One Thing I Think Could Be Improved From ALL Previous Editions...

[Ed_Laprade]

Appearently you all missed the fact that one of the few solid things that is now known about 5e/D&D Next/whatever is that there will be one default setting: The Forgotten Realms. We can only hope that is used as an example, rather than as a baked in proposition. But I'm not getting my hopes up about that. (Because I don't like the FR setting. )

 

[howandwhy99]

I think D&D is already a world, but it can be customized by removing and adding elements from the core.

Humans, elves, dwarfs, halflings, gnomes, 1/2 elves, and 1/2 orcs. These are the races you can start with or you can customize. But the 7 will be in the campaign world unless you specifically remove them.

Fighters, Wizards, Clerics, Thieves, Druids, Paladins, etc.... are in the campaign world. You can have a custom class, but unless you remove the previous they are in the world.

Equipment lists work similarly. As do spell lists. Magic items. Monsters. D&D is, in a way, it's own setting. You can add pieces, remove pieces, and alter things as you desire, but the core basics include a specific setting that doesn't suit well to say "playing a galaxy PC" or "Amoeba-land". We can get far enough away from the core to make most of its elements irrelevant. But the game sells the standard setting as default.

 

[The Human Target]

Appearently you all missed the fact that one of the few solid things that is now known about 5e/D&D Next/whatever is that there will be one default setting: The Forgotten Realms. We can only hope that is used as an example, rather than as a baked in proposition. But I'm not getting my hopes up about that. (Because I don't like the FR setting. )

Thats not true as far as I have seen.

 

[Zireael]

Appearently you all missed the fact that one of the few solid things that is now known about 5e/D&D Next/whatever is that there will be one default setting: The Forgotten Realms. We can only hope that is used as an example, rather than as a baked in proposition. But I'm not getting my hopes up about that. (Because I don't like the FR setting. )

I wonder if it's really the case... because if it isn't, then no setting is the best option.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

One thing occurs to me that I don't think has been done in any previous edition, but that recently increasingly jars on me:

- There is a 'default game world' hard-coded into the initial rules set.

D&D is not Gurps or D20. D20, for example, is a set of rules mechanics meant to be adapted to whatever genre and setting you like: Superheroes, 007 spies, steampunk, eldritch horror, Star Wars, etc. D&D is first and foremost pseudo-medieval dungeon looting and monster bashing. Whatever you ACTUALLY do with it is your own business and we should all have fun, but DO NOT strip D&D of the very genre elements for which it should be EXPLICITLY intended.

I wouldn't expect everyone to embrace with sloppy kisses the implied setting that any particular edition might present, but I emphatically believe it NEEDS to be there. Change it if you like (and in fact, if you're DMing and you never change it you might want to question how good you are at your job) but newbs should be able to pick up the core books and without having to buy a seperate game setting to provide additional details, and without having to make up those details themselve without knowing what details will be needed/wanted short of taking an online training course be able to get something like a basic game up and running.

Once an edition is published there will be YEARS of time for WotC and/or others to invent, adapt, and publish specific game settings that will make whatever changes to religion, magic, races, classes and even core mechanics. DON'T turn D&D into a bland, lifeless game by bleeding it of the things that give it any REAL flavor out of the box.

JMO.

 

[Deadboy]

A stock setting in the rulebook increases playability for new players by making it easier to play straight from the book. Those settings really aren't meant for those of us who have played 5, 10, 20 or more years; we can come up with stuff on our own.

Though I admit I did kind of like the 4e pantheon; a felt some of the gods were pretty compelling.

 

[Balesir]

D&D is not Gurps or D20. D20, for example, is a set of rules mechanics meant to be adapted to whatever genre and setting you like: Superheroes, 007 spies, steampunk, eldritch horror, Star Wars, etc. D&D is first and foremost pseudo-medieval dungeon looting and monster bashing. Whatever you ACTUALLY do with it is your own business and we should all have fun, but DO NOT strip D&D of the very genre elements for which it should be EXPLICITLY intended.

Yeah, I wasn't really thinking of going so far as to strip out the genre - it still should be "D&D genre" as it has developed.

What I had in mind was the inclusion, for example, of gods from one specific game world (rather than 'domains' or 'spheres' that can be used to build characters dedicated to homebrew or favourite-world gods) in the core books. Or supporting only one 'core' planar geography when leaving them undefined or generic would work equally well; let's be honest, the only function of the planes in the core books is typically to give "outsider" monster types somewhere to come from and magic spells somewhere to interact with. Both of these functions could as well be done with generic descriptions of planes (coupled with specifications of specific planes in an example setting).

The reason for asking for the approach is to lead the design team to think in terms of not "locking down" specifics where they don't need to. Genre should be kept - I agree - but specific gods, monsters and planes should be optional.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I still don't understand why it's better to strip out any defaults and make new players have to create them (or flip to an appendix in the back of the book and start aligning a default cosmology onto the generic rules up front) than it is to just ask the experienced players "if your personal campaign's God of Light isn't named 'Pelor', use Pelor's stuff and just change the name."

Is it really that much of a hardship for people? Just don't use the personal names. Sorry, but if it comes down to "make things easier for experienced players and more difficult for new players" or the other way around... I for one would rather make it easier for the new.

 

[Alikar]

I think they should go settingless in the books and instead post a default setting for free online. More pages for building a world and less spent on something that I'll ignore for the most part.

 

[Tallifer]

Or make the Forgotten Realms the default setting, since they intend on supporting it anyways, but also give us a framework (in the character builder as well) for using domains, races and other world related mechanics according to our own campaign fluff.

This way, the Forgotten realms would be perspicuous for all players, but we would have the tools to do our own thing as well. I was very confused during Fourth Edition between the gods and cosmology of Points-of-Light and the Realms. Was the Raven Queen in the realms I wondered? Is there a Feywild in the realms? Or is it something else? Are the books about the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos in any way applicable to Eberron or the Realms?