Hello!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just published an essay called "A Comprehensive History of Woke D&D" for which I am indebted to The RPGPundit for being able to write, as I also say in the essay. I first got into the subject matter after having listened to a podcast episode with the RPGPundit, then I started reading up on woke D&D and I sort of fell down the rabbit hole after that. I've been working on the article on and off for little less than a year, it's pretty long but hopefully worth the read.

Anyway, here's the essay: https://open.substack.com/pub/markoftheweathersun/p/a-comprehensive-history-of-woke-d-b86?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5jvnz3

Would love to hear what tou guys think and if you think I've missed any event to make this a truly comprehensive history.

Quote from: Urban Målare on May 08, 2025, 09:24:17 AMI just published an essay called "A Comprehensive History of Woke D&D" for which I am indebted to The RPGPundit for being able to write, as I also say in the essay. I first got into the subject matter after having listened to a podcast episode with the RPGPundit, then I started reading up on woke D&D and I sort of fell down the rabbit hole after that. I've been working on the article on and off for little less than a year, it's pretty long but hopefully worth the read.

Anyway, here's the essay: https://open.substack.com/pub/markoftheweathersun/p/a-comprehensive-history-of-woke-d-b86?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5jvnz3

Would love to hear what tou guys think and if you think I've missed any event to make this a truly comprehensive history.

That's a lot of material - good job on collecting it all in essay form, and you've got a good start on organization by moving some material out to the three appendices.

Still, the organization jumps around a lot, both in time and in source. You could be more clear where you're talking about published D&D material versus where you're talking about social media posts, and where you're talking about other stuff like shareholder information.

Especially, you start with discussion of "The Canopic Being", saying in the third paragraph:

Quote from: Urban MålareReading the actual adventure, "The Canopic Being", makes it clear that the accessibility and "anti-ableist" stuff isn't really that central. Basically, the dungeon is filled more with ramps than stairs and there are several elevators, powered by magic or rope mechanisms (it's not specified).

Have you read the published adventure? Because there aren't any elevators in it, let alone several - and you even link to a wiki version of it where that is obvious. That doesn't build a lot of trust for the rest of the essay.

It seems like you have read a lot of social media about controversies. If you haven't read the D&D published material, then just be up front that you haven't done so, and report on what you have read.

Jhkim, I don't really understand your point about social media posts/official published stuff. What points are you referring to specifically?

And regarding the elevators, she described in a panel ( https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/931-jen-kretchmer-teases-her-candlekeep-mysteries ) that the dungeon was filled with ramps and elevators powered by rope mechanisms or magic. The ramps are clearly mentioned in the dungeon, which I've read but not played, and I just assumed the magical elevators were the anti-gravity effects in certain rooms in the dungeon. Maybe I was wrong about those being the elevetors she referred to but it's really her words and not mine.

I've played the Radiant Citadel, some The Keys From the Goldenvault adventures, some Candlekeep adventures and I've borrowed bits from Curse of Strahd: Revampd and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and I've read all of some and had a look at the rest of the products I write about. I doubt for example that RPGPundit has read every 5e product he's discussed back to back but he's still a very good critic of it.

Honestly idgaf about ""wokeness"" in madeup fantasy worlds, unless they are genuinely stupid things like ""wheelchair accessible dungeons"" and shit like ""x-cards"".

Nobody expects Shadow of the Demon Lord to play like Golden Sky Stories (nor should it), so don't bend over for the namby pambies whining about ""sensitivity"" and ""muh trauma condishunssss"".

Quote from: Urban Målare on May 08, 2025, 01:12:38 PMAnd regarding the elevators, she described in a panel ( https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/931-jen-kretchmer-teases-her-candlekeep-mysteries ) that the dungeon was filled with ramps and elevators powered by rope mechanisms or magic. The ramps are clearly mentioned in the dungeon, which I've read but not played, and I just assumed the magical elevators were the anti-gravity effects in certain rooms in the dungeon. Maybe I was wrong about those being the elevetors she referred to but it's really her words and not mine.

