible, explicit effort to disentangle parts of the setting drawn from real-world non-Western inspirations from the problematic, often racist baggage they usually stumble into.
Introducing Pathfinder's equivalent of Asia to 2e with such a thing feels like a misstep in that context. Reducing Asia to the land of kung fu masters is a tired stereotype, and the wording in the stream - "in the style of Mortal Kombat and Dragon Ball Z, or Kung-Fu Hustle" - does not give me high hopes, given that Mortal Kombat is a Western franchise that has widely appropriated from a number of cultures and frequently walks into racist characters and old stereotypes.
Work has been done to undo a lot of the more heinous material set on Garund and to make Arcadia stand apart from previous terrible depictions of the Americas in fantasy; I'd hate to see Tian Xia backslide on that front.
Are any Asian writers working on this AP? Sensitivity consultants? I have incredibly low hopes for it from what we've seen so far.
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Why post this? Seriously? Just to complain? What do you hope to achieve? If there are no Asian writers then this thread isn’t going to change that
The announcement was surely only minutes ago and you are instantly here to complain based on almost zero information and a series of absolutely massive assumptions
It isn’t really a fair or reasonable thing to do.
Why post this? Seriously? Just to complain? What do you hope to achieve? If there are no Asian writers then this thread isn’t going to change that
If this is the case, then it's a worthy complaint to make.
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It is worthy to complain about an allocation of writers before you even get to see what they have written? Not for me I am afraid.
That is bonkers. And actually quite rude and insulting to the company
One of the instalments is by Luis Loza. I don’t know about the others. How about giving them a chance?
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For my money the "martial arts tournament" as a dramatic setting is not a western trope, but an eastern one that has found considerable purchase in the west.
Citing "Mortal Kombat" and "Kung Fu Hustle" as inspirations was probably a function of "those were on the tip of the tongue. There would be, after all, no Mortal Kombat without Street Fighter 2 and there would be no Kung Fu Hustle without several decades of Hong Kong action films made for Hong Kong Audiences (many of which were about tournaments.)
In context I believe the Kung Fu Hustle mention was specifically indicating that you could run the adventure as comedic, if that's what you want. The number of Hong Kong action comedies that the average westerner is familiar with is probably just that and maybe Shaolin Soccer (Sammo Hung's hopping vampire comedies are tragically underappreciated.)
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Why post this? Seriously? Just to complain? What do you hope to achieve? If there are no Asian writers then this thread isn’t going to change thatIf this is the case, then it's a worthy complaint to make.
And if it's not the case, then it's a worthy apology to make.
And if it's not the case, then it's a worthy apology to make.Why post this? Seriously? Just to complain? What do you hope to achieve? If there are no Asian writers then this thread isn’t going to change thatIf this is the case, then it's a worthy complaint to make.
Absolutely. I'd be over the moon to be wrong here.
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For my money the "martial arts tournament" as a dramatic setting is not a western trope, but an eastern one that has found considerable purchase in the west.
Citing "Mortal Kombat" and "Kung Fu Hustle" as inspirations was probably a function of "those were on the tip of the tongue. There would be, after all, no Mortal Kombat without Street Fighter 2 and there would be no Kung Fu Hustle without several decades of Hong Kong action films made for Hong Kong Audiences (many of which were about tournaments.)
In context I believe the Kung Fu Hustle mention was specifically indicating that you could run the adventure as comedic, if that's what you want. The number of Hong Kong action comedies that the average westerner is familiar with is probably just that and maybe Shaolin Soccer (Sammo Hung's hopping vampire comedies are tragically underappreciated.)
I am intrigued by the indication that this can easily be made comedic. That is not something that can really be said about many 1E APs
But with this, Agents (which I assume can be played in the style of B99, Police Academy, Hot Fuzz) and Extinction (Circus easily has scope for comedy) - there is more flexibility in 2E APs for a variety of playstyles
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For my money the "martial arts tournament" as a dramatic setting is not a western trope, but an eastern one that has found considerable purchase in the west.
Citing "Mortal Kombat" and "Kung Fu Hustle" as inspirations was probably a function of "those were on the tip of the tongue. There would be, after all, no Mortal Kombat without Street Fighter 2 and there would be no Kung Fu Hustle without several decades of Hong Kong action films made for Hong Kong Audiences (many of which were about tournaments.)
