Apologized Friday for the racist content included in Wizards of the Coast Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, the most recent release for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. Wizards apologized on social media on Friday and posted additional details on the company’s website.
“We failed our adventurers,” said the Wizards on twitter“And we’re really sorry.”
The apology refers to a caste called the Hadozhi, which includes spelljammer‘s Astral Adventurer’s Guide and in the online Dungeons & Dragons Beyond toolset. Primetallic creatures were called out for their association with in-fiction slavery as well as problematic themes and images, which together work to reinforce racism against black people.
“We wanted to acknowledge and include our recent objectionable material” Spelljammer: Adventures in Space Content,” the wizards wrote. “The campaign includes people called Hadozee who first appeared in 1982. Sadly, not all parts of Hadozee-related content were properly screened before appearing in our most recent release. Keeping learning and growing in the situation, we believe we have to do better in order to live up to our values.”
Wizards Says Offensive Content Related to Hadozee Has Been Removed from All Digital Versions of spelljammer and will not be included in the reprint of the physical book. Wizards also said it is conducting a “thorough internal review” of the processes that lead to its publication.
“We are forever grateful for the ongoing dialogue with the D&D community, and we look forward to bringing new, engaging and inclusive content to D&D for generations to come,” Wizards said in its statement. “D&D teaches that diversity is strength, only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome the many challenges the D&D story presents. In that spirit, we are committed to making D&D as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.”
Errata Featuring Modified Content, Not Only Pertaining To Hadozhi But Entire spelljammer The products are available as a free PDF.
This is not the first time that Wizards has had to make a statement about insensitive content in its 5th Edition D&D products, nor is it the first time it has made changes to previously published material. Cultural consultants are commonly employed by game makers of every stripe to root out such content, and wizards have used their services in the past. No such external advisor is listed in the credits of the book.
Ironically, the episode follows a notably progressive release by Wizards, titled Anthology of Adventures. Journey through the Bright Citadel, written exclusively by writers of color. The next big release for D&D is a reboot of the Dragonlance setting, along with a companion strategy board game, starting this November.
