Pantmonger

In Memoriam Ian Watson 20 April 1943 - 13 April 2026

Although perhaps better known for other work, Ian Watson was the author of the early '90s Warhammer 40,000 novels Space Marine and the Inquisition War Trilogy, and for a certain vintage of hobbyist his take on the grim darkness of the far future was the first and most formative.

He passed away, yesterday, at the age of 82, and while it's understandable that Warhammer Community wouldn't mark his passing after more than thirty years apart from the brand with the same solemn dignity it might afford the passing of a current employee, his death may otherwise go unremarked.

But I have remarks. Goodbye, Mr. Watson. I was probably too young to read a Callidus Assasin sex scene in 1995, but that didn't stop you from writing it.

Real life bias and prejudice were responsible for some of the problematic elements enshrined in the bones of settings we otherwise love. It stands to reason that current real life concerns constitute a valid reason for those things to change. Or. Why FemCustodes and combat wheelchairs are good.

Back when a lot of our long running and beloved franchises were penned, there were a lot of unexamined biases floating about that became ingrained. From Gygaxes women don't game, to shops reporting there is no desire for fem mini in the wargmaning community. To generic white guy becoming a circular logic stand in for protag (Lets almost exclusively focus on generic white guys, and eye candy fem, hey looks like mainly generic white guys are interested in our games. Other folk must dislike gaming)

This means those setting have a baked in, real life induced, bias. Yet as we have moved on, started examining those biases more closely. Started to understand how we were perpetuating the problem. Started to realise that excusing it as 'What can you do, its the lore. It was a different time' doesn’t really cut the mustard when you are still building on that externally influenced foundation. Lore is not a special gem, crafted in a vacuum free from external bigotries. If real life was allowed to influence the settings then, no reason it should not be allowed to do so again now. Any work of fiction can be altered by the addition of new fiction after all.

Examining areas were this kind of bias is present and correcting for it, should be of concern for any ongoing franchise. GW have been stepping up, making sure a broader array of skin tones are more commonly represented in their art and minis. Adding FemCustodes removed a narratively irrelevant gender bias. Space marines remain the elephant in the room and as long as they are both: the flagship and gender locked, a lot of other changes are going to feel a bit token. DnD also stepped up doing similar with its diversity and removing problematic language. The last big 'outrage' in the faux culture war around DnD was the inclusion of the combat wheelchair. In a setting were high level healing magic is NOT available to common folk or low level adventurers. Where abilities like 'blind fighting' allow a fighter to overcome blindness and be better then a sighted character (cause Daredevil is cool). Having a wheelchair with some mods to overcome terrain difficulties, was the bridge too far for some internet warriors. A weird selfish reaction that amounted to: I don't care if this totally optional addition I'm not forced to include in my games makes the marginalised feel included, my limit imagination cant parse it, so no one should be allowed to have it! A reaction that should never be pandered to.

This is such a fascinating part, considering the infamous "Dark Dungeons" Chick Tract (evangelical propaganda comic) from the 80s satanic panic era had a far more diverse idea of what a TTRPG group looks like than actual designers of the real games had.

(Wow, a mixed gender group with female game master, in 1984! Not that it means much, considering the "lesson" here was LITERALLY that Dungeons and Dragons is work of the devil and will make you evil or suicidal).

~Ozzie

The female custodes captain is now canon, and everyone loves her.

Also it's probably worth pointing out that while Games Workshop has not exactly been at the cutting-edge of progressive its entire time, the early Warhammer products were satire of Thatcherism and often quite blatant about it. Warhammer 40K is satire in the same vein as Judge Dredd.

So yeah, making the modern "classic liberal" (ie pro-sexism, pro-homophobia, pro-racism, pro-racism, pro-imperialism) crowd cry is the company returning the best of its roots. More please.

This also feels like a good time to point out that while early D&D did not have diverse creators, it did have diverse characters. Azure Bonds (1988) by Jeff Grub & Kate Novak is set in a very European inspired area of a fantasy land, stars a female warrior and features a heroic Arab-coded mage (both of whom appear in the video game tie in). In Elminster: Making of a Mage (1994), by the legendary Ed Greenwood, the titular character spends time living as a woman, in a female body, for reasons of personal growth. Old school D&D had plenty of ways for a character to lose an eye, or a limb, and keep on ticking on.

The objections to this only really begun when the player base started advocating for better representation, and input from creators who matched the demographics. That pushback is suspicious, since even the controversial Oriental Adventures (1985) encouraged players to be respectful and try to learn about the cultures depicted.

As a side note, if you're interested in the bizarre and worrying record of questionable decisions in D&D history, I highly recommend The Slovenly Trulls.

It's an ordinary wheelchair, seemingly hand-powered, meaning you have trouble moving and using a weapon at the same time. It doesn't even use a protective metal plate in the front to cover the legs from attacks.

How about a magic levitation chair? Or a domesticated Mimic serving as a chair? How about being trapped to the back of a warhorse, or a Golem steed? How about magical armor that grants you mobility while you wear them?