Me, I've always had the most fun with D&D (pretty well any edition of it too), when I'm playing in a setting that, to one extent or another, breaks the fourth wall.

Its what's brilliant about Mystara.  In Karameikos, they send their kids out to be "adventurers" when they reach a certain age, because they know that's how they'll become powerful. Everyone knows that there are Immortals, not Gods, and if you're an awesome enough adventurer you will become an immortal. Hell, in my campaign at least (and a few others I've seen), people would refer to each other as "Basic", "Expert", "Companion" or "master" depending on their level range in accordance with the old boxed sets; and they knew that terrain in their universe was always arranged around vaguely hex-shaped areas (which they didn't find the least bit wierd of course, because it was always that way).

Mystarans didn't quite know that their existence was just a game, and they didn't talk about AC or Hit points per se. But the (sometimes wacky) rules of D&D, and the particular memes of D&D, were a part of their physical universe.  And to me, this was awesome. It meant that internally within the setting, everything made perfect sense.

The reason I loved the early (pre-2nd edition) Forgotten Realms was because of the same reasons.  Initially, the setup of the old FR box set was that you were part of an "adventuring company", of which Faerun was chalk full of; and they were exactly what they sounded like; powerful dudes of mixed classes and races that were working together to go explore ruins.  In other words, the premise for the adventuring party was built right into the setting. I thought it was the worst bullshit that subsequently TSR moved away from that concept, and into the metaplot-bullshit that utterly ruined FR.

So, what about you? Do you prefer a D&D setting that recognizes D&D's particular memes as part of the setting, or want one that does nothing of the sort?

RPGPundit

I love that kind of stuff.  A system can only get better if the setting is designed to make the system make sense, or visa versa.  I've never looked into mystara, now I'll have to.

I tried to make an internally consistent world with C&C and failed miserably...but that's because there are some system conventions I found out I didn't like as much as I thought I did.

I liked Earthdawn because it incorporated so many D&D memes

Regards,
David R

Pundit's proposition almost sounds like The Order of the Stick as a game.

- Q

Quote from: David RI liked Earthdawn because it incorporated so many D&D memes

I'm glad I'm not the only ED lover. Huzzah! :keke:

Have any of you ever seen the anime Dragon Half?  The characters occasionally refer to their game stats in the course of serious dialogue.  Well, as serious as the dialogue ever gets.

Oh, and don't blink at the very end.  You'll miss the titties!

!i!

Quote from: JongWKI'm glad I'm not the only ED lover. Huzzah! :keke:

From from it.  I ran it for an entire semester!

D&D's a genre in and of itself.

I was hoping this thread would be about those Scandinavian LARP guys who go to conventions in character and stage weird happenings.

Quote from: joewolzFrom from it.  I ran it for an entire semester!

:highfive:

Oh boy, the memories you bring me...

I'm the guy who generally enjoy the tropes, thoughts and feelings of sci-fi and fantasy more than most of the sci-fi and fantasy out there.  Meaning: if given the choice between watching 2001: A Space Odyssey or an entire season of Futurama in one sitting, I'll choose the latter 9 times out of 10.

I feel the same way about gaming.  I like the process of gaming -- rolling dice, battlemats, leveling up, getting cool shit, killing the bad fucks, telling "war stories" (from the players, not the characters), telling jokes, drinking a few brews, etcetcetc -- much more than the "I'm a character in a story, and this is serious business," method of gaming.  And a big part of that is knowing the game is being played and recognizing that in-game from time to time.  Not Order of the Stick level, mind, but on some degree.

Quote...chalk full of...

Actually, the expression is "chock full of".  BID...


I'm not sure I know what you mean by "4th wall" - I'm guessing it's one of those esoteric gaming terms.  But what you describe is exactly why I'm in love with the Wilderlands.

There's no overarching complicated metaplot.  All I have to do is find a great location, plop my players there, and the detail of the environment does the rest. I don't have to worry too much about the politics of the world, or anything like. I prefer my games to be "micro" rather than "macro" in terms of the reach of what's going on.  The most important thing ATM is whatever is going on in the village the PCs are currently in. I don't care too much about the machinations of the king, or whatever.  To me, that just gets in the way of a good dungeon crawl (in whatever form.

Quote from: der_klugeI'm not sure I know what you mean by "4th wall" - I'm guessing it's one of those esoteric gaming terms.

Not quite.

Quote from: RPGPunditSo, what about you? Do you prefer a D&D setting that recognizes D&D's particular memes as part of the setting, or want one that does nothing of the sort?

I like it to recognize, myself.  If the world is set up for D&D originally, then I'd like it to be a world shaped by those rules.

Ptolus is built around the memes of D&D. There are dungeons and subterranean passages riddled underneath the city. Everyone knows this and there is an active adventurers industry and community in the city. There's even a spot in the city called Delver's Square, built around a famous entrance to the underground maze, and just underneath that entrance, in the dungeon halls, there's a large delver's marketplace. There's a society in the city that tries to rehabilitate evil monsters, and pays a reward if you deliver an evil monster into their hands. No one blinks their eyes when magic is done. It's not unusual to see an Ogre Mage or a Minotaur in town.

It's freaking awesome.

The dude knows "chock full" but he doesn't know "fourth wall"? :confused:

RPGPundit