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

[Minigiant]

Right. Back in the day we only had Mesoamerican Lizardman barbarians riding dinosaurs in the name of frog mummies. (Warhammer Fantasy)

That's lizard on Lizards. That's not a layer of absurdity.
If you mentioned the fascist ninja ratmen, you might have something.
But those don't exist.

 

[Zardnaar]

That's lizard on Lizards. That's not a layer of absurdity.
If you mentioned the fascist ninja ratmen, you might have something.
But those don't exist.

Midgard. Ratfolk shadow monk.

 

[Jester David]

That doesn't at all follow. There's no general principle that a warlike, aggressive culture is a result of conquest by more technologically advanced empires. More often than not, an empire arises in a process of one tribe gaining some kind of decisive advantage and stomping out what had been normative, constant violence.

If you're lucky, whoever's doing the stomping isn't the Assyrians.

But why are all orcs warlike? If it's not by nature then why are all orcs from multiple locations in a content warlike?
Why are they still wearing crude armour and weaponry when dwarves and elves have had better technology for hundreds of years?

If you rule out "it's their nature" and orcs are just as intelligent and capable as humans and halflings, thenand then why haven't they joined with the other societies?

It becomes an Eberron situation where the humans came in and took all their land and ruined their civiliation, and have prevented them from rebuilding. A colonial narrative where the orcs are opressed and systematically knocked down to prevent them from founding their own kingdom.

 

[Minigiant]

World of Warcraft was released sixteen years ago, before today's 20yo gamers could read.
It IS from back in the day.

-edit-
Also... trolls speak with a Jamaican accent...

I'm talking about Zandalar not Darkspear.

Zandalar is the more recent kingdom of Mayan templed, African voiced, dinosaur riding trolls that revere a Haitian Spirit T-Rex loa and Bootleg Baron Samedi that came out in Mid 2018.

 

[Jester David]

I'm talking about Zandalar not Darkspear.

Zandalar is the more recent kingdom of Mayan templed, African voiced, dinosaur riding trolls that revere a Haitian Spirit T-Rex loa and Bootleg Baron Samedi that came out in Mid 2018.

Okay, fair. But the trolls riding raptors around Mayan temples have been around since Vanilla in 2004.

 

[fearsomepirate]

But why are all orcs warlike? If it's not by nature then why are all orcs from multiple locations in a content warlike?
Why are they still wearing crude armour and weaponry when dwarves and elves have had better technology for hundreds of years?

If you rule out "it's their nature" and orcs are just as intelligent and capable as humans and halflings, thenand then why haven't they joined with the other societies?

Historically, there's virtually no such thing as just "joining other societies." The way rival societies "join" is for one to subjugate the other (not always via outright warfare), and the winners to treat you more like the Persians treated the Ionian Greeks than, say, the Manchu treated the Dzungar. Because while sometimes, the conquerors judge you capable of being incorporated into the empire...sometimes, they decide it's not worth the trouble.

If you didn't get incorporated into the Cloud Person Empire, it's for the same reason the Picts never joined the Romans: they were never conquered.

It becomes an Eberron situation where the humans came in and took all their land and ruined their civiliation, and have prevented them from rebuilding. A colonial narrative where the orcs are opressed and systematically knocked down to prevent them from founding their own kingdom.

That doesn't at all follow. If some technologically inferior tribe of people is never really conquered, they often don't adopt the ways of their rivals. To go back to the Picts, they never started acting like Romans. Ever. There's no reason to believe human societies are on any kind of convergent path. Written language, agriculture, a centralized state...these ideas largely spread via one group of people kicking the absolute naughty word out of another.

You often find these ingredients:

1. Technologically inferior people whose
2. Social organization prevents them from urbanizing and developing intensive farming but
3. Inhabit land that more technologically sophisticated societies don't really want and
4. Additionally have an aggressive warrior culture so taht
5. Conquering them means shedding a lot of blood with little payoff so they
6. Don't get conquered, and
7. Often plunder the outskirts of civilization
8. Which the central Cloud People don't care about all that much anyway

Maybe that's your setting's orcs.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Something I need to move away from (although the APs make it hard) is to NOT have goblins always be eaters of sentient beings. But it's so fun to do the high goblin voice and say "Yeah, your friend, we've got him in our hideout. He'll make good eating". It does get the players motivated...

Ok, while we are on the topic of "evil" sentients. What exactly is it that makes someone evil? Isn't it in the eyes of the, ahem, beholder?

In a dnd world? Actions, how the effect other sentients and the world in general, or being a creature made of evil, like a mephit but your element is "Chaotic Evil".

I still just don't get how people don't see generational shifts in gaming.

World of Warcraft has a kingdom of trolls who use Mayan inspired architecture, Caribbean religion, and have West African accents and ride dinosaurs.

You'd never see that back in the day.

And it's a much cooler place than Chult, tbh.
Definitely cooler than another world full of medieval european trappings.

It becomes an Eberron situation where the humans came in and took all their land and ruined their civiliation, and have prevented them from rebuilding. A colonial narrative where the orcs are opressed and systematically knocked down to prevent them from founding their own kingdom.

Not really. The orcs of Khorviare live where they're always lived, and the only ones that took their land are the Mror dwarves.
Even the goblins lost their empire long before humans came, and are rebuilding now.

Historically, there's virtually no such thing as just "joining other societies." The way rival societies "join" is for one to subjugate the other (not always via outright warfare), and the winners to treat you more like the Persians treated the Ionian Greeks than, say, the Manchu treated the Dzungar. Because while sometimes, the conquerors judge you capable of being incorporated into the empire...sometimes, they decide it's not worth the trouble.

If you didn't get incorporated into the Cloud Person Empire, it's for the same reason the Picts never joined the Romans: they were never conquered.



That doesn't at all follow. If some technologically inferior tribe of people is never really conquered, they often don't adopt the ways of their rivals. To go back to the Picts, they never started acting like Romans. Ever. There's no reason to believe human societies are on any kind of convergent path. Written language, agriculture, a centralized state...these ideas largely spread via one group of people kicking the absolute naughty word out of another.

You often find these ingredients:

1. Technologically inferior people whose
2. Social organization prevents them from urbanizing and developing intensive farming but
3. Inhabit land that more technologically sophisticated societies don't really want and
4. Additionally have an aggressive warrior culture so taht
5. Conquering them means shedding a lot of blood with little payoff so they
6. Don't get conquered, and
7. Often plunder the outskirts of civilization
8. Which the central Cloud People don't care about all that much anyway

Maybe that's your setting's orcs.

Trade is a vastly greater part of history and what has shaped cultures than war. War just gets the best stories, because trade is kinda boring.
Most changes in culture where one culture influences another is from trade.

 

[gyor]

By that logic Star Wars and Game of Thrones are British (or Irish).

I’m talking about the stuff in the show. Starfleet uses American traditions, structure, and terminology. The ships are even called USS (though the meaning of that is changed). It’s America in space.

Nothing to do with who foots the show’s tax bill.

I'm Okay with calling game of Thrones British, or calling Star Wars crap no matter where it's made.

And yeah, the Federation is nothing like the US, a mix of Klingons and Ferengi on the other hand...

 

[Richards]

And yeah, the Federation is nothing like the US, a mix of Klingons and Ferengi on the other hand...

You mean like this?

Johnathan

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I know they do.
But I kow I purchased a lot more D&D stuff as I got older. 25 year old Minigiant has more money than 15 year old Minigiant. And 15 year Minigiant used as most free stuff as much as I can get.

Sure, fair enough.