Joshua Dyal said:
Setting and scenario are only loosely coupled. That is, a given setting might support multiple scenarios, and a given scenario might fit multiple settings. And "core story" is really just a special term for the super-simplified structure of a scenario, which is intended to be in many, most, or all scenarios for a given game/setting.
I bring this up because i don't see any real evidence that the 'core story' of Arcana Unearthed is any different than that of D&D--sure, the widgets are different, but a core story is so abstract that things like races and classes and spells don't even enter into it. IOW, playing a game with AU is going to best fit the same core story that D&D does--which makes sense, since Monte intentionally built basically the same game, but with new widgets. I know i certainly would consider my AU game "D&D" by any standard less stringent than "uses the D&D3E rulebooks". And it fits settings tailored for D&D (Al-Qadim, in my case) about as well as any version of the D&D rules does.
Now, some settings (such as Midnight) will significantly alter the intended/implied core story. But mechanical changes have to be pretty significant, and/or specifically intended to change gameplay at the scenario level, to change the core story. New widgets specifically intended to have a very similar gameplay aren't gonna do it.
