Your solution reminds me of 1984. So you would rewrite books to adapt them to current “sensitivities”? Welcome to the Ministry of Truth, Big Brother. 
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Changing
“To boldly go where no man has gone before”
to
“To boldly go where no one has gone before”
is censorship or Big Brother stuff to you?
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No, because the changed line was used in a different show. It would be the case if they redubbed the line in every single episode and changed the line in every single book it appeared. But the original line is still used. It was used in Enterprise for example.
My thesis is that if a product wants to stay relevant, it has to adapt. This is what Star Trek did when it migrated from TOS with TNG. Not only with the tag line, but also with the whole aesthetic. And that’s what Conan does when migrating from short story/comic/book to RPG. As you mentioned, TNG is a different show. So is the Conan RPG.
You do realize that I’m not advocating changing history?
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You honestly do those mental gymnastics, picking one “harmless” example?
What’s about the removal of the vendyan caste system? Rather sounds like “censorship”?
Or the logic behind
when there are unarmed talents refering to actual weapons?
Okay, get it, you need your safe space and feel entitled to have works of authors rewritten by sensivity readers to not be offended. Your opinion and you are of course entitled to your own opinion.
I had given up on Modiphius before, was still thinking about giving them a chance, but they keep making the wrong choices. They are turning all their settings into Wokeland and I really do not belong in that place… And I have a feeling that a lot of people who chose Conan because it was advertised as true to the works of REH will feel the same. On the positive side, Mutant Chronicles is just about over, and I don’t think Modiphius will bother to give it the Ministry of Truth treatment now. I also hope the people at Corvus Belli will not let them ruin Infinity with too much “sensitivity”. As for Conan, I believe it willl only get worse if they decide to publish more material. It does appear that they have figured out (wrongfully or not) that their public is quite woke (or isn’t, but will not care and will keep buying their stuff anyway). I still hope they will be proved wrong in the end…
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As a portuguese I’m quite offended by this! The quaint and picturesque region of Algarve deserves better that that average review. They have some exotic cuisine over there and the foreigners usually get mysterious sunburns after a few days on the beach.
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As I said before, I’m not a fan of all the changes. That includes these. It seems strange that the caste system is ignored even though you actually pick a class during character creation.
I try to empathize with others, respect their point of view and try to understand it. And I can totally understand the frustrations here. Apparently backers have been waiting a long time for this book, and now it feels that they are getting a censored version of it. I just don’t feel the need to diminish or talk down to someone or infer any character traits just because they don’t share my opinion. That’s how safe my space already is.
Such mental gymnastics actually help me to see different sides of an issue and keep me from being single-minded.
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Your “colourful” description will make Mr. Ghouse’s ears bleed!
But Portugal is indeed a real eyecatcher. Rarely seen a more beautiful city than Lisboa!
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Okay, in case I will ever run Pit of Kutallu for a sensitive group, I have started to rewrite…cough…approriately adapt the antiquated text for modern times:
Recently invited by free labour recruiters to a job interview, you are in a passenger cabin of
a cruise liner headed for a tourist market on the coast
of the Kingdoms of colour, facing an intruiging and in no way offensive
future. But your fate is about to change. The free labour recruiters,
led by their special team leader, have a treasured guest…
a strong and brave Aquilonian noblewoman named Delia, invited
alongside you. She is expected in Kush, but wants none of its patriarchy.
Now english is not my native language. If an escpecially sensitive english speaker may help me in my endevaour, I’d be very thankful!
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I respectfully disagree.
As you have said above, you are not “a reader of REH’s original Conan material”, therefore I guess that’s one of the reasons you do not understand the scale of the problem.
Furthermore, adherence to the original source was the MAIN factor for people throwing money into this KS.
And there’s a reason for that.
The works of REH (as well as those of Tolkien, Morcoock, etc…) are all at the roots of the “generic sinkhole fantasy” that D&D or other Media (like games, comics and series) spread these days.
If we “adapt” or “modernize” too much these sources without reference for the original mood and feelings of the sources what we get is, modern, D&D-style generic fantasy.
So much of the REH original material on Conan is characterized by a a series of factors which are fundamental to make it standing over the derivative, modern generic fantasy.
And “fascination for the Exotic” is a KEY ELEMENT in stories like “People of the Black Circle” or “Shadows in Zamboula”.
If you delete it, will just make Conan nearer to the “Generic Fantasy” mood.
And this is a pretty big risk since Conan is at the roots of modern fantasy and, if you take just one or two details, it’s pretty easy to fall into the generic fantasy class.
Again, if you have never read REH, you cannot understand it but, believe me: that’s one of the main reasons people are upset about what they dared doing with Wanderer AFTER taking our money 5 years ago promising a “pure REH game”.
