[Yorick]

A reply....

Very interesting letter Mr. Wilson, our thanks for making us aware of the use of the word 'Gypsy' as a race instead of a subclass as it is represented in Neverwinter Nights. The game takes place in the fictional world of the Forgotten Realms which is not based on any place in the real world of North America or Europe. If I would make a guess as to why the word was used in the description of the Rogue subclass I would say that they were referencing the dictionary description: Gyp·sy also Gip·sy■■ Pronunciation Key■ (jps) n. pl. Gyp·sies 1. A member of a people that arrived in Europe in migrations from northern India around the 14th century, now also living in North America and Australia. Many Gypsy groups have preserved elements of their traditional culture, including an itinerant existence and the Romany language. See Romany. gypsy One inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life. 2. A person who moves from place to place as required for employment, especially: A part-time or temporary member of a college faculty. A member of the chorus line in a theater production. Note that, yes, the historical and racial definition of Gypsy is first and foremost, but I believe the idea was to incorporate the "inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life." and "A person who moves from place to place as required for employment" definitions of the word. You mentioned that people enjoy role-playing the stereotyped Gypsy character who travels the world without rules or restrictions and that is why the description was included. We certainly did not mean to cast a negative image of any particular race or nationality in the subclass descriptions. I also note that Gypsy is not an official subclass, in the strict 3rd edition rules of the Rogue, and more of a description of a type of character a new player would want to play if they do not know the Dungeons and Dragons rules at all. Furthermore, the word 'Rogue' itself has been the subject of negative stereotypes but it is always up to the player what sort of Rogue they want to play- good or bad. I believe this also the reason why the word 'Thief' was dropped from the class title and replaced with the more neutral 'Rogue'. Again all of this is based in a fantasy world and should not be considered offensive to any particular group that exists today. The word Gypsy is used in a descriptive sense as provided by the dictionary and not as the title of a particular race that exists today. I hope that makes sense and clarifies that no offense was intended, and certainly none should be taken as the word was used purely from a descriptive context. Jay Watamaniuk Community Manager BioWare Corp. Email: jay@bioware.com

[ 07-09-2002, 03:41 AM: Message edited by: Yorick ]