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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 2528415" data-attributes="member: 22779">I hadn't actually thought of it like that.  If classes only exist for narrative reasons, then narrative restrictions apply.  The problem I see with that is there is very little to support the idea that classes only exist for narrative reasons other than the idea that if you allow classes to apply to everyone, then the baseline restrictions don't make sense.  It's a circular arguement.  Classes are narrative because the restrictions on classes are narrative.  The restrictions on classes are narrative because the existence of classes is narrative.  I got accused of using tautologies early on.S'mon, my point has always been, and will remain, that with the existence of stable magic and a fantasy assortment of races/creatures, you CANNOT have a medieval society such as seen in Howard or Tolkein.  Only by having magic incredibly rare, unstable and unpredictable, can you create a Tolkeinesque world.  DnD magic is not unstable or unpredictable.  In fact, it's entirely predictable.  Using DnD magic, you cannot create a Tolkeinesque world without making some very large and unrealistic assumptions.Back to the original topic.  Recent authors have, by and large, embraced what I've just said.  Rowlings is but one example.  The Bartemaeus series and the Amber Spyglass books also root themselves in the idea that magic is predictable.  Modern fantasy has moved away from the idea that magic is this unknowable force a la Lovecraft, to a pseudo-science where magic is integrated into the society.  This is not a bad thing and, IMO, something that is an outgrowth of DnD itself.  The popularity of DnD has driven the rise of Fantasy over the past couple of decades.  Prior to about 1975, you won't find a New York Times bestseller from the fantasy genre (with a couple of possible exceptions).  Now, names like Salvatore and of course Rowlings, regularly make appearances.  This is directly driven from DnD.  And the fantasy of the past couple of decades has largely been inspired by DnD - predictable magic that can be used as a tool rather than unknowable rites performed for inscrutable reasons.</blockquote>

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