Quote from the opening of “The Hyborian Age” essay by Robert E. Howard:
“Nothing in this article is to be considered as an attempt to advance any theory in opposition to accepted history. It is simply a fictional background for a series of fiction-stories…”
If Robert E. Howard could tell the difference between reality and fiction we should be able to do the same.
Except that in the previous versions the “Exotic” word was not meant to be racist but just represent REH’s point of view (and also fascination for the East).
I completely agree and, somehow, I’m happy to live on the Mediterranean.
I have made the PDF diff, too. The changes are numerous and very … petty.
It seems those changes are driven by a very negative, toxic, even racist viewpoint that considers not only some colorful words like “exotic” to become “evil”, but also leads to cutting actual information.
An example would be, cutting the fact that on the Lotus Road the main trade is in DRUGS. This got cut away, left off.
But why?
In this fantasy setting, in this region of a fantasy world, the people there are dealing in the fantasy drug of Lotus in its different forms.
Why would that be considered somehow “politically inacceptible”?
If the trade in drugs from the exotic east is inacceptible, wouldn’t that be even more the case regarding the trade in slaves?
Shouldn’t, by applying the same kind of - weird and irrational - “logic”, all other for modern day political considerations regarded “risky” or “insensitive” facts be cut out of the Conan books?
That would, of course, mean reworking the already published ones,too.
You know, the ones with slaves and slavery and even slave hunters as character archetypes.
What happened here with Conan the Wanderer was several steps too far.
This damages the product and even the whole product line.
One can be very sceptical about the quality of content in the still many books to come in the following waves.
I consider this reworking of Conan the Wanderer and possible future books a very insensitive mistake.
When I backed Modiphius Conan on KS, it was advertized that Conan scholars ensure the true spirit of REH. And now some sensitivity reader who is seemingly not well versed in REH fiction is now “censoring” the work of the Conan scholars? Homestly? This is highly ridiculous.
@Modiphius , I second the demand for a non mutilated original for the KS backers.
Expanded QUOTE from Ricky Gervais
“I’ve always said, just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right. Some people are offended by equality, we’ve seen that more and more in the past few years.”
“I say you have to know what the target of the joke is, what the subject is. You can make jokes about race without being racist. You can make jokes about the sexes without being sexist.”
…and you can write a Sword & Sorcery RPG based on the fictional world of a pulp writer from the early 20th century without automatically endorsing the prevalent cultural views of that time and place.
Weirdly, they deleted the references to the Vendhyan caste system, too.
So the drug smuggling road is no longer smuggling drugs, but “treasures”.
And the caste system is no longer that.
And what is the actual gain, what is the actual problem that got “solved” by deleting such information, such elements of the fiction?
It does indeed. I backed for the PDF level but have bought the dead tree version successively. And it is very bitter that Durall and Lites were removed for a “sensitivity reader” who does the great work a disservice.
Sadly no more hardcovers for me, if the content is bastardized.
In the removing of the caste system, I find interesting, that this removal is actually treating the real-world inspiration, India, in a very colonialistic and degrading fashion.
Whoever demanded this deletion does not respect the current day real-world India and its cultural and societal differences, but wants to eliminate them in a very forceful and heavy handed manner in an indian-inspired fantasy version.
This is actual modern day WESTERN(!) political considerations imposed in the old colonial fashion that made India suffering from western political interference for centuries!
This “cultural sensitivity reader” apparently despises current day indian culture and society so much, that this had to be changed in a fictional indian-inspired region description.
This is insensitive.
Now that the US has five more states that have legalized recreational “lotus” after the current election. US citizens have 5 more locales to enjoy their “treasures”.
In my next adventure I’m going to replace all the gold and jewels with bales of pot. Then they can offer some to the locals whose temple they invaded and say “look we understand you now, this raid was screened for sensitivity so there’s no need to get all stabby when can all just smoke some of your treasure and celebrate your cultural uniqueness.”
It will be epic
I’ve been to the Algarve region in Portugal. Beautiful area, great food. Would love to go back some day.
“Algarve region in Portugal” is a bit insensitive, it has “exotic” vibes. And the descriptive adjective “Beautiful” could indicate body shaming…or in this case area shaming. And “love” implies forced emotions.
What’s about:
I’ve been to a place. Average area, food that is not better or worse than anywhere else. Would go back some day.
This message is approved by a sensitivity reader.
I’m Italian! And I’ve lived and studied in UK and worked in Libya and Cyprus.
I have friends and worked with people of so many different ethnics, religions and ideas, from throughout the world.
The Mediterranean is a place where multi-culturalism and intra-culture dialogue/conflicts (including our share of racism and idiots) are way more ancient than in the US.
But most people are able to distinguish between real problems and fake problems. We have our own problems and weaknesses but, frankly, somehow I feel that we starting getting the worse things from the anglo-american world.
Luca, I’ve lurked on the KS and on the message board for a long time, read your posts there and for the Conan Boardgame. Interesting how a discussion about cultural insensitivity finally encouraged me to actually communicate with someone from a different culture about cultural sensitivity in an RPG. Modiphius you’re a genius!
As for myself, I live in midwestern town of the USA surrounded by cornfields. Thankfully the college town I live in is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the entire state because of the international student population. It is literally like a mini-global village. I am grateful my kids will grow up here and get a chance to meet and play with kids from Jordan, China, Turkey, France, the list goes on.
I can only speak for myself, but it is aggravating to constantly get bombarded with the message from our national media about how awful America is. It doesn’t match my lived multi-cultural reality.
Reads like a 2-star Yelp review. Say, I think I just rated Wanderer…
total bs. frell you sensitivity reader, sir.
Another weird renaming: Martial-Arts Talents were renamed to Unarmed Talents, although some of them are for use with weapons - like Martial-Arts weapons.
What is “wrong” with the term “martial-arts”?
Unarmed talents with names like “Symphony of Blades” and “Flashing Steel”…
Send them an email to support@modiphius.com
Whatever their ideas about “sensitivity” this is clearly an error since many of those talents are for weapons.
And, by the way, another example of how much a “sensitivity reader” with preconceptions may change things which do not need to be changed.
I’m not offended though.
That’s my point exactly. The words were never meant to be racist, but meanings or perceptions of certain words change over time. That’s why any product has to be adapted to the current times.
And to be clear: I’m not offended by either the old version nor the new version of Wanderer, nor am I a fan of all the changes. I was just advertising to maybe not blow some changed adjectives like “exotic” out of proportion.
That’s utter non-sense! That’s a form of cencorship!