D&D General Joe Manganiello: Compares Early 5E to BG 3 . How Important is Lore?

[mamba]

It's mostly enforcement. If they don't enforce blatant cip infringement, they can lose it.

ok, they have to protect it, that is different from them having to publish something to keep it though, which your original statement sounded like to me

 

[JEB]

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of all the lore changes made in CoS either. Never the less it was a well-crafted adventure.

FWIW, the lore changes in CoS were also a lot easier to reconcile with the old lore than Van Richten's. Retcons as opposed to total reboot.

 

[Minigiant]

ok, they have to protect it, that is different from them having to publish something to keep it though, which your original statement sounded like to me

No. I said want I said. If they don't produce Forgotten Realms, I could produce Forgettable Lands setting and take the lead in the FR market.if I do not directly copy.

Without actual product on their end and My version being very different due to modernization, they'd lose the lawsuit if they sue and lose the IP if they don't

 

[Minigiant]

That’s so lame.

Lame all the way to the bank.

 

[JEB]

Speaking as a long-time comics fan, I like the Marvel Comics approach to lore. Everything that happened, happened... but the timeline can advance and evolve, and past events can be reinterpreted (new context can be added, "true" backstories can be revealed, etc.) Just make sure everything is explained, somehow. This is something early 5E did (see SCAG, which included even 4E's lore in the backstory), but modern 5E does seem to have given up on, favoring reboots instead.

That said, credit where credit's due, they've gotten smarter with their reboots as of Dragonlance and Planescape. Yes, there are changes, but in broad strokes it can work well enough with older material. As opposed to Spelljammer (anything that depends on the old cosmology may be an awkward fit) and especially Van Richten's Ravenloft (which is a completely new setting). It's probably the most that can be realistically expected from Wizards at this point.

 

[MGibster]

I've probably been spending too much time around @Snarf Zagyg, but I have a sudden desire to define lore. It may seem fairly obvious, but I think it's important to make sure we're all on the same page. Lore is the surface area on each side of a bird's head between it's beak and eyes. Okay, that can't be right. Seriously, English is a messed up language.

Can we define lore as the collected information known about a game's setting? This would include, but not be limited to, geographic points of interest, important non player characters, nations, organizations, religions, current & historical events, the economy, monsters, playable races, er, species, etc., etc.

I believe lore is what most strongly attracts people to an RPG. From the back of the 5th edition Player's Handbook.

Dungeons & Dragons immerses you in a world of adventure. Explore ancient ruins and deadly dungeons. Battle monsters while searching for legendary treasures. Gain experience and power as you trek across uncharted lands with your companions.

Right here this tells potential players that D&D default setting includes ancient ruins with dungeons, monsters, and legendary treasures! No matter what D&D setting I'm playing in, these are the things I can expect. i.e. It's lore. It's broad and unspecific, but it tells you what you can expect from any D&D setting.

Here's what GURPS 4th edition says on the back.

Create exactly the character you want to play...your favorite fictional hero, or your own invention. Choose from over 400 advantages and disadvantages, over 350 skills, spells, and techniques. Customize yoru character with individual perks and quirks, and you're ready to go.

Ready to go and do what? I'm saying this as someone who thinks GURPS is a pretty good game, but looking at it from a new player's perspective, what the heck am I supposed to do with it? I know it's not the only reason, but I can't help but think GURPS lack of popularity is partly because there's no default setting attached to it like there is for D&D.

When a new game is released these days, I am most often interested in it based on the setting. Don't get me wrong, the rules are important, but I want to know if the game is set someplace I'd want to adventure in. I might be driven away from some games because I dislike the rules, but liking the rules won't draw me to a setting I'm not interested in.

 

[Sulicius]

Well BG3 has sold a metric boatload, broken a billion in sales.

I suspect the story is s large part of that and it draws heavily on FR lore, Gith, Illithids.

Let’s be fair, that is not about the lore. They cared about hot characters with decent story arcs.

 

[Zardnaar]

Let’s be fair, that is not about the lore. They cared about hot characters with decent story arcs.

Most of therm were heavily tied to the lore though. Ceremorphoisis, blood war, Gith.

Lots of 2E and 3E lore in there.

 

[Sulicius]

Most of therm were heavily tied to tge lore though. Ceremorphoisis, blood war, Gith.

Lots of 2E and 3E lore in there.

Yes of course, because it took place in that setting. I just don’t think I’ve seen as much talk about the blood war as about whether Astarion is a good guy or a bad guy.

The characters made people care, not the lore. Same as our games; players care about lore that effects their PC, rarely much more.

 

[FallenRX]

Man his whole take on the Mearls defending a sex pest and outing a bunch of sexual assault victims is so unbelievably naughty word awful that i hope he never works on anything dnd related again.