That post is a teaser of the upcoming adventure written by James Haeck, based on having listened to a panel including author Kretchmer. I agree that the teaser claims there are elevators, but the published adventure does not have elevators. Maybe an earlier draft of the adventure had elevators, or maybe Haeck misunderstood Kretchmer, or maybe this was an intentional lie for marketing purposes.

Regardless, this is exactly what I mean by distinguishing between media posts and published material. If we're talking about published material, it shouldn't be "Someone on the Internet said that the author said X in a panel discussion". That's going to result in a lot of errors.

Quote from: Urban Målare on May 08, 2025, 01:12:38 PMI've played the Radiant Citadel, some The Keys From the Goldenvault adventures, some Candlekeep adventures and I've borrowed bits from Curse of Strahd: Revampd and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and I've read all of some and had a look at the rest of the products I write about. I doubt for example that RPGPundit has read every 5e product he's discussed back to back but he's still a very good critic of it.

This is exactly what I've argued with RPGPundit in the past about. When discussing this particular adventure, RPGPundit had claimed this:

Quote from: RPGPundit on September 03, 2021, 04:35:00 PM

Quote from: jhkim on September 03, 2021, 10:47:20 AMIf Thompson got her original combat wheelchair added to official D&D, then yes, I would be wrong. Can you give a link or reference that the original combat wheelchair was added to official D&D?

The wheelchair is in Candlekeep, and EVERY dungeon for official D&D from Candlekeep onwards has been wheelchair-accessible. Also, every D&D product from candlekeep onward has featured the wheelchair in art.

Source: https://www.therpgsite.com/pen-paper-roleplaying-games-rpgs-discussion/the-chronic-fatigue-barbarian-is-a-real-not-parody-new-dd-subclass/msg1186109/#msg1186109

Pundit's claim here is completely false regarding the published material. There are no wheelchairs of any sort within Candlekeep Mysteries, and the adventures are not wheelchair-accessible, including "The Canopic Being" since the entrance to that is down a ladder.

A vital part of being a good critic means accurately representing the material being critiqued.

Oka, Jhkim (sorry for not quoting you, haven't really figured that part out yet), point taken. But in regards to what I wrote, and not the Pundit, I've only stated there are elevators in the dungeon because she herself has said so and because there are anti-gravity fields which I assumed were the magical elevators she was referring to, which I feel isn't so mad an assumption that i merits questioning wether the author has done his research at all.

Quote from: Urban Målare on May 08, 2025, 02:17:10 PMOka, Jhkim (sorry for not quoting you, haven't really figured that part out yet), point taken. But in regards to what I wrote, and not the Pundit, I've only stated there are elevators in the dungeon because she herself has said so and because there are anti-gravity fields which I assumed were the magical elevators she was referring to, which I feel isn't so mad an assumption that i merits questioning wether the author has done his research at all.

Fair. I think I came down hard on you based on my previous argument with Pundit about this same adventure, and his claims which were far more off-base. Still, the one anti-gravity field is not an elevator, nor multiple elevators.

There is a pattern that I've seen repeatedly, where some people are angry at WotC such that they refuse to buy any WotC products, but then insist on "critiquing" those products despite not having read them. They'll hear about a product based on a social media post, and then imagine from there.


Regarding "The Canopic Being", I used the adventure slightly adapted in my last D&D campaign. It has some flaws, but I liked the core concept. Given the Egyptian tomb theme, mummy lord, and canopic jars - the ramps are fitting since actual Egyptian tombs were built with ramps (like Giza shown below):



If you're going to use it as your opening example, it's important to note that the published adventure doesn't have any elevators or wheelchairs and isn't wheelchair-accessible (since the entrance is via a ladder). It does have ramps, but that's what actual Egyptian tombs have.

I think the adventure is a good example of a big online controversy and arguments over claims that have nothing to do with the published adventure. That's why I think it's important to distinguish between published material and social media claims.

Oh boy, that D&D Instagram image. It reminds me of this:

It legit looks like ""ai""* slop. Wotc just punched in ""rainbow capitalism"" into the artbot lmao.

*Petition to call them Computer Rendered Artificial Pictures.

