D&D 5E (+)What Ubiquitous DnD Tropes Get It Totally Wrong?

[Horwath]

I can't believe no one mentioned the biggest trope that D&D gets totally wrong - a magical 100% combat-effective PC or NPC until the magical hit point counter drops to zero, and regardless of encumbrance levels.

People exert themselves during an attack. They tire at a rate based upon exertion levels and physical fitness. They become less effective the longer a fight drags on influenced by damage/pain/injury and offset by adrenaline. Weapons that weigh a few pounds increasingly feel heavier and heavier as a fight goes on. People carrying a literal ton of gear oughtn't be able to be very effective unless they ditch that gear at the first signs of a fight.

too much realism hurts gameplay.

So sometimes it has to take the back seat.

 

[Mistwell]

Does it affect your day somehow?

Why yes, thank you for asking. It was a moment of amusement in what has been a really difficult week of converting my company to make face masks. So thank you.

 

[Charlaquin]

I just don't get why some people say the presence of racism, sexism, etc. in a D&D world, film, novel, etc. makes the writer a bigot.

Ah, well here’s your problem. That’s not what’s being said.

 

[Charlaquin]

Yeah nothing I do seems to stop people just using the thread to complain about things they don’t like/aren’t realistic.

I’d love for the thread to get closed, at this point.

I mean, by the time I came into the thread, the OP had already been changed to its current “I give up” form, and all I saw was complaints about realism and a couple of posts of you saying that wasn’t what you had meant for the thread to be and one where in response to a question of what it was supposed to be you said you didn’t know how to explain it any better. Azzy’s post is the first one I had seen clearly explaining what it was supposed to be, so I just shrugged and went along with what was being discussed.

 

[3catcircus]

too much realism hurts gameplay.

So sometimes it has to take the back seat.

Depends. I want some dirt on my heros. They can't always win otherwise there's no sense of accomplishment. Little things like encumbrance affecting initiative or getting hit for damage affecting your combat effectiveness goes a long way.

 

[Horwath]

Depends. I want some dirt on my heros. They can't always win otherwise there's no sense of accomplishment. Little things like encumbrance affecting initiative or getting hit for damage affecting your combat effectiveness goes a long way.

when you give players more penalties, they will just look for a way that they can rest and remove those penalties so they can "be 100% ready".

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Ah, well here’s your problem. That’s not what’s being said.

Corrected: https://www.publicmedievalist.com/race-fantasy-genre/

 

[Charlaquin]

Corrected: https://www.publicmedievalist.com/race-fantasy-genre/

Initially I was going to roll my eyes and respond that “it’s not being said here.” But then I decided to read the article, and you know what it never once says? That the presence of racism, sexism, etc. in a D&D world, film, novel, etc. makes the writer a bigot. Go figure.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Initially I was going to roll my eyes and respond that “it’s not being said here.” But then I decided to read the article, and you know what it never once says? That the presence of racism, sexism, etc. in a D&D world, film, novel, etc. makes the writer a bigot. Go figure.

"Perhaps we can excuse the scientific racism in Middle-Earth as being a product of its time. But if we do, it gets harder and harder to extend the same to the multitudes of Tolkien derivatives in the fantasy genre. "

"Compounding the problems of Tolkien’s scientific racism, in Dungeons and Dragons, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various “races” are given numerical values. "

"But they have not torn the beating heart of racism from their game."

"And never is D&D’s influence on the fantasy landscape more problematic than in the embarrassing, controversial case of the dark elves. "

" They have black skin. If you can’t see the problems with this, I can’t help you. "

"Second, this smacks of the worst sort of colonial racisms, which sought to make American Indians, Africans, and other people of color not just seem less human, but inherently immoral."

" It would be foolish to explain that away as mere coincidence."

"Whether the creators did it intentionally or not, their worlds are loaded with the idea at the core of white-supremacy: that having dark skin is bad. "

"And wonderfully, contemporary fantasy authors have worked to undo the racist structures built into the foundations of the genre, not by changing them from within (as Salvatore has attempted), but by simply creating new fantasy worlds without the racist baggage of the past. "

"f you are a consumer, if you read fantasy literature or watch fantasy films and TV shows, choose worlds that are not built on the racist foundations of the past. Or if you do want to read them, at least do so with eyes open, understanding the problems inherent in the genre."

"Making “races” like orcs and dark elves inherently evil does two things. First, it presents a world in which good and evil are so simplistic that an entire culture, race, or species can be inherently evil. If someone were to transpose that way of thinking onto cultures or races today, it could lead to the worst sort of prejudice. "

____________________________________________________________________________

In other worlds, including racism is fantasy = morally wrong. Which is as ridiculous as saying someone who plays Assassin's Creed enjoys murder, or someone who plays GTA is promoting the legalization of prostitution.

Treating races differently than one another is evil. Placing different expectations on someone of another race is evil. But I see nothing wrong with fake racism, creating a racist fantasy setting, or playing a racist character. Ideas can be explored. We can work to understand them, analyze them, and tinker with them. But that does not mean we let them into the real world.

 

[Charlaquin]

"Perhaps we can excuse the scientific racism in Middle-Earth as being a product of its time. But if we do, it gets harder and harder to extend the same to the multitudes of Tolkien derivatives in the fantasy genre. "

"Compounding the problems of Tolkien’s scientific racism, in Dungeons and Dragons, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various “races” are given numerical values. "

"But they have not torn the beating heart of racism from their game."

"And never is D&D’s influence on the fantasy landscape more problematic than in the embarrassing, controversial case of the dark elves. "

" They have black skin. If you can’t see the problems with this, I can’t help you. "

"Second, this smacks of the worst sort of colonial racisms, which sought to make American Indians, Africans, and other people of color not just seem less human, but inherently immoral."

" It would be foolish to explain that away as mere coincidence."

"Whether the creators did it intentionally or not, their worlds are loaded with the idea at the core of white-supremacy: that having dark skin is bad. "

"And wonderfully, contemporary fantasy authors have worked to undo the racist structures built into the foundations of the genre, not by changing them from within (as Salvatore has attempted), but by simply creating new fantasy worlds without the racist baggage of the past. "

"f you are a consumer, if you read fantasy literature or watch fantasy films and TV shows, choose worlds that are not built on the racist foundations of the past. Or if you do want to read them, at least do so with eyes open, understanding the problems inherent in the genre."

"Making “races” like orcs and dark elves inherently evil does two things. First, it presents a world in which good and evil are so simplistic that an entire culture, race, or species can be inherently evil. If someone were to transpose that way of thinking onto cultures or races today, it could lead to the worst sort of prejudice. "

_________________________________________

In other worlds, including racism is fantasy = morally wrong.

Not a single one of those quotes says that, at all.

Indeed, Tolkien’s works were informed by predominant cultural norms of the time, including scientific racism. That doesn’t make him “a biggot,” it is an example of how racism is a product of institutions, not individuals. Modern works that play off of Tolkien’s works perpetuate those ideas, despite them having long been discredited. This does not make modern fantasy authors “bigots,” but it is an example of the perniciousness of institutionalized racism and how thoughtlessness can easily lead to its prepetuation. The message is not “if your fantasy world includes different races you are an evil racist,” it’s “we should be more thoughtful about the messages our fictional works communicate.”