In context I believe the Kung Fu Hustle mention was specifically indicating that you could run the adventure as comedic, if that's what you want. The number of Hong Kong action comedies that the average westerner is familiar with is probably just that and maybe Shaolin Soccer (Sammo Hung's hopping vampire comedies are tragically underappreciated.)
I am intrigued by the indication that this can easily be made comedic. That is not something that can really be said about many 1E APs
But with this, Agents (which I assume can be played in the style of B99, Police Academy, Hot Fuzz) and Extinction (Circus easily has scope for comedy) - there is more flexibility in 2E APs for a variety of playstyles
Given the people I usually play with, all adventures I play in quickly become comedic, whether I want it to or not.
Haha. Well it looks like some of these new ones will be able to roll with that far more easily than some of the older ones
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Haha. Well it looks like some of these new ones will be able to roll with that far more easily than some of the older ones
I refuse to believe that a product line that gave us goblin songs had no room for levity in it before last year.
(Posting mostly just to dot this thread. Carry on.)
Haha. Well it looks like some of these new ones will be able to roll with that far more easily than some of the older onesI refuse to believe that a product line that gave us goblin songs had no room for levity in it before last year.
(Posting mostly just to dot this thread. Carry on.)
I didn’t mean to suggest “no” room for levity
But the same AP that brought goblin songs brought serial killers, fungus infested haunted house powered by memories of domestic abuse, hills have eyes ogres . Etc
Hells rebels have ritualistically murdered children, people tortured by dogs, a lady kidnapping people through offering them sweets
Now for all I know there are some very dark moments in (or coming up in) these new APs. I just know I made a thread here about trying to lighten the tone of some of the 1E APs for certain players who seemed more that way inclined. I was compelled to make that thread for a reason
Additionally while "Kung Fu Hustle" might have indicated the lighter end of the spectrum for this AP, "Mortal Kombat" was probably brought up as the representing the darker end of the available tones.
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Soap Opera.Additionally while "Kung Fu Hustle" might have indicated the lighter end of the spectrum for this AP, "Mortal Kombat" was probably brought up as the representing the darker end of the available tones.Isn't Mortal Kombat basically a sitcom with some gory trappings?
Tomayto tomahto. Soap operas are hilarious :P
Isn't Mortal Kombat basically a sitcom with some gory trappings?
I confess I don't know a lot about the modern ones since I'm put off by the gore. I get the sense that they're grimdark (which does not mean mature or anything) which is fairly antipodal to "comedy."
Something that stuck out to me in the stream is that the developers are basically unwilling to stray outside of Avistan centered stories. Which...I have impolite words for, but anyways. Given that restriction, a martial arts tournament where Avistan heroes can be invited and participate in Tian Jia culture in a limited fashion on that cultures terms is probably one of the least bad ways to go about it.
Actually Zimmerwald, you might like a comment Lundeen made, where his wild idea for an AP would be one set when humans were expanding across Avistan, with humans as the villains. The discussion we had regarding Arcadia could certainly be spun to be based on that idea.
Isn't Mortal Kombat basically a sitcom with some gory trappings?I confess I don't know a lot about the modern ones since I'm put off by the gore. I get the sense that they're grimdark (which does not mean mature or anything) which is fairly antipodal to "comedy."
My roommate loves Mortal combat, so I am forcibly familiar with the franchise. I think they're meant to be funny, in a shock kind of way, even if the themes the storyline uses is pretty doom and gloom.
Isn't Mortal Kombat basically a sitcom with some gory trappings?I confess I don't know a lot about the modern ones since I'm put off by the gore. I get the sense that they're grimdark (which does not mean mature or anything) which is fairly antipodal to "comedy."
Then let me inform you that between the "Friendship" PG finishers, the goofy X-Ray attacks and fatalities that are outright ridiculous to the point of parody, and the inclusion of out-of-franchise characters such as the Joker, Spawn, and Robocop...
Yeah, Mortal Kombat tends to find some bizarre humor in how they execute their gore. Heck, just take a single look at Johnny Cage and it'll all come together.
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Actually Zimmerwald, you might like a comment Lundeen made, where his wild idea for an AP would be one set when humans were expanding across Avistan, with humans as the villains. The discussion we had regarding Arcadia could certainly be spun to be based on that idea.
There's scope to be had for giant revolts and elven guerillas in Thassilon. But then, there's also scope for giant revolts and elven guerillas in New Thassilon, so I don't really see what the temporal displacement adds.
