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WoTC's Regulations for DMs Playing NPCs of Other Cultures

Started by RPGPundit, July 18, 2022, 09:50:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

jhkim

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
Quote from: GhostNinja on July 24, 2022, 12:09:09 PM
I read the quotes that he is talking about and while they are there in the final product, the Pundit is going more into Hyperbole (which I thinks most of his videos are more Hyperbole than fact).   He assumes without fact that the people writing it haven't played D&D.  We don't know if they have played or not.

It's not an assumption. You can check what their RPG-design credits are. Several of them have little or none. Even Ajit George's (who was made the lead designer of the project) only major contribution appears to be an adventure for the Candlekeep book before this, which was another make-work project for wokists. His real job is that he works for some kind of "charity" with leftist overtones.

The vast majority of RPG writers have a "real job" rather than making a living primarily through RPG writing. That's true even for many established writers. They play D&D as a hobby, have a real job to pay the bills, and freelance to write for RPG companies.


Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PMSome of these people are so totally unfamiliar with D&D they may never have actually played. One of these people, Felice Kuan (the feminist video gamer) admitted she didn't even know how to make statblocks and so she needed a WoTC permanent wage-slave  to do the mechanical work for her.

Kuan says that she got into playing D&D in 2016 when working to develop a sequence of playing D&D in a modern-day video game. Here's her description of it:

QuoteIf you've played the episodic video game Life is Strange: Before the Storm and were thrilled to experience a Dungeons & Dragons session with two of its NPCs, then you have writer Felice Tzehuei Kuan to thank.

"My biggest D&D claim to fame is that fan-favorite sequence in the game," says Colorado-based Felice, who works as a narrative director at the video game company Deck Nine. "I was one of the writers on that optional story segment, where you get to sit down with the characters Steph and Mikey to play D&D with them for about 20 minutes. Before we wrote that, we played D&D as research. That's what got me into playing."

Felice first met Ajit A. George, one of the project leads on the D&D adventure anthology Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, at a live-action roleplaying convention. Their game careers have developed in parallel, and the call from Ajit to add her voice to the book was the first chance they've had to collaborate on a project.

"He reached out to me. In my day job I lead a team of writers and narrative designers and we write cinematic narrative adventure games, but this is my first tabletop publication. It's been an awesome first project," she reveals, adding that creating her adventure, "Buried Dynasty," for 13th-level D&D characters didn't faze her.
Source: https://dnd.wizards.com/news/buried-dynasty-felice-kuan

I'm not sure where you got the info about the stat blocks. From what I see, she's been playing D&D for a few years and is a professional game writer, but hadn't previously published anything for tabletop games. It's possible that she needed help with stat blocks for her 13th level adventure, but that's different than saying she didn't play D&D.

Her only connection to Ajit was evidently meeting at a role-playing convention, and this was supposedly their first collaboration together. For the record, I also met Ajit at a role-playing convention (Wyrd Con in 2012 or 2013). These might not be your sort of gamers, but they're still gamers.

RPGPundit

#151
Quote from: jhkim on July 25, 2022, 05:12:38 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
Quote from: GhostNinja on July 24, 2022, 12:09:09 PM
I read the quotes that he is talking about and while they are there in the final product, the Pundit is going more into Hyperbole (which I thinks most of his videos are more Hyperbole than fact).   He assumes without fact that the people writing it haven't played D&D.  We don't know if they have played or not.

It's not an assumption. You can check what their RPG-design credits are. Several of them have little or none. Even Ajit George's (who was made the lead designer of the project) only major contribution appears to be an adventure for the Candlekeep book before this, which was another make-work project for wokists. His real job is that he works for some kind of "charity" with leftist overtones.

The vast majority of RPG writers have a "real job" rather than making a living primarily through RPG writing. That's true even for many established writers. They play D&D as a hobby, have a real job to pay the bills, and freelance to write for RPG companies.

Yes, undoubtedly. Not everyone can do what I do and live full-time off of my skill at writing RPG products.

