Keldryn
Adventurer
I would like to see weapons and armor informed by real-world use and history.
Playability is always more important than realism. However, having some basis is reality gives a reference point for the fantastic elements of the game. When things that exist in the real world function much as you would expect, it lets the truly fantastic shine.
My preferred approach would be to step outside of D&D, video games, comic books, and movies and do some real-world research. Re-examine historical records and visit museums. Attend some SCA functions, talk to the people there and if possible, actually put on some replica armor and get some basic lessons in using a weapon. No, SCA isn't going to be a completely accurate representation, but it's going to be a lot closer than watching choreographed duels and playing video games.
Over the years, I think that game design has become too self-referential. Having worked as a designer in the video game industry, I can state that it is an issue there as well. Gary Gygax was a wargamer and obviously a history buff. He also loved to read a lot of pulp-era sci-fi and fantasy, and all of these influences informed his approach to creating D&D.
Modern-era D&D now begins to draw inspriation from books, movies, or video games which were themselves inspired by earlier versions of D&D. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this in and of itself. The danger is when that becomes virtually the only point of reference -- the end product may be a very well-balanced game that can be fun to play but ultimately feels artificial. When game design becomes too insular and self-referential, it can become more difficult to relate it to real-world knowledge or experiences. This is my primary objection to a completely "traditional" approach; it will become more self-referential and insular over time. By all means, continue to build on what came before, but refer back to real-world sources periodically as a check.
Listings of weapons and armor by historical era or technology level would be very nice to have somewhere in the core rulebooks, if only to aid the DM in world-building.
I agree completely. Especially if those blanks are filled in with made-up weapons that the artists or designers think look cool. You can go too far down the path of making every broad category an equal and valid choice. I would much rather see weapons being situationally superior than have silly variants so that weapon specialists don't feel cheated.
Playability is always more important than realism. However, having some basis is reality gives a reference point for the fantastic elements of the game. When things that exist in the real world function much as you would expect, it lets the truly fantastic shine.
My preferred approach would be to step outside of D&D, video games, comic books, and movies and do some real-world research. Re-examine historical records and visit museums. Attend some SCA functions, talk to the people there and if possible, actually put on some replica armor and get some basic lessons in using a weapon. No, SCA isn't going to be a completely accurate representation, but it's going to be a lot closer than watching choreographed duels and playing video games.
Over the years, I think that game design has become too self-referential. Having worked as a designer in the video game industry, I can state that it is an issue there as well. Gary Gygax was a wargamer and obviously a history buff. He also loved to read a lot of pulp-era sci-fi and fantasy, and all of these influences informed his approach to creating D&D.
Modern-era D&D now begins to draw inspriation from books, movies, or video games which were themselves inspired by earlier versions of D&D. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this in and of itself. The danger is when that becomes virtually the only point of reference -- the end product may be a very well-balanced game that can be fun to play but ultimately feels artificial. When game design becomes too insular and self-referential, it can become more difficult to relate it to real-world knowledge or experiences. This is my primary objection to a completely "traditional" approach; it will become more self-referential and insular over time. By all means, continue to build on what came before, but refer back to real-world sources periodically as a check.
Listings of weapons and armor by historical era or technology level would be very nice to have somewhere in the core rulebooks, if only to aid the DM in world-building.
I agree completely. Especially if those blanks are filled in with made-up weapons that the artists or designers think look cool. You can go too far down the path of making every broad category an equal and valid choice. I would much rather see weapons being situationally superior than have silly variants so that weapon specialists don't feel cheated.
