At the risk of going off topic, I don't think it's a good idea to presume stereotyping or cultural appropriation are okay because the people in question come from a first world country.
D&D 5E What’s So Great About Medieval Europe?
- Thread starter doctorbadwolf
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Waller
Legend
By that logic, Americans should be sticking to Wild West RPGs. What makes Greece OK but not Japan?
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aco175
Legend
It comes down to what you know from your history and culture. From what I understand Gygax and all took a lot from Tolkien who wrote LotR as a history fairy tale for western Europe. Most Americans have a history for knights and kings of Europe as part of their own culture and can relate for the most part.
I'm not sure if D&D today would have caught on if someone in China or Africa made the game and took those historical realms to make the basis for the game. I think it comes to what you relate to.
I'm not sure if D&D today would have caught on if someone in China or Africa made the game and took those historical realms to make the basis for the game. I think it comes to what you relate to.
Waller
Legend
I don't.
Don't you guys spend a lot of your time online telling us in the UK about a little war where you categorically declared you were not part of our culture?
Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
Don't you guys spend a lot of your time online telling us in the UK about a little war where you categorically declared you were not part of our culture?
You aren't familiar ebough with the patriotic propeganda: we're obviously better at the culture (not fully joking, that's what you'll see in a lot of hoorah-America takes on the Revolution: the Founding Father's were more truly, Platonically English than the bedeviled people back in the islands).
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
More D&D players come from the US than any other nation. The main stream of US history runs back through Europe and Rome. Those lands and their stories are things that most people have heard or heard of, and can get a quick grasp when told "We're playing D&D. It's a game that lets you be like _____ (insert legendary person's name here)."
Mercurius
Legend
I'll see your point and raise you one: Why are we stuck in Earth analogs? Not all settings, of course, but the vast majority--at least of kitchen sink settings--just do the old re-hash of "fantasizing" Earth cultures.
I realize there are reasons for this. For one, it is easy--both to design and for having a mental picture. The corollary is that it is very difficult to come up with new cultural forms. Another reason is that it is, well, just a game. If you want to create a unique piece of art, that's one thing, but if you just want to have fun and play a Nordic barbarian or an Egyptian sorcerer, it is nice to have that option.
I'm also not suggesting that there's anything wrong with using Earth cultures as inspiration, even a basis for original creations. It just doesn't have to be wholesale.
Tolkien's Middle-earth is a great example of how it was obviously influenced by European--especially British--folklore and history, but he still managed to create new and distinct cultures and histories. Gondor is not any particular region or time in Earth's history (or rather, it is roughly supposed to be Europe circa 4000 BC, but in a loose sense - but that's another topic). The closest to a one-for-one Earth analogy is probably the Shire, which is pretty much a humorous and self-deprecating take on rural England. But Middle-earth shows us how you can make an entirely original setting that is inspired by our own cultural traditions and history, but feel fresh and distinct.
As an aside, I've been doing a lot of research on historical population figures and exploring the idea that a lot of setting designers, published or not, play with the erroneous assumption that fantasyland has to be Medieval. In many cases of published settings, it clearly isn't. A lot of settings are spread out across equivalent historical analogs, and the center of gravity is often not Medieval (Europe), but closer to the Renaissance--even the early Modern Age (1500-1800ish).
Another fallacy is the idea that magic is only used to cast spells while fighting other wizards or seeking treasure. If magic is really as ubiquitous as it is in most D&D settings, why hasn't it impacted societal structures more? And why aren't all national rulers wizards? A "realistic" fantasy world would probably have more magical infrastructure, and the default rulership model would be a kind of arcane dictatorship, benevolent or not. In that sense, Thay may be the most "fantasy realistic" nation in the Forgotten Realms. A world-builder could even use such a magical dictatorship to justify fantasy Europe: maybe an order of wizards rules the land, and maintains tight controls on it by essentially keeping the sheeple stuck in a Medieval context (i.e. magical feudalism).
Or, at the least, why not consider these ideas? I agree: fantasy Medieval Europe is stale. But I'd go further and say that excessive Earth analogs are stale in general. Meaning, I don't think the only answer is to do fantasy India or fantasy Mexico (although it could be, but that's been done a fair amount already). Or, at the least, if you're going to do fantasy Aztecs, really explore the ramifications of the presence of monsters and magic, and feel free to improvise off the analog, not just re-hash it.
I do enjoy being judged of my worthiness by members of the most powerful country in the world!
You're being judged by the Chinese?I do enjoy being judged of my worthiness by members of the most powerful country in the world!
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