Does D&D even have a component of "midieval" anymore?

[Emirikol]

Our group was having a discussion and we got into a heated debate about whether D&D really is "midieval" fantasy anymore. It seems to have lost that "midieval" component somewhere along the way. Is it part of the D&D game or is it completely something else at this point?


..

 

[The Green Adam]

While D&D is still very much medieval in my opinion, most of the current art would beg to differ. Then there's Eberon but don't get me started on that.

 

[Psion]

Fusangite once quipped that D&D was "modern in medieval drag". In a lot of ways, I think that's true.

One reason why the Second World Sourcebook worked for me. It removed all pretense and made such a world logical.

 

[Victim]

Was it ever really all that medieval?

 

[Psion]

Was it ever really all that medieval?

Sure. I think it's silly to ignore the obvious. The arms, technology, and social structure of Medieval Europe are a big part of the trappings of the game. But the players, GMs, and even designers are not exactly Medieval recreationists and historians.

And I tend to think the game would be less fun if it were.

 

[Campbell]

Personally, it's never been a concern of mine or of anyone else I've played with. It most certainly has always contained a significant amount of flavor that is not suited to modeling the western cultures of that time period.

 

[The Green Adam]

Was it ever really all that medieval?

Good point. I mean, 'Magic Missile', 'Dimension Door', 'Prismatic Sphere'...how many 11th century people, even sages and wisemen, went around saying things like Prismatic? I was always surprised by how technical and scientific everything in D&D sounds. Even the names of some monsters and their fully defined ecologies seem like things from the Renissance or later.

 

[Celebrim]

It never really was that medieval, and its only going to be as medieval as the particular designer or referee wants it to be and is knowledgable enough to realize his desires.

The only medieval elements to the game I've ever encountered were bits and peices of 1st ed. AD&D where Gygax's medievalism seeped in. But for the most part, these were ignored.

D&D is "modern in medieval drag" because the players are modern and for the most part don't have alot of knowledge or even interest in medievalism per se.

 

[painandgreed]

Depends on the DM. I've had games where everything was medieval down to the food, tech, and laws, and I've been in campagins where it really was 'modern in medieval drag' with equivilants of anything you would want in a modern game. Most of the adventures as published are probably not medieval, but I think the rules are fairly neutral. Anyway, most people I've ever played under create homebrews that have whatever flavor they want to give it.

 

[The Green Adam]

In my major campaign world, it definitely started out as medieval high fantasy but over time it changed considerably. Advances in magic and engineering eventualy (over hundreds of years) created a printing press, light spell street lamps and flying boats (though extremely rare and difficult to operate). The 'current' tech level is somewhere between late Renissance and pre-industrial revolution Europe. The majority of the nations and people are on the lower end of this but a few choice advances punch far ahead.

That said, another favorite campaign world is the Mythic Europe of Ars Magica. Totally medieval and as realistic as possible in attempts to duplicate the cultural and technological elements of the period.