Some recent D&D autism:
AIs & Artworks
One artist got caught using AI generated art - or to be more specific: using AI to finish his sketches for him.
WotC claims being shocked and amazing at this surprising turn of events - even though the artist in question is one of the few vocal
pro-AI artists on social media in a community full of Luddites.
The Deck of Many 'Tisms
D&D's next overpriced boxed set will contain a physical version of the infamous
Deck of Many Things, as well as a sourcebook with almost 200 pages full of shit more or less related to the Deck (I imagine quite a bit of padding).
The Deck of Many things is basically a cursed artifact. It's a tarot deck where each card has some kind of magic effect. The exact effects tend to change each edition, but usually slightly less than half the cards have a positive effect (permanent buffs, free XP or gold), while the rest have negative effects (permanent debuffs, losing XP or gold, getting your brain fried or getting erased from existence).
Now D&D has its fair share of cursed items, but most of them are of the annoying "LMAO get fukkd, nigga" variety. Instant-death potions disguised as health potions. Equipment that will try to get you or a team member killed and can't be unequipped until de-cursed. Basically a lot of unfun bullshit that serves no function but to make the characters paranoid about daring to make use of the loot that they find.
What makes the Deck so fondly remembered on the other hand is that it has an actual risk/reward system. You can get fucked over by it, but there are also some nice bonuses to be had, adding a nice bit of temptation lacking in other cursed items.
The Deck also has some built-in measurements against cheese. Usually a character can use any given Deck only once, and he has to announce how many cards he's gonna draw. And no, if you just stop drawing cards the cards will draw themselves.
The set will also pull an odd retcon by introducing the
creator of the Deck of Many Things: A
Paladin whose GF is a
good Medusa (which are an entire race in D&D, and completely unrelated to the D&D Gorgons which are like bull monsters or something. 'Cause D&D is dumb.).
Does it make sense for a Paladin to hang out with a Medusa? Probably a bit more sense than a Paladin of all people being responsible for the Deck, tbh.
Is this just a hack writer's attempt to canonize his self-insert and OC monster girl waifu? Probably.
The only thing that truly matters here is that the Paladin will be
the first official D&D character with autism. Such stunning. Much brave.
Autism attracts more autism. Sooner or later, an internet nobody will attract the exact kind of fans - and detractors - he deserves.
-Yours Truly
4 wikia: static -> vignette