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<blockquote data-quote="DMZ2112" data-source="post: 6290546" data-attributes="member: 78752">I think [MENTION=7635]Remathilis[/MENTION] and I disagree with you on a whole different plane of thinking, KM.For me, at least, D&amp;D is not and never has been a generic fantasy RPG.&nbsp; GURPS Fantasy and D6 Fantasy are generic fantasy RPGs.&nbsp; D&amp;D has always had its own mysterious backend churning away beneath the taverns and dragons and forgotten ruins.&nbsp; Whether it's Orcus' wand, or Gruumsh's missing eye, or the Book of Vile Darkness, when I'm homebrewing I expect to excise big chunks of story.And that's the way I want it.&nbsp; Because sometimes, I'm not in the mood to homebrew from scratch.&nbsp; Sometimes I want to play /D&amp;D/ -- not Greyhawk, not Forgotten Realms, and not any other of the deep-detail settings, but just /D&amp;D/.&nbsp; When I have my players roll up an elf I want them to understand that the conflict between Corellon and Gruumsh is part of their racial backstory, to draw on as they see fit.&nbsp; I want them to stumble across the Deck of Many Things, spontaneously build a fortress, then see their hapless rogue get carried off by a lesser Death (what the hell is a lesser Death?).Now, I thought the Nentir Vale setting and the World Axis cosmology was a great atttempt to codify all of that stuff into an actual setting, but when all is said and done I'm not sure we aren't better off with the mystery.&nbsp; Because you're right, fundamentally it is about what happens at our tables, not at the developers' tables.&nbsp; But you can't have a mystery without a hook, and D&amp;D has some great hooks.&nbsp; Saying that they don't belong because D&amp;D should be generic is doing the history of the game a great disservice.I only just stumbled across the &quot;History Check&quot; column on wizards.com today, and I can't believe there are only five articles, but the five bits of &quot;core setting&quot; history that they do hit on are a great cross-section of what makes D&amp;D more than just a set of rules that can adjudicate fantasy combat, exploration, and roleplaying.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DMZ2112, post: 6290546, member: 78752"] I think [MENTION=7635]Remathilis[/MENTION] and I disagree with you on a whole different plane of thinking, KM. For me, at least, D&D is not and never has been a generic fantasy RPG. GURPS Fantasy and D6 Fantasy are generic fantasy RPGs. D&D has always had its own mysterious backend churning away beneath the taverns and dragons and forgotten ruins. Whether it's Orcus' wand, or Gruumsh's missing eye, or the Book of Vile Darkness, when I'm homebrewing I expect to excise big chunks of story. And that's the way I want it. Because sometimes, I'm not in the mood to homebrew from scratch. Sometimes I want to play /D&D/ -- not Greyhawk, not Forgotten Realms, and not any other of the deep-detail settings, but just /D&D/. When I have my players roll up an elf I want them to understand that the conflict between Corellon and Gruumsh is part of their racial backstory, to draw on as they see fit. I want them to stumble across the Deck of Many Things, spontaneously build a fortress, then see their hapless rogue get carried off by a lesser Death (what the hell is a lesser Death?). Now, I thought the Nentir Vale setting and the World Axis cosmology was a great atttempt to codify all of that stuff into an actual setting, but when all is said and done I'm not sure we aren't better off with the mystery. Because you're right, fundamentally it is about what happens at our tables, not at the developers' tables. But you can't have a mystery without a hook, and D&D has some great hooks. Saying that they don't belong because D&D should be generic is doing the history of the game a great disservice. I only just stumbled across the "History Check" column on wizards.com today, and I can't believe there are only five articles, but the five bits of "core setting" history that they do hit on are a great cross-section of what makes D&D more than just a set of rules that can adjudicate fantasy combat, exploration, and roleplaying. [/QUOTE]

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