Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Wandering Monsters: Worlds of D&D
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ainamacar" data-source="post: 6235283" data-attributes="member: 70709"><p>This, pretty much. I would like to XP you, but cannot. The presentation of the rules should explicitly acknowledge the diversity of D&D settings, but the rules themselves should not try to harmonize the cosmologies beyond what is necessary to make the game function. Whether or not Sigil exists, much less connects Toril to Eberron, needs to be up to the DM. Even at tables where they do connect there is a benefit in not making such a connection the default: when the connection is finally revealed (assuming it isn't common knowledge or the premise of the game) the players can be as legitimately surprised as their characters probably are.</p><p></p><p>The 3/3.5 rules for planes were perhaps a bit over-wrought, but I think it was a decent approach. For example, Teleport could be written to require access to some appropriate coterminous plane. It could be astral, ethereal, shadow, whatever. For most campaigns most of the time it doesn't matter, and for those times where it does the rules give you guidance based on the cosmology you've chosen, not the one that has been chosen for you. It could also serve as a framework for introducing side effects in teleportation effects consistently. For example, in my homebrew setting the astral plane is more-or-less poisonous.</p><p></p><p>With respect to races I would very much approve of separating the physical (or other inherent) aspects from the cultural. Not every physical or cultural difference requires new mechanics, and I'd reserve it for things that both tell a strong story and may be difficult to express/reinforce purely through roleplaying. I see no reason not to allow aliases to represent all the other superficial elements on top of these shared mechanics. I would probably lump in the cultural aspects as an additional part of selecting a background, though.</p><p></p><p>I suppose that structure might look like this:</p><p>1a) Base race with fundamental characteristics (e.g. Mechanical implementation of dwarves as both stout and robust.)</p><p>1b) Subrace with additional inherent elements (e.g. A subrace of dwarves with dark-vision and which can literally digest stone or metal and incorporate it into bones or skin.)</p><p></p><p>2a) Culture, which encompasses elements that typify almost every member of a given community. (e.g. Proficiency in axes and hammers, plus a hearty hatred of giants. This culture is traditionally associated with dwarven communities and individual dwarves, but that is setting dependent.)</p><p>2b) Background, which elaborates on the role and history of the character within the community/culture at large. (e.g. Blacksmith.)</p><p></p><p>3) Optional alias, which makes it clear that there can be additional elements which are important within the setting but don't necessarily merit mechanical representation. An alias might consider racial elements, cultural elements, or even class. It could be self-identified group membership or a label among that setting's demographers. (e.g. Ironskin Dwarf Clansmith)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ainamacar, post: 6235283, member: 70709"] This, pretty much. I would like to XP you, but cannot. The presentation of the rules should explicitly acknowledge the diversity of D&D settings, but the rules themselves should not try to harmonize the cosmologies beyond what is necessary to make the game function. Whether or not Sigil exists, much less connects Toril to Eberron, needs to be up to the DM. Even at tables where they do connect there is a benefit in not making such a connection the default: when the connection is finally revealed (assuming it isn't common knowledge or the premise of the game) the players can be as legitimately surprised as their characters probably are. The 3/3.5 rules for planes were perhaps a bit over-wrought, but I think it was a decent approach. For example, Teleport could be written to require access to some appropriate coterminous plane. It could be astral, ethereal, shadow, whatever. For most campaigns most of the time it doesn't matter, and for those times where it does the rules give you guidance based on the cosmology you've chosen, not the one that has been chosen for you. It could also serve as a framework for introducing side effects in teleportation effects consistently. For example, in my homebrew setting the astral plane is more-or-less poisonous. With respect to races I would very much approve of separating the physical (or other inherent) aspects from the cultural. Not every physical or cultural difference requires new mechanics, and I'd reserve it for things that both tell a strong story and may be difficult to express/reinforce purely through roleplaying. I see no reason not to allow aliases to represent all the other superficial elements on top of these shared mechanics. I would probably lump in the cultural aspects as an additional part of selecting a background, though. I suppose that structure might look like this: 1a) Base race with fundamental characteristics (e.g. Mechanical implementation of dwarves as both stout and robust.) 1b) Subrace with additional inherent elements (e.g. A subrace of dwarves with dark-vision and which can literally digest stone or metal and incorporate it into bones or skin.) 2a) Culture, which encompasses elements that typify almost every member of a given community. (e.g. Proficiency in axes and hammers, plus a hearty hatred of giants. This culture is traditionally associated with dwarven communities and individual dwarves, but that is setting dependent.) 2b) Background, which elaborates on the role and history of the character within the community/culture at large. (e.g. Blacksmith.) 3) Optional alias, which makes it clear that there can be additional elements which are important within the setting but don't necessarily merit mechanical representation. An alias might consider racial elements, cultural elements, or even class. It could be self-identified group membership or a label among that setting's demographers. (e.g. Ironskin Dwarf Clansmith) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Wandering Monsters: Worlds of D&D
Top