Black Lives Matter
No, this isn’t what The Handbook of Heroes is usually about. This past week isn’t what any of us are usually about. I play games to entertain my friends, to express myself creatively, and to crack wise with strangers on the internet. The world doesn’t stop at the edge of the magic circle though. Mundane reality has a way of leaking in and coloring our fantastic worlds. Today, I hope that the reverse is also true. I hope that things like heroism, justice, and capital “G” Good find their way out from the borders of fantasy.
If you came here today hoping to escape the madness pouring out of every available media outlet, I apologize. We don’t plan on becoming a political cartoon. But even if our platform is small here in Handbook-World, we hope to lend our voice to the chorus shout that Black Lives Matter. We’ll get back to your regularly scheduled adventure on Friday.
In the meantime though? Go out there. Save the world. Do more than pretend to be a hero.
(NOTE: We’ll be keeping an eye on the comments for this one. Keep it civil. Inflammatory comments will be removed.)
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
We’re not the only people in the gaming community speaking out on police violence and systemic racism in the US. The following list comes from the good people at r/rpghorrorstories. With any luck, these resources can help to effect change in a tangible way. If you have anything to add to the linkstorm, please shout it out down in the comments. Remember to only give what you can.
- Official George Floyd Memorial Fund — A GoFundMe organized by Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s sister. This is where you can donate directly to the family. They also accept cards of support as well if you cannot afford a donation.
- Donation Mega List — The Rolling Stone has collected many dozens of sources you can choose to donate (a few of which are also highlighted here). Your one stop shop.
- Color of Change – Justice for Floyd — A petition you can sign advocating justice for George Floyd, already past 100%. Keep up the support.
- Minneapolis Relief Resources — An assortment of links to GoFundMes and Fundraisers to help local businesses in Minneapolis repair after they’ve been damaged by the protests. Also food drives and city clean ups.
- Campaign Zero — An organization dedicated to ending police violence. Comes with useful tools to look up state/federal legislators in your area, and to track the status of police related legislature as well. If you can’t get involved monetarily, we encourage you to add your voice to the chorus.
- American Civil Liberties Union — ACLU supports the individual rights and liberties of American citizens. Besides donating you can check our their Take Action section to get more information on protests and events near you.
- We <3 Lake Street — An initiative to clean up Lake Street, Minneapolis and help fix up the damaged businesses there.
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Wow, Paladin actually doing acts of good and not being Lawful Stupid. I’m impressed.
Axe of Good should be a cursed item that forces you to perform charitable deeds.
Not a bad idea as a subplot for Fighter to obtain this ‘cursed’ item and be ‘punished’ for abandoning Mr. Stabby.
Well hey, it worked for Garg: https://fragmentsofruin.fandom.com/wiki/Garg_%26_Moonslicer
That was beautiful – thank you for sharing the link.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day 🙂
A proper Lawful character would understand that the rules apply to everyone. If those in power aren’t complying with the rules, actions must be taken. Corrupt authorities must be removed, and rules must be structured so that those in power cannot work around them.
No one likes mixing politics into D&D because in truth, it’s way easier to change the world in D&D than it is in the real world, and that becomes a sad sort of wish fulfillment.
Everyone can accept Orcs always being chaotic evil wanting nothing but destruction so we can guiltlessly exterminate them, because the only people who do that in the real world are fellow humans who are as nuanced and complex as yourself, because you’re also human.
Everyone holds Paladins to the highest standards of their oaths because they have magic literally granted to them by actual higher powers to do so, and are punished if they abuse or misuse that power. The same cannot be said of those who have been granted the power to hold our lives either in their hand or under their foot in the real world.
D&D gives us the chance to be heroes because in reality, we’re not. Where no different from the NPC of the nameless village being harassed by goblins, unable to put up any meaningful resistance despite our own individual intelligence and ability, because like an NPC all it takes is a solid blow from a moderately competent bully to end us.
Frankly speaking, people don’t rise up and become heroes probably for the same reason your random townsfolk isn’t just a level 1 Barbarian in waiting: it takes special people to become heroes. And we’re not nearly as special as we think we are.
Heros and special people come in all shapes, sizes, and talents. I was a hero playing for a bunch of people who didn’t have a piano player for their church (I’m terrible but better than nothing). I was a special person helping students figure out what they needed to do to finish the semester (though it was frustrating at both ends).
Anyone, even YOU, can be a special hero to the people around you every day! Something as small as just a smile or a note of encouragement during these trying times, goes a long way for the recipient. Good doesn’t have to take on epic proportions. Being there for others and doing good where you can is heroic to the people you do it for. <3
You don’t have to be a Special Person to join a protest. You don’t have to be a Special Person to call your legislators. You don’t have to be a Special Person to donate money to good causes.
