Being a Roma, I was the voice that pushed for the shift in how the Vistani are portrayed in Curse of Strahd. We’re working hard to make things right. #wotcstaff #dnd
— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020
What shift was made to them, Adam? One use of the word, gypsy, got into the printed book. We shall do better.
— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020
That instance of the word caught us all by surprise; it wasn’t supposed to be there. The good news is that it doesn’t appear in upcoming printings of the book.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) June 17, 2020
First of all, not using the word, “Gypsy.”👎
Second, shifting them from mostly being shady cutthroats and servants of Strahd to showing them as human beings with a vibrant creative culture, love of life, and desire for freedom.
Third, putting in Ezmerelda, a vampire hunter NPC.— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020
I hate to tell you this, Adam, but Curse of Strahd does use the word “gypsy” at least once to describe a Vistani individual. But yeah, I definitely noticed the other attempts of which you speak of. Ezmeralda is a very cool individual that I loved in the story. A portion of the work on CoS was to try to remain faithful to the original text of the I6 Ravenloft module while removing all the squidgy stuff. That one bit of boxed text slipped through.
— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020
Well I think you guys did a pretty good job at updating the classic adventure. It’s certainly my favorite 5e adventure so far. Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020
Thank you for answering it. I didn’t know of your Roma heritage, and so it is really interesting to hear your perspective on the Vistani.
— Leslie Courtney (@LeslieCourtne14) June 16, 2020
Thank you for answering it. I didn’t know of your Roma heritage, and so it is really interesting to hear your perspective on the Vistani. Yep! My grandad was born in a caravan, worked in the markets all over Britain, and I heard many tales of Appleby Fair. 🙂
— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020
He was a character, to be sure!
I want to go back to find out more from his side of the family. Much of the way of Romani life is dying out and I’d love to experience as much of it as I can.— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) June 16, 2020