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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AFGNCAAP" data-source="post: 4993889" data-attributes="member: 871">I can see some American-inspired assumptions in RPGs, though I lean more toward these being "gamisms" as Celebrim stated more than anything else.However, I think that a lot of these elements manifest for the sake of the game more than anything else.I think that it's possible to modify these assumptions to fit a campaign setting of your choice as you wish. For example, in 4e, you can simply place a general assumption that PCs are the only ones literate by default; also, you could assume that only PCs are the ones who speak Common (or more than just Common, if humans) by default. Though the list of languages is shorter in 4e than in previous editions, you can still provide a barrier for some PCs if the NPC they're trying to talk to doesn't speak their language.Conversely, you can establish standards for your campaign setting that explain the anachronisms/conveniences as you wish, as well. For example: with my old 3.5 D&D game, I had the dwarves invent the printing press about 100 years or so prior to current campaign date. Because of that invention (and its spread), literacy was widespread in the area where the adventurers were active. Common was so, well, "common" because the area where the PCs were active was part of a large kingdom (now, in 4e, I go with the "official language of a fallen empire" bit).As for the availability of arms & armor, I'd argue that cost is the major barrier for most folk. Where dealing in gold pieces is the standard for PCs, dealing in silver & copper is the norm for non-adventurers. So a longsword costing 15 g.p. may be nothing for the starting-off PC, it's a major expense for a commoner (like scraping enough cash together to buy a brand-new car only with cash nowadays, for example).FWIW, the legality of weapons & armor was addressed in the 1e (& 2e, IIRC) sourcebooks for the Lankhmar setting. It addressed general rules of law, fines, punishments, & the like for people in the city of Lankhmar.Though I can see D&D as being Eurocentric in general, I think that there's so much mythic elements from other cultures thrown into the mix that their origins are lost in the mix: oni, lammusu, coautls, rakshasa, etc. There's such a dramatic mixture of time periods & cultures in default D&D that it becomes a unique thing in its own right.And, that's not even considering the impact that such things as magic, divine forces, primal/spritual powers, etc. would have on the world as real forces instead of as mental constructs (for the most part) as they are here.</blockquote>

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