Anyone can be a hero.
I always liked Aragorn on this point:
You don’t have to punch a dark lord to be a hero. You don’t have to rally the populace, single-handedly stop a war, or even fight a dragon. When you discover Evil in your midst, all you have to do is anything.
Heroes are just people that can stand up and face wrongness, in a game a PC may be a hero for getting Exaltation, in real life people is a hero just for using that spark already in them 🙂
I realized a little belatedly that I used the wrong LotR quote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvAAAHVFBI
Alas, racism bleeds into fantasy as well. Because if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be believable, is the sad thing. From irrational to ‘justified’ (I’m looking at you, Dwarves, and your racial ‘hatred’). But things are improving, hopefully. Slowly.
In case you missed this one:
https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/fantasy-racism
It’s odd to say, but I like the racist element built into D&D settings. There’s the issue of verisimilitude, as you say, but I also think it’s valuable to explore the topic in fiction. No story can tell you ‘what it’s really like’ to face discrimination day after day, but even if there’s a hint of empathy in the experience, I think that’s worthwhile.
I think it’s bleeding out rather than in: Nowadays „racial hatred“ can be traded in for something cool. Dwarfs are still big offenders though, with only one alternate trait for it that isn’t just „hate something else“.
I certainly was not expecting such a comic. Our nation’s struggles to “form a more perfect union” are/have always been fraught with difficulties, and the current calls for change move across the globe. It remains to be seen what outcomes are achieved – that you call us to live our higher selves and greater obligations is entirely appropriate, as well as Good. My heart swells with admiration and pride to be associated such people and with such a community.
Cheers, Jim. <3
It’s funny, but I found a lot of inspiration in this one:
https://i.redd.it/faw5cua8gm351.png
To make sure the positive feedback keeps up with the negative feedback you’re guaranteed to be getting:
Thank you!
Thanks, Daryen.
Laurel and I have been anxious about that, but it’s been overwhelmingly positive so far. I think we’ve got a pretty good community here. 🙂
Would you mind if I posted this on imgur?
Do it up. Just do me a favor and link back here so that people can find the “Ways You Can Help” links.
Oh absolutely.
I think fantasy elements provide a boost over hurdles that are otherwise impossible in the real world. Real racism is frustrating and complicated, with hope for change but a lot of complex problems all at once.
But how can you be racist in the face of real, dangerous, capital E, Evil? When the forces of darkness bear down on the party it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, only who you choose to be. Humor lies in the silliness of hating a group when there is real evil in the world. The greenskins may have slaughtered your village but Gorebag over there just took a disintegration ray for you even though you made fun of how he smells.
These thorny, real world problems are more complicated than the fantasy equivalent. That’s why I like Neil Gaiman on the issue:
Choosing to face the world’s problems rather than ignoring them and hoping they go away… That’s what I hope this community can do. I hope we can be better than NPCs.
Any plans of an art stream/live game or similar charity/awareness endeavor, by chance? Could team up with someone, even (Glass Cannon, Rusty & Co?).
Hi Zarhon! We currently don’t have plans for any streams ourselves, but if anyone wanted to collaborate, I’d be up for it!
Hell yeah. I got nasty sunburn marching so I’m out for a few days, but I’ll be back out there as soon as it heals up. This made me happy (and next time i’ll wear sunscreen)
Potions of fire resistance are an important tool in the quest for justice.
Take a long rest, heal up, then go get ’em!
Civil disobedience is a Lawful Good principle. A Lawful Good character is not obligated to defer to rules/authority when doing so would cause harm.
Heh. I guess we’ve got a lot of street paladins rather than street samurai out there.
I appreciate I only e-know you Colin, but this is fantastic. Of COURSE you’ll have to suffer the slings and arrows of a few dimwits somewhere – either comments or withdrawal of patreon funds or keyboard warrior-styled lambasting on other forums, but thank you so much for this. I hope it spreads like wildfire across our weird and wonderful gaming world.
Stephen! Thanks for stopping in, man. And for the kind words.
The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Fingers crossed that the slings and arrows crowd take the day off. But more importantly, I hope that the positive reaction is a bellwether for the movement towards police reform in general. People seem to be overwhelmingly in favor of large-scale systemic change, and that’s an encouraging thing.
Thank you.
🙂
hell, yeah.
But please don’t do anything out there that jeopardizes your ability to vote in November.
We’re based out of Atlanta at the moment. Believe me, safety is very much top of mind.
good to hear you ate staying safe, but I also meant everyone who is out „hero-ing“: Stay legal so you can go and vote.
