D&D General D&D: Literally Don't Understand This

[Umbran]

So, I have realized, this kerfuffle is really what Radiant Citadel is about.

Radiant Citadel is a product created by diverse authors, saying, in effect, "Hey, you know, D&D can represent a lot of stuff. There's room for all sorts of different cultures we can depict here."

Taylor Swift, of all people, has effectively reminded us that there's still a big chunk of gamers out there who say, "No! D&D can only be My Thing! I will whine if the presentation doesn't match my old-fashioned, preconceived notions! I will not open my mind to how other people's stuff might actually be fun!"

To which I say... screw that! All you folks (here, and elsewhere on social media) whining about high heels? You just got WotC a sale! I just ordered Radiant Citadel. Physical and digital bundle. Direct from WotC, to minimize the middlemen taking a cut out of the corporate profits.

Because life is busy, it will, unfortunately, take me a while to find a time to run it, but now I will. Where appropriate, I will research music inspired by the cultures depicted within to play during the sessions. My wife loves to cook for games, and we'll aim to do meals inspired by those cultures...

And I'll make a half-dozen or so converts to multicultural D&D. Thank you for inspiring me.

 

[Umbran]

Purple prose is basically a foundational trope for Swords & Sorcery...

Purple?

Nay, sir! This prose is positively amaranthine! Heliotropic phraseology, to unlatch the conscribed space of our mundane experience, to consider untold vastness of possibilities heretofore unthought by mere moral entities such as ourselves....

 

[Alzrius]

High heels definitely have a place in the game; according to Macho Women with Guns d20, they give female characters a +1 bonus to Charisma, albeit with a -5 foot penalty to speed and being unable to sprint. There are plenty of builds that can help with.

Oh, and since Poe's Law is a thing:

 

[Mannahnin]

View attachment 414446
I'll take the stilettos over whatever this guy's wearing on his feet.

Jeff Dee's boots are a core part of early D&D! Are they logical? No! But Elric is 100% from a society that would favor dopey fashion. His chest "armor" is somehow even less useful than a chainmail bikini and probably much more expensive.

Jeff Dee doing 70s bell bottoms and (sometimes exaggerated versions of) mid-century superhero boots* on D&D characters is definitely a product of the time which I just accepted as part of the visual language of heroes. Especially since I was regularly reading comics in the 80s at the same time as I was getting into D&D.

The super-80s Queen of the Spiders cover by Keith Parkinson (also featuring cuffed boots, though these with stiletto heels) was 1986, perhaps not coincidentally a year after Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and I figured the inspiration from Tina Turner's Auntie Entity was pretty obvious.

It does seem like some D&D art has always incorporated some elements of current fashion. We saw a ton of this with 80s hairstyles in Larry Elmore's art, for example. Some of this, like the hair, can be tricky to avoid because what looks silly or cool to us is often very linked to current fashion.

I do think what we accept as natural or jarring within the visual language of D&D is to some extent a product of our age and the other media culture we associate with it.

I don't have any issue with the clothing depicted in the art from The Radiant Citadel, which generally seems for the most part intentionally rather than thoughtlessly designed, and consistent with the settings the art pieces are for.

The cultural context moving on a bit, and WotC pitching their visual language at younger folks who grew up with different media references than I did, only makes sense. I am happy that we are in such a golden age of RPG product that I can pretty much find any aesthetic I like. The OSR, for example, producing so much old school-flavored art that it's an embarrassment of riches.

*(which were themselves taken from movie pirates, as other superhero costume elements were taken from circus or strongman costumes)

Here's some more Jeff Dee goodness, just because I enjoy it.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I think the basis of the game now lacks identity to deviate from…

That is a good point. Helps me to understand the way I feel about this topic.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

This is also about TNT plunger detonators, heat metal hotplates, museum cafes and gift shops, etc...

 

[mamba]

If nothing else, timewise, this is only a couple hundred years off.

yes, but the last 200 years had more change / progress than the 2000 before it…

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That is a good point. Helps me to understand the way I feel about this topic.

It's got a basis. It's just not the same basis that it was.

Again, the most popular fantasy works today are Minecraft, Avatar, anime and League of Legends. That's all a basis.

It is not the same basis as what today's young fantasy fans' parents and grandparents liked, but pretending it doesn't exist is bizarre.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

This is also about TNT plunger detonators, heat metal hotplates, museum cafes and gift shops, etc...

 

[Scribe]

Again, the most popular fantasy works today are Minecraft, Avatar, anime and League of Legends. That's all a basis.

That's not the even the modern basis for D&D however.

5.5 (evergreen edition, not a replacement for 5 supposedly) is not based on Avatar, Anime in any sense, or League of Legends.

It's one thing to claim that is the current fantasy scene, debatable but a claim.

It's another to claim that stuff is D&D in the totally not a new edition.