Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="cowpie" data-source="post: 8487475" data-attributes="member: 98840">So I do have one more observation about WOTC's embracing a particular play style to fit the current year zeitgeist. While I have no problem with playing D&D as a light-hearted, casual story, I'm not 100% sold on the idea that it's a good idea to go all-in favoring this over older play styles.  At least they shouldn't abandon older play styles.The older versions of D&D embraced mythical heroic fantasy as a basis for game play.  All cultures on earth use mythological stories, loosely described in Campbell's 'Hero with a Thousand Faces', as 'The Hero's Journey'.A young, inexperienced hero, who has an underdeveloped talent, is in a society faced with a problem.  The hero reluctantly embarks on a quest to seek a guide and find a solution to the problem.  They enter a supernatural world where normal rules don't apply, and face various trials and tribulations.  They grow as a person, and discover how to use their talent.  Eventually they find a treasure, which can solve the problem.  They bring the treasure back to society, and save the day.The reason this exists in every society on earth, is that it taps deeply into the human psyche, and the fragility of the human condition.Humans are mortal creatures, who for most of our history, had a life expectancy of 25.  The world was (and is) dangerous, with disease, starvation, predators, and bad luck all acting in concert to kill us off from the moment of birth.  Human societies developed as a technology to let humans work together to protect each other, and find solutions to these problems.  This preserves the society, which protects us from extinction.One reason Hero's Journey stories are repeated over the centuries because they model the path we need to take when our way of doing things isn't working.  We embark on a quest, suffer trials, find the solution, and keep our society going.  Over the centuries this has enabled our advanced technological society, freedom from severe want, and a life expectancy into the 70s.  If we abandon this knowledge, we risk damaging our societies, and losing our hard won gains.  Ultimately, our species could end up getting killed off.The other reason these stories resonate, is that the Hero's Journey is a model for dealing with the personal challenges that all human beings face in life.  You start out not knowing much.  Bad things can happen to you which you can't ignore or you'll suffer.  You face your fears, develop your talents, and grow as a person.  The next time you face challenges, you're better at doing it, and you survive.Traditional D&D is modeled after the Hero's Journey.  PCs start out as 1st level neophytes, embark on a quest, cross the threshold of adventure into a supernatural underworld, find the treasure (or other boon), bring it back home, and win the day.  They level up, grow as a character and survive.  Even the most basic dungeon crawl is based on this universal, mythic model.  I'd argue that this is a major reason why D&D has remained popular.  D&D journey = Hero's Journey = Mythical model of life's actual journey.This is why WOTC devaluing this is concerning.  It's abandoning a focus on games that tap into stories resonating with the human experience, which have remained universally popular throughout most of recorded history.</blockquote>

Verification