D&D 5E Thoughts on Divorcing D&D From [EDIT: Medievalishness], Mechanically Speaking.

[Micah Sweet]

This is true. I have no idea why people have this disconnect where they demand strict realism when it comes to firearms, yet are totally cool with people getting hit by a greatsword and walking away mostly unscathed.

I am certainly not ok with people getting hit by giant swords with no consequence. The damage and healing parts of the game need (and have received in some versions and my homebrew) a significant overhaul. It's just hard to get players on board due to a combination of inertia and the fact that it doesn't make their PCs more powerful (in fact the opposite).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Babylon 5

You mean Lord of the Rings in space? Featuring celestials, fiends, space elves, warlock pacts, rangers, misunderstood sorcerers and Elric the technomage?

 

[Reynard]

So in what way is this the modern world beyond the asthetic? It really does sound like D&D with a paint job and some more restrictive PC choices.

I thought I explained: changes to armor and defense to get away from wearing plate; expansions to firearms rules to push it away from melee as default (of course you could still stab someone; bayonets on!); class changes and reconfiguration to eliminate the medieval-ish origins of those classes; developed travel vs exploration rules to promote far and wide travel to remote locations.

Of course the point of the thread is to find out if there are more things we can do to reinforce the milieu without breaking what D&D is.

 

[Raiztt]

Most of D&D is actually set in the 19th century just without guns - clothing, cities, ships, professions, governments, legal frameworks, social dynamics, understanding of natural rights, currency, etc - all has more to do with the 19th century than it does with the 13th century. The 19th century is really modern.

For sure, there definitely wasn't any of that until the 19th century. And definitely not in-or-around what we call Italy or Egypt today at aproximately 120 AD.

This diatribe about what people can or can't imagine about the medieval period (which is almost 500 years long) is eye-roll inducing and pedantic. I was literally just in a medieval city in central europe learning about trade guild organization and taxes during the 13th century.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If magic works in a world, then it implies that Physics does not. There is no reason to suppose firearms work the way they do in our world.

It absolutely does not imply that. At all. That assumption is the direct cause of an enormous number if disagreements in this site alone, let alone the community as a whole.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No, modern does not mean guns. You can have a world that is modern in terms of society, communication, transportation, fashion, music, but does not have guns.

Or you could have a medieval society dominated by firearms. Maybe instead of machine tools, magic is used to create rifled barrels and automatic magazines. I kind of like this idea. One nation is given the secret of firearms in a fiendish pact, so all the other nations had to make similar pacts.

Are you saying being modern and having firearms are not two things that go together very, very often, because I'm sure that's what @Reynard meant. To presume otherwise in your rhetoric is just sophistry and hair-splitting.

 

[Reynard]

If magic works in a world, then it implies that Physics does not. There is no reason to suppose firearms work the way they do in our world.

It absolutely does not imply that. At all. That assumption is the direct cause of an enormous number if disagreements in this site alone, let alone the community as a whole.

There are people that genuinely believe in magic (from crystals to angels to actual spells) in our actual world. The one with guns.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It absolutely does not imply that. At all. That assumption is the direct cause of an enormous number if disagreements in this site alone, let alone the community as a whole.

I’m pretty sure magic isn’t compatible with any laws of Physics I know.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There are people that genuinely believe in magic (from crystals to angels to actual spells) in our actual world. The one with guns.

And maybe there are people who believe in Physics in your fantasy world.

 

[Reynard]

I’m pretty sure magic isn’t compatible with any laws of Physics I know.

Magic, by definition, breaches the laws of physics. It doesn't mean they don't exist.