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Are any Asian writers working on this AP? Sensitivity consultants?
I'd like to preface this by saying that very little about the author assignment has been announced and I'm not gonna get ahead of what's been made public, but yes—I'm writing the last volume.
I'd like to preface this by saying that very little about the author assignment has been announced and I'm not gonna get ahead of what's been made public, but yes—I'm writing the last volume.
Are any Asian writers working on this AP? Sensitivity consultants?
Lovely news! I hope this thread didn’t put you in a hard place.
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Ugh, I had a whole response written and then my cat sat on my touchpad!
I'll share what I know. I just worked to support several staff members in choosing art for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month blog. I saw them work to choose images that represented diverse images. We have art like the kung fu stereotype. I literally told them I thought it looked badass. It was rejected. That's why we turn to creatives who give this proper thought and coworkers with a lived experience.
I work in marketing, not creative or dev, so my knowledge is second hand. I know they seek out sensitivity consultants when they need to. We have the budget for it. I also know our editors do a lot of sensitivity work on their own as a matter of professional pride. Their job "ain't just about grammar folks," but many of you know that.
The valid constructive criticism I hear is that our livestream talking points, where they even exist, could use some editing too. PaizoCon is intimate and accessible, but at least this year, a bit less curated than we might like. We want to HYPE! our products and get you as excited about them as we are, but we might forget to speak to the complexities in the moment. So noted.
Also, I recall this recorded seminar that might speak to our philosophies, strengths, and challenges: Diversity in Gaming - Paizo At Gen Con 2019.
Thanks for your perspective keftiu. I hope you will find that Fists of the Ruby Phoenix will exceed your expectations and that our process will wear away our roughness.
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I do think its good idea to take these thoughts in account though, but I don't think tournament arc trope itself is offensive considering how often it is used by Japanese or Chinese works for their own audiences. But yeah, despite my "What how is this offensive" gut reaction, there IS risk of western writers portraying it inauthentically or as missing the nuances of it
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Ugh, I had a whole response written and then my cat sat on my touchpad!
I'll share what I know. I just worked to support several staff members in choosing art for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month blog. I saw them work to choose images that represented diverse images. We have art like the kung fu stereotype. I literally told them I thought it looked badass. It was rejected. That's why we turn to creatives who give this proper thought and coworkers with a lived experience.
I work in marketing, not creative or dev, so my know-ledge is second hand. I know they seek out sensitivity consultants when they need to. We have the budget for it. I also know our editors do a lot of sensitivity work on their own as a matter of professional pride. Their job "ain't just about grammar folks," but many of you know that.
The valid constructive criticism I hear is that our livestream talking points, where they even exist, could use some editing too. PaizoCon is intimate and accessible, but at least this year, a bit less curated than we might like. We want to HYPE! our products and get you as excited about them as we are, but we might forget to speak to the complexities in the moment. So noted.
Also, I recall this recorded seminar that might speak to our philosophies, strengths, and challenges: Diversity in Gaming - Paizo At Gen Con 2019.
Thanks for your perspective keftiu. I hope you will find that Fists of the Ruby Phoenix will exceed your expectations and that our process will wear away our roughness.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply! I appreciate being able to voice these things more than you know.
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I think the reason people are worried about it is not because it involves martial arts at all, but because it's a bit of a stereotypical thing to go for as a subject of only the second East Asian based adventure path. Knowing that Asian writers are involved is a relief, though. Not an absolute guarantee it'll be perfect, but definitely a big step in the right direction.
I guess we'll see how it is when it comes out. It is good to have a product set outside Avistan though*, maybe there'll be an updated Tian Xia sourcebook to go with it?
*I know this isn't the first. But most APs have been set in Avistan or the Isle of Kortos.
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*I know this isn't the first. But most APs have been set in Avistan or the Isle of Kortos.Nitpick: Kortos is, at least on the wiki, grouped with Avistan. It certainly isn't large enough to be a continent of its own.
Yeah, I'd argue that if you consider the British Isles to be part of Europe (and people generally do, at least in terms of casual use), the Isle of Kortos is part of Avistan.
The situations are similar enough in terms of cultural continuity with the continent in question to be viewed similarly (if, in Kortos's case, being somewhat complicated by it also being very close to Garund).
