Tolkien Killed My Homebrew

[Snoweel]

I've only just realised why I keep tinkering with my homebrew, specifically the cosmology (which actually leads to sweeping historical, religious and political changes).

It's that rat-bastard Tolkien.

I mean, I'm no fanboy (I've only read The Hobbit and the first hundred pages of FotR), and I don't consider myself an expert on the ins and outs of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, but I have a fair grasp of the general cosmology and history (really the same thing in a good internally-consistent setting) of the setting and I just feel I'm thwarted at every turn.

Middle-Earth is just such a brilliant setting. It's the setting I wish I had've come up with.

However it's not the setting I came up with. No really. I just co-authored most of his splat-books.

So anyway, since the birth of my homebrew (about 15 years ago) I've tried more and more to make it not-just-another-Middle-Earth clone. Which has been hard, because so many of the prominent D&D monsters (and nearly all of the races) are ripped straight out of Middle-Earth. Look at the Forgotten Realms - an excellent setting, but it just feels like Middle-Earth for D&D.

What's a n**** to do?

So I've tried to focus more on the iconic D&D elements that aren't inspired by Tolkien - Beholders, Illithids, Goblinoids (I know, I know), Yuan-ti, non-Balor Demons, etc...

But when it comes to religion/cosmology, it's very hard not to imitate Tolkien. Even ideas I thought I came up with by myself have turned out to have already been done by Jimmy Ronald Reggie Tolkien himself.

So the best I've managed is to steer my campaign flavour away from faux-Medieval-Europe, giving it a thin veneer of Aztec-chic, feudal Japan and ancient-Babylon/Persia/Sumeria/etc. And I like it. I really do.

But it's a setting that's meant primarily to be gamed in, so its main culture must predominantly include the D&D3e implied social model (ie. 21st century liberal Western society with high prevalence of magic). If you don't look too deep, it can be shoehorned in fairly easily. Not too much problem there.

But at the end of the day players who want fantasy expect Medieval-Europe with magic and Dragons. It can be hard to convince them to just play the game when they feel a cultural disconnect. Maybe I should just game with Japs, Arabs and little brown guys from Mexico?

So anyway, my rant is that Tolkien's world is so damn good that trying not to imitate it is forcing me to constantly take the second-best option at every stage of homebrew creation.

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[charlesatan]

First off, I think the question is, do you want a game setting, or do you want an original fantasy novel? If it's the latter, then the need for originality is understandable. If it's the former, let's proceed.

First off, yes, the D&D system and game world draws a lot from Tolkien. The interaction between elves and dwarves (or for God's-sake, halflings!) are an example. But on the other hand, it's not entire Middle-Earth either. I mean you have wizards casting visually impacting spells (fireball!) and the magic system is derived from Jack Vance for example. D&D is Tolkien-inspired, but honestly, there's a big difference between playing in Middle-Earth, and playing in say, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, or Dragonlance.

Second, an advantage of being Tolkien-influence is that many gamers will be somewhat familiar with the setting even if they're new to it. Because so many fantasy worlds were at last influenced by Tolkien's works (including a lot of fantasy derivatives), many people will, on some level, recognize D&D (it might be the elves, the medieval feel, etc.). A homebrew is nicec and all but if it becomes too different, players might feel alienated (and that might be okay for a horror or Cthullu game, but perhaps not for D&D, unless that is the emotion you want to express, such as if the characters are in a foreign country).

Having mentioned my second point, there are a couple of settings which are, shall we say, Tolkien-reactionary. The Midnight setting, for example, is like a darker Middle-Earth where the dark lord won. Or you might want to take a look at Alderac's Warlord setting, where the elves are evil and short-lived. There's even something like The Black Company which emphasizes a military and "realistic" feel. Yet these settings on one level or the other also change the game system to accomodate the setting.

The fact of the matter is, when you mention fantasy, the most common reaction is medieval Europe (and not necessarily Tolkien of course, since I don't think Tolkien emphasized the feudal aspect of the era for example) and dragons and wizards (Arthurian). I think it is possible to play a setting where it's still European fantasy yet not Tolkien. Just not in D&D because by and large, D&D is a Tolkien-influenced game system and setting. (And even if you were say, a Mexican and Asian, I think when you mention "fantasy", there's still that element of medieval Europe).

