D&D 5E Toward a new D&D aesthetics

[doctorbadwolf]

I feel we are mostly on the same page or at least are in understanding.

Close enough to actually discuss usefully, yeah.

If it was unique to this book, and let me expose myself for the old white north american man I am, but other cultures than mine, certainly ARE more colourful when I look at various cultural events, so no, if it was unique to this book it would actually make some sense to me!

White North American culture is decidedly not colorful, it's true. I think it's unambiguously good to expand dnd way beyond that.

Right, but those are (I would think) wildly different settings. I know Steven Universe was watched in my house for quite a few seasons, so I recognize the look/style, but again it doesnt fit remotely to me with Fantasy, and least of all D&D Fantasy that I would prefer. It bleeds into a retro Sci-Fi Fantasy, very much so.

I think boiled down thats my issue here. The prevalence and genre melding of a particular style that in isolation I dont take issue with, but when applied as a generalization, doesnt fit with how I perceive of whatever we want to call 'generalized D&D'?

But it's still just particular settings with a given tone. Strixhaven and Citadel don't look similar. They look about as much like eachothers as either looks similar to Theros, IMO. There is a shared aesthetic through-line, but it's very broad.

And we have actual generalized products that...only share that aesthetic in the alt covers.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I really don't know what you're talking about. It apparently is a bit opaque. I'm asking you a genuine question.

And I've made it clear that I don't care, nor care to continue the discussion. Beancounter decided to put me on ignore, and I don't especially feel motivated to engage on the topic with someone who interjected on my reply to them.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

And I've made it clear that I don't care, nor care to continue the discussion. Beancounter decided to put me on ignore, and I don't especially feel motivated to engage on the topic with someone who interjected on my reply to them.

Fair enough. Your point really wasn't clear to me. I'm not trying to give you a hard time. It seems to me you're reading more into what I'm saying than I'm intending. I really do think you're also reading more into what this person is posting than what was intended. But yeah, I'm also kind of tired of this. Have a great weekend.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Well, D&D mostly doesn't have firearms. When I see "modern" D&D art where everything (especially the clothing) looks vaguely Victorian, I can't help but wonder: "Why do these people bother with chain/plate, and with outdated weapons? Where's the muskets, the mortars, the cannons? Where are the star forts?"
The apparent anachronisms really grind my gears.

OTOH, it would grind my gears something fierce if every fantasy world in DnD matched up to a historical moment with no "anachronisms", because that would be an anachronism". It is essentially impossible that a world other than our own would follow the same timeline of discovery as our own. When I see a fantasy world that maps "accurately" to some given century of Earth (nearly always only taking one region of Earth during that time into account), I feel like I'm watching people at Renne Faire. It can be fun, but it's not to be taken seriously in any way. Might as well come dressed up in a Starfleet uniform.

 

[Scribe]

White North American culture is decidedly not colorful, it's true.

lol very true.

But it's still just particular settings with a given tone. Strixhaven and Citadel don't look similar.

Again correct, I just wish the art style was even MORE distinct. Like, REALLY distinct. As you mention correctly, there is a style being lifted/leveraged across multiple unrelated sets of media. I really dont feel that is a bonus or feature. If the lore is distinct, the settings are distinct, lean in and make the art even more distinct.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Well, D&D mostly doesn't have firearms. When I see "modern" D&D art where everything (especially the clothing) looks vaguely Victorian, I can't help but wonder: "Why do these people bother with chain/plate, and with outdated weapons? Where's the muskets, the mortars, the cannons? Where are the star forts?"
The apparent anachronisms really grind my gears.

Yeah, but it's not Earth, so it's not an anachronism.

Unless the cravat and waistcoat were a direct defense against cannon fire

 

[reelo]

Yeah, but it's not Earth, so it's not an anachronism.

Unless the cravat and waistcoat were a direct defense against cannon fire

A lot of those garbs were derived from military uniforms. Everything is connected.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

lol very true.


Again correct, I just wish the art style was even MORE distinct. Like, REALLY distinct. As you mention correctly, there is a style being lifted/leveraged across multiple unrelated sets of media. I really dont feel that is a bonus or feature. If the lore is distinct, the settings are distinct, lean in and make the art even more distinct.

I think that would actually work against the goal of unifying the DnD multiverse, however. I get what you mean, but IMO it is better to have fiends have their color palette and general style, and aberrations have theirs, and celestial stuff has it's aesthetic, and adventuring heroes have at least some general trends and throughlines, etc, rather than having everything look wildly different in Eberron vs in Faerun vs Sigil, when they're all part of one Multiverse.

 

[Scribe]

I think that would actually work against the goal of unifying the DnD multiverse, however. I get what you mean, but IMO it is better to have fiends have their color palette and general style, and aberrations have theirs, and celestial stuff has it's aesthetic, and adventuring heroes have at least some general trends and throughlines, etc, rather than having everything look wildly different in Eberron vs in Faerun vs Sigil, when they're all part of one Multiverse.

Yeah, I mean I'm super cold on the whole multiverse angle anyway, so its not like this is going to be a good thing in my eyes, but I can totally see what you mean.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

A lot of those garbs were derived from military uniforms. Everything is connected.

but those uniforms didn't exactly come about in direct response to firearms. Some of it became popular because of the reduction in armor usage, but not all of it, and magical protection could create the same fashion demands with or without firearms.

And a world with the same stimulus (firearms reducing armor use) could respond in a completely different way.