D&D General Dark Sun as a Hopepunk Setting

[Retros_x]

So while authorial intent is important, the actual work is as much or more important.

Appereantly nowadays yes, because implication and subtexts are just overread. People ask why we have to read literature and write interpretations in school, thats why.

Another example from recent memory that differs from your example: The Barbie movie. I actually enjoyed the first half, but the message was NOT subtle. Its like brute force satire. But they put anyway multiple monologues at the end where characters of the movie explained the intention of the movie directly to the camera, to the viewer. It felt laughable, I was annoyed and felt not taken seriously as a viewer. Again, the movie was not very subtle up until this point. But they had to do what you wish implicitly: Putting the authorial intent directly in the actual work, even adressing it directly to the viewer, it was almost a 4th wall break. They seemed to have the urge to remove any ambiguity and need for interpretation, which I think is just sad.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Appereantly nowadays yes, because implication and subtexts are just overread. People ask why we have to read literature and write interpretations in school, thats why.

Another example from recent memory that differs from your example: The Barbie movie. I actually enjoyed the first half, but the message was NOT subtle. Its like brute force satire. But they put anyway multiple monologues at the end where characters of the movie explained the intention of the movie directly to the camera, to the viewer. It felt laughable, I was annoyed and felt not taken seriously as a viewer. Again, the movie was not very subtle up until this point. But they had to do what you wish implicitly: Putting the authorial intent directly in the actual work, even adressing it directly to the viewer, it was almost a 4th wall break. They seemed to have the urge to remove any ambiguity and need for interpretation, which I think is just sad.

life is sad at the moment and for the foreseeable future not much we can do about it beyond state what we mean

 

[abirdcall]

Appereantly nowadays yes, because implication and subtexts are just overread. People ask why we have to read literature and write interpretations in school, thats why.

Another example from recent memory that differs from your example: The Barbie movie. I actually enjoyed the first half, but the message was NOT subtle. Its like brute force satire. But they put anyway multiple monologues at the end where characters of the movie explained the intention of the movie directly to the camera, to the viewer. It felt laughable, I was annoyed and felt not taken seriously as a viewer. Again, the movie was not very subtle up until this point. But they had to do what you wish implicitly: Putting the authorial intent directly in the actual work, even adressing it directly to the viewer, it was almost a 4th wall break. They seemed to have the urge to remove any ambiguity and need for interpretation, which I think is just sad.

That was the joke.

 

[Retros_x]

That was the joke.

It was pandering to the modern audience, disguised as a half-assed and drawn-out metajoke. IMO the movie would've been finished better without the last 20 minutes or so. I was yearning so hard for the credits to roll and then another scene came where the movie was explained for the x-th time to me, the movie that needed no explanation.

And it was needed appereantly. I heard multiple times from friends of mine or strangers on the internet, that they see it differently than me and found the monologues insightful and inspiring. They want that direct plea to the viewer.

 

[Retros_x]

life is sad at the moment and for the foreseeable future not much we can do about it beyond state what we mean

Lets just say I have nowadays a better understanding for cultural pessimists.

 

[abirdcall]

It was pandering to the modern audience, disguised as a half-assed and drawn-out metajoke. IMO the movie would've been finished better without the last 20 minutes or so. I was yearning so hard for the credits to roll and then another scene came where the movie was explained for the x-th time to me, the movie that needed no explanation.

And it was needed appereantly. I heard multiple times from friends of mine or strangers on the internet, that they see it differently than me and found the monologues insightful and inspiring. They want that direct plea to the viewer.

I don't understand.

 

[Remathilis]

Forced?

Dark Sun was designed as a D&D setting. A D&D setting that took the game away from the standard Tolkeinesque tropes (or tried to). Could the TSR crew have designed it to be its own game? Well, sure, but "forced" is an odd term. Most of TSR's not-D&D games were entirely different genres.

The over-the-top bad-ass nature of Dark Sun characters was certainly an element of the setting pushed hard in the marketing, and it turned me off too back in the day. But it was a very interesting and different setting from what the rest of D&D offered.

Forced was meant to imply that a lot of Dark Suns excesses were reigned in. Much of the 2e PHB was useless as DS used its own stat generation, rewrote nearly all the races and classes, had its own equipment section, changed the rules on magic, etc. The 2e PHB was only usable for basic rules (dice rolling, combat, etc) and spell descriptions. By contrast, the 4e Dark Sun uses much of the 4e core options with a few omissions (no gnomes or divine magic), re flavors (goliaths and dragonborn as half-giants and dray) and additions (adding the option to defile to any caster rather than being a specific class).

2e wanted to use a little of the core books as it could, 4e incorporated as much of the core rules as the setting could allow. That is a fundamental change to the nature of setting design and IMHO a better style of setting design.

 

[Belen]

clearly you are not following US politics closely

New Florida standards teach that Black people benefited from slavery because it taught useful skills

The standards, which were blasted by a statewide teachers' union as a "step backward," were approved Wednesday by the State Board of Education.

www.nbcnews.com

I guess we need a HopePunk setting.

 

[Steampunkette]

You'd absolutely need several archetypes...
Oath of the Templar
Sorcerer King Patron
Elements Domain
Athasian Assassin
Preserver Tradition

And then some you'd just -want-.
Path of the Arena Champion
Gladiator
Sorcerous Monarch Origin (Sorcery Points Preserve)
Order of the Templar (for Illriggers)

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi is proverb that nicely encapsulates hypocrisy of those with power.

Or the phrase that we know did in fact exist in the 2nd century BC (written by the Republic-era playwright Terence): "Aliis si licet, tibi non licet." (To others it is permitted; to you it is not permitted.") Or the more common English equivalent, "Rules for thee, but not for me."