You know, since James over at Grognardia switched to his new comments format, I have not been able to leave a comment (forcing me to comment here about things I see there. That’s right, ToD has become a Grognardia commentary blog).
It’s a blessing in disguise really, because my comments online sometimes get me into trouble. I’m a nice guy, but when it comes to some of the things said on forums and comments sections (I really do need to stay away from these “think tanks”) I often react snarkily when presented with a comment that seems to come from an unfathomable place. It’s one of the reasons I’m doubling my efforts to stay away from most of them. But I do still read Grognardia, and James latest post is about the perennial fave, the Giants series. I’ve been planning to use at least part of it for the occasional high level 1st edition game (my last campaign, Night Below, left off with PC’s around 9th level) in the future, so have been revisiting it. I love the Hill Giant Steading especially. But one comment in the comments section really got my goat. Here it is in part:
“…Have to say I don't care for the G series or for any of the tournament style modules published around the same time. In G1 you have a bunch of giant sitting around eating dinner and the PCs have to break in and murder them all. It's more of an assassination mission than any heroic quest I wanted to be involved in (even as a 13 year old). Maybe that's because I view giants and just big people rather than monsters that need to be slain like manticores or carrion crawlers…”
WTF? To be fair, it was mentioned clearly (not sure of the exact wording in the module, because I don’t have it at work) that these giants were using a base of operations (the steading) to raise hell in the peaceful farmlands and villages. Stomping old ladies and drop- kicking household pets into orbit. That dinner they are eating is from the larders of destroyed farmhouses and family dwellings. And the orcs and ogres were probably eating the families from those villages.
It's not murder. It's war. Saying the giants were slavers, kidnappers, and murderers that needed to be dealt with (and what are you going to do, handcuff them all and put them in jail?) is about right. Plus it turns out that the giants are involved in a major conspiracy and secret war of an underground race of cruel and evil beings. I'd say the characters who attack the joint are pretty heroic. Bosh on this "leave the giants alone at dinner time" nonsense. You get in there with your high level characters and take it to the grill of those big Em Effers.
When I discovered the online gamer community a few short years ago, I noticed (especially in places like rpg.net) a certain type of gamer who has a sort of “new age” attitude about monsters. A sort of orc-hugging, soft-mother view of non-humans. I’m not heartless, and can understand that is the type of D&D they want to play, and that’s fine. I had a girlfriend when I was a teen who was the daughter of hippy parents. She loved to play D&D, but once actually broke into quiet tears over all the monster slaying involved. But for me, most monsters are not misunderstood. They want to kill you, eat your children, and steal your stuff. Orcs and Ogres are pricks! And those damn giants in the steading deserve the beating of their lives for their atrocities. No regrets!
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ReplyDelete*facepalm*
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Seriously?! An ADULT wrote that comment? That's about as silly as weeping over "killing" an opponent's plastic pieces in a game of Risk.
Going into a giant's lair to slay the monsters that are terrorizing the countryside? That's about as basic as it gets when it comes to heroic fantasy. Shit, that's an integral part of mythology from around the world! Sounds like someone has forgotten about thousands of years of tradition, both oral and written.
What's with this touchy-feely approach to D&D?
I blame it all on the hippies.
I blame it all on Drizzt.
ReplyDeleteNo... blame it on a generation raised in years of overextending political correctness...
ReplyDeleteIt's just so weird. A D&D player who thinks attacking maurading monster in their lair is an atrocity. We aren't talking Native Americans here. Like I said, baffling.
ReplyDeleteI want to say something but... I just really can't find anything to say.
ReplyDeleteI mean, not heroic enough? Dude, seriously. This kid needs to "reed moar Greek mith." Achilles cuts down Trojans like they're cardboard cutouts, kills Hector, drags his corpse around the city, then makes his father, King Priam, BEG for his son's mutilated corpse so he can at least bury him.
Now THAT'S heroic!
My approach to monsters: let the players think "these are different" just to have them realize "no, they are worse" a few minutes later. Stuff in the MM are alien and wicked, live with it. Or as one of my players said after mercilessly cutting the throat of a captured hobgoblin: "Hey, IT was a hobgoblin, so what?" He was a CG cleric of Selune (FR).
ReplyDeleteI can understand the point he makes - home invasion isn't a nice thing to do.
ReplyDeleteBut most important is the context of that home invasion.
Is it a gang of thugs breaking in to rob and kill the homeowners? Most of us would see that as wrong.
But if it was the cops breaking into a house to capture and stop murdering drug-dealers, most people wouldn't have a problem with it (unless, of course, they were corrupt cops stealing from the drug-dealers without bringing them to justice ala The Shield).
I see D&D as a pretty black and white game, the alignment system sees to that: Capital G Good vs. Capital E Evil.
So busting into someone's home isn't a nice thing to do, but, in the G-series modules, the Capital G Good guys can do it to the Capital E Evil guys to put a stop to their actions because it fits the genre tropes.
Hey, don't blame it on Drizzt, I'm sure he would take out those giants too.
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