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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 5380586" data-attributes="member: 151">I thought the entire point of the OP was the the very concept of graveyards needs to die in D&D because it's a trope, particularly in that adventurers often find themselves travelling to them to fight the undead.  His argument was that given that undead can and DO happen in a fantasy setting, the very act of having a graveyard was a nonsensical idea that needs to die.A lot of folks have responded to that with a variety of logical explanations why that would be.  RC's specific point, from what I got, was that the idea that undead happen means there should be no graveyard doesn't make sense, because historically most cultures believed that the dead could return as the undead (hence the variety of what WE NOW call myths, which they called reality) and THEY STILL HAD GRAVEYARDS.  Further, that the REASON they had those graveyards was PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE of the supposed trope...i.e. that they existed to PREVENT the rise of undead that might otherwise occur.  That the dead do not actually rise has no bearing on the validity of graveyards, only the perception of their effectiveness.Every culture has it's specific burial or corpse-disposal rituals.  Often informed by practical realities (such as burning a corpse in a hot, wet climate or burying it in a cold one), these rituals have a lot of importance beyond just hiding the body or even just preventing undead.  The very notion of a graveyard is not, IMHO, a trope.  Now, the notion of a town where people have started to disappear around a graveyard and they soon discover the dead have risen?  Sure, I'll give you that.  I don't see it as something needing to die, however.But that same graveyard could be the place where the exorcist leads his line of hopping vampires to be returned to the earth.  It could be the place where the paladin's virtuous ghost rises from the defend the town.  It could be the place the mad wizard steals parts from to build his masterpiece.  It could be a place of final rest, where spirits are freed from torment or a place of remembrance where heroes come to respect the fallen or loved ones long gone (who may return at their grave to grant solace or advice).  The graveyard can take many forms.  But a trope?  If it is one, it's one I'll gladly keep.</blockquote>

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