Folklore/Mythology is your game?

[palleomortis]

I honestly have never had a problem with it, or encountered it. But I have to say that I would welcome it should a character try to introduce it to the game. The way I see it, I won't inforce it, but if the player wants to, the only thing that it is really doing is shaping his PC all the more, and building more "character" for his...character. Anything that furthers the indivduality of a PC is good with me.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I've been playing D&D for 30 years now. And in that time, I've found the vast majority of new fantasy/folklore/mythology cannot even come close to inspiring me the way Tolkein, Howard, Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Medieval romances, Germanic sagas, etc. have and still do. A few months ago I read the new translation of Beowulf and found it just as inspiring as it did in 1976. But I have never been able to appreciate Ebberon, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, etc. let alone the amateur stuff most DMs invent.

This is just my opinion of course.

 

[WayneLigon]

I use a lot of folklore, but I'll twist it, or come up with variations of it. Mix and match. The Mother of Medusas they ran across was an archetypal monster - I stole the serpent Medusa straight out of Clash of the Titans, made her Huge size, gave her iron scales and a pertrification breath weapon instead of the gaze attack. So she was a Gorgon/Medusa/Half-fiend

 

[Jhaelen]

For D&D I prefer campaign settings that are markedly different from 'Mythic Europe'. My all-time favorite is still Dark Sun. D&D is simply a better fit for over-the-top epic fantasy.

Since my favorite rpg is Ars Magica, I really love 'Mythic Europe' as a setting, but not for D&D. It just doesn't fit.

Still, I don't particularly mind if some aspects become more similar to real-world myths. E.g., I never liked the D&D treatment of fey.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I've been playing D&D for 30 years now. And in that time, I've found the vast majority of new fantasy/folklore/mythology cannot even come close to inspiring me the way Tolkein, Howard, Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Medieval romances, Germanic sagas, etc. have and still do. A few months ago I read the new translation of Beowulf and found it just as inspiring as it did in 1976.

I agree with you up to, but not beyond, this point.

RC

 

[TerraDave]

Running an alternate earth world I am pretty much stuck with JC (...Joseph Cambel..). But I am not afraid to go for the pulpier, more alien, or more anachronsticly modern when I feel like it.

I do think it is worth noting that D&D is not a science fiction game. It may be heavily warped and altered fantasy, but those elves, dwarves, sword weilding heroes, spell-casters, pseudo pagan gods, goblins, dragons...are ultimately coming from "mythology/folklore".

 

[Flynn]

Real World folklore is a great resource for inspiration and ideas. While I don't follow it slavishly, I do find that using elements that are similar paints a picture for the players, and gives the setting more depth for less work.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Nifft]

Yes. But I like them as themes to riff on rather than plots to follow.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just ran an adventure based on Beowulf recently and my current one will soon feature, essentially, the Big Bad Wolf (as a creepy would-be rapist/child molester figure). These are pretty potent archetypes and work well for gaming.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I agree with you up to, but not beyond, this point.

RC

And I really enjoy what you've been doing with fairytales and folktales. You really should publish that stuff.