^ Sage advice. (Eat your hear out Zoltar!)
was supposed to say „are staying safe“
who put the „t“ next to the „r“on the keyboard? bloody nuisance
Year 2020, in the grim darkness of the present, black people suffers as much as 80 years ago and before that. No offense but you there, up in the US, need to meditate on the kind of country you want. Racism, health care issues, Trump. Is good to see people wanting to change thing, saying no more this wrongness again, we deserve better than this. But until the change happens, sadly, this will repeat 🙁
But if that is enough to cease fighting for that better tomorrow is that people didn’t wanted it on the first place. Keep the work, change your country for better and then the world 🙂
Once a man said: “I have a dream” and i trust that man because i know that wasn’t a dream, but a brighter future yet to come 😀
If we’re doing MLK quotes, this one might be handy in the coming days:
“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society.”
https://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/mlkspeech/?fbclid=IwAR2ehrpMtuZTU_lbbLKWKAZfsJXuwj5z2ZRa0e9wLtAaf7rDsiN893dX-1Q
More people would need to read his words. So many decades since they where said and still resonate. Thanks for the link it will be interesting to read some more things 🙂
I am not from the US, i know who Martin Luther King is, but is good idea no matter the reasons to read that man words. Hope this ends for the better and take care of you, stay safe and make the world a better place 🙂
What, really? Black people “suffer” as much today as in 1940? Measured how, exactly? Standard of living, access to the vote, education level, average lifespan? Something else?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movements#Movements_for_civil_rights_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches#“Bloody_Sunday”_events
But these are just incomplete answers. As is the fact that even with a president like Trump latin people still gets it better than black people in term of unemployment, civil rights, harassment by the police and death sentences. But that is also am incomplete answer because the true question is not: “How much black people suffer” but “If they suffer or not, if they are feared or hated without motive other than racism, if they have achieved equality with the rest of the people they live on or not”. That is the real question 🙂
Unless you accept a certain threshold of abuse and harassment as aceptable 🙁
You wrote: “black people suffers as much as 80 years ago”. That is obviously not true unless you have something to back it up. I’m not saying that there are no problems – there might be – but to claim that nothing has changed since 1940…
Fine, as you said buddy, i will not lose my time with you :/
I follow a decent number of webcomics, and a bunch of them have posted a “black lives matter” issue consisting of only black panels over the last few days. And that’s also good and respect to all of them – but this is awesome! Absolutely to the point and staying true to the spirit of the comic nevertheless! Love it.
Hear, hear. A number of Web comics I read, I’ve imagined what would happen if their mainly-white casts were black. Answer: nothing…in their world. In our world, it’d be different.
For instance, a typical urban fantasy Web comic might show their one or two black characters taking a knee alongside the local police department, to show their local police don’t stand for the police brutality that sparked and is sustaining the current round of protests. That’s fine, and is even an example of what many police departments should aspire toward.
But Paladin’s example here is something that people IRL can actually do.
Gotta agree. This was a great way to do it.
🙂
For a moment I thought this was the final comic of the tournament arc that started four weeks ago and I was just like “Did Colin take a level in Divination Wizard?”
Makes me wonder if I should go back and reorder these in a few weeks.
Respect.
Cheers, Shad!
Oh, come on. This was completely unnecessary. Is it a paladin thing to burn cities now? I’d say it’s more of murderhobo thing. Fighter would agree.
There’s no buildings on fire depicted in this image. There’s not even a torch in the crowd to insinuate that anything was burned.
Plenty of burning in real life though, so the association is not a hard one to make.
Protesting ≠ burning cities.
That is true in general, but there’s so much burning, rioting, loooting and vandalism associated with this particular street rebellion that it is impossible to separate them.
And nevertheless, the cause they say they are fighting for is misguided at best, consciously untruthful at worst and generally hypocritical.
And thus Colin’s/Laurel’s fears for posting this comic come into relief. Lorkinius, there are other online forums tailored for political engagement, but I find it difficult to let your profound ignorance stand unchallenged. “…the cause they say they are fighting for is misguided at best, consciously untruthful at worst and generally hypocritical….”
How is a cry for respect, dignity, and equality misguided? It lies at the core of our nation’s founding documents. How is it untruthful to point out that our police forces act with not only brutality towards citizens, but with impunity when they do? If the hypocrisy you mention is that of the destruction of property as a response to violence and oppression, I can only think, in the famous words of Inigo Montoya, “I don’t think that word means what you think it does.”