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The situations are similar enough in terms of cultural continuity with the continent in question to be viewed similarly (if, in Kortos's case, being somewhat complicated by it also being very close to Garund).
Geographically, Kortos is much more like like Sicily, Crete, or Cyprus than it is Britain, which is not close to any other large landmass besides Europe. Of these three islands, Crete and Cyprus are on the Eurasian continental shelf, while Sicily is on the African. Cyprus sits east of the lines typically drawn through the Aegean and Mediterranean to divide Europe and Asia. However, all are considered European for reasons other than geography. Crete was the seat of the Mycenaean civilization that is foundational to European self-conception (in particular it was foundational to the self-conception of classical Greece, which invented the continental system); Cyprus and Sicily were colonized by Greeks; Sicily was Rome's first imperial conquest and province. The medieval and modern history of these islands (for Crete, continuing into the 19th century; for Cyprus, ongoing) is the history of wars between Christian (implicitly European) and Muslim (implicitly not) powers. Today, all are part of the EU, except the northern third of Cyprus.
All of which is to say, yes, the attachment of Kortos to Avistan is largely historical. Especially since we don't have a bathymetric map of the Inner Sea and so can't situate Kortos on any particular continental shelf. Especially especially if the Inner Sea is rifting as opposed to subducting the way the Mediterranean is (which would make Kortos akin to Iceland, albeit raised up magically rather than through natural geologic processes). Absalom is part of a trio of metropolises that were sacred to Aroden and united by powerful Arodenite churches, the others being Oppara and Westcrown which are unambiguously on Avistan. Kortosians and Taldanes claim an Azlanti heritage that is nowhere near as credited on Garund.
And now for something completely different: for some reason Qadira is considered to be on Avistan despite being politically associated with a Casmaron power.
I always thought of Kortos as not being fully Avistani because it's equally close to Garund, but I suppose that makes sense. I actually personally think of Qadira as part of Casmaron because it's part of Kelesh, but the division between those continents is arbitrary anyway.
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I always thought of Kortos as not being fully Avistani because it's equally close to Garund, but I suppose that makes sense. I actually personally think of Qadira as part of Casmaron because it's part of Kelesh, but the division between those continents is arbitrary anyway.
Well, not arbitrary; the dividing line is the crest of the World's Edge Mountains. It's just that this doesn't really comport with the traditional Earthly definition of a continent, which is supposed to be divided from other continents by sea or at least an isthmus (at around the time they were inventing the term, the Greeks didn't realize that the Sea of Azov terminated, so we have a traditional division between Europe and Asia that doesn't fit the traditional definition of continent).
The World's Edge Mountains are more imposing and limit human movement more than the Ural Mountains which are today used to mark the land frontier between Europe and Asia. It's entirely reasonable that on Golarion continental definitions based on mountains are just as venerable as continental definitions based on seas.
Hmm, fair point. And I guess the Lake of Mists and Veils marks the boundary between northern Avistan and northern Casmaron.
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It feels a bit weird to be (potentially) critical of the idea that someone who might not be of east-asian ethnicity writing a component inspired by east-asian culture.
Like... research is something that exists. A poorly researched scenario I could understand causing offensive, but this scenario hasn't been released yet and Paizo have seemed to be doing a decent job so far of looking into the myths that inspired a lot of elements in their setting/game.
Does there reverse apply? If Paizo have a staff member of east-asian heritage are they allowed to work on a scenario inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology?
Will it apply to other things? I'm of celtic heritage and I've not seen a thread discussing if the druid class should remain, or how I feel about how Unicorns, elves, pixies, merrow, selkies or kelpies etc have been added, particularly since a lot of them ARE different from how they appear in mythology.
Is there a line that should be drawn somewhere? Bare in mind this isn't about something offensive. This is something that "might" be offensive.
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It feels a bit weird to be (potentially) critical of the idea that someone who might not be of east-asian ethnicity writing a component inspired by east-asian culture.
Like... research is something that exists. A poorly researched scenario I could understand causing offensive, but this scenario hasn't been released yet and Paizo have seemed to be doing a decent job so far of looking into the myths that inspired a lot of elements in their setting/game.
Does there reverse apply? If Paizo have a staff member of east-asian heritage are they allowed to work on a scenario inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology?
Will it apply to other things? I'm of celtic heritage and I've not seen a thread discussing if the druid class should remain, or how I feel about how Unicorns, elves, pixies, merrow, selkies or kelpies etc have been added, particularly since a lot of them ARE different from how they appear in mythology.