Quote from: Urban Målare on May 08, 2025, 01:12:38 PMI've played the Radiant Citadel, some The Keys From the Goldenvault adventures, some Candlekeep adventures and I've borrowed bits from Curse of Strahd: Revampd and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and I've read all of some and had a look at the rest of the products I write about. I doubt for example that RPGPundit has read every 5e product he's discussed back to back but he's still a very good critic of it.

jhkim's standard deflection for criticism of Candlekeep is to pretend that you must not have read the material.  He'll keep doing it even if you tell him that you have. 

Quote from: jhkim on May 08, 2025, 02:48:11 PMIf you're going to use it as your opening example, it's important to note that the published adventure doesn't have any elevators or wheelchairs and isn't wheelchair-accessible (since the entrance is via a ladder). It does have ramps, but that's what actual Egyptian tombs have.

I think the adventure is a good example of a big online controversy and arguments over claims that have nothing to do with the published adventure. That's why I think it's important to distinguish between published material and social media claims.

Okay, I think it's fair to assume that if she said there's going to be elevators to charitably assume the most elevator seeming thing in the dungeon, the anti-gravity field, is supposed to be the elevator. But it's not very imporant for the argument. You do raise an important point in it not being an actually very big part of the final product, which I point out, which makes the marketing of the product even more intereting.

As I write in the article: "Reading the actual adventure, "The Canopic Being", makes it clear that the accessibility and "anti-ableist" stuff isn't really that central. Basically, the dungeon is filled more with ramps than stairs and there are several elevators, powered by magic or rope mechanisms (it's not specified). That's pretty much it. This fact could, of course, be used as an argument that the "anti-wokes" are once again, predictably overreacting to the preprogrammed culture war where the facts on the ground are rather innocent and banal. While there's something to such a critique on a general level, an argument like that in at least this specific case falls flat as Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the publishing company behind Dungeons & Dragons for the non-gaming readers, has decided to push the "anti-ableist" angle of the product straight out of the gate at launch despite the absence of much actual content in that vein. If this is a culture war, the wokes started it."

I think this proves that agressively pushing wokeness when it doesn't even make sense has been their agenda to reach certain goals, and I don't think it's actually about reaching a new "younger, more progressive" audience or whatever. As I argue in the article, it seems to have more to do with giant capital structures behind these companies.

Quote from: Trond on May 08, 2025, 02:49:08 PMOh boy, that D&D Instagram image. It reminds me of this:

Just had a look at that D&D Instagram image at the link. There's so much gay in there. The whole thing ... just speechless. A full bio-Marxist takeover.

I enjoyed your story about how you got started with off-the-cuff home-brew in your childhood. Great memories.

I am no D&D expert but it looks to me like the Candlekeep Mysteries designers themselves bragged about the fact that the dungeon was deliberately made to be wheelchair accessible. So, even if the word "wheelchair" isn't mentioned in the module, it's pretty clear where the ridicule stems from. People were used to dungeons as tricky, dangerous places. Heroic characters would enter at their own peril. It's a bit like the people behind the 007 franchise saying "the new James Bond will be dedicated to the feminist movement" and pretend to be surprised when old fans don't like the sound of it.

Quote from: Urban Målare on May 08, 2025, 04:27:05 PMOkay, I think it's fair to assume that if she said there's going to be elevators to charitably assume the most elevator seeming thing in the dungeon, the anti-gravity field, is supposed to be the elevator. But it's not very imporant for the argument. You do raise an important point in it not being an actually very big part of the final product, which I point out, which makes the marketing of the product even more intereting.

I agree that the marketing is almost completely disconnected from the substance of the product. There's an adventure of "climb down the ladder and face a mummy lord in an Egyptian tomb" with a mystery twist of "where's the heart". And there's marketing based on its wheelchair accessibility.

In this age of politicizing everything and promoting feelz over truth, I think it's important to be truthful and accurate. If someone posts claiming that something is in the adventure that isn't actually in the book - like wheelchairs or elevators - then they should be called on it.

The anti-gravity field is not an elevator. It doesn't take PCs from anywhere to anywhere. It is an environmental hazard internal to the final (dead end) room, and it doesn't make anything more accessible.

Ye I agree. Seems like a nothingburger ngl.