D&D General Nolzur creates inclusive miniatures, people can't handle it.

A chunk of early dnd seemed to have a lot of inspiration from LotR (I know if you go into the deep lore that setting is high magic af, but it seems lower magic for casual readers/watchers), with Aragorn being the first thing people thought of with the Ranger.
I have the sense that a lot of that was player demands and not Gygax's preference. Most of his stuff leaned more on the Sword & Sorcery influences; Conan, Elric, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. But from the very start, players have wanted to borrow inspiration from their favorite works. Then it was wanting Rangers and hobbits from LotR. Now it's shounen anime and the MCU. (Seriously, I can't count how many "How do I fight with a shield like Captain America?" questions I've seen online.)
 

log in or register to remove this ad

I have the sense that a lot of that was player demands and not Gygax's preference. Most of his stuff leaned more on the Sword & Sorcery influences; Conan, Elric, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. But from the very start, players have wanted to borrow inspiration from their favorite works. Then it was wanting Rangers and hobbits from LotR. Now it's shounen anime and the MCU. (Seriously, I can't count how many "How do I fight with a shield like Captain America?" questions I've seen online.)
I like DnD growing to be able to incorporate more sources of inspiration over time. One thing I've been constantly frustrated about though is the system gradually losing the ability to cater to players who like grittier and lower magic settings. With 5e this has got so extreme that if you make a post asking how to run a low magic setting, you just get "play a different system" as the response.
 

I like DnD growing to be able to incorporate more sources of inspiration over time. One thing I've been constantly frustrated about though is the system gradually losing the ability to cater to players who like grittier and lower magic settings. With 5e this has got so extreme that if you make a post asking how to run a low magic setting, you just get "play a different system" as the response.
I mean, they're not really wrong. D&D is not and never has been the Everything Game. It doesn't do all genres equally well and not all of those optional rules variants in the DMG work particularly well. Anyone who tries to sell the idea that it is the Everything Game is someone who just really doesn't want to switch systems, even if they have to bury it under a binder of house rules thicker than the PHB.

D&D is going for the mass market appeal, and that leaves plenty of space for smaller competitors to claim the less trafficed niches for themselves. Many of which are offering games very similar to D&D, be it 5e or earlier editions, if you don't want to stray too far. But D&D is the biggest game in the field precisely because it does go for the mass market, and right now that's pretty clearly a high magic flavor.
 

I mean, they're not really wrong. D&D is not and never has been the Everything Game. It doesn't do all genres equally well and not all of those optional rules variants in the DMG work particularly well. Anyone who tries to sell the idea that it is the Everything Game is someone who just really doesn't want to switch systems, even if they have to bury it under a binder of house rules thicker than the PHB.

D&D is going for the mass market appeal, and that leaves plenty of space for smaller competitors to claim the less trafficed niches for themselves. Many of which are offering games very similar to D&D, be it 5e or earlier editions, if you don't want to stray too far. But D&D is the biggest game in the field precisely because it does go for the mass market, and right now that's pretty clearly a high magic flavor.
I was weirdly thinking of this recently myself. D&D does not do manga. It does not do historical warfare. It does not really do low magic LOTR or Conan. It does D&D.

What I would love are modular additions in the new DMG that would more completely let you lean into any of these other things in a dedicated space. There are hints now, but I would like a more robust swords and sorcery/lower magic option.
 

That’s too bad. It’s weird how seeing an adventurer in a wheelchair sets people off and is seen as “unrealistic” but those same people can handle the fantasy of dragons, liches, fireballs, floating castles, PCs who can swim in lava and survive, etc.
Because people in general have preconceived notions about what things are supposed to be, especially if they exist in the real world (but not exclusively to things of the real world). Like ... how I like my Star Trek and having a Star Trek series where the characters don't act like professionals is just stupid! (Except for Lower Decks, which is just great).

So, for some people, humans in wheelchairs are not real people. They can't and shouldn't have an agenda. They are something to maybe be pittied, but better kept put out of sight.

Then some of those people then can't handle it when they see something that is against their preconceived notion and have to belittle it or actively fight it (like with review bombing).
They see it as an attack on the natural order.
People in wheelchairs going on adventures? That's silly!
Women fighting men? That is unrealistic! They would always loose!

So some people have outdated, dangerous notions about how things are supposed to be and have no ounce of morality and shame to keep those notions to themselves and shout them out in the world.

The only way to stop those people is Public pressure. Name them, shame them and if they get violent put them behind bars to protect upstanding citizens from sich idiots.
 


I like DnD growing to be able to incorporate more sources of inspiration over time. One thing I've been constantly frustrated about though is the system gradually losing the ability to cater to players who like grittier and lower magic settings. With 5e this has got so extreme that if you make a post asking how to run a low magic setting, you just get "play a different system" as the response.
AiME actually does low magic very well IMO. The 5e book that came out a few years ago is what I’m referencing specifically
 

The minis are great.
More importantly, they are inclusive. Inclusion is a wonderful thing because it makes life better for many people.
It doesn’t make life worse for anyone at all....... except for those who choose to let it enrage them, just because they need to hate. And these people need calling out and opposing. Always.

Pretty much this.

I really don’t get the opposition to something like this. This costs me nothing. Not a thing. And maybe it makes someone else happy.

Why on earth would I oppose it or even comment on it? What are people trying to accomplish?
 

I mean, they're not really wrong. D&D is not and never has been the Everything Game. It doesn't do all genres equally well and not all of those optional rules variants in the DMG work particularly well. Anyone who tries to sell the idea that it is the Everything Game is someone who just really doesn't want to switch systems, even if they have to bury it under a binder of house rules thicker than the PHB.

D&D is going for the mass market appeal, and that leaves plenty of space for smaller competitors to claim the less trafficed niches for themselves. Many of which are offering games very similar to D&D, be it 5e or earlier editions, if you don't want to stray too far. But D&D is the biggest game in the field precisely because it does go for the mass market, and right now that's pretty clearly a high magic flavor.
I’m gonna disagree just a little bit. In the 80s, I think DnD was an everything game because it had everything in it. The DMG had simple conversion rules for Gama World and Boot Hill and Metamorphosis, and we had adventures like expedition to barrier peaks. I think it worked back then because in the 80s, it was ALL everything. Sci-fi, western, and fantasy were mashed up all over the place. Yor the hunter, Krull, ice pirates, etc. And we all played DnD mechanics when doing so.

We don’t see it now of course. Honesty, I don’t think we’ll see another decade like the 80s
 

I like DnD growing to be able to incorporate more sources of inspiration over time. One thing I've been constantly frustrated about though is the system gradually losing the ability to cater to players who like grittier and lower magic settings. With 5e this has got so extreme that if you make a post asking how to run a low magic setting, you just get "play a different system" as the response.
Really? I think 5e is maybe the best edition for playing low magic D&D. We have been playing it that way from the beginning. I've been saying that for a long time and I don't recall people telling me to play a different system. Of course I'm good at not letting comments like that bother me. So it could just be me?!
 

Remove ads

Top