D&D General D&D Settings with No Problematic Areas?

[Retreater]

In trying to think about what the future of the hobby might look like, I'm looking at some of the past products to see what D&D might end up shaping into.

We can infer that certain campaign settings will not be the basis of the future of D&D. Forgotten Realms (unless you use only the Sword Coast) has too many real world parallels with Maztica, Al-Qadim, etc. Mystara is a perfect example of "what not to do" in today's climate. Ravenloft is based on almost entirely real world horror stories and myths, so that's out too. Dark Sun has slavery. Birthright is too Euro-centric/Arthurian.

Maybe Eberron? I don't know enough about it. Is it Wildemount? Is this going to be the default campaign setting?

Really curious what you think.

 

[R_J_K75]

Really curious what you think.

Its going to be 100% generic concerning alignments, races, and regions where the DM and Players will be forced to fill in the blanks. Sounds like a ripping good time to me.

EDIT: Lets not forget religion, thats on the chopping block next. No gods or religious sects. So long Cleric and Monk, nice to know you.

 

[Mecheon]

EDIT: Lets not forget religion, thats on the chopping block next. No gods or religious sects. So long Cleric and Monk, nice to know you.

Kill the gods and shatter their thrones.

Anywho, I don't think we'll see too many of changes. The problems are with individual parts of the settings, not the overall session themselves. Its morreso going to be a case where people just need to put some thought into things. Mystara and Birthright probably won't show up ever again, but that's less because of problems with them and moreso because WotC has made it apparent where it puts such.

Mind I've love Eberron to be the default setting over FR

 

[doctorbadwolf]

In trying to think about what the future of the hobby might look like, I'm looking at some of the past products to see what D&D might end up shaping into.

We can infer that certain campaign settings will not be the basis of the future of D&D. Forgotten Realms (unless you use only the Sword Coast) has too many real world parallels with Maztica, Al-Qadim, etc. Mystara is a perfect example of "what not to do" in today's climate. Ravenloft is based on almost entirely real world horror stories and myths, so that's out too. Dark Sun has slavery. Birthright is too Euro-centric/Arthurian.

Maybe Eberron? I don't know enough about it. Is it Wildemount? Is this going to be the default campaign setting?

Really curious what you think.

I think you are worrying about soemthing that simply will not happen.

Horror isn’t inherently problematic, nor are real world analogues. Slavery as a thing players can oppose and such is probably fine. DS is a world where everything sucks unless the PCs choose to be heroes and make the world suck less.

The strangest worry here is the idea that Arthurian fantasy is somehow off the table? What?

I honestly have no clue where you got the idea that any of this was something to worry about.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Its going to be 100% generic concerning alignments, races, and regions where the DM and Players will be forced to fill in the blanks. Sounds like a ripping good time to me.

EDIT: Lets not forget religion, thats on the chopping block next. No gods or religious sects. So long Cleric and Monk, nice to know you.

Sarcasm?

Anyway, I’m down for a campaign where the end game is to attack and dethrone the gods. Sounds dope as hell.

 

[Bitbrain]

My opinion:

Regarding Forgotten Realms, I’m pretty sure they’ll just ignore Al-Qadim, especially since they already have Calimshan.

Everything Maztica tried to do, I would argue that Ixalan did better.

The elephant in the room with regards to Eberron is the continent of Xend’rik . . .

As far as Mystara is concerned, discard the cultural stereotypes of each nation and treat them as actual functioning civilizations with their own goals, ambitions, and problems.

EDIT - Oh, and get rid of the Kara-Kara.

Dark Sun has slavery, but it is treated as an institution that absolutely must be opposed and destroyed if the world is to have any hope of being made better.

 

[R_J_K75]

Sarcasm?

Anyway, I’m down for a campaign where the end game is to attack and dethrone the gods. Sounds dope as hell.

I was being a bit sarcastic but I do think that WotC or any other company for that matter will think a bit harder and longer before releasing a product, at least for the foreseeable future. I'm sure there will be changes in the game but probably not as drastic as I described but who knows?

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I'm hoping for a new genre. Move over epic fantasy, step aside sword and sorcery, sit down gothic horror. It's problematic fantasy! With each nation and race more problematic than the last. Sure to keep twitter and reddit humming for the next fifty years!

 

[Seramus]

Who knows? Things will change, new events in history will make new things offensive while old ones fall away. New challenges will arise and require meta commentary and examining. New pop culture references will come and go.

I certainly hope D&D continues to evolve and change. I've personally enjoyed most of the new gaming innovations to the hobby.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Planescape is relatively low on the problematic-o-meter because it's so wacky, cosmopolitan, and literally about the conflicts between ideas.

Dark Sun will do okay. About the most problematic thing about is it isn't slavery but rather Muls, and the fact that they're bred for slavery and so on. But that could easily be downplayed without significantly changing the setting.

FR is okay, they just need to do a little better on representation. No-one wants Maztica to come back. Ed Greenwood hates it because he feels it was way too close to real-world Central and South America. He wanted it to be a lot more fantasy and a lot less real-world-derived.

Mystara was outdated when I was a kid. That was a long time ago. It's not so much problematic as really kind of ridiculous and lazy.

6E is a toss-up between sticking with the FR, which they're pretty heavily invested in, IP-wise, or maybe going with Eberron, but I suspect they'll stick with the FR.