D&D (2024) How Important Is The Lore

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Only the lore at my table matters in my game. I like having flavorful, interesting world-neutral flavor in the books but only as a source of potential ideas, not as a straitjacket.

 

[Zardnaar]

This is about the 2024 core books.

Basically expect the classic hits then. Great wheel, gith story, tiamat/bahumet etc.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

I'll admit I'm a lore junkie. I enjoy reading not only lore for the current edition but lore for every edition. Some of my favorite resources for DMing inspiration are fan sites like Power Score RPG and A Walk Through the Planes as well as podcasts like The Dungeoncast, which all go over lore for every edition for various subjects.

 

[Shiroiken]

I want it to be there, not because I like it (I generally don't), but because new players and DM need something as a baseline to work from. I'm still into the old AD&D lore, and I know that I wouldn't be if it wasn't in the core books. While I may have a different frame of reference, people new to the game have their own lore to work from.

 

[Charlaquin]

As someone who hasn’t exactly been steeped in D&D lore, I found the lore glossary in the 2024 DMG a nice gesture, since WotC books casually drop proper nouns all the time and I frequently don’t know the references. But, it’s not particularly important to me. Nice to have, but wouldn’t be bothered if it wasn’t there.

 

[bedir than]

I like the 2024 approach of less firm lore. Layering my world and campaign onto that is much easier for the players to understand than "remove Y and Z, then add B and C"

 

[MichaelSomething]

Has anyone here had a session ruined because players used the lore against the DM? I'm curious since we're talking lore impact.

 

[Zardnaar]

Has anyone here had a session ruined because players used the lore against the DM? I'm curious since we're talking lore impact.

Mostly an online story you hear about.

Generally I'm always ahead of my players in official lore in most settings or novels.

I don't usually retcon official stuff anyway at least in major ways. I may time shift it or set campaign away from the action.

 

[Smackpixi]

Lore is essential to understanding a monster or a setting. But in a DnD core rule book for a system where there are innumerable settings, lore about orcs, goblins, or even humans, who appear in all of those settings, can’t be all that useful. I’ll take specific lore where ever I can get it, even if it doesn’t fit what I’m doing, cause details are interesting, but yeah, not important in core rule books, for DnD anyway.

 

[Shiroiken]

Has anyone here had a session ruined because players used the lore against the DM? I'm curious since we're talking lore impact.

Yes, but it's from the Realms, which is a monster for lore. The DM was familiar with the setting, but one of the players had read most of the novels and every sourcebook for every edition. He knew the puzzle answer without having to do the associated quest, leaving the DM without anything else for the session. It was unfun for everyone involved, including the player who ruined it.

This is why as a DM I always let the players know that the lore they think of they know of the setting may not be accurate. It allows me to switch things up if I absolutely need to.