Ralif Redhammer
Legend
Also, I would say that the 5e barbarian's Danger Sense class ability is directly inspired by REH.
D&D General Reassesing Robert E Howards influence on D&D +
- Thread starter Tonguez
- Start date
Sacrosanct
Legend
If Howard really had that much influence, then half the barbarian's class features would be described as "panther-like"...
TwiceBorn2
Adventurer
... and "iron-thewed."
Paul Farquhar
Legend
Not to mention the hand and eye of Corum.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
See the last sentence of the op - you can discuss the influence for good or ill, you can disagree with other opinions, but its not a place to debate the merits of Tolkien v REH.
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
My understanding was: whether REH had any influence should not be in dispute. Don't try to deny the fundamental premise. Further, don't turn it into "REH sux, Tolkien ROOLS" nor vice-versa. I suspect the preference would be to avoid discussing Tolkien at all, but since IMO that is impossible, the next best thing would be to only discuss his influence to the extent that it relates to the changing impact of REH.
Hence why I posted what I did. I think REH had a lot of undergirding, structural influence on the way people view what "an adventure" is, but that influence has been diluted with time and was not really all that unique to his work to begin with. Beyond that, I think his impact has mostly faded into color and style.
Clint_L
Legend
It’s a little hard to assess because Howard’s impact is mostly stylistic, and we aren’t in Gygax’s mind. Many Tolkien influences are immediately obvious: the core species, halflings, rangers, treants and so on. For Howard there’s barbarians, obviously, which took awhile to make it in, but not much else that is immediately identifiable.
I think mostly this is due to Tolkien’s cultural footprint being many orders of magnitude larger. Early D&D inevitably wound up aping LotR to a significant extent, in spite of Gygax’s personal preferences.
I think mostly this is due to Tolkien’s cultural footprint being many orders of magnitude larger. Early D&D inevitably wound up aping LotR to a significant extent, in spite of Gygax’s personal preferences.
Divine2021
Hero
Man, I wish!
Classic D&D emulates many REH-esque tropes.
But I don't think the gameplay produces REH-esque stories.
Conan frequently succeeds by acting on instinct, by rejecting moderation or subtlety, and by imposing his will on the situation he find himself in. And in many of REH's stories he finds himself needing to choose between riches and doing the right thing, and he does the right thing.
Whereas classic D&D gameplay encourages caution, planning, and understanding the situation on the GM's terms and responding to that. It encourages being calculating and expedient. None of this is very REH-esque, in my experience.
But I don't think the gameplay produces REH-esque stories.
Conan frequently succeeds by acting on instinct, by rejecting moderation or subtlety, and by imposing his will on the situation he find himself in. And in many of REH's stories he finds himself needing to choose between riches and doing the right thing, and he does the right thing.
Whereas classic D&D gameplay encourages caution, planning, and understanding the situation on the GM's terms and responding to that. It encourages being calculating and expedient. None of this is very REH-esque, in my experience.
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