D&D (2024) Did you make up your mind about 5.24?

[Sulicius]

I'd be perfectly happy with a 500 page book of just new monster art, and maybe a handful of mechanics. I can stat that stuff myself, but finding pictures for inspiration is a grind. Third party books are great for that, but I'll take the 2024 MM as well.

I feel you. Especially at an age where AI slop has infested the google search results...

 

[Neonchameleon]

If the restaurant stopped serving fish after 50 years in business, and fish was my favorite food and one I've enjoyed at that restaurant for more than half that time, I'm gonna be pretty darn irritated.

And if the restaurant made a new contract for fish after 25 years leading to regular food poisoning outbreaks and then stopped serving fish after 35 years you might remain irritated after 50 years. But it's not going to do much good.

 

[Retros_x]

I like it so far but as others commented, I am looking forward the most towards the MM. This will be probably my most used book, so I am excited to see the new design.

 

[Micah Sweet]

And if the restaurant made a new contract for fish after 25 years leading to regular food poisoning outbreaks and then stopped serving fish after 35 years you might remain irritated after 50 years. But it's not going to do much good.

I don't understand where you've taken the metaphor here.

 

[Corinnguard]

You can do what you want, of course.
I just go by the old saying, never judge a book by its Kuo-Toa.

Not, it's in the eye of a literal Beholder?

 

[GnomeWorks]

…said every old person ever.

And judgy, too.

Get off my lawn.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I read tons of insightful ideas on this forum, but every now and then one is like a lightbulb going off, and I feel like I really get something that I had never fully appreciated. This is one such comment.

The way D&D typically handles multiple deities is really odd. It's kind of polytheistic, in that there are tons of different gods and no one really denies that they exist. But it is treated more like competing churches in, say, Wisconsin, where each person is exclusive to one particular faith. That's not how polytheistic religions typically work; usually folks in a polytheistic society follow all the available gods, focusing on the ones that are particularly relevant to their lives at that moment. Even the holy people, though perhaps aligned with a particular deity aren't necessarily in an exclusive relationship, so to speak.

I've been running polytheism more like competing monotheisms. I'm going to change that.

D&D is terrible at modelling polytheism (ie ancient and classical religions) and strangely reluctant to fix it by just going ahead and actually having some monotheistic religions (late antiquity and later faiths).

You know how nearly every D&D religion has a temple that you go and pray inside? Well, yeah, that's how Christianity, (modern) Judaism and Islam work, but its sure as hell not how most polytheisms worked. You prayed outside the building - the temple building itself was small, and generally housed not much more than an idol. Outdoor spaces were for worship, which usually included animal sacrifices (another thing I've rarely seen D&D religion even try and include).

D&D is basically having multiple gods being worshipped in a way a modern Protestant christian worships Jesus.

 

[mamba]

D&D is terrible at modelling polytheism (ie ancient and classical religions)

…

the temple building itself was small, and generally housed not much more than an idol.

so they fail at modeling polytheism because they use larger temples? Not where I thought this was headed

 

[dave2008]

D&D is terrible at modelling polytheism (ie ancient and classical religions) and strangely reluctant to fix it by just going ahead and actually having some monotheistic religions (late antiquity and later faiths).

Do you mean the D&D lore? I've played D&D since about 1983+/- and have had no issue modeling polytheism in my games through 3+ editions of the game.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that 4e really did model a polytheistic approach in the default Dawn War pantheon IIRC. It even mentioned people might pray or pay homage to multiple gods to gain their favor (like Bane before battle, Tiamat for wealth, or Melora for safe sea travel).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

D&D is terrible at modelling polytheism (ie ancient and classical religions) and strangely reluctant to fix it by just going ahead and actually having some monotheistic religions (late antiquity and later faiths).

You know how nearly every D&D religion has a temple that you go and pray inside? Well, yeah, that's how Christianity, (modern) Judaism and Islam work, but its sure as hell not how most polytheisms worked. You prayed outside the building - the temple building itself was small, and generally housed not much more than an idol. Outdoor spaces were for worship, which usually included animal sacrifices (another thing I've rarely seen D&D religion even try and include).

D&D is basically having multiple gods being worshipped in a way a modern Protestant christian worships Jesus.

Don't forget about how the gods all care so much about their followers' morality!

I tend to think of typical D&D religion as christian polythesim. Or maybe polychristianity.