Fantasy becoming too fantastic...?

[Wanderlust]

Y'know, I'm just wondering if I'm alone here, but with current trends it just seems that there's not much room for ye olde classic fantasy. I guess what I mean is that with the barrage of splat books going down the road of "who wants orcs and goblins when you could have dire-fiendish-half-dragon-githyanki" does anyone else kinda long for the simple stuff? You know, the merry band of heroes out to rescue the damsel in distress, maybe some goblins, a dragon perhaps, an evil wizard, and wits necessary--not nuke like magic items?

Just a thought.

 

[hong]

No, you're not alone.

I propose another thread category, "Validate me" or something like that.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'd say you're far from alone. There've been quite a few people expressing a similar point of view, lately.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Bah, give me the interesting stuff. Avoid the goblins, dragons, orcs, and princesses.

 

[Turjan]

I'm not against the fantastic in fantasy. Quite the opposite, I love the fantastic, like awe-inspiring locations, rare items of wonder, etc.
This said, a "dire-fiendish-half-dragon-githyanki", as you put it, is not fantastic, but just grotesque. Or you see it just as a collection of numbers, a change in challenge, which is not really the approach I like, either. In this regard, I'm somewhat of a purist, too.

 

[Kunimatyu]

I do agree regarding the half-whatsit thingy, by the way. I just like to populate my worlds with interesting and rarely-used stuff, to keep players on their toes. Like, kenku instead of goblins, or giant swampdwelling gatormen.

 

[reanjr]

I concur with the OP premise.

 

[Shemeska]

Not at all. It's just a different kind of fantasy. So long as the 'half X, half Y, Z-touched' creature has a legitimate reason to exist and fits into some ecology in whatever the setting is, rather than just being some crunchmonkey's method of getting stacking bonuses, I can't find any problem with such things.

I don't have any interest in 'classic' fantasy, but give me githzerai anarchs who can reshape the raw chaos of limbo with force of will, half-fiend mercenaries of the Blood War, and genasi clerics plumbing the inner planes in search of a deeper connection with the element that forms part of their body and soul.

I like atypical fantasy: Mieville rather than Howard, etc.

Ultimately though it's just a preferance for style, and different people will have difference preferences on the topic.

 

[demiurge1138]

I second Hong's motion.

But on the OP, no, you're not alone. But I'm not one of those people who dislikes crazy over-the-top fantasy. Although "template stacking" and "over-the-top fantasy" are in no way synonymous.

Demiurge out.

 

[rounser]

I just like to populate my worlds with interesting and rarely-used stuff, to keep players on their toes. Like, kenku instead of goblins, or giant swampdwelling gatormen.

I think that's a good approach to keep things fresh, yet is still in line with the original poster's interests.

I don't have any interest in 'classic' fantasy, but give me githzerai anarchs who can reshape the raw chaos of limbo with force of will, half-fiend mercenaries of the Blood War, and genasi clerics plumbing the inner planes in search of a deeper connection with the element that forms part of their body and soul.

Are these PCs or NPCs?

I suspect that some of what the OP was getting at is that fantasy seems less fantastic if the PCs aren't classic heroes there to play "straight man" in a world of fantastic mutants, but rather are fantastic mutants themselves. Fantastic mutants also generally lack the mythic resonance that helps make heroes feel heroic....what would a paladin be without that "holy knight" mythic resonance? There's always space for the odd misfit or antihero, but maybe not a whole party full of freaks, unless you want to play some D&D/X-Men hybrid.

Of course, the players probably don't want to play "straight man" characters when there's piles of splatbooks with exotic races and classes to tempt them. (Incidentally, this seems to resemble one of the criticisms levelled at 2E's kits - that they rewarded starting again from level zero to try a new one out, and therefore restricted the longevity of campaigns. 3E with supplements seems to reward playing non-core classes and races.)