D&D General How far from the source can we stray?

[Mind of tempest]

My preference is much the same!

I am thinking of presenting the idea as "most characters are human," with the non-human mostly confined to the monster section. But inevitably people like to play non-human, so providing an option for "monster" PCs seems a decent idea.

do you have any ideas on what those will be? as things which fit would be important but they have to be easy to explain.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Unless you are trying to leverage the DMsGuild, ignore what is going on in the Realms and chase your own passion. Because this project is a passion project first and foremost. If it becomes a retail success it will be because you've thrown more of your soul into it than is reasonable - and people notice that.

I brought up the Realms don't as an example of how entrenched the Tolkien sensibilities are. I am not looking to publish this one on DMSGuild, as it does not meet the criteria for publication there.

 

[Ath-kethin]

do you have any ideas on what those will be? as things which fit would be important but they have to be easy to explain.

I have ideas for Plant creatures and Mineral creatures, and have some playtesting in those directions. I suppose I should have listed Earthdawn among my influences, it was actually my introduction to TTRPGs back in the early 90s.

 

[bedir than]

My preference is much the same!

I am thinking of presenting the idea as "most characters are human," with the non-human mostly confined to the monster section. But inevitably people like to play non-human, so providing an option for "monster" PCs seems a decent idea.

In Tolkien's novels that people actually read (Hobbit, LotR) Humans seem to be 85% of the known population of thinking peoples. Yes, in other ages there are more, but frankly the books that focus on the other ages aren't part of the common thought.

In the Forgotten Realms Humans may be about 2/3rds of the playable thinking peoples and are probably 50% of all thinking peoples(?). CS Lewis's Narnia is also in that 50-85% for Humans. Same for DragonLance, etcetera, etc, etc.

Genre fiction almost always uses humans as the baseline, if they exist. The Taltos series by Brust is rare exception. Stick with that foundation. Throw in a handful of racial concepts that tell that stories upon which you are focusing. Do not include a race due to tradition.

In my world the campaign didn't have any humanoid besides Humans (~75%), Halflings (15%), and Goliaths (10%) for 60 sessions of the campaign. Even after that the Ken (fey magical creatures like Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Dragons) and Kon (goblinoids with a twist) were smattered in the Western Wildes, and not part of the major kingdoms. Both groups were invading/exploring creatures from myth.

 

[Ath-kethin]

@bedir than
My central conceit is a (human) society, assailed on the surface of the world, had its most powerful magic users perform a feat of unimaginable sorcery and moved the population to the interior of the planet. Now, generations later, they have branched out from the initial settlements and discovered that, somehow, they are not alone.

My intention is to have the setting remain as generally compatible with everything else as possible. After all, most adventures don't really concern themselves with what's actually up in the heavens; as long as you can tell whether it is day or night, who cares what's beyond the sun? I've been running a game set in it for a few months now, using a modified version of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia, and none of my players have even noticed the abnormality (aside from a casual remark about the lack of dwarves). This experience tells me the idea works.

I just thought I'd reach out beyond my bubble a bit and ask for thoughts. I'd ask on Twitter, but frankly the reach and likely response rate here is much higher (also, the greater degree of nuance available on a forum as opposed to 140 or whatever character tweets).

 

[Mind of tempest]

I have ideas for Plant creatures and Mineral creatures, and have some playtesting in those directions. I suppose I should have listed Earthdawn among my influences, it was actually my introduction to TTRPGs back in the early 90s.

go on I would like to see your concepts see if they have the necessary complexity.

 

[Ath-kethin]

go on I would like to see your concepts see if they have the necessary complexity.

I'm not sure what you're after.

Elven society in an RPG exists as a fictional representation of what we imagine a creature with an elf's lifespan, capabilities, and resultant worldview might create. The plant and mineral based creatures I envision haven't moved much past the conceptual or "monster" stage; as I develop the ideas further they will progress in the same manner we might envision an elf society.

It's possible (likely) that I just haven't reached the stage in development required to give you the details you're requesting. But fantasy fiction, and even RPGs, have numerous examples of such societies. I see no reason mine would be left underdeveloped next to dwarf and elf societies, except inasmuch as the dwarves and elves have a much more robust histories in literature.

 

[Azzy]

Personally, I think it's going to vary by mood. Sometimes I want Greyhawk, sometimes I want Eberron, sometimes I want something that deviates more, sometimes I want to play a different RPG of a different genre.

 

[tetrasodium]

eberron is another setting that tacks well into "our $thing is different" Novels are full of other examples the warded man, iron druid, Monster hunter international, kate daniels, the hollows, & many others do similar things. As an extreme example you have Jim Butcher's "bet I can" pokemon meets lost roman legion codex alara books. On the topic of tolkien specifically you have the inheritance cycle that over time you learn is the western land elves sail to with a greater threat & some degree of magic as a science in ways that are amusing in almost jaw dropping ways if you recognize the tolkien bits things draw from. The stormlight archive is another that bucks tolkien & does it to a degree that it's not even drawing on mythological creatures at all.

A world should make sense & be internally consistent in interesting ways that make someone want to care about & learn more through exploration

 

[Zardnaar]

Depends on context. If it's your own game (not D&D) do whatever.

If it's a setting make it unique with some sort of hook. Otherwise you can stray quite a bit.

If it's a core book and commercial yeah can't stray to far. You can add but don't subtract.