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d&d is anti-medieval
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<blockquote data-quote="der_kluge" data-source="post: 7897200" data-attributes="member: 945"><p>I just got through doing a lot of research on this very topic. And I would say that D&D isn't really medieval, but the game itself doesn't force a particular model over another. It can be as "medieval" as you want it to be. The game I just started running is quite medieval, and I'm trying to adhere to some of the norms of the time period, including what people wore, what they did, and what they ate and drank. I think it provides a lot of realism to the setting. A medieval-feel has always sort of been there, but with lots and lots of anachronisms. Start taking away the anachronisms, the game starts to feel more medieval slowly. </p><p></p><p>But as others have pointed out, as westerners (really, as Americans), we tend to place a lot of mis-understandings and stereotypes into the setting - mayors often tend to run cities for example, and all of modern sensibilities about genders and democracies. Part of the problem comes in the form of the Catholic church, which held immense power over the peasantry during the Middle Ages, and there's no real parallel for that in the D&D world, since one church doesn't hold all the power. </p><p></p><p>Social structures tend to break down. It's hard to be a serf under the thumb of an oppressive noble lord if you become a sorcerer or a warlock and you decide to fireball the nobility. So, a lot of what made feudalism work would completely break down in a model where individuals can literally defeat giants and dragons.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="der_kluge, post: 7897200, member: 945"] I just got through doing a lot of research on this very topic. And I would say that D&D isn't really medieval, but the game itself doesn't force a particular model over another. It can be as "medieval" as you want it to be. The game I just started running is quite medieval, and I'm trying to adhere to some of the norms of the time period, including what people wore, what they did, and what they ate and drank. I think it provides a lot of realism to the setting. A medieval-feel has always sort of been there, but with lots and lots of anachronisms. Start taking away the anachronisms, the game starts to feel more medieval slowly. But as others have pointed out, as westerners (really, as Americans), we tend to place a lot of mis-understandings and stereotypes into the setting - mayors often tend to run cities for example, and all of modern sensibilities about genders and democracies. Part of the problem comes in the form of the Catholic church, which held immense power over the peasantry during the Middle Ages, and there's no real parallel for that in the D&D world, since one church doesn't hold all the power. Social structures tend to break down. It's hard to be a serf under the thumb of an oppressive noble lord if you become a sorcerer or a warlock and you decide to fireball the nobility. So, a lot of what made feudalism work would completely break down in a model where individuals can literally defeat giants and dragons. [/QUOTE]
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