However, historically most of the people who wrote for D&D were either full time employees or highly-experienced freelancers who had to have a long list of RPG WRITING credits to their names in order to get hired to write in a major campaign book for Wizards.

Now, it seems to largely hinge on  how popular you are on either leftist twitch or leftist twitter plus if you personally know one of the people in the leads, regardless of any experience or talent. Of course, if you're not fulfilling some kind of diversity quota (ideally multiple diversity quotas at once) you're much less likely to be hired too. It's pathetic.


Quote
Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PMSome of these people are so totally unfamiliar with D&D they may never have actually played. One of these people, Felice Kuan (the feminist video gamer) admitted she didn't even know how to make statblocks and so she needed a WoTC permanent wage-slave  to do the mechanical work for her.

Kuan says that she got into playing D&D in 2016 when working to develop a sequence of playing D&D in a modern-day video game. Here's her description of it:

QuoteIf you've played the episodic video game Life is Strange: Before the Storm and were thrilled to experience a Dungeons & Dragons session with two of its NPCs, then you have writer Felice Tzehuei Kuan to thank.

How many people have ever even heard of that video game? What you're saying is that she's not even a real video game designer.  She's one of these people who makes video games about feelings.

Quote"My biggest D&D claim to fame is that fan-favorite sequence in the game," says Colorado-based Felice, who works as a narrative director at the video game company Deck Nine. "I was one of the writers on that optional story segment, where you get to sit down with the characters Steph and Mikey to play D&D with them for about 20 minutes. Before we wrote that, we played D&D as research. That's what got me into playing."

Felice first met Ajit A. George

Oh look, another person who was hired because Ajit George was simping for her.

Quoteone of the project leads on the D&D adventure anthology Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, at a live-action roleplaying convention. Their game careers have developed in parallel, and the call from Ajit to add her voice to the book was the first chance they've had to collaborate on a project.

"He reached out to me. In my day job I lead a team of writers and narrative designers and we write cinematic narrative adventure games, but this is my first tabletop publication. It's been an awesome first project," she reveals, adding that creating her adventure, "Buried Dynasty," for 13th-level D&D characters didn't faze her.
Source: https://dnd.wizards.com/news/buried-dynasty-felice-kuan

I'm not sure where you got the info about the stat blocks. From what I see, she's been playing D&D for a few years and is a professional game writer,

She's a professional non-combat game narrative writer. That's not a real game designer, or even a real game writer. She's basically a young adult lit fanfic writer.

Quotebut hadn't previously published anything for tabletop games. It's possible that she needed help with stat blocks for her 13th level adventure, but that's different than saying she didn't play D&D.

In a podcast she admits that she is a big nerd but mostly in larping. She doesn't seem to detail any other incident of having played D&D except that one time with Ajit George. In a tweet she said that she was helped with the actual gaming stuff by Justice Arman, who at least seems to be a serious gamer but is also another cooking guy, and second generation immigrant. He's also apparently sufficiently distanced from the reality of his ancestral homeland in the present as to have a demented fantasy-based favorable posture toward the Iranian Ayatollah's brutal theocracy, the real inspiration for the Handmaiden's Tale (ironically).  I guess his leftism beats out any sense of loyalty to his own people.
I haven't yet looked at proof, but I'm betting the venezuelan they have on the project, the one who thinks making a D&D adventure about Arepas (seriously, what the fuck is it about these people and cooking?!) is a great idea, also won't have a single bad thing to say about the Chavez bolivarean socialist dictatorship in Venezuela either.

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GhostNinja

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
It's not an assumption. You can check what their RPG-design credits are. Several of them have little or none. Even Ajit George's (who was made the lead designer of the project) only major contribution appears to be an adventure for the Candlekeep book before this, which was another make-work project for wokists. His real job is that he works for some kind of "charity" with leftist overtones. Others in Citadel include video game designers/feminists, the marketing director for critical role (obligatory hire to keep in nice with Matt Mercer?), a feminist YA sci fi writer,  and a writer of Vegan Cookbooks.  What's BLATANTLY clear is that not one of these people were primarily hired because they are skilled, experienced, or any good at game design or writing RPG adventures.


Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PMSome of these people are so totally unfamiliar with D&D they may never have actually played. One of these people, Felice Kuan (the feminist video gamer) admitted she didn't even know how to make statblocks and so she needed a WoTC permanent wage-slave  to do the mechanical work for her.

Ok that's actually one person you have proved doesn't know D&D.  The fact that they hired anyone who doesn't know D&D is troubling, I will agree with you there.


Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
Another thing that is blatantly clear is that they were ALSO not hired for the basis of any actual knowledge of the cultures they were writing about. Almost none of them are the product of careful meaningful historical or mythological research. Most of them are just based on lived experiences as 2nd or 3rd gen immigrant descendants of those cultures (or of cultures that are themselves distantly descended from the setting; like, seriously, how does the Left believe that some kid who grew up in LA and barely speaks Persian is automatically an expert on Ancient Persian History because of magic blood?).

Wizards puts out a shit product.  No Surprise.


Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
No, the race thing is not actually central to the hiring process, it was just a litmus test for entry. And game design skill had nothing to do with it obviously. So the only two qualifications I can see is:
a) you were a friend or business interest of either Ajit George or other people in WoTC (essentially make-work project)
b) You are a sufficient adequate of Woke totalitarian ideology.

That's it.

Again since you don't have facts you jump to hyperbole.    I don't know who the hell Ajit George is or anyone who works at WOTC and I have already said in my posts that the Woke shit is crap.  Reading comprehension is your friend.
Ghostninja

GhostNinja

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
It's not an assumption. You can check what their RPG-design credits are. Several of them have little or none. Even Ajit George's (who was made the lead designer of the project) only major contribution appears to be an adventure for the Candlekeep book before this, which was another make-work project for wokists. His real job is that he works for some kind of "charity" with leftist overtones. Others in Citadel include video game designers/feminists, the marketing director for critical role (obligatory hire to keep in nice with Matt Mercer?), a feminist YA sci fi writer,  and a writer of Vegan Cookbooks.  What's BLATANTLY clear is that not one of these people were primarily hired because they are skilled, experienced, or any good at game design or writing RPG adventures.

How does any of this prove that any of these people dont or haven't played D&D?

Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PMSome of these people are so totally unfamiliar with D&D they may never have actually played. One of these people, Felice Kuan (the feminist video gamer) admitted she didn't even know how to make statblocks and so she needed a WoTC permanent wage-slave  to do the mechanical work for her.

Ok that's actually one person you have proved doesn't know D&D.  The fact that they hired anyone who doesn't know D&D is troubling, I will agree with you there.


Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
Another thing that is blatantly clear is that they were ALSO not hired for the basis of any actual knowledge of the cultures they were writing about. Almost none of them are the product of careful meaningful historical or mythological research. Most of them are just based on lived experiences as 2nd or 3rd gen immigrant descendants of those cultures (or of cultures that are themselves distantly descended from the setting; like, seriously, how does the Left believe that some kid who grew up in LA and barely speaks Persian is automatically an expert on Ancient Persian History because of magic blood?).

Wizards puts out a shit product.  No Surprise.


Quote from: RPGPundit on July 25, 2022, 03:59:49 PM
No, the race thing is not actually central to the hiring process, it was just a litmus test for entry. And game design skill had nothing to do with it obviously. So the only two qualifications I can see is:
a) you were a friend or business interest of either Ajit George or other people in WoTC (essentially make-work project)
b) You are a sufficient adequate of Woke totalitarian ideology.

That's it.

Again since you don't have facts you jump to hyperbole.    I don't know who the hell Ajit George is or anyone who works at WOTC and I have already said in my posts that the Woke shit is crap.  Reading comprehension is your friend.
Ghostninja