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Apocalyptic Settings and Breaking Settings
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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 4451039" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>As others have noted, I was referring to the Castle Greyhawk module which parodied the setting and was... we'll just say the humour was less than appreciated by fans and leave it at that.</p><p></p><p>As to your original question, there are loads of reasons why apocalyptic settings work. For one, genre. The King Arthur stories are set against the backdrop of the greatest apocalypse Europe had ever seen - the Fall of Rome. So, it's not like the idea is a recent fad.</p><p></p><p>And, on a personal level, I think it's pretty easy to be a hero when you never have to struggle day to day to survive. At least it's far easier than if the characters are stuck in a setting where basic needs are an issue. Makes for much better moral ambiguity - do you steal to survive, thus perhaps taking away someone else's means? To be truly heroes, the heroes in this setting must rise above and provide shining examples. Remake the world as a better place.</p><p></p><p>When I think about it, settings which are not apocalyptic tend to be very static. Middle Earth in LotR doesn't actually change. You have the big threat, threatening the way of life, they fight the threat, defeat the threat and everything returns to the status quo. In apocalyptic settings, the heroes can truly make a difference. They come in when things are broken and then heal the damage, hopefully making it even better than it was before.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 4451039, member: 22779"] As others have noted, I was referring to the Castle Greyhawk module which parodied the setting and was... we'll just say the humour was less than appreciated by fans and leave it at that. As to your original question, there are loads of reasons why apocalyptic settings work. For one, genre. The King Arthur stories are set against the backdrop of the greatest apocalypse Europe had ever seen - the Fall of Rome. So, it's not like the idea is a recent fad. And, on a personal level, I think it's pretty easy to be a hero when you never have to struggle day to day to survive. At least it's far easier than if the characters are stuck in a setting where basic needs are an issue. Makes for much better moral ambiguity - do you steal to survive, thus perhaps taking away someone else's means? To be truly heroes, the heroes in this setting must rise above and provide shining examples. Remake the world as a better place. When I think about it, settings which are not apocalyptic tend to be very static. Middle Earth in LotR doesn't actually change. You have the big threat, threatening the way of life, they fight the threat, defeat the threat and everything returns to the status quo. In apocalyptic settings, the heroes can truly make a difference. They come in when things are broken and then heal the damage, hopefully making it even better than it was before. [/QUOTE]
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