D&D General What D&D reflects today, media wise...

[Dioltach]

The Forgotten Realms alone takes influences from Conan, Narnia, 1001 Arabian Nights, Celtic and King Author, Greek Mythology, Mesopotamian Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Fairy Tales, Steampunk, Angelology, Canada, etc..., influences in the Forgotten Realms are addictive, not subtractive as in FR gets new influences, but old influences are embedded in the setting and it's History.

All hail the great King Author, who proved once and for all that the pen is mightier than the sword!

 

[AtomicPope]

Take MAD MAX, while not your typical D&D association, it really did resonate with my DARK SUN campaign!

Descent into Avernus has an entire Mad Max: Road Warrior meta-plot where you're driving around collecting "fuel" in a devilish desert wasteland.

 

[Aldarc]

So, there is this thread. Very funny to read this in light of it.

There was never any purity in D&D. Its certainly never been either a LoTR or a swords and sorcery RPG. There is a cycle of periodically going back to basics every few years and stripping out whatever weirdness has crept in....B/X, 1e, late 1e, 2e (especially), 3e, 4e only kinda, but then 4e essentials, and certainly 5e. But at each step it really keeps being its own thing. And now many of its supposed "influences" are its offshoots.

It does seem, however, that people forget how weird the S&S fantasy of the Moorcock, Leiber, Vance, etc. era was. In many respects, OD&D or even 1e D&D is quite tame in comparison with the weirdness of S&S fantasy from this era.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It does seem, however, that people forget how weird the S&S fantasy of the Moorcock, Leiber, Vance, etc. era was. In many respects, OD&D or even 1e D&D is quite tame in comparison with the weirdness of S&S fantasy from this era.

Yeah, a lot of modern fantasy seems very conventional in comparison. Tropes gotta trope.

 

[Staffan]

I've noticed, for example, that many D&D players today look for a touch of...not mundanity, nor the "zero" side of zero-to-hero, but more..."domesticity," I guess, in their games. Showing aspects of both the PCs and NPCs that are more down-to-earth, even if those characters also do crazy, awesome, or crazy-awesome things too. So, for them, the whole "zero-to-hero" or "hero-to-superhero" thing may miss the point? They don't want their characters to be zeros, heroes, or superheroes all the time, they want a spread of experiences from the small and mundane to the vast and fantastical and everything in-between. Many thus embrace things that more traditionalist players would decry as "supers stuff," but which they just see as one aspect of a much more complex, multiple-part character.

I agree with this, but in a weird way that is "supers stuff". That's precisely the kind of thing that made Marvel comics great back in the day – you didn't just have the superhero awesomeness, but also personal moments. And it's the personal moments that make us care about the big things.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I found the poster choosing DOTA and Witcher really odd choices. If anything I'd say more like MMOs and Anime...

They are very odd choices and tell you a bit about the poster. Specifically in both cases they're kind "off-brand". The big MOBA with significant multimedia success (rather than merely aspirations) is League of Legends. Not only is it bigger than DotA 2 (and likely DotA) ever has been, it's actually been successful with things like Arcane (whereas the DOTA anime, also Netflix, is not particularly popular or noteworthy). Further, the massive fanbase of LoL crosses over more with tabletop RPG players, I would suggest, and it shares far more of its central aesthetic with MtG and modern D&D than DotA 2 does.

The Witcher as a TV series is popular but obviously not Game of Thrones or LotR popular. As a videogame it's also popular, but not The Elder Scrolls or League of Legends popular, let alone World of Warcraft popular (over the last 15 years). As books they're even less popular in the West (if much discussed).

Anyway yes even if looking at specific games/TV shows/etc. there's a pretty long list to go through in terms of being influential on modern D&D before you'd get to either DotA or the Witcher. Also I think it's worth noting that even just focusing on games, TV shows, etc. is outdated - I suspect Critical Role and its audience will be more influential on future D&D aesthetic and design decisions than most games/TV.

Yeah, a lot of modern fantasy seems very conventional in comparison. Tropes gotta trope.

It's not just an issue in fantasy writing, either (though it certainly is happening there to a degree), but also in fantasy art. There's been a sort of drift towards almost a "shared aesthetic" among a lot of fantasy art over the last few years, one which is sort of exemplified by Arcane (the Netflix show based on League of Legends) and can also, I would argue, be seen in Critical Role products and increasingly in D&D (indeed the 5E PHB was already heading that way) and MtG. I think MtG was in many ways responsible for starting this trend. There's still tons of art that doesn't really fit it, or is only a branch of the family tree, but we're talking about sort of slightly exaggerated aesthetic with its roots as much in comic books and graphic design than fine art (even if fine art techniques are used to create it), with a lot of bright colours and warm metals, inevitable steampunk/magitech devices, clothing trending towards the stylish and quasi-modern rather than the realistic or historical, and generally a trend away from quasi-realism, but also away from the more extreme stylization of earlier decades. It's kind of becoming an overly safe and standard aesthetic if you ask me, and needs shaking up (and not merely by attempting to revert to some earlier approach).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

clothing trending towards the stylish and quasi-modern rather than the realistic or historical,

You see this in historical movies and TV shows, let alone fantasy!

 

[Minigiant]

It already is changing to cater to a new perspective, just have to see all the new updates monsters and rule changes etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if in 6E Elves Dwarves an Halflings etc got dropped for core and replaced with Tabaxi, Goliath, and Goblins

Drop elves and such. Nah.

But I'd bet $200 two of Orcs, Goblins, Tabaxi, or Warforged are in the 6e PHB.

D&D more or less feels like Dragon Age now. Sorta classic with bits of grime and shine with subversions and reconstruction of old tropes being a main theme for some aspects.

 

[Bolares]

I saw someone mention in another post that D&D no longer reflects LotRs (and Conan). Society has moved on and now D&D is or is expected to lean more into DOTA and The Witcher (funny enough is based heavily on classic fairy tales like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, etc etc)

I found the poster choosing DOTA and Witcher really odd choices. If anything I'd say more like MMOs and Anime...

Anywho, it got me to thinking while LotRs is far far more widely known period, what younger D&D fans may care about more now-a-days is Pokemon or Warcraft. Should D&D reflect the more current modern popular fiction? A monster hunter that catches Beholders in special magic balls?

Would it even be D&D anymore if you pushed to the side Halflings, Elves, Dwarves, etc?

Does D&D NOW reflect current media as opposed to the old and dusty LotRs (What Amazon tv series?). What do you think it should reflect? Lean back into more MMO play like 4th ed?

Hey, just so you know, most people who like MMOs, Pokemon and Warcraft are at least on their 30s today

 

[Nefermandias]

Gnomes weren't core in 4E, if I recall.

Player's handbook 2 is core.