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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
The Debate of "Canon" in D&D 5E
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<blockquote data-quote="AtomicPope" data-source="post: 8436194" data-attributes="member: 64790"><p>Canon for D&D is like any fictional work; it provides continuity, stability, and a center from which all other related works derive. If a fiction author writes a series of books we want them to have continuity so the story extends beyond the last novel. If it doesn't, then we feel cheated like it was a bait-n-switch. Why should D&D be any different? It shouldn't. And we're not required to like it, buy it, or agree with it either. </p><p></p><p>None of this has to do with "authority" or "authorized work" either. If the Canon changed then the fans who liked one version stay with that version, the fans who like another go with that version. That's because the talk of Canon is really about fans, a community of fans. Fan communities, like the fiction they love, are also built on the original concept of work. If none of these stories are interconnected then the community dissolves.</p><p></p><p>When we discuss Canon and home games, the problem here is DM vs player. The DM has home game assumptions and unless these differences are spelled out clearly the players are going to make choices based on their version of "Canon". At a minimum, when the Canon is muddled then it becomes cumbersome for the DM and players to determine what is legitimate for their table. When the Canon is constantly changing then the home game walls itself off from new products, and the new community that grew with those changes.</p><p></p><p>I reckon this will become more of a problem as D&D becomes more popular. We're already seeing this happen in comics and comicbook movies where artists, writers, and directors are treating, what are essentially modern folktales, as vanity projects. They disregard the history and essential nature of these stories, acting as culture vultures on established fictional worlds.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AtomicPope, post: 8436194, member: 64790"] Canon for D&D is like any fictional work; it provides continuity, stability, and a center from which all other related works derive. If a fiction author writes a series of books we want them to have continuity so the story extends beyond the last novel. If it doesn't, then we feel cheated like it was a bait-n-switch. Why should D&D be any different? It shouldn't. And we're not required to like it, buy it, or agree with it either. None of this has to do with "authority" or "authorized work" either. If the Canon changed then the fans who liked one version stay with that version, the fans who like another go with that version. That's because the talk of Canon is really about fans, a community of fans. Fan communities, like the fiction they love, are also built on the original concept of work. If none of these stories are interconnected then the community dissolves. When we discuss Canon and home games, the problem here is DM vs player. The DM has home game assumptions and unless these differences are spelled out clearly the players are going to make choices based on their version of "Canon". At a minimum, when the Canon is muddled then it becomes cumbersome for the DM and players to determine what is legitimate for their table. When the Canon is constantly changing then the home game walls itself off from new products, and the new community that grew with those changes. I reckon this will become more of a problem as D&D becomes more popular. We're already seeing this happen in comics and comicbook movies where artists, writers, and directors are treating, what are essentially modern folktales, as vanity projects. They disregard the history and essential nature of these stories, acting as culture vultures on established fictional worlds. [/QUOTE]
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