D&D 5E D&D and who it's aimed at

[MGibster]

Is there a consistent definition of Sword & Sorcery? Because to me it's more than cheese and beef-cake art. To quote wikipedia:
... the consensus characterizes it with a bias toward fast-paced, action-rich tales set in a quasi-mythical or fantastical framework. Unlike high fantasy, the stakes in sword and sorcery tend to be personal, the danger confined to the moment of telling.[5] Settings are typically exotic, and protagonists often morally compromised.[6]

This is how I would characterize S&S myself. And as far as I'm concerned, D&D isn't good for S&S or any other fantasy sub-genre. It's good for D&D, which I consider to be its own particular animal.

 

[JEB]

I think your hopes are unlikely to be met. Looking at how things are developing (such as the Kender in the new UA), they are no longer including archetypal ASIs and are unlikely to do so going forward.

You're probably right - certainly Wizards has had the opportunity to test out archetypal ASIs alongside floating in UA, and instead opted for class optimization as the only alternative (which arguably creates new problems).

But as I said, I hope they come around to the idea by 2024. The return of alignment proves they are paying attention to fan responses, and looking for compromises that can suit multiple preferences. I think support for both floating and archetype ASIs would be such a compromise. (And a sign that they really do want to include you, too!)

 

[Hussar]

???

How is this unclear?

Sorry, I must have missed something. It's a rather lengthy thread. I wasn't being snarky or anything. I literally don't understand why you would need a spreadsheet.

 

[Hussar]

It's the Brom art.

I... guess? Brom art is hardly Conanesque. It's dark and dystopian, but Conan is neither of those.

Or is Conanesque simply another way of saying, "stuff I like is good and stuff I don't like is bad"?

 

[Arilyn]

This is how I would characterize S&S myself. And as far as I'm concerned, D&D isn't good for S&S or any other fantasy sub-genre. It's good for D&D, which I consider to be its own particular animal.

This is the cause of all the disagreements I think. There is a wide variety of D&D flavours, even though they all tend to be D&D. This isn't true with most other RPGs. If we play One Ring, then it'll be Tolkien, and there'll be the Lovecraft mythos in our Cthulhu games. D&D is what? Puzzle solving dungeon crawling? Epic/heroic fantasy? Swords and Sorcery? Murder hoboing? Fairy Tales? Every group attempts to shape D&D into their favourite version of fantasy, leaving WoTC trying to please as many fans as possible. They started with more traditional D&D fare in the earlier adventures, but are now branching out. I think this keeps their offerings fresh, as they do have a larger, more varied fan base, then a game with a more focused theme, like Monster Hearts, for example.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I... guess? Brom art is hardly Conanesque. It's dark and dystopian, but Conan is neither of those.

Surface level, it's lots of muscles, few shirts, yellow-orange color palette. And Brom aside, it's probably the whole 'magic bad' deal DS has going.

 

[billd91]

I... guess? Brom art is hardly Conanesque. It's dark and dystopian, but Conan is neither of those.

???
Conan art may not be dystopian, but there’s plenty that’s dark. There’s even Brom Conan art.

 

[Umbran]

It's dark and dystopian, but Conan is neither of those.

Conan isn't dystopian?

Isn't Conan filled with peasants barely eking out a marginal existence, and filthy rich standing directly on the backs of those poor? How many of those people are happy, but not from causing pain and suffering to others? How is that not dystopian?

 

[Retreater]

Conan's world is literally built on a collapsed, powerful Empire of wizards. It's very dystopian.

 

[Hussar]

Conan isn't dystopian?

Isn't Conan filled with peasants barely eking out a marginal existence, and filthy rich standing directly on the backs of those poor? How many of those people are happy, but not from causing pain and suffering to others? How is that not dystopian?

Well, because you have the protagonist who overturns the bad guys and ushers in a period of peace and prosperity?

Peasants barely eking out a marginal existence? Where do you find that in Conan? Conan is filled with peasants getting along perfectly fine in towns and farms and mostly living out their lives normally. There's no blasted earth, no famine, wars are generally local no large diseases. What dystopia?