D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

[AlViking]

So just by way of example, one mechanical thing that is new in 5.5 that I think would impact the way we write D&D settings differently than how we have done it so far, is the change in how species and background interact mechanically. previously, we did a lot of pastiche Tolkiening -- this race (or subrace) is like this and lives here and so on. 5.5 throws that out in a big way. Those themed locations (your Rivendels and whatever) would no longer be species based, but culturally based. that is a big deal in a setting design.

You could but there's nothing saying that you couldn't before. Having a cultural tendencies but they're just tendencies not dictates of all possible options. It was also effectively added with a splat book, not the 2024 PHB.

I think it matters more for players (and players overemphasizing a +1) than it would for a large population. The normal variance of abilities would make more difference at the individual level than racial adjustments.

On the other hand doing less monocultures is not a bad idea even if it is a common trope in fantasy and sci-fi.

 

[Parmandur]

Where do all the new 5.5 races come from?

All the PHB Species have named NPCs in the Gazateer, and there isn't really any need explanation: dragons, Giants, fiends, and celestials are all well enough established, and rhe average new player is juat going to take what's in the books and run with it.

How do the new classes interact with the AD&D of it all?

How don't they...? Again, named NPVs for Greyhawk are provided for all types, including Warlocks and Sorcerers.

Dwarf wizards, what?!?

Sure, why not?

 

[Parmandur]

Edited to add: as for why 5e mechanics are essential to the setting, I’d say that 5e bounded accuracy has a huge impact on the building of the civilizations and the power structures in them that keeps a few high powered wizards (like the Cerberus assembly) or adventurers (like the mighty nein) from taking over the world. The setting also makes great use of the 5e subclass system to create flavorful subclasses that directly tie into the lore of the world.

Now, see, this is an interesting point. Though I would argue thisnis more Setting influencing mechanics, because the narratives of various D&D worlds continued to reflect natural narrative logic even when 3E broke the math of AD&D. That's fluff informing a fix to the mechanics.

 

[Reynard]

All the PHB Species have named NPCs in the Gazateer, and there isn't really any need explanation: dragons, Giants, fiends, and celestials are all well enough established, and rhe average new player is juat going to take what's in the books and run with it.

How don't they...? Again, named NPVs for Greyhawk are provided for all types, including Warlocks and Sorcerers.

I admit I only scanned through the section today but I saw a whole lot of humans, and some dwarves and elves, and... not a lot else.

Sure, why not?

Have you played AD&D?

 

[Parmandur]

I admit I only scanned through the section today but I saw a whole lot of humans, and some dwarves and elves, and... not a lot else.

Without lookomg at the book, the top dude in the Yeomanry is a Goliath, the Knight Commander in the Shieldlands is a Dragonborn, the chief personage in the Rovers of the Barons is a Tiefling, and each Species gets bamechecked in one region or another. It'll there, and anybody coming to the book fresh will see no tension at all.

Have you played AD&D?

A bit, mainly 2E, but I started with 3E so it doesn't seem like a big deal to sinply...ignore that restriction. Most people reading won't be concerned about that.

 

[...m...]

That is their out planes setting?

...not exactly; it's structured as a meta-setting weaving through material worlds but it can also be run as its own thing, borrowing liberally from this-and-that to suit a GM's needs...

 

[...m...]

And in either case I would ask -- what is 5e-y about Radiant Citadel? What 5E systems and assumptions does it lean into that makes it a 5E setting, other than having been produced at that time?

...editorial tone most prominently; it was designed from the ground-up to support the multicultural cosmopolitain-fantasy assumptions of late fifth edition, from the lore implications of anything-goes player mechanics to the deprecation of alignment, to the fantasy-theme-park grab-bag of short-form adventures, to the fifteen-minute-adventuring-day play style and narrative milestone advancement...

...it is very much a product of its era, both culturally and mechanically...

 

[Scribe]

...editorial tone most prominently; it was designed from the ground-up to support the multicultural cosmopolitain-fantasy assumptions of late fifth edition, from the lore implications of anything-goes player mechanics to the deprecation of alignment, to the fantasy-theme-park grab-bag of short-form adventures, to the fifteen-minute-adventuring-day play style and narrative milestone advancement...

...it is very much a product of its era, both culturally and mechanically...

Well said.

 

[Reynard]

Without lookomg at the book, the top dude in the Yeomanry is a Goliath, the Knight Commander in the Shieldlands is a Dragonborn, the chief personage in the Rovers of the Barons is a Tiefling, and each Species gets bamechecked in one region or another. It'll there, and anybody coming to the book fresh will see no tension at all.

A bit, mainly 2E, but I started with 3E so it doesn't seem like a big deal to sinply...ignore that restriction. Most people reading won't be concerned about that.

I think you are coming at it from a specific point that undervalued how previous editions defined and informed things. You don't think how mechanics and settings interact matters because from your point of view, it kind of did not. But in reality it very much did.

I think it continues to matter because I think how fiction and game play interact is very important, but I can see how others (especially those "raised" on 5e) might think differently.

But still, I think it is important and valuable and fun and i think imagining a setting embracing 5.5E is a worthwhile endeavor-- certainly more worthwhile than arguing the very premise.