Did you watch the video of George Floyd’s murder yes – murder? Even in your worst nightmares of hollow rationalization you cannot think that the police acted appropriately in a response to the passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Did you watch Christian Cooper’s video in Central Park? Are you aware that black people in this country have been oppressed in our society since their arrival and enslavement? Are you aware that Breonna Taylor died in her bed after a hail of police gunfire?
Moving forward from these events…Did you watch the police attacking protesters in L.A.? They were swinging their clubs like baseball bats at unarmed civilians exercising their constitutional right to petition the government for redress of their grievances. Did you see the police casually put an old man in the hospital in Buffalo? Did you see the NYPD drive their vehicles into a crowd of protesters? Are you aware that the president has called for the US armed forces to come into the streets of America to quell these “riots” you say are so pervasive. Federal police were used to forcibly clear the PEACEFUL protesters in front of the White House , so that our Commander in Chief could have a picture of himself holding a bible up. (I think that is a better illustration of hypocrisy than the vague accusation you level against those protesting. Note the geographical spread in these instances – from coast to coast and in between. Note that the violence in these protests have largely been instigated by the men in blue. Bury your head in the sand of your privilege and fear if you must, but do not belittle those fighting for justice and equality with the casual straw man argument you have posited.
To the Handbook, I apologize for the engagement. No response might have been a better option, but I am selfish in this regard.
All right, my long answer didn’t go through. So, a short one:
I disagree.
I wonder if the current events will have any impact on Paizo’s upcoming Agents of Edgewatch Adventure Path?
Ouch. First I’ve heard of that one.
I’m excited to give it a look since I’m a big fan of the Night’s Watch…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Discworld)
…But that is one hell of a fraught theme at the moment. It’s clearly already through most if its dev cycle, so I doubt there’s much they’re going to change in the early books. Still, I could imagine some kind of disclaimer or letter from the editor going in.
“He asked you to shoot at people who weren’t shooting back,” growled Vimes, striding forward, “That makes him insane, wouldn’t you say?”
“They are throwing stones, Sarge,” said Colon.
“So? Stay out of range”
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch
Love it.
They actually made a statement on it, IIRC. Paizo said that your police players in absolom are what they think police should aspire to be, and that perhaps as you adventure, you might even become a beacon of hope to the downtrodden that have been abused. So, in short, I think the AP is still coming out, but it might have a bit more thought put into what you’re being sent to do.
An important alternative to Campaign Zero: https://www.8toabolition.com/
Right on.
You know… that was really NOT how I was expecting the tournament arc to end. Which is fine. I love a good interrupted tournament arc. Sounds like the Elf Kingdom might have had some serious systemic issues that our PCs always overlooked because it didn’t affect them.
Regarding RPGs, one way I think they can be helpful on these issues (not as a replacement of direct action, of course) is in the development of empathy. RPGs can make people better at understanding others unlike them, at teamwork, at understanding others’ needs and desires, and at socialization in general. While RPGs (especially fantasy ones) can have racism in the form of monster races like orcs who exist to be justifiable targets of violence (nothing wrong with that if you’re just going for some basic badguy-whacking fun), I think there are now more and more campaigns and settings that think more deeply about such concepts. I was recently a player in a campaign that was pretty much about colonialism, a subtle colonialism where mission creep led the more powerful government from justifiable actions to aggressive land grabs that it viewed as “protecting” itself. My character and another PC once had a vigorous terrorist/freedom fighter debate about whether it was okay for a population to rise up against a conquering government. The other PC was from the conquering country (though somewhat disillusioned) and thought the justifications of the conquest were legitimate, while my PC was from the conquered country (also somewhat disillusioned) and thought that it should be free. What made this particularly interesting was that out of character, I was more sympathetic to the conquering country, and the other player leaned towards the conquered country (or at least away from the conquering country). We both had to put thought into what people with these life experiences would be led to think, and engaged in debates with no clear right answer (conditions under the occupation didn’t seem especially harsh, but the occupied had no representation or peaceful way to change their situation). I think that games like that one can be really helpful in developing the types of people needed for a better society. (There are limits, of course – I don’t think “there was a psychic fungus god from another dimension manipulating war hawks to escalate the conflict so they could take over” provides that much in the way of useful life lessons. Though maybe it would explain some things…)
I will leave you with a topical but also bad joke:
“What if we spent even a fraction of the tens of thousands of gp that we give as rewards to adventurers on public services? Defund the PCs!”
I might need to see if there’s a way to swap those two comics in order moving forward. I know it would confuse me if I was doing an archive binge.
But for real, I’m not used to having to change the comic release sequence in response to the news cycle. It seemed appropriate in this case though. :/
Thank you.
<3