D&D General The Tyranny of Rarity

[Older Beholder]

Do what makes sense to you and I'll do the same.

Hard to argue with that.

 

[Umbran]

Looking up Molday basic for another thread and near the end...

So, that's neat except... it is among the first things about RPGs ever written.

 

[Cadence]

So, that's neat except... it is among the first things about RPGs ever written.

I liked seeing that it got in:

• the DM has the final call
• a good DM considers the player requests and should talk things over with them
• it's up to the DM to create an adventure the players can enjoy.

It felt like a lot of posts that ruffled feathers in this thread did so by leaving out one or more of those things.

 

[Minigiant]

This doesn't seem to jive with why a DM who doesn't like kitchen sink settings would welcome the Tasha variants. How does a player who was bored by an uncreative DM and created a world with monkeymen, warforged or half-giants have anything to do with the former?

You are missing the point. That was never the argument.

The point is the D&D has a Huge chunk of DMs makeing Same setting. And the Law of Averages mean most of these DMs are average and not ading much. This creates boredom.

Especially if D&D runs with the premise that the fan can create anything and the DM has to do most of the work.
Then you have TSR and WOTC reprint the same kinds of setting over and over for sale as shortcuts for DMs.

Basically average quality DMs with bland, common, or purchased settings are pushing players to see interest in new classes and races. Especially as other media explores other races and classes in the fantasy genre.

 

[Helldritch]

As I've been watching over this thread, I've become curious what fantasy fiction (books and movies/shows) the folks here have been influenced by and how it might (or might not) relate to their opinions.

These are the "primary" ones I've been influenced by over the years:

Spoiler

Book of Swords 1, 2 & 3 (my primary campaign world has a LOT of elements taken from this)
Chronicles of Narnia (very influential, up to "A Horse and His Boy")
Hawk the Slayer (very influential, to the point there's a Hawklands in my campaign world )
Willow
Dragonslayer (all my dragons are based on this movie)
Lord of the Rings (primarily movie version)
Dragonlance (novels - Autumn, Winter, Spring, Twins trilogy, Legend of Huma)
Savage Sword of Conan comics
Elfquest
Fool Wolf series (in Dragon Magazine)
Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts (late influence, but growing)

Lord of the ring and, of course, the hobbit
Chronicles of Amber
The Belgariades
All the books from The Grey Mouser and Fafhrd
Anals of the Black company
Heroes
Shanaria books
The Assassins novels by Robin Hobbs
All the novels of Isaac Aasimov
Elric
The Dragonlances novels (the first 6)
The first 6 Drizzt novels
All Bob Morane novels. You learn a lot about pacing in these.

And so many others.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

The point is the D&D has a Huge chunk of DMs makeing Same setting.

And how does demanding that every GM puts the same official WotC races in every setting alleviate this? I want the GM's to be empowered to say, that no, this setting has no elves or dwarves, if they so choose.

 

[Minigiant]

And how does demanding that every GM puts the same official WotC races in every setting alleviate this? I want the GM's to be empowered to say, that no, this setting has no elves or dwarves, if they so choose.

that's not the demand.
The demands are to Encourage DMs to ponder something different either from their own player or other media around them.. There is no requirement to follow but the peoblem isn't that too many DMs ban elves and dwarves.

 

[Maxperson]

The point is the D&D has a Huge chunk of DMs makeing Same setting. And the Law of Averages mean most of these DMs are average and not ading much. This creates boredom.

I think there is a huge assumption error in this premise. Average does not equate to boring. Boring is substandard, which means below average. Average is just fine for running entertaining games.

Then you have TSR and WOTC reprint the same kinds of setting over and over for sale as shortcuts for DMs.

They don't, though. Settings are fairly unique lore wise and often mechanically. Spelljammer, Planescape, Birthright, Al Qadim, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Eberron and the Forgotten Realms are all very different from one another. These are different from the MTG settings and Theros.

 

[Minigiant]

I think there is a huge assumption error in this premise. Average does not equate to boring. Boring is substandard, which means below average. Average is just fine for running entertaining games.

It not saying that Average means Boring. I'm saying Boring is Average.

The boring FR/GH/PS/SJ/BR/Ravenloft/Msytara homebrew clone setting is usually done by an average DM and also very common.

They don't, though. Settings are fairly unique lore wise and often mechanically. Spelljammer, Planescape, Birthright, Al Qadim, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Eberron and the Forgotten Realms are all very different from one another. These are different from the MTG settings and Theros.

Most of them use the same race and class tropes. That's the point.

What makes Theros different...
What make Eberron popular...
What gives Dark Sun a cult following...

Is partially or heavily the different race and class tropes.

Their tropes aren't overexposed. Especailly not overexposed by average quality and low quality DMs.

That's the old school DMs' problem. Their prefences were so popular that Meh and Worse DMs are copying them and turning people away from it.

 

[Maxperson]

The first 6 Drizzt novels

You left off a 0.