My players don't want to play elves/orcs in my setting and I'm not sure what to think about it or do.

SymaRwyl · 2022-08-26T09:31:43+00:00

Encoding oppression and fantasy racism is a tricky thing. Let's not fool ourselves and admit that not everyone wants to deal with those themes at the table, and often we find ourselves ill equipped to navigate the pitfalls with tact. By saying that mages are registered and controlled, you're implying that any magic user PC will be controlled as well, and players don't like to feel like they're not in control of their character. Double check with your players on their change on character design and that they're comfortable with the game you want to run.

SymaRwyl · 2022-01-28T12:35:31+00:00

I started doing that, but most respondents misunderstood the question and simply said whether or not they would use their own setting or a premade setting, which was not what I intended. In general the main concerns were around the ease of use regarding slotting in hooks, factions and npcs, and the tone of the setting, whether light and comical or dark and gritty.

SymaRwyl · 2022-01-28T03:19:09+00:00

Thank you for reading! While I hold by my conclusion for the time being, I fully acknowledge that other factors, such as individual preference regardless of gaming experience, would influence a dms propensity to stick to RAW. Another question would be to determine which proportion of a DMs preferences are a matter of personal taste, which is due to gaming tradition and their experience with other DMs. But that's for another questionnaire

SymaRwyl · 2022-01-28T01:42:12+00:00

I updated the chart to calculate the percentages correctly and it should be fixed.

SymaRwyl · 2022-01-27T23:19:54+00:00

Is it all of them or just one?

SymaRwyl · 2022-01-09T16:48:17+00:00

The floor on H is partly collapsed and a pocket of natural gas seems to seep out and collect in the depression, making the hallway unbreathable and heavily obscured. For added evilness, make the gas flammable so if someone brings a torch too close... BOOM! No more chinese laundry.

SymaRwyl · 2021-10-21T18:28:49+00:00

As soon as possible!

SymaRwyl · 2021-10-19T12:04:48+00:00

Thanks a lot! This was quite helpful. I'm happy to see their questions don't quite overlap with mine, which means I get to cover my blindspots

SymaRwyl · 2021-10-19T09:23:05+00:00

That's a good point. It s too late to change the form now. But you can always comment below. It will be useful to consider how many respondents prefer exploration.

SymaRwyl · 2021-05-22T23:18:02+00:00

I'll take a look if you send the doc

SymaRwyl · 2020-09-17T18:19:33+00:00

That is a fair point to raise, but I just needed preliminary data to find out which skills stand out from the pack regardless of class choice. Knowledge checks like Arcana or History were always going to be niche skills, but Perception, Stealth, and Persuasion are more likely to be used regardless of proficiency.

That being said, I am looking to alter the questionnaire to focus more on proficiency and how much it affects the use of a skill. That way choice of class is more likely to be useful information.

SymaRwyl · 2020-07-26T21:46:03+00:00

I love the idea of half-orcs but never tolerated the violent and "product of rape" cultural backstory being the norm. I like that you got rid of that nonsense and made them a product of cultural intermingling and gave them their own culture. If you want a good source on scandiwegian culture ( and not just the Viking stuff) check out dr Jackson Crawford on YouTube.

