Tinner
First Post
I've been following this thread and thinking about D&D and the literature that inspires it, as well as the literature it has inspired.
D&D has always "cherry-picked" sources to create new material. Borrow a little Lovecraft to create the Mind Flayers. Borrow a little Vance for the magic system, etc.
I think this is best seen in the core classes. (Note - these are only my opinion as to what each class was inspired by. YMMV)
Barbarian - Conan/Fafhrd
Bard - Taliesin/Mistrels/Jesters
Cleric - The Bible/Crusaders
Druid - Merlin/Nature Priests
Fighter - Lancelot/The Green Knight/Roland
Monk - Kung-Fu films
Paladin - Aurthurian Legends
Ranger - Aragorn
Rogue - The Grey Mouser/Cudgel the Clever
Sorcerer - Chronicles of Amber
Wizard - Vance/Gandalf
It's easy to see that the original 1e core classes show a more clear literary inspiration than some of the more recent additions (ie. sorcerer).
Anyway, this caused me to ponder the following:
If I were to choose modern media sources to inspire/flavor 3.5e core classes - what would I choose? What sources would popular, mainstream culture be able to connect with in a D&D setting?
If I'm re-imaging the core classes, what sources of inspiration can I reasonably expect Joe Average to turn to? If WotC wants to market D&D to the widest audience possible, what is their source of inspiration?
Basing this solely off fairly recent, readily (ie. Wal-Mart) available media, I came up with the following:
Barbarian - WWE - Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, you name it. Professional wrestling is full of guys who keep struggling in blind fury, even when they should be down for the count. Mix in a little Native American flavor to cover the "primiive tribal" angle and there's your barbarian.
Bard - Hip-hop/Rap - Emotional music that inspires loyal emotions. Offers a street-music/music of the people connection. Touring = wanderlust. Ties directly into youth culture. Emphasis on "bling" ties into dungeon-crawling and treasure hunting.
Cleric - The Bible - Still a best-selling book. Full of mighty adventures. If you're talking about religion in western culture, then the Bible is still topic number one.
Druid - The Crocodile Hunter - I'll let his countrymen have their opinions of him. Sure, he's over-the-top, but the idea of a nature loving outdoorsman who is equally adept at wrasslin' gators as he is at saving a wounded fawn is my idea of a good druid.
Fighter - Die Hard - This is the feel I want for my fighters. Taking beating after beating, and still coming back for more. Capable of picking up almost anything and using it to fight effectively.
Monk - Hong Kong cinema - Everything from Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon to House of Flying Daggers fits in here. I'd tweak the class to put more emphasis on over the top stunts, and drop things like speaking all languages, and resisting disease.
Paladin - Superman/Captain America - Comic books are the only place we still see this kind of black and white morality. I'd make the class even more of an untouchable holy warrior. Lose the pidling spellcasting, and add in more heroic class features.
Ranger - America's Army - It's hard to put a modern spin on Aragorn, but you'd be pretty close with the modern military/special forces. These guys are trained in a variety of weapons, stealth, survival, healing, etc. Plus, as a tie in, maybe get the army to help fund some "All-Ranger" events, and do cross promotion?
Rogue - Ocean's 11/Ocean's Twelve - You name it, we've got almost every possible kind of rogue in these films. Slick talking con-men, gadget gimmick guys, thief acrobats, etc.
Sorcerer - Star Wars/X-Men - You are born different. You have dangerous and powerful emotions that you must keep in check, or risk harming those around you with your powers. You will face persecution because of your differences.
Wizard - Harry Potter - Incredibly well known. Magic still requires study and practice, but spells are no longer forgotten. Skill required for more complex castings. School specialization still fits.
So, there's my picks. Obviously this list is far from complete, so please add to it. Feel free to add other classes, etc.
Just try to stick to media sources that can be readily found by mainstream buyers. Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser are some great sources, but Mr. & Mrs. Middle America can't exactly find his stuff at the local Sam's Club.
