I think most people create in their own image.  So I dont wonder why there arent more dark skinned characters in fantasy artwork, because most of the people who do fantasy artwork seem to be white.  Sounds logical to me anyway.  

Oh and whoever created Drow were obviously racist.  Evil, black skinned elves.  No-brainer.  

I haven't done any market research.  Are African Americans writing or reading fantasy literature these days?  Do they buy books?  Is there an African American fantasy literature tradition?

I suspect that most fantasy art is directed at caucasians because most of the customers are...gasp...caucasians.

One thing I do know:  Non-European RPG settings do not sell well in comparison to straight up depictions of medieval fantasy Europe. Cover art that depicts (for instance) an Arabian Nights theme is a good way to doom your publication to a niche of a niche market.

I suspect that gamers are relatively diverse in their cultural interests and slightly more up on world history (or at least how various cultures kill each other) than the average person.  But, a part of the enjoyment of a tabletop RPG is to project yourself into a character with whom you identify in some way.  The 6'5" 350lb guys who like to play female elf princesses or cross-dressing Chinese  parapalegics are the exceptions rather than the rule.

It strikes me that instead of a forced and artificial racial diversity in game art, building a world background and map that makes diversity logical is a better step.

For some time, I had a couple of guys in my group who were African Americans.  I did notice that they preferred to play black characters...and I invented a game world cultural back story to make this happen.  Specifically, I revised the World of Greyhawk's Hepmonaland into a high culture African setting and invented black pirates who called themselves the "Karvon" in order to explain the presence of black characters in the Flanaes.   Morgram, the exiled Karvon prince, went back to claim his birthright.  This even turned into a pretty cool series of adventures in the Ashanti capitol of Bhamoboro deep in the N'doki Forest.  The players still talk about the time they paralyzed those carniverous apes, making them fall out of their tree and through a blade barrier spell....the liche-haunted city of Ophir...and that giant, frickin' crocodile that the druid took on in animal form.

As for the blogger:  It isn't a huge deal, but I get annoyed with writers who do not know their craft.  If you don't understand a cliche' metaphor, don't use it.  In this case, it isn't a "tricky wicket."  Rather, it is a "sticky wicket":   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticky_wicket

Is it so hot you could lay an egg on the sidewalk?  Is it a pigment of your imagination?  Will this adventure be a piece of pie?  Are you planning to argue, or will you hold your piece?  Will you crash over that bridge when you come to it?  Do you wish you could be a fly in the ointment for that conversation?  Do you live in a doggie dog world?  

It's as jarring as a people who cannot hold there liquor, or people who find out there car is missing or the people who think there so cool because their wealthy.

Also, while I'm ranting, the author says the 3rd Edition rulebook wasn't diverse enough....when the book was so PC it was hard to read.  I am referring to the nifty idea that mixing in male and female pronouns willy nilly is somehow going to feel welcoming and inclusive and therefore attract female players to the game.  This isn't clever English.  It is bad English.  The goal of a rulebook is...above all...clarity.

Oh...and I forgot to mention the morons who think their quarterback just threw a "shuttle" pass instead of a "shovel" pass.  But, it sounds like the morons are winning  that particular language battle.

"Are you inferring...?"

"No, moron, I am implying.  You are inferring."

I can relate to the original article in this way: I too prefer to play Characters who are just like me.
Slim, well muscled, excellent swordsmen/bowmen, long pointed ears... with hair on top of the head as well as the sides... such as Elves.
Yup that's it, PCs just like me.
As for the color of the skin, that is just surface poop and has never been a concern for me as a player.
Gold, Blue, Wild, Sea (OK, not so much that), Drow (Yes they are still elves)

At least Hasbro/WotCo is in good company.
The Green Lantern is apparently a racist too (Cartoon at bottom of second link page).

BTW: Agree with above, where the heck did those idiots learn to write?

African American is an absurd PC term as well.
Far as I know very few (a few hundred... perhaps a thousand) black Americans came directly from Africa.
All the others were from some other country or were born in the USA.
I wonder how many Haitians, Porto Ricans and Cubans who live in the USA use the term African American to others when referencing themselves?

FormCritic wrote:Also, while I'm ranting...

Good rant  

For me, the best essay lamenting lazy, tired and inaccurate writing, remains Orwell's "Politics and the English Language."  Written in 1946, sadly, most of what it criticizes is still commonplace.

http://wikilivres.info/wiki/Politics_an ... h_Language

Gnat the Beggar wrote:The Green Lantern is apparently a racist too.

That particular comic was written in 1970 not long after the Civil Rights Movement "ended".  Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) isnt racist, he is just indifferent.  And of course he's "whitey" so he is obviously working for "The Man".  They touch more on racism about a year later in this issue:

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... n-lantern/

John Stewart was stereotyped big time as an arrogant, angry black man through the 70's and 80's.  Later on his arrogance gets the best of him and a planet is destroyed along with its indigenous population because he thinks he can handle anything without help from others.

But I'm getting off topic.

Gnat the Beggar wrote:I wonder how many Haitians, Porto Ricans and Cubans who live in the USA use the term African American to others when referencing themselves?

I would expect a sum total of zero.  I mentioned earlier in another thread that the majority of people of Latin descent are extremely proud of their specific culture and where they came from.  Most Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans etc. dont like to be lumped under the same umbrella.  They each have very distinct differences.  I dont see why any of them would consider themselves African American.

Badmike wrote:Besides, it was no secret to any of us who gamed back in the day that Burne and Rufus were a "committed" couple, and it didn't bother us a bit.

Bromance maybe...but couple?!?     And now you're gonna tell me Eclavdra and Nedylene were a more than just Eilserv pals eh?  

Badmike wrote:Besides, it was no secret to any of us who gamed back in the day that Burne and Rufus were a "committed" couple, and it didn't bother us a bit.  :wink:

Mike B.

The guys I wondered about were Zeligar and Rogahn.

Gnat the Beggar wrote:African American is an absurd PC term as well.
Far as I know very few (a few hundred... perhaps a thousand) black Americans came directly from Africa.
All the others were from some other country or were born in the USA.
I wonder how many Haitians, Porto Ricans and Cubans who live in the USA use the term African American to others when referencing themselves?

There were 4 million slaves of African descent here in the Deep South at the start of the Civil War.
That's about 44% of the South's population in 1860.

So, I think "African-American" is an accurate description of a large culture within American society.
The black people I work with tend to refer to themselves as black or African-American.
But they do draw a clear distinction between themselves and white people, or between themselves and Hispanics.  

Likewise, German-Americans, Irish-Americans, etc., were terms used to describe those ethnic groups.
And many of them will use their heritage when describing themselves.  

English-Americans are "regular Americans" according to Archie Bunker.