Is there a line that should be drawn somewhere? Bare in mind this isn't about something offensive. This is something that "might" be offensive.
The concern was on whether or not the research happened at all, and who did the research. Hate to be the one to break this to you, but well-meaning middle class Americans do not have the greatest track record on cultural sensitivity. This AP will be offensive to someone, but having both people with cultural background training on hand and writers that grew up in the source cultural milieu is a good faith effort that should satisfy most critics.
There is no one weird trick to getting this kind of thing correct. There is no way to be correct at all, because "correct" is different for everyone.
As an aside, if you think Celtic traditions that didn't get filtered through Tolkein and 50 years of Dungeon and Dragons should be incorporated into various classes and monsters, that seems like a fine topic to start in the Lost Omens campaign setting forum. Certainly the next time we get an AP set in the Broken Lands I'd expect to see some ties to Celtic Breton and Gael culture, especially if that AP took place largely in either Brevoy or Sarkoris. Irish, Welsh, or Scottish writers would definitely be desired to write it as well, since that is far enough outside mainstream American culture that it isn't expected to be widely known or taught.
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The concern was on whether or not the research happened at all, and who did the research. Hate to be the one to break this to you, but well-meaning middle class Americans do not have the greatest track record on cultural sensitivity. This AP will be offensive to someone, but having both people with cultural background training on hand and writers that grew up in the source cultural milieu is a good faith effort that should satisfy most critics.
Just so we're clear, we only care if the research is being done by middle-class Americans? Because others have done so badly before we are judging an entire group? To be honest, if the material is offensive but you're opinion is flipped immediately due to the ethnicity of one of the writers/consultants then your offence can't have been that significant to begin with.
If someone wrote an offensive stereotype into a book or movie that offends me I'm not going to magically find it less offensive because of the person that wrote it (Unless maybe there is some specific history of things they've said being taken out of context, for instance).
As an aside, if you think Celtic traditions that didn't get filtered through Tolkein and 50 years of Dungeon and Dragons should be incorporated into various classes and monsters, that seems like a fine topic to start in the Lost Omens campaign setting forum. Certainly the next time we get an AP set in the Broken Lands I'd expect...
I'm not saying they didn't, but that's more reason to argue that "If fact-checking is required for one culture, it's required for this one" too, since celtic myths have mutated substantially more due to Tolkein's use (in fact, Unicorns aren't even considered Fey under WOTC). For the record I brought it up as a point - I don't actually care if people use my heritage in their fantasy games and tweak it. I'm not expecting PF, if they ever do a celtic based campaign to get everything 100% right.. because if they did what would be the point of fiction?
For the record Scottish Culture has already been used by Americans and done poorly (see Braveheart). Here's the truth - we don't care. The states wants to portray us as fight-happy and simple? Go right ahead. We joke about it, we (unironically) enjoy the movie as it's still a good story (in spite of the numerous inaccuracies). Speaking of which, it was actually used in Schools as a base point for history, with one lesson I personally starting with "Here's what they got wrong".
Something that creates a conversation point about historical societies and groups isn't a bad thing. It's a touchy subject in the states as 90% of their history involves religious oppression and slavery, but just because they want to secretly bury their past doesn't mean group does. Even if they get it wrong Paizo shouldn't worry about doing a celtic-themed campaign, and I seriously doubt an east-Asian person would say differently.
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To be honest, if the material is offensive but you're opinion is flipped immediately due to the ethnicity of one of the writers/consultants then your offence can't have been that significant to begin with.
There's an important point in here, which is that to the extent a person or organization's whole praxis consists of pressuring media companies to hire diversity consultants and such, they causes they are really serving are 1) the careers of the fairly well-off people in the particular diversity-consultant industry and 2) a kind of middle-class ethnic brokerage politics that sacrifices bottom-up mass organization and popular power on the altar of the aforesaid careerism (bottom-up mass organizations tend to demand accountability on the part of their putative representatives, and the diversity-consultant industry thrives on its members being unaccountable and freelance).
That said, I'm reasonably sure that no one involved in this discussion is so limited.
celtic myths have mutated substantially more due to Tolkein's use (in fact, Unicorns aren't even considered Fey under WOTC)
How in the world is the treatment of unicorns in D&D and its derivatives attributable to Tolkien? He never mentions them in his entire collected works on Middle-Earth (he might have done in his scholarship, but probably not).
