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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raduin711" data-source="post: 4031629" data-attributes="member: 15303">Good points.  However...I would disagree with your statement that putting more fantasy in D&D puts the creative advantage in their corner.  I think I can come up with some pretty interesting fantastical ideas... and I think a lot of other people can too.  The problem is making those fantastic ideas fit in a slightly mundane setting.  You ever notice that in modern fantasies it is harder to explain how we blindly coexist with the supernatural, than it is to explain the supernatural element itself?  How in comic books, it is easier to explain the superheroes and villains than it is to explain how regular society exists, just like it is now, beneath them?Vampire: the masquerade: Vampires are decended from Caine.  Easy.  Vampires keep their existence secret with a set of laws called the masquerade, which helps them keep secrets like mutant-looking vampires, and gargoyles and ancient, all-powerful antediluvian vampires... hard.Fantastic Four: Reed Richards has super stretchability and is one of the world's greatest geniuses.  Easy.  Reed is always building super technology like things to switch the Four's superpowers around and flying jet cars, yet the people of new york are still driving internal combustion cars and lack any superpowers whatsoever.  REALLY HARD.But anyway I think I am getting off track.  Your second example, about the Hippogriffs...  It certainly sounds dull, but why is it dull?Here are my thoughts:  Well, Firstly it is a deus ex machina.  Secondly,  the plane (or should I say plain) of elemental air, while fantastic, is very dull.  Thirdly, talking hippogriffs is fantasy overload.  Hippogriffs are fantastic enough as it is.  Making them talk for no good reason is silly.I think from what I read recently of Worlds and Monsters, I think you will be all right.  They talked in it about "needless symmetry", which brough about such bore-fest planes like the plane of air and the plane of positive energy.  (a plane of nothing but air, and a plane of nothing but... positive energy?  I'm sorry I must have lost my travel brochure... maybe next year.)  I think that they are doing this because they want all the fantasy to be interesting fantasy, and not just be there to fill some percieved gap.  As for the fantasy overload, I can't say.  I have always felt that tacking half-dragon to everything made the actual dragons seem less interesting, but that is just me.  Hopefully they stop at Dragonborn with the half-dragon concept.  But then again I know some people want to see dragons absolutely everywhere...So I guess it comes down to how much you believe in WOTC.  At least that is my opinion.</blockquote>

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