Derro, and the humor they bring.

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slight_homicide
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Derro, and the humor they bring.

Post by slight_homicide » Sat May 18, 2019 8:32 am

I'm not pointing this out because im offended or upset, I've known for a long time that they existed in Forgotten Realms lore but for those of us here that aren't from a land down under. (Australia, not Andunor) did you all know that Derro is, in fact, a term used rather openly in Australia for a person with learning deficiencies? I'm not saying change it, or to make a mockery of it, I was just wondering if this was a choice made by the original writers who input this race into the world or if it's just an accident that the crazy, primal dwarf-humans are named after...an Australian insult.
"Can we please have an event that doesn't start at 2 am?" -Every Australian...ever.

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Imperatrix
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Re: Derro, and the humor they bring.

Post by Imperatrix » Sat May 18, 2019 3:30 pm

The derro are fictitious and no similarity with actual Australians (living or deceased) is intended or should be inferred.

Ye olde D&D notoriously recycled names and concepts from a lot of different sources and it's more likely that the word came from Richard S. Shaver's works of the 1940s in which "deros" (short for "detrimental robots") are a sadistic race living under the earth, whereas the Australian slang comes from the word "derelict."

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Nitro
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Re: Derro, and the humor they bring.

Post by Nitro » Sat May 18, 2019 3:48 pm

Richard's Dero are quite bizzare TBH the author for some reason ascertained that they 'activated' the nazis: "The author, in a bipartite tale he claims is true, asserts that the European dero are responsible for activating "the Nazis guarding the camps to the abysmal depths of depravity to which they descended. For centuries, the dero have been doing the same things—and worse—though on a smaller scale."

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Opustus
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Re: Derro, and the humor they bring.

Post by Opustus » Sat May 18, 2019 4:54 pm

Gnomes are obviously Australian, so the Derro being a Dwarven subrace, who are Scottish, means that the name has been chosen purely by accident. Derro have obviously been inspired by Trainspotting, particularly the character Begbie. I rest my case.
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Seekeepeek
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Re: Derro, and the humor they bring.

Post by Seekeepeek » Mon May 20, 2019 5:39 am

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They remind me of this guy. lol

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