D&D 5E (+)What Ubiquitous DnD Tropes Get It Totally Wrong?

[doctorbadwolf]

What DnD tropes get whatever thing they're about wrong, in your opinion?

Keep in mind:

This thread is not about what mechanical things in dnd annoy you.

This thread is not about pet peeves in how worlds are designed, though there is overlap there.

What this thread is about it what things everyone seems to agree on with regard to dnd that you think are dead wrong.

 

[Coroc]

Every keep or big city always has military around as if in war times.
The numbers of professional soldiers are far to high, in reality a knights castle would have half a dozen professional fighters at most during peace times. The other personnel would be recruited from the local farmers.
Same in cities, during peace times they would have two dozen or so watchmen, militia would be formed by arming the citizens if needed.
The way it is done would be far to expensive, since soldiers in peace times would cost much gold without being productive.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Every keep or big city always has military around as if in war times.
The numbers of professional soldiers are far to high, in reality a knights castle would have half a dozen professional fighters at most during peace times. The other personnel would be recruited from the local farmers.
Same in cities, during peace times they would have two dozen or so watchmen, militia would be formed by arming the citizens if needed.
The way it is done would be far to expensive, since soldiers in peace times would cost much gold without being productive.

Yep, standing armies aren't unheard of before the modern age, but they aren't common.

 

[Shiroiken]

Literacy. D&D (except barbarians in AD&D) assumes that everyone, even peasants, are literate in every language they speak. Literacy in the West wasn't even that common among the aristocracy until the Renaissance, kept mostly to the priesthood. Books themselves shouldn't even be common unless the printing press is, and it's never mentioned anywhere, except in the FR (possibly Ebberon, but not familiar).

In my last sessions, my players were confused why one NPC was so proud of his library of 2 dozen books and almost a hundred scrolls. Because of the trope, they figured anyone could have such a collection.

 

[dave2008]

For example, the idea that gnomes and halflings need some special explanation for why they haven't been overrun by the bigger races.

I didn't realize that was a trope. I always thought the trope was that humans had somehow over run basically all of the other more magical races with the explanation being? Humans have more "drive" and reproduced like rabbits (relatively speaking). The idea that humans dominate the world (or nearly so) is the trope that feels wrong and always has a weak explanation to me.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Related to this thread I was wondering about dnd tropes that seem to just get it wrong.

For example, the idea that gnomes and halflings need some special explanation for why they haven't been overrun by the bigger races. Absurd! Halfings are more nimble/graceful/agile, thus more accurate with ranged weapons, luckier, less prone to fear, and can get cover much easier. Trying to invade halfling lands would be an absolute nightmare. Your grandkids would wake up screaming a hundred years later.
Meanwhile, gnomes are much smarter than humans, and resistent to a pretty wide array of magical effects. Then, forest gnomes have illusion magic that creates potentially detailed illusions that are bigger than the caster, and can talk to small and smaller animals. Rock gnomes have a whole damn tech level on the rest of the world.
Just the fact that they can hide more easily, and get physical cover against ranged attacks more easily, makes this idea bunk, and yet it persists.

So, what are some other examples? Challenge: don't crap on anyone elses examples. It's a plus thread, so keep it positive and roughly on topic.

Not crapping on your example. I have a different version of your gnome example though.

Pop culture gnomes (what most people recognize) dont exist in my d&d (well, at least not under that same name, they would be a signifficant variant, but i dont wanna get off topic). I use the original conception of a gnome. The word was invented by paracelsus (famous guy from real life history) to refer to 1 of 4 types of elemental spirits. The only male one. Earth to be precise. Encountering one and knowing about it would be rare but they are not in fact actually rare. Mostly just elusive.

My reasons for them not going extinct are 5 in number.

1. Mystically potent (not strictly magic, though thays included) by comparison to an average human

2. Killable but unaging (born already a minimum of being equivalent to a human of 60 years old physically and mentally but can range above that)

3. Elusive

4. Can reproduce with 3 female elemental counterparts (salamanders, sylphs, and undine)

5. Can on occasion spontaneously be born as an elemental effect.

I just thought you might find my idea interesting. As you can see my #s 1 and 3 actually line up with your opinion directly.

Side note, the fey-like gnomes are typically an offshoot in my campaigns.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Feudal tyrants usually being lawful evil (psychologically. As in self aware.)

That being typical is all wrong.

Most tyrants dont think of themselves as evil.

As a matter of fact most tyrants think of themselves as "good" and arent actually trying to be the awful POS's they frequently are. So their alignment being listed as LE the majority of the time is very misleading.

 

[R_J_K75]

Literacy. D&D (except barbarians in AD&D) assumes that everyone, even peasants, are literate in every language they speak.

I cant remember exactly but IIRC it wasn't until 5E (maybe 3E) that literacy came along with knowing a language. I interpret it as PC's, Clergy, civil servants and Aristocracy who can read and write, otherwise the average person cant.

Books themselves shouldn't even be common unless the printing press is, and it's never mentioned anywhere, except in the FR (possibly Ebberon, but not familiar).

Books are rather common in the Forgotten Realms, Eberron I'm not to sure about. I don't think its too unreasonable to think that wizards, priests and monks would create and collect books considering how long the history of the setting is. I always likened Candelkeep to the Library of Alexandria. Off the top of my head there is a room with a small library in the Old Skull Inn in Shadowdale. I'm also pretty confident that there is the printing press in Faerun and almost certain I read about it in a supplement on Waterdeep. That would make sense due to the broadsheets that are printed in the city daily, and if I'm not mistaken its actually stated as being printed. Furter isn't there mention somewhere of Cormyrean romance stories circulating. I think boks are rather common in the world.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Every keep or big city always has military around as if in war times.
The numbers of professional soldiers are far to high, in reality a knights castle would have half a dozen professional fighters at most during peace times. The other personnel would be recruited from the local farmers.
Same in cities, during peace times they would have two dozen or so watchmen, militia would be formed by arming the citizens if needed.
The way it is done would be far to expensive, since soldiers in peace times would cost much gold without being productive.

To be fair, even in peace times you have horrible monsters all around.

 

[R_J_K75]

The double bladed battle axe, was that ever even real historically? I don't ever recall seeing any examples. they were all single bladed. I'm not a historian on weapons by any means but this just seems a little unwieldy.