You could set it in another cosmology, such as an Asian setting, or something more on the likes of China Mieville's setting (a post-modern hodgepodge of various cultures and ideas), but it won't evoke as much familiarity with the players. The thing with game settings is that you want to make it feel familiar yet not a carbon copy of something else. And I think D&D has enough differences to Middle-Earth. And in the end, running a game isn't about writing an original novel: it's about having fun. I might create this fantastical world that's unique and different but unless my players have an empathy for it, what use is it?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

If your players like Tolkien-esque settings to play in, why not give them that? I feel for you wanting to be unique, orginial, etc ... but why not face up to it: sometimes people have more fun playing in something that feels familiar. And that isn't bad, necessarily; D&D is a game, it's supposed to be fun. In a game, no one will take points off for plagiarism or lack of originality. Save your Hugo award-winning original campaign setting for your first best-selling novel if your creative juices still feel stifled when your players don't find your setting fun.

Personally, I play D&D because I like the western european-inspired quasi-medieval Tolienesque fantasy found in Greyhawk, FR, and other mainstream D&D settings -- and I've yet to find a homebrew that I thought could effectively compete in the long run. When I want something completly different, I find a different game built a different baseline. I just like what I like.

 

[Endur]

My first exposure to Dungeon and Dragons was the Basic D&D boxed set with the Wizard and Warrior facing the Red Dragon on the cover (1980?).

I though that was explicitly based on Tolkien's Hobbit (which I had seen in the cartoon version and read the book). Dragon = Smaug, Wizard= Gandalf, Warrior= Bard the Bowman.

It was only later that I found out that due to legal reasons, hobbits were called halflings and ents were called treants.

D&D had other sources, Chronicles of Narnia, Conan, Oz, Tarzan, etc., but Tolkien's influence was huge.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

If you and your players enjoy the setting and are having fun with it does it really matter that it is a rip-off of middle earth? Do you want your setting to be different just for the sake of it? If not it's probably not worth the effort of trying to come up with something completely different. Just use what someone has already done for you. Spend your effort in tweaking things more to your own taste or coming up with great NPC's and adventures.

There's no point reinventing the wheel just for the sake of it.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I hear ya, really I do. I recently (well, a couple of years ago) scrapped my 17-year old homebrew and redesigned it for largely the same reason - too Tolkien-esque. My solution was to make it more late Medieval, early renaissance with a hint of steampunk. I've got guns, and my orcs are more like bedouin warriors of the desert, and my elves aren't in decline, and so on.

On the other hand, if you want to do Tolkien-esque, you could go whole hog and create a post-LoTR Middle Earth setting... Another great option might be an alternate Earth setup. I'm playing in a alternate Victorian England setting with elves and magic, and its great fun.

 

[Baron Opal]

Research worlds based on alternate presuppositions. Namely, Tekumel. It is a Aztec / Indian blend that I find very interesting. It will be hard to find the books, but I think that you could do a lot worse. Also, there is a fair amount of old Glorantha / RuneQuest material out there that could be adapted to d20, at least culturally. Glorantha is about as non-Tolkein as you can get. Elves are plants, for cryin' out loud.

 

[el-remmen]

Snowy, is that really you?

Just start running games based on Aquerra and be done with it!

Not that I haven't stolen liberally from Tolkien

 

[bytor4232]

I've only just realised why I keep tinkering with my homebrew, specifically the cosmology (which actually leads to sweeping historical, religious and political changes).

....

Has anyone else experienced this?

Dude, I'm shocked! I thought I was the only one! I started writing my chronicles of Aerthon about 15 years ago. Aerthon is also my campaign setting. However just started reading Tolkien just before the movies were released, and was knocked on my butt how much my world, after 12 years of development, looked and felt like Tolkien. I work and I work at my stories, and if I ever release them I'd be labeled as a crook.

Oh well. Don't feel bad, it happens to the best of us

 

[Particle_Man]

As another option, go with prehistoric/Ice Age gaming. There are various articles to be found. Here the emphasis is more on survival (of self or tribe) and away from Tolkein Adventures (or its derivative - killing and looting the dead). No cities, no ruins (nothing has yet been built to be ruined!), lots of wilderness, and dangerous weather effects.

Then, if you are a total rat-bastard, bring in Mind Flayers from the future to *this* era.