D&D 5E OA-style Culture Books for 5e

[Mishihari Lord]

Really cool idea - I would like to see a lot of these. The only issue I have is time period. I associate D&D with Europe from about 500AD-1300AD. Applying these rules to other cultures of the same era might be mostly okay, but for earlier or later eras it feels odd. Games set in ancient Greece or Colonial America, for instance, seem like they would be better with rules entirely derived from those settings rather then porting in stuff intended to simulate the medieval era.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Really cool idea - I would like to see a lot of these. The only issue I have is time period. I associate D&D with Europe from about 500AD-1300AD. Applying these rules to other cultures of the same era might be mostly okay, but for earlier or later eras it feels odd. Games set in ancient Greece or Colonial America, for instance, seem like they would be better with rules entirely derived from those settings rather then porting in stuff intended to simulate the medieval era.

Thanks for responding Mishihari Lord.

I see your point--and the 3e-era WotC design team felt the same way in regard to post-renaissance genres. d20 Modern was a different game from 3e, and was not directly compatible.

Yet the recent 4e D&D Gamma World rpg suggests that WotC design team may be open to the D&D brand serving for non-medieval fantasy.

Colonial American cultures are already supported in existing D&D Worlds: Forgotten Realms' New Waterdeep and New Amn, and Mystara's Savage Coast.

As far as pre-medieval: Ancient Greece has been a part of D&D since First Edition, with the Greek pantheon in Deities & Demigods. The OP gives several examples of D&D Greek cultures in the published D&D Worlds, such as the Milenian Empire of Mystara's Hollow World and the pre-Spellplague realm of Chessenta.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

I think what they should do is bring the green books back.

Bedrockgames, these would be the 5e equivalent of the green book Historical Reference series.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Bedrockgames, these would be the 5e equivalent of the green book Historical Reference series.

I am all for that. But I have to be honest that I have my doubts WoTc can pull it off. One area I think they have been deficient is flavor supplements. If they can do it without making it a "must have" though trojan horse feats, spells, classes or other crunch, I am on board. If it is just a vessel for spacing out essential mechanics, then I would just as soon repurchase the old green books.

 

[BluSponge]

This sounds like a very good project for a third party publisher. More reason for the Fifth Edition to have a more open game license.

This.

Also keep in mind that WotC owned the rights to Gygax's Epic of Aerth setting, which includes all of these as active parts of the game world. So if they needed an excuse to publish a bunch of cultural sourcebooks, they do have a vehicle that could carry them.

Tom

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Also keep in mind that WotC owned the rights to Gygax's Epic of Aerth setting, which includes all of these as active parts of the game world. So if they needed an excuse to publish a bunch of cultural sourcebooks, they do have a vehicle that could carry them.

Tom, thanks for the reminder about Aerth. I did include Khemit in the Pharaonic Adventures book. I forgot about the rest of Aerth though--I'll aim to add those cultures into the OP and webpage.