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Old July 12th, 2008, 09:19 PM
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HoneyBadger HoneyBadger is offline
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Default Re: Real-world sensitivities and game names

I'd argue that the game is better for including "potentially offensive" material. It's a lot more educational that way, since exactly those sorts of things happened, and worse. Murder, rape, and torture happened. And then racism happened, and slavery, and genocide, and Eurocentrality in fantasy gaming.
Fun things happened, like the privelage of a noble to rape his vassal's bride on their wedding night, and the kidnapping and selling of children who had set out with the intention to free the holy land, in the Children's Cruisade. The Inquisition happened. Honest old women were burned at the stake. Heroes were crucified-and not just Christian ones, either. Entire species of animals were exterminated for purposes of entertainment. People tried their damnest-and I mean that term literally-to summon up demons from the pits of Hell, because they thought it was a good idea, having plum run out of ideas for evil things to do, themselves.

And bad things still do happen, believe it or not.

As far as using "potentially offensive" names in the game-please keep in mind that all publicity is good publicity. How many non Jews here had any idea what a Kohen was? How many non Indians know that the Rakshasas were an actual historical people? A better question might be: How many people here appreciate the works of H. P. Lovecraft, without sympathising with his racist, antisemetic viewpoints?

In the words of Plato, or maybe Socrates: "Knowledge is the only good I know of, ignorance, the only evil." Another good saying is "Beware the man who would keep knowledge from you, for he would be your master". I don't know who said that, off the top of my head, but I do have the power to look it up, and the will to form my own opinions about that saying, and the person who said it, separate the two, and take value from each, individually and as a sum.
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