I’ve seen problems with the supposed “REH Purity” even in a few of the past books of this series…but those were details, and the problem never was at the scale of what they did to Wanderer.
Furthermore, the disapperance of the names of the original authors (Durall and Lites) is REALLY suspect in that sense, especially since we all know them to love the original Conan stories.
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As I’m not a lifelong reader of REH - in fact I’ve only read the Conan stories a couple of years ago (about the same time I decided to buy the RPG) - I can testify that one does not need to be an REH reader - at least not in the strictest sense - to understand the need to adhere to some basic principles. Denying that adapting a setting to conform to modern times will change the essence of it makes no sense at all.
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Reading this thread makes me happy that I only backed for the PDF copies. Can anyone tell me is any rules-related material (other than the aforementioned “unarmed talents”) was changed by these shenanigans?
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I’ve put this comment on the KS page. Not sure how much it is visibile or not on that media.
Just, in order to MAYBE been noticed by somebody I paste it here too, and I’m also sending an email.
Here is the comment:
"As a further note, re-reading #144 Update the line "- The Conan the Wanderer book we were waiting on arrives next week on the 6th November. "
HOWEVER, (maybe it’s my fault) I’ve noticed the existence of the pdf with “revised” text only a couple of days ago. Does it mean that you have PRINTED the “revised” book WITHOUT showing its text to us, the backers?
If you did so, Modiphius, shame on you.
You have acted in SECRET, without showing the backers the final shaped of a product which, frankly, became a pure betrayal of the concept of “Robert E. Howard’s Conan Roleplaying Game” which attracted me and so many other backers.
Furthermore TWO of the MAIN AUTHORS which were in the line since the beginning (Jason Durall & Chris Lites) just disappeared as authors from the book.
Do you realize how HEAVY this situation may appear for us, the backers?
I really hope you have started not printing this but, if you did it, you really disappointed us, by not being OPEN AND CLEAR explaining why they are missing,
You know that I’ve NEVER complained about delays (but so many other did) but I always pretended Pure REH treatment for the money I’ve given you some years ago.
And we get not only this “sentivitity-checked” book which betrays’ REH writings, but a book with new ERRORS which were NOT in the original book (e.g. the “Unarmed talents” refering to talents which can be used with weapons).
If you have really started printing this miserable, “sensitivity-checked” pure betrayal of REH pastiche I frankly feel offended and betrayed by your lack of opennes.
I’m sorry to say but, unless you explain us everything, I’m not sure I’ll ever buy anything else from Modiphius or even recommend buying products from your company (I’m rather on the opposite side).
I hope I’m wrong but PLEASE: explain us.
And, If I’m wrong about this book been already in print, I beg your pardon. But I REALLY hope you have not started printing it."
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Kickstarter went and deleted mine and another post, when all I said was it’s a sad state we find ourselves in.
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Would be nice from Modiphius to give an explanation why the break their promise giving us a REH experience and instead infuse present day “sensitivities” in their Conan line of KS books.
And why of all were fan favorite authors Jason Durall and Chris Lites removed from the book?
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The removal of the two authors, Durall and Lites, bothers me quite a bit.
The credits page could simply have been re-layouted to allow for including the new “cultural sensitivity reader” in addition to keeping the information just as before.
Why Modiphius thought to - in fact - replace the two authors by this new “reader” is beyond comprehension.
Usually, if an author or other creative’s name gets removed from the credits page, there has been at least some alleged MAJOR infraction on the part of the removed author - like sexual harrassment accusations or so, the publishing house does not want to be associated with.
Is there anything known, that both, Durall and Lites, have been accused of some “unbecoming” behaviour that would justify their removal from the credits page?
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Or maybe they just did not want be alligned with the new version.
Theres is no way to be sure about it unless Modiphius or the two authors declare anything about it.
As far as I know, the two authors did not say anything about it on any media (and I mean: this is a matter of professional ethics, so I fully understand if they do not say anything on the public about it).
On the other hand, it’s Modiphius duty to tell the backers what happened.
And if they do not do it…well, I feel that frankly so many gamers will feel less happy about it, especially among us backers/potential customers for future products.
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Now that they’ve censored the book, they are censoring backers. It all dovetails nicely. Big brother indeed…
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Now someone may have to correct me on the particulars here but it seems to me that game line (at least the Kickstarter management) stalled/shifted after Sam Webb took over the development and updates. Updates became fewer and the encouragement of backer feedback waned considerably.
I would have to go back and revisit each update to prove/validate what I suspect but I believe that change in management of the Conan line has something to do with the delays and rewrites.
I don’t expect any accountability from the Conan management but as someone who works in quality and customer satisfaction, I can tell you that underperformance and customer dissatisfaction do affect performance reviews.
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