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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9185145" data-attributes="member: 6790260">I find "canon" less useful than presentation, if that makes sense. I dislike the presentation of setting concepts in 5e. It's a frustrating mix of useless wishy-washy nothing (lots of "you could do X, or not-X!" without explanation of why or how), infuriatingly strident statements trying to entrench a traditional view (e.g. ghettoizing the non-"Core Four" races) rather than presenting ways to use these elements as tools for articulating a theme or feel, and outright silence on topics that would actually be quite useful to hear ideas about. It's noncommital when it should be decisive, hyper-specific when it should be open-ended, and vague when it should be descriptive.I preferred 4e and to an extent 3e on this (3e had many, MANY mechanical faults, but much of its lore/story was decent, even good). Giving us myths and legends that may or may not be true and which people argue about is great--it creates the potential for conflict and drama, discovery and mystery. Offering up options and then showing how those options can be used to build up themes or concepts is even better, and I would even have preferred that 3e/4e went further with doing so than they actually did.Do not tell players that dragonborn are weirdos and that elves are a necessary part of every setting. Both of those things are false. Instead, just present them as they are, and equip the DM with advice on how to use these things as thematic tools.Consider: A setting where humans are rare, but an alliance of elves and tieflings stands against the expansionistic dragonborn/dwarf empire.[SPOILER="Spoilerblock"]The elf/tiefling alliance grew out of economic partnership and growing unease once the dragonborn empire finally resolved their ongoing disputes with the dwarf kingdoms, causing the two to merge their political, religious, economic, and social structures into a single federated body. Beyond the lands controlled by either faction, faerie-chaos unleashed by the collapse of the modern-day elves' ancient forebears still scars the land, and ancient cults to gods long dead have left many ruins cloaked in shadows too dark to be cast by the sun.The gods of these two dominant cultures reflect their interests. The Elf/Tiefling alliance worships the Reunited Seldarine (with <s>Lolth</s> Araushnee as a "rehabilitated" Demon Queen, bringing drow and tiefling loyalty with her) and support/placate both Zehir and the Wyld Sisters (Avandra, Melora, and Tiamat; seen as a triune goddess of fortune, nature, and power, sometimes giving, sometimes taking, sometimes both.) The recently-unified Dragonborn/Dwarf empire exalts just and noble Bahamut, his lover Kord, and their brother-in-arms Moradin, while also holding the Four Lightbringers in reverence (Pelor, bringer of daylight and renewal; Ioun, bringer of knowledge and communication; Erathis, bringer of civilization and order; and Bane, bringer of victory and armament.) Both recognize the grim authority of the Raven Queen and all fear the tyranny of Asmodeus and the wanton slaughter of Gruumsh.To the E/T alliance, the gods of the D/D empire are cruel, oppressive, tyrannical, violent--though of course they overlook the cruelties of <s>Lolth</s> Araushnee and Tiamat, instead casting them as merely advocating self-worth, ambition, and cleverness. Melora isn't a rampaging chaotic goddess of nature's primal fury, unfettered and raw; she is Mother Nature, a nurturing but firm parent guiding her children to growth and life, even if that sometimes means learning harsh lessons. Their core trinity extols beauty, magic, and cleverness, and that is in turn represented in the values, military, diplomacy, architecture, etc. of their people. Deception is a powerful tool if used wisely, against both those undeserving of fair treatment and those who wrong others and think themselves untouchable; darkness is not something to fear, but to find both solace and protection within.To the D/D empire, the gods of the E/T alliance are alien, destructive, duplicitous, and cruel--though of course they overlook how savage and destructive Bane can be, or how cruel and unfeeling his sister Erathis can be, casting them (and, by proxy, themselves) as noble warriors carrying forward the light of order to new places. Kord isn't a hellion who runs back to his sugar daddy whenever the consequences of his actions catch up to him; he's a defender of the common man, someone who teaches the strong to defend the weak and cautions the mighty to ever prepare for stronger opponents. Their core trinity extols compassion, justice, and strength, and the associate gods push them to ever higher heights of scientific, economic, and military achievement--and all seven roundly condemn the dishonest, manipulative, unscrupulous ways of the E/T alliance's gods.Other races, like the minotaurs, satyrs, forgeborn, kobolds, changelings, and humans, eke out an existence between these superpowers, struggling to fight off the dangerous things that lurk in the fae-choked forests or rise up from the dark depths of the earth, unwilling to surrender their autonomy to either side.[/SPOILER]Just through a careful, narrowed selection of races and deities, several themes pop out. "Wilderness" vs "Civilization"--or "Freedom" vs "Tyranny," if you prefer. Magic vs Martial. Cunning vs strength. Peaceful cooperation vs martial conquest. Soft power vs hard power. Etc. Allowance is made for outsiders and unusual elements, but they'll be exactly that--third parties to the great conflicts of the age, if not forced to join up then at least forced to respond in some way, even if that response is to bunker down or flee.You could potentially even take it a step further, and have certain classes partially or fully exclusive to one side or the other. That doesn't mean you couldn't (say) have a Dragonborn Assassin, but they'd need to have some kind of cultural tie to the alliance, which could make their lives much more complicated if they need to adventure in imperial lands.That's how "presentation" can change these tools. Equip the DM (and, ideally, players too) with a set of tools and show them how those tools can be used together to paint a setting, not in excessive verbiage, but in ideas and implications and the interconnections between the choices DMs and players make.</blockquote>

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