D&D General D&D is now Steampunk (poll)

[I'm A Banana]

And here I am, thinking that campaign logistics are the most directly gamified aspect of the RPG and high adventure the most directly role play focused aspect of the RPG and that both are crucial to the experience.

Personally, I think a lot of D&D's success can be attributed to doing a lot of different kinds of games well enough that it's fine. That people who like tracking ammo and people who just want narrative drama can both play the same game and enjoy time together at the same table. Maybe neither one getting a perfect experience, but each one getting enough of their desired experience that it's worth the time to commit to it with their friends.

 

[Zardnaar]

It was interesting to hear Brendan Lee Mulligan say in the CR4 fireside chat that, if it weren’t for streaming, he’d still be running 3.5e. I think the fans are out there, they just aren’t as vocal.

3.0 not 3.5.

There's still a few 3 5 and Pathfinder groups around.

3.0 seems dead as proverbial Dodo. The class splat books are $5 at Noble Knight Games.

 

[Laurefindel]

Im surprised to hear that people never considered D&D to be medieval fantasy. Fantasy genre and subgenres are much better defined now. But where I come from, D&D was the very incarnation of what Medieval Fantasy was.

No one had any expectations of medieval fantasy respecting history; it was fantasy after all. « Fantasy » was basically referring to any fiction that wasn’t realistic or implied to be happening on earth. It was a pretty broad genre with two pretty broad sub-genres of their own; science-fiction and medieval fantasy. There wasn’t much else that was well defined, and almost everything else was described in relation to those two (« a kind of sci-fy but… » or « medieval fantasy except that… »). D&D was exactly what people thought of medieval fantasy; a fantasy that isn’t sci-fi and had wizards, castles, and swords. It really didn’t take much more to be « medieval ».

 

[Micah Sweet]

Im surprised to hear that people never considered D&D to be medieval fantasy. Fantasy genre and subgenres are much better defined now. But where I come from, D&D was the very incarnation of what Medieval Fantasy was.

I expect you're surprised to hear it because it isn't true .

 

[Laurefindel]

I expect you're surprised to hear it because it isn't true .

What isn’t true, that D&D was Medieval Fantasy, or that people didn’t think of D&D as Medieval Fantasy?

 

[Micah Sweet]

What isn’t true, that D&D was Medieval Fantasy, or that people didn’t think of D&D as Medieval Fantasy?

The second one.

 

[CleverNickName]

I agree it's no longer "medieval fantasy" but that doesn't mean I think it's "steampunk." It's it's own thing.

I'm not saying that's a good thing, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm just saying.

 

[Reynard]

Im surprised to hear that people never considered D&D to be medieval fantasy. Fantasy genre and subgenres are much better defined now. But where I come from, D&D was the very incarnation of what Medieval Fantasy was.

No one had any expectations of medieval fantasy respecting history; it was fantasy after all. « Fantasy » was basically referring to any fiction that wasn’t realistic or implied to be happening on earth. It was a pretty broad genre with two pretty broad sub-genres of their own; science-fiction and medieval fantasy. There wasn’t much else that was well defined, and almost everything else was described in relation to those two (« a kind of sci-fy but… » or « medieval fantasy except that… »). D&D was exactly what people thought of medieval fantasy; a fantasy that isn’t sci-fi and had wizards, castles, and swords. It really didn’t take much more to be « medieval ».

Again, I think the period from the early/mid 80s to the early 90s, D&D WAS medieval fantasy -- at least insofar as one might categorize it by its aesthetic and the kinds of lore and stories it was trying to tell. But before that it was decidedly S&S and Weird, and Ultimately broke to be its own genre as it's influence on video game fantasy became apparent. At that point, D&D and CRPGs, then later MMOs, were a self reinforcing sub genre best described as "D&D Fantasy."

 

[Rainbow Scissors]

I think there's a portion of the fanbase who wants D&D to be Mercer-punk, with some elements of Magic the Gathering occasionally tossed in. But, yes, magic in D&D mainly serves to mimic modern technology.

Giants and gem dragons seem to have gained a lot more popularity for 2024 and beyond.

 

[Autumnal]

I am not sure I would go back to running it, but I will say this: 3.5 was much more of an intentional toolkit than 5E, and it knew how to support the GM with publications.

Every so often I think about rolling a custom take on 3.5, since its mix includes a lot of things I like. But by the time I sketch it out in my mind, I’ve basically reinvented Fate and/or QuestWorlds and realize that I’m better off just adapting the D&D bits to one of those. But the appeal is still there.