D&D General Rules vs. lore preferences in D&D sourcebooks?

[JEB]

Just curious after recent discussions what the general view here is on ENWorld as far as lore/rules balance. (Might also take a tour of rpg.net and Reddit and see what they think as well, but starting here.)

Feel free to elaborate, but please be respectful towards people who have a different preference.

 

[Sacrosanct]

The lore and flavor text influence how I play the creature in combat as much as a statblock. Statblocks can be boring, and make monsters feel like bags of hit points. I want to know how the creature behaves, because that’s what makes combat interesting and can decide the outcome more than a +2 bonus here or there.

 

[DND_Reborn]

More rules, less lore. The lore can be handy at times, maybe give me ideas, but most of the time without the rules to determine the resolution of the events, I feel like I am just telling a story instead of refereeing the game.

 

[Smackpixi]

What’s a ”sourcebook”? In this context?

 

[JEB]

What’s a ”sourcebook”? In this context?

A product that adds additional material to the game outside of the core rules.

 

[Smackpixi]

So, any book not core three? Basically, asking what books I want? I wish for 50% adventure books which themselves are 10-25% lore for the area depending on how novel the location. 25% setting books which should be 20% low level adventure(s) that really play on the flavor of the setting to give an idea how to draw people in and 5-10% stuff on ideas on what after intro adventures, not on page of plot hooks, but solid 10-15 pages on ways to explore a setting in depth. 25% rules and monster books which are just rules and monsters, mostly monsters, how many new rules are really needed? I guess player options are rules, but…I see those as parts of the above. More info about my interests in this context than anyone cares about. I’ll just go vote.

 

[Professor Murder]

More Rules, less lore.

 

[overgeeked]

It’s “no rules, only lore” all the way. There’s tens of thousands of games with millions of systems and subsystems and rules. I don’t need yet one more book telling me what to roll or how to roll it. Just gimme the creative stuff. Worlds and stories. Relationship webs and intrigue. Plots and situations.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

It’s “no rules, only lore” all the way. There’s tens of thousands of games with millions of systems and subsystems and rules. I don’t need yet one more book telling me what to roll or how to roll it. Just gimme the creative stuff. Worlds and stories. Relationship webs and intrigue. Plots and situations.

I would call that a novel.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

A product that adds additional material to the game outside of the core rules.

If you're going to do additional polls in other places, it might be worth allowing multiple votes, or adding a "Mix, dependent on the type of sourcebook" option.

Setting-neutral books like Xanathar's and Tasha's, I'm happy with mostly mechanics and little lore. Exploring Eberron and other setting books I prefer more lore.