D&D 5E What’s So Great About Medieval Europe?

[Reynard]

Most D&D campaigns don't even pretend to be medieval. Most are anachronistic messes of early renaissance to age of sail with random items tossed in from the dawn of civilization to steampunk victorians. Not to mention settings that aren't historical at all,like Dark Sun, Eberron, Planescape and Spelljammer. I guess if you are looking at high fantasy campaigns you get more medieval elements but that's less about history than it is about Arthurian influences and Tolkien.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

Given that the Middle Ages spans a thousand years of history, I could turn the question around and say, "How could you have an RPG that isn't medieval?"

 

[Tonguez]

“Once upon a time in a land far-far-away there was a Medieval castle with a dragon and a princess who had to be rescured by a Knight.”

Thats the classic Fairytale motif that has become ingrained as a substantive ‘tradition’ of ALL western society. Its the unconcious go to whenever anyone thinks of the pre-Modern “Heroic past” And was picked up by Tolkien and Howard and other writers when creating their own stories.

and really in popular understanding the ‘history’ of Europe isnt that long: Prehistoric- Roman Era- Medeival Era -Early Modern/Colonial - WW1 & Now

 

[Morrus]

Given that the Middle Ages spans a thousand years of history, I could turn the question around and say, "How could you have an RPG that isn't medieval?"

Star Trek isn't medieval.

 

[Bawylie]

Why are we still stuck in this era?

I mean, not that I’ve ever seen a fantasy work that accurately portrayed the Middle Ages, regular cleaning/bathing rituals, advanced is art, music, and sciences, and all, but still, why? What is so interesting about it? There are most of 20k years to draw upon for roleplaying inspiration before the advent of the cannon, across the globe.

What is so interesting about the (very much pseudo) medieval tableaux that keeps the community stuck at that well?

Is there some reason you feel Medieval Europe gets more than it’s due?

I’m not sure if I’m asking the right question though. Or phrasing it properly. There are some genres or settings I don’t care for (zombie apocalypses). And there are some I love (Wild West, Dark Ages). At the same time there i genres I don’t normally care for but maybe someone does one so well that I love it. And there are genres and settings I love but they implement it so poorly I hate it.

So is it that you just don’t see the appeal, personally? Or is there an animosity?

 

[Nellisir]

People need a starting point. They need a structure. And medieval Europe is by far the best documented, most accessible, and best known "historical" cultural conglomeration. You say 20K, but the oldest known civilization, in the Fertile Crescent, is about only 12K, so everything before that is neolithic and barely documented. There are many cultures with no written languages - even within the narrow confines of Europe, not a lot is known about Picts, for instance.

Also, there's a lot of attention nowadays to issues of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation. Many well-intentioned authors might not be comfortable with the level of scrutiny that would result from developing a fantasy version of a real-world culture, particularly if there's a dearth of information about said culture.

Personally, Europe is what I know. It's what I grew up with. It's what I enjoy.

 

[imagineGod]

Not 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, but another game I totally enjoy, Legend of the Five Rings (some may argue it started out from the Gygax era D&D Kara-Tur).

Anyway, this is tough game to master because it is built on a fantasy version of Japan, China and other big Asian kingdoms, so is pretty difficult for me to GM, and is a bit of a chore every time due to the lack of familiarity at the table with the classical East Asian cultural tropes. Even though it is still just a fantasy game, those cultural references add extra work for both Game Master and Players.

 

[imagineGod]

Star Trek isn't medieval.

Neither is Star Wars, though some may say Star Wars is a stand-in for the Wild West in Space, especially The Mandalorian TV Series.

 

[Oofta]

Look at the target audience and the authors. The majority are European or descendants. I take a lot of inspiration from norse mythology because my ancestors were Norwegian and even before I started playing D&D I enjoyed reading their myths and stories. Not to mention it's what's widely available and taught.

But there's another advantage to using (in my case Norse) mythology. If I bend it and twist it nobody cares much. Other than a tiny community, people think of Odin and Thor (if they think of them at all) as vague figures from a time long ago. Familiar enough to have a general idea is better.

If I tried to do an oriental campaign I run into all sorts of problems because now I'm talking about a culture and religions that are still current. I mix and match Shintoism and Confucianism like I do occasionally with Celtic and Norse (along with stuff I just plain make up) people may be insulted. It's a minefield of accusations of cultural identity misrepresentation.

So Greco-Roman, Norse and completely made up mythologies for elves and dwarves is okay. Set a campaign based on Buddhist legends? Open a can of worms.

 

[Marandahir]

Neither is Star Wars, though some may say Star Wars is a stand-in for the Wild West in Space, especially The Mandalorian TV Series.

It's also a stand in for the Jidai Geki in Japan. There's broad trope overlaps between Feudal Europe (Knights), Feudal Asia (Samurai), and the wild west (cowboys). Hence Kurosawa's films.

I'd argue D&D settings are more than a little influenced by North American culture as well. Faerûn and its Sea of Fallen Stars is just as reminscent to me of the US-Canada boundary waters and great lakes region as it is of Afro-Eurasia around the Mediterranean.