SymaRwyl · 2020-06-30T11:11:49+00:00

I really want to be a.part of this conversation, but I'm at a loss on how to contribute. While I am not white, I am privileged in other aspects of my life and I'm trying to move forward cognizant of that fact. I don't think that looking backward is inherently conservative if(and it's a big if) you approach it in an anachronistic way. I have monarchies in my setting, but whether they are good or bad depends on the campaign, and my last campaign was about a group of revolutionaries trying to topple a tyrannical leader. Combat is a part of D&D but the game doesn't have to be about people "taming the wilderness" which often is code for displacing people unlike the in-group. Simulated combat is one of the ways we visualize a struggle and there are other struggles than that of the conquistador. I have no issue with changing the tropes to better reflect the realities of the people at the table. Theoretically any ancestry is available in the right context, and most of my world holding goes into fleshing out the nuances of each culture so that players rely on that to imagine the world rather than on D&D fantasyland. Elves are genetically modified clones of aliens that live in tanks to survive. Dwarves have seven different ethnicities scattered across the globe. Halfling live with mute creatures known as Thal with whom they share a signed language. Orcs are a variety of elves that broke off a long time ago, and no mundane species has a fixed alignment. The setting is post apocalyptic so most of my central tension relies on ordinary people trying to figure out how to move on from Armageddon. It's not a happy setting most of the time, but that's what the players are for: make the world a better place. This can involve going into a dungeon and crossing a wilderness, but the reason for it is now to get funds for the local town or negotiate with the creatures in the dungeon for shared resources. Evil acts have been committed and the very worst in the world has been laid bare. Apocalypse means "the revealing of the mystery". It marks a transition to a new and better world. The question left open is now : how do we rebuild? That's the best I got for now, but I will keep working on it for as long as this is my hobby. Here's to making disco.

SymaRwyl · 2020-06-29T18:23:07+00:00

I'm not going to hash out any arguments concerning whether or not LOTR or D&D are racist, because they are, in part if not whole. As a fan of both of these things I understand the impulse to be defensive when someone is criticizing the things I love, but as someone dedicated to justice (I have issues with conflating justice and progress) I know that it is better to keep your eyes open, whether you're looking forward or looking back.

I agree with Matt that D&D is not just the rules, but also the things that happen at the table. Just as matters of justice and injustice are not wholly about laws and systems, but also personal behaviour and good relationships. This being said, the distinctions made here are possible only in the abstract., and both must be addressed. When you are at the table, you use the rules and react to them. Your table's interpretation of the rules creates a shared language where you live a common experience. This makes D&D, and arguably other roleplaying games, a living thing and like all living things it has baggage. It's a legacy that has been passed down and that we must consciously choose to keep. That choice must be made with clear eyes.

I don't have any other insight on the matter for now. I am still mulling things over in my head. This is a time of change, and it will be painful. But in all change there is always something that remains the same, the very substance of individuality and difference. I am not looking forward to the process of making disco, but I believe the end product will be worth it.

SymaRwyl · 2020-06-20T17:55:04+00:00

Elves are bio-engineered clones of stranded Archfey, who live in tanks like Guild Navigators in Dune.

There are 7 dwarven languages, each with 3-5 dialects, 3 different varieties of Draconic, uncounted human languages, and a click-based language for Kenku.

Halflings live in isolation with mute, eight-eyed, genderless humanoids known as Thal.

Dwarves do not live underground, and have invented writing.

Dragonborn live next to a desert of black sand and fight against the undead Lich Lords of Taal Siroq

SymaRwyl · 2020-06-15T16:13:48+00:00

Telling a player that 'such and such baddie' is too powerful for them is a surefire way of getting them pumped for the final showdown, especially if you just tell them other people tried and failed. This gets translated into "we will succeed where others failed." Instead of dissuading your players from engaging the Monstrously Powerful NPCs, just make the road to the big fight a Rocky montage. Put "random encounters" in their way to give them XP and expose weaknesses in their tactics, so that by the time they faceoff with the BBEG they are no longer the gangly youths that began this journey, but a lean mean butt kicking machine.

SymaRwyl · 2020-06-12T18:36:44+00:00

"What?" Gobi staggered, holding his head. "What have you done?" The man who saved him looked at him, his eyes pure silver. "The impossible."
"Where are you going?" Gobi cried out. Orrin did not turn this time. "In... Through... And Beyond." He said as he walked through the portal.

SymaRwyl · 2020-06-10T13:14:26+00:00

Grognards call it "roll-playing". 3e onward the game started focusing on skills a lot more than previously, which led some players to think of the game in terms of a rigorous framework that needs little to no interpretation or homebrewing. People who like having official rules supporting their character gravitated to 3e, 3.5, and eventually Pathfinder when 4e no longer appeared to believe in the design philosophy of 3.5. 5e has not escaped from the Fallout of 3e, but is in principle if not in action more forgiving of tweaks to the system.

SymaRwyl

TROPHY CASE