D&D 5E What’s So Great About Medieval Europe?

[Son of the Serpent]

Sarcasm is fundamentally failed communication, you know. It is great for rallying the troops, it is non-functional for getting folks to see your point of view as having merit.

But, let's take it this way - you find the use of qualifiers unnecessary. Okay. So what?

you should read "a modest proposal" by swift.

Its very sarcastic and very effective. The sarcasm definitely helps too.

 

[MGibster]

Sarcasm is fundamentally failed communication, you know. It is great for rallying the troops, it is non-functional for getting folks to see your point of view as having merit.

But, let's take it this way - you find the use of qualifiers unnecessary. Okay. So what?

Umbran, I honestly thought you were just messing with me with that post. My apologies.

 

[Jester David]

I just watched "Bahubali: the Beginning" and am wondering why you think this movie makes you think f D&D? To me it was just another over the top wuxia style movie, not as good as some but also not as bad as some.
Not really what to me is D&D.

It didn’t make me think of D&D. It made me thing of other things I could do in D&D or with and RPG and different stories I could tell.

 

[Jester David]

My point is it is the Millennials who grew up on console rpgs, MMORGs, anime, 90s cartoons, and literature complex factions.

Warcraft Orcs didn't go from Brutal monsters to Noble Tribals for no reason. "You can't blame them. They were demon possessed!!" Warcraft has so many factions and subfactions that you need a wiki to follow it.

D&D has been pulled kicking and screaming to new ideas to reach new audiences. In 5 years when the Gen Z player get money, D&D will be pulled to some new things.

Fighters will be able to flash step and Monster Girls will be an official race in 20 years, I tells ya. There's gonna be so many mage-warriors. Core base fighter will have to be broken to keep up, man. 6 attacks a turn.

According to the demographics shared by WotC 40% of D&D players are already Generation Z.

(Millennials are 40-25.)

 

[Argyle King]

A pretty massive chunk of the player base, especially new players but plenty of middling old players like me, will never be comfortably with sentient races that are also playable in some worlds being “kill without a second thought” monsters in other worlds.

Discussion of why would lead this thread even more quickly to being closed than it was heading earlier today, so I’ll just say, go check out the articles and threads linkedin the quickly-closed Orc thread if you are interested in why people feel the way they do.

Which goes back to some of my previous comments.

Though, in terms of D&D, it does pose an interesting question: how do you reconcile the fantasy idea that some beings are inherently evil with real-world sensibilities?

In Tolkien's writing, orcs were automatically predisposed to darker desires because they were corrupted and created that way. To some extent, D&D follows some of that thinking, but not entirely.
(In the 5E story of Gruumsh, the gods of the other races seem like the bad guys to me.)
Contemporary orcs do not necessarily follow that template.

What of demons and devils? Supposedly, those beings are inherently evil and do not have the free will to choose otherwise. However, there are D&D stories of "redeemed" devils and demons.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Which goes back to some of my previous comments.

Though, in terms of D&D, it does pose an interesting question: how do you reconcile the fantasy idea that some beings are inherently evil with real-world sensibilities?

In Tolkien's writing, orcs were automatically predisposed to darker desires because they were corrupted and created that way. To some extent, D&D follows some of that thinking, but not entirely.
(In the 5E story of Gruumsh, the gods of the other races seem like the bad guys to me.)
Contemporary orcs do not necessarily follow that template.

What of demons and devils? Supposedly, those beings are inherently evil and do not have the free will to choose otherwise. However, there are D&D stories of "redeemed" devils and demons.

I just wanna put this out there. I love elves. Probably my most common pick for character creation.

And yet...

For some reason ive hated corelon larethian since his inception in d&d lore.

Am i weird? Has anyone other than myself and lolth had this experience or is it just me?

 

[Fenris-77]

I can't say his name without thinking of fine corintian leather...

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Which goes back to some of my previous comments.

Though, in terms of D&D, it does pose an interesting question: how do you reconcile the fantasy idea that some beings are inherently evil with real-world sensibilities?

In Tolkien's writing, orcs were automatically predisposed to darker desires because they were corrupted and created that way. To some extent, D&D follows some of that thinking, but not entirely.
(In the 5E story of Gruumsh, the gods of the other races seem like the bad guys to me.)
Contemporary orcs do not necessarily follow that template.

What of demons and devils? Supposedly, those beings are inherently evil and do not have the free will to choose otherwise. However, there are D&D stories of "redeemed" devils and demons.

I think devils and demons, as immortal beings from outside the world who personify evil, are fine to keep as “just always evil”, but it is also interesting to tell stories where one is redeemed, and explore if they even remain the same physical kind of creature.

 

[Umbran]

you should read "a modest proposal" by swift.

I have. Thank you for the assumption that I hadn't.

Its very sarcastic and very effective. The sarcasm definitely helps too.

Technically, that work is satire, not sarcasm. But, be that as it may, we have to ask - effective at what?

The work's impact falls rather as I already noted - it increases the agreement of those who already primarily agree with the work's posits. But, it doesn't do much to get those who don't agree to accept its position. It isn't like very rich people, upon reading Swift, have a change of heart and start paying their menial workers substantially more. Nor did the work solve the primary problem it was attempting to address. Heck, back when it was written, Swift got a whole lot of replies from wealthy folks, all telling him (in a very polite manner) to stuff it, and the Irish poor... remained very poor.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

I have. Thank you for the assumption that I hadn't.



Technically, that work is satire, not sarcasm. But, be that as it may, we have to ask - effective at what?

The work's impact falls rather as I already noted - it increases the agreement of those who already primarily agree with the work's posits. But, it doesn't do much to get those who don't agree to accept its position. It isn't like very rich people, upon reading Swift, have a change of heart and start paying their menial workers substantially more. Nor did the work solve the primary problem it was attempting to address. Heck, back when it was written, Swift got a whole lot of replies from wealthy folks, all telling him (in a very polite manner) to stuff it, and the Irish poor... remained very poor.

I didnt really assume you hadnt. Its just a good example of sarcasm proving to work well, properly used. Also yes. Its satire. Stilk has a lot of sarcasm in it as well.

I dont know. I think it is a pretty effective piece. Guilt can work, but it has to be applied to an audience that is sufficiently vulnerable (which i wouldnt say every lord was but i think a few were).