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I seriously doubt an east-Asian person would say differently.
Since there are East Asian people on these boards and on Paizo staff, it's probably sensible to let them speak for themselves.
It's not even a good idea to pretend that you speak for all people with a Celtic background.
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The concern was on whether or not the research happened at all, and who did the research. Hate to be the one to break this to you, but well-meaning middle class Americans do not have the greatest track record on cultural sensitivity. This AP will be offensive to someone, but having both people with cultural background training on hand and writers that grew up in the source cultural milieu is a good faith effort that should satisfy most critics.Just so we're clear, we only care if the research is being done by middle-class Americans? Because others have done so badly before we are judging an entire group? To be honest, if the material is offensive but you're opinion is flipped immediately due to the ethnicity of one of the writers/consultants then your offence can't have been that significant to begin with.
If someone wrote an offensive stereotype into a book or movie that offends me I'm not going to magically find it less offensive because of the person that wrote it (Unless maybe there is some specific history of things they've said being taken out of context, for instance).
I brought up the class and nationality of people who have gotten it wrong in the past because it is the predominant class and nationality of these writers. Of course more people than just them get it wrong, but this group of writers IN PARTICULAR, and by that I mean some of these exact people on the editing and developer side, have gotten it wrong. More than once. So being concerned that they'll get it wrong again and write something that uses offensive stereotypes even when they're trying their best seems pretty logical.
As I said, some part of this is going to come across as inauthentic stereotyping, and look like they're mocking the culture they are drawing inspiration from. That's a given. No matter who writes it, that is a thing that will happen. But, most of us are here because we think Paizo can tell good stories; that buys them a lot of leeway on what they put out. Using sensitivity readers and, in this case, writers that actually have some lived experience in the cultures they are drawing from, buys them more leeway. It won't make something offensive inoffensive, but it will help.
Something that creates a conversation point about historical societies and groups isn't a bad thing. It's a touchy subject in the states as 90% of their history involves religious oppression and slavery, but just because they want to secretly bury their past doesn't mean group does. Even if they get it wrong Paizo shouldn't worry about doing a celtic-themed campaign, and I seriously doubt an east-Asian person would say differently.
Some will, some won't. Look at the reactions Disney's animated Mulan and The Great Wall from a couple years ago got in the American Chinese diaspora versus in China itself. Both sets of reactions were genuine and rooted in their respective histories, but absolutely conflicted.
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It's not even a good idea to pretend that you speak for all people with a Celtic background.
It certainly isn't. As someone of partially Irish ancestry, I absolutely do find some kinds of inaccuracies regarding Irish culture, history, and mythology offensive (the most obvious example is anything denying the profound English responsibility for what happened in the Great Famine, something not relevant directly to Golarion but if we're using Braveheart as an example...).
I personally only find this true of some kinds of inaccuracies...but I do find it true of some, and I'm sure some others find it true of more.
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As I said, some part of this is going to come across as inauthentic stereotyping, and look like they're mocking the culture they are drawing inspiration from. That's a given.
This danger is particularly salient in the context of a tournament. Much of the appeal of tournaments lies in the clash of colorful characters with diverse abilities. Logistically, a tournament is also an easy way to bring together singleton or a few representatives of the far-flung nations of Tian Xia without having to immerse the PCs in their respective cultural milieux. There are some good reasons to take the logistically easy route. Tian Xia is big, and the AP schedule is slow. It hasn't visited all the nations in the Inner Sea over more than a decade, to say nothing of the wider world. Showcasing as much of that wider world as possible at once isn't a bad idea. Nevertheless, what we have is a machine for generating stereotypes: outsize and flamboyant characters that are at the same time meant to be representative of whole nations as opposed to just themselves.
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I was really excited to see the Blodeuwedd feature in a Paizo product.
Then I was disappointed when it was described as living in landscapes which do not exist in Wales.
That’s part of the challenge of playing with cultural sources, people are excited to be represented and that makes any disappointments more crushing.
I’ve also always been annoyed by the gorgon. Gorgons in Greek myth are cool, don’t dump the name on something dull.
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I’ve also always been annoyed by the gorgon. Gorgons in Greek myth are cool, don’t dump the name on something dull.
Not to mention "Medusa" is a proper name.