D&D has always "cherry-picked" sources to create new material. Borrow a little Lovecraft to create the Mind Flayers. Borrow a little Vance for the magic system, etc.
I think this is best seen in the core classes. (Note - these are only my opinion as to what each class was inspired by. YMMV)
Barbarian - Conan/Fafhrd
Bard - Taliesin/Mistrels/Jesters
Cleric - The Bible/Crusaders
Druid - Merlin/Nature Priests
Fighter - Lancelot/The Green Knight/Roland
Monk - Kung-Fu films
Paladin - Aurthurian Legends
Ranger - Aragorn
Rogue - The Grey Mouser/Cudgel the Clever
Sorcerer - Chronicles of Amber
Wizard - Vance/Gandalf
It's easy to see that the original 1e core classes show a more clear literary inspiration than some of the more recent additions (ie. sorcerer).
Anyway, this caused me to ponder the following:
If I were to choose modern media sources to inspire/flavor 3.5e core classes - what would I choose? What sources would popular, mainstream culture be able to connect with in a D&D setting?
If I'm re-imaging the core classes, what sources of inspiration can I reasonably expect Joe Average to turn to? If WotC wants to market D&D to the widest audience possible, what is their source of inspiration?
Basing this solely off fairly recent, readily (ie. Wal-Mart) available media, I came up with the following:
Barbarian - WWE - Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, you name it. Professional wrestling is full of guys who keep struggling in blind fury, even when they should be down for the count. Mix in a little Native American flavor to cover the "primiive tribal" angle and there's your barbarian.
Bard - Hip-hop/Rap - Emotional music that inspires loyal emotions. Offers a street-music/music of the people connection. Touring = wanderlust. Ties directly into youth culture. Emphasis on "bling" ties into dungeon-crawling and treasure hunting.
Cleric - The Bible - Still a best-selling book. Full of mighty adventures. If you're talking about religion in western culture, then the Bible is still topic number one.
Druid - The Crocodile Hunter - I'll let his countrymen have their opinions of him. Sure, he's over-the-top, but the idea of a nature loving outdoorsman who is equally adept at wrasslin' gators as he is at saving a wounded fawn is my idea of a good druid.
Fighter - Die Hard - This is the feel I want for my fighters. Taking beating after beating, and still coming back for more. Capable of picking up almost anything and using it to fight effectively.
Monk - Hong Kong cinema - Everything from Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon to House of Flying Daggers fits in here. I'd tweak the class to put more emphasis on over the top stunts, and drop things like speaking all languages, and resisting disease.
Paladin - Superman/Captain America - Comic books are the only place we still see this kind of black and white morality. I'd make the class even more of an untouchable holy warrior. Lose the pidling spellcasting, and add in more heroic class features.
Ranger - America's Army - It's hard to put a modern spin on Aragorn, but you'd be pretty close with the modern military/special forces. These guys are trained in a variety of weapons, stealth, survival, healing, etc. Plus, as a tie in, maybe get the army to help fund some "All-Ranger" events, and do cross promotion?
Rogue - Ocean's 11/Ocean's Twelve - You name it, we've got almost every possible kind of rogue in these films. Slick talking con-men, gadget gimmick guys, thief acrobats, etc.
Sorcerer - Star Wars/X-Men - You are born different. You have dangerous and powerful emotions that you must keep in check, or risk harming those around you with your powers. You will face persecution because of your differences.
Wizard - Harry Potter - Incredibly well known. Magic still requires study and practice, but spells are no longer forgotten. Skill required for more complex castings. School specialization still fits.
So, there's my picks. Obviously this list is far from complete, so please add to it. Feel free to add other classes, etc.
Just try to stick to media sources that can be readily found by mainstream buyers. Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser are some great sources, but Mr. & Mrs. Middle America can't exactly find his stuff at the local Sam's Club.
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