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It was an interesting sci-fi idea to explore! It was icky, for the characters themselves as well as the audience, that was very much what they explored, the ethical problems in using this tech versus the necessity to maintain contact. Stargate Universe was definitely a darker show, and a huge...

Anvar was so good as Alex, it was perfect casting . . . well, other than the landmine that he was a terrible person. I'm angry at him for harassing tons of women, but also for screwing up such a great show! But despite killing off Alex's character suddenly . . . I still enjoyed the heck out of...

No Netflix? Disney+? Setting up Amazon Prime on your SmartTV isn't any different from the other streaming channels, it's pretty easy. And there is so much good genre TV waiting for you!

It's a challenge, sure. But a good writing team can certainly rise to meet it!

The "new" crowd coming into D&D over the past 10 years or so . . . are they more open to playing "oddball" characters? Or does the game facilitate playing the more non-traditional options easier than earlier editions? Or a mix of both? Which came first, the cockatrice or the egg?

Exactly! Joining the circus doesn't make you a "freak", but if you are already a "freak", joining the circus is a natural choice!

And yet, its a common trope both within and without fantasy fiction. How many ensemble groups of characters in movies, TV shows, novels and comics are an assembly of odd-balls and misfits?

That's part of the disconnect too. The fellowship was a unique group for Middle-Earth . . . but the baseline for D&D adventuring parties!

I think part of the challenge is feature creep. Over the past 50 years, options were introduced that became popular and were added to the core. The "core" options in 5E are quite a bit more than the "core" options in AD&D 2E. But features keep being added, and the game is overall much better...

One method I employed years ago when I also wanted a more traditional adventuring party composition . . . . I wrote class and race/species names on slips of paper, threw them into a hat, and had the players draw. What they drew was their parameters for creating a character, but they were...

I haven't really thought of adventuring party composition in this way before, but I think you nailed it! This is the perfect way to "justify" (not that it needs justification) a diverse, eclectic adventuring party. I've spent a lot of time in the theater community in my area, another community...

Okay, but that doesn't really change any of what I said. You don't care for "eclectic" adventuring parties. Okay, shrug. What do your players want? If they are enjoying playing anything and everything, then lighten up and join the fun! Or find a new group. Have you talked to your players? Maybe...

Eh. I think a better framing than having a "DM establishing setting expectations" is . . . having a session zero where campaign style and theme is discussed. If the play group decides on the circus troupe, great! If the play group decides on a mostly human-centered campaign, great! If they all...

This isn't exactly new to 5th Edition. We started to see an increase in race/species types in both BECMI D&D and AD&D 2E back in the late 80s and 90s. Certainly it's increased since then, but that really got going with 3rd Edition and was carried through to both 4E and 5E.

It's a play style, or genre within fantasy. Nothing wrong with enjoying such a diverse adventuring party, but nothing wrong with preferring a human-centric campaign either. Only problem is when there is a disconnect between the players and the GM. Certainly, D&D has shifted from a more...

In the current game, elves are a species that magically evolve to better suit the environmental niche they settle in . . . so sea elves evolved to breath underwater, avariel evolved wings . . . I've toyed with the idea of creating an elf "trait" called "Environmental Adaptation" with options...

Love this post, but I'll add . . . IRL, your biology very much DOES have an impact on your personality, intelligence, aptitudes, etc, etc . . . it's the classic nature-vs-nurture argument. It's not one or the other, it's both, it's complicated, and we don't fully understand where nature leaves...

I've always seen "wood elf" and "high elf" as cultures, springing from Gygax's Greyhawk campaign (inspired by Tolkien). But since they been in the game practically from Day 1, they are the "generic" or "default" cultures for elves. Similar for the traditional dwarf and halfling options.

We'll have to disagree on the "landmine" nature of the drow story. But I'm betting WotC isn't going to go there. We'll see how it plays out.

IMO, you can't do that. Well, you could, but it wouldn't work out very well. New D&D show starts up, with an African-American actor portraying the elf Drizzt. Someone in the media learns the backstory of Drizzt and the drow elves in D&D. Media funtime begins! To remove the embedded racist...