While a good post, that was not actually the question I asked.
D&D General Why Do You Prefer a Medieval Milieu For D&D? +
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
mamba
Legend
you are too hung up on when that term was ‘invented’ imo. We know what is meant by it, I doubt you have problems identifying aspects of medieval fantasy that you could apply it to. If you prefer a different word, let me know which one
Sometimes you get the answer you need, not the answer you want.
But to answer the specific question?
Some movies just don't age well. Most of them are by Tarantino.
And you are continuing to miss the point.
Whatever. I have better things to do with my time than argue over this with you.
.
Argyle King
Legend
I believe that Medieval Fantasy strikes a good balance between a) being a large sandbox into which many concepts fit and b) having enough familiar tropes to add some easily-understood rules, general guidelines, and shared expectations.
A game of imagination should have flexibility.
A shared game of imagination should have some level of shared understanding from which to start.
Medieval Fantasy trends to achieve that. Even when a particular campaign deviates from that, the deviations tend to be defined in the context of whatever the assumed shared 'norm' happens to be.
Similar reasons are why concepts such as "Elf" and "Dwarf" persist as character options.
A game of imagination should have flexibility.
A shared game of imagination should have some level of shared understanding from which to start.
Medieval Fantasy trends to achieve that. Even when a particular campaign deviates from that, the deviations tend to be defined in the context of whatever the assumed shared 'norm' happens to be.
Similar reasons are why concepts such as "Elf" and "Dwarf" persist as character options.
jmartkdr2
Hero
I must admit I don't want actual medieval politics - but then again, actual feudalism is kinda rare in fantasy stories. The trappings are there (noble titles and whatnot) but in practice, we tend to want something more like post-imperial not-quite-anarchy, where everywhere beyond the town walls is lawless and dangerous, but brave heroes might be able to bring some light to it. That's the power fantasy behind it all - evil is real and you can hit it with a sword. That's what the adventures are about, after all. cf the 4e Points of Light concept.
It's probably more reflective of the "Wild West" than the Middle Ages or even the so-called Dark Ages (they were never quite that chaotic), but I think Westerns as a genre had a much bigger influence on the fantasy genre than most people (even the writers of fantasy!) often realize.
Which is probably why Space Westerns work pretty well for ttrpgs, incidentally.
(If you don't have relative lawlessness, then regular people being as regularly violent as DnD characters would strain credulity. The alternative is to single out the pc's as not being subject to those rules, either because they're government agents or they're rebels. O something else, I guess.)
It's probably more reflective of the "Wild West" than the Middle Ages or even the so-called Dark Ages (they were never quite that chaotic), but I think Westerns as a genre had a much bigger influence on the fantasy genre than most people (even the writers of fantasy!) often realize.
Which is probably why Space Westerns work pretty well for ttrpgs, incidentally.
(If you don't have relative lawlessness, then regular people being as regularly violent as DnD characters would strain credulity. The alternative is to single out the pc's as not being subject to those rules, either because they're government agents or they're rebels. O something else, I guess.)
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
None of those are particularly medieval though, and other than Lord of the Rings that not peculiarly western either.
For instance Journey to the West features the same tropes.
Scribe
Legend
I disagree, all of them fit into the 'medieval milieu' of D&D and are practically foundational with regards to D&D. Yes, there will be other examples across other cultures, we all have our Swords, and Monsters, and Castles, but if I took the time to provide you images to reference each of those words/terms, everyone, literally everyone, who knows what Fantasy is in the West, would know what I'm talking about.
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