Quote from: Franky;1035416I don't think the illustration is supposed to be a Norman.  Or particularly accurate, historically speaking.

This actually says it all;).

And I'd note that all of you that want their settings to be more Tolkien-like face an equally uphill battle, if not more. D&D still retains enough traces of other influences that it's only got superficial similarities to Tolkien's works, at best.
In fact, one could even argue that the trappings are easier to remove, than it is to add the substance:D!

Quote from: AsenRG;1035507This actually says it all;).

And I'd note that all of you that want their settings to be more Tolkien-like face an equally uphill battle, if not more. D&D still retains enough traces of other influences that it's only got superficial similarities to Tolkien's works, at best.
In fact, one could even argue that the trappings are easier to remove, than it is to add the substance:D!

For more Tolkien-like, Adventures in Middle Earth for 5e nails it. For less Tolkien-like, Primeval Thule for 5e nails it. And those are not the only two (especially in the latter case) that accomplish the task.

Quote from: CRKrueger;1035426The blade is pretty wide and doesn't taper.  You're sure that couldn't pass for an Oakeshott Type XIII?  Those have been found to date into the late 1100s.

The blade appears too long, and the hilt is certainly too long for an Oakeshott XIII.

Quote from: S'mon;1035486Edit: ie, Old Geezer is right (words it always pains me to say)

* does "Naked Old Geezer Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop Happy Dance" *

Quote from: Franky;1033563A radical Tolkienectomy or just a Tolkienectomy?

Get other inspirations.  Pick a non-pseudo medieval setting.  The American Frontier seems to be the default setting for the original game, albeit with a medieval skin.  Nice little article here http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2013/05/od-setting-posts-in-pdf.html  

Read some Poul Anderson.  The Broken Sword and Three Hearts and Three Lions in particular.  Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories.

Make the campaign setting post-apocalyptic.  The fall of the Western Roman Empire.  The Black Plague.  The massive amount of death due to Euro-diseases in the Americas.  These are certainly apocalyptic.

Excise the Tolkien-esque parts.  Halflings must go.  Elves need to be revised to something more akin to Northern European folklore.  Orcs must go too.  Goblins need to be revised.  And hobgoblins ought to be smaller than goblins.

Fafnir is a fine ideal for a dragon in place of Smaug.

Really, Tolkien just plundered Northern European folklore-- Germanic including Scandinavian, and some Celtic--  for his 'Legendarium'.  Go to the sources yourself, and skip the middleman.

Read Beowulf.

Yep.

Quote from: Franky;1035416Is that a Norman helmet?  It lacks the nose guard.  The cheeks guards are not something I associate with the Norman look either.  Not an expert, me, so take with a grain of salt.  

An arming sword  is what I would expect of a Norman knight, not a longsword/bastard sword/hand and a half sword.

I don't think the illustration is supposed to be a Norman.  Or particularly accurate, historically speaking.

Angus McBride's illustrations were usually fairly accurate (though like any other illustration of things that no longer exist, there's bound to be some guesswork). In any event, the fighting man in this picture is an Irish Gallowglass mercenary from the 1300s.

Quote from: RandyB;1035511For more Tolkien-like, Adventures in Middle Earth for 5e nails it. For less Tolkien-like, Primeval Thule for 5e nails it. And those are not the only two (especially in the latter case) that accomplish the task.

Never read AiME, can't confirm. I kinda doubt it, but that's me:).
But yes, there's many ways to do either, if that's your point;).

Quote from: AsenRG;1035651Never read AiME, can't confirm. I kinda doubt it, but that's me:).
But yes, there's many ways to do either, if that's your point;).

Pretty much my point, yes. Those two examples are just fresh-to-mind.

Quote from: S'mon;1035316A guy in Norman chainmail & helmet with a greatsword is NOT medieval authentic!

I get what you're saying, but the poster is still awesome.

Quote from: Elfdart;1035558Angus McBride's illustrations were usually fairly accurate (though like any other illustration of things that no longer exist, there's bound to be some guesswork). In any event, the fighting man in this picture is an Irish Gallowglass mercenary from the 1300s.

He's also awesome. One of my favorite illustrators.

Personally I think it's really up to the GM to make the setting less Tolkien.  I'm not a big Tolkien fan, I love the Hobbit but I've never read the Lord of the Rings and most of my fantasy musings are inspired by Glen Cook, David Gemmell and a few other fantasy action orientated authors.  As other people have said you have to strip out all the things that are representative of Tolkien.  Elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs, goblins anything that has Tolkien feel to it.

I actually watched Princess Mononoke tonight and thought it made a pretty good D&D setting.  Giant spirit animals that turn demonic, nature spirit gods, demonic possession, deer riding, hand gonnes, fortified villages, Imperial writs allowing people to hunt said nature spirit gods for their heads.  All stuff that can be used instead of the traditional Tolkien tropes.

Quote from: Bucket;1036526I actually watched Princess Mononoke tonight and thought it made a pretty good D&D setting.  Giant spirit animals that turn demonic, nature spirit gods, demonic possession, deer riding, hand gonnes, fortified villages, Imperial writs allowing people to hunt said nature spirit gods for their heads.  All stuff that can be used instead of the traditional Tolkien tropes.

Now, remove the deer-riding, and that would actually be a pretty good idea:D!

Quote from: AsenRG;1036544Now, remove the deer-riding, and that would actually be a pretty good idea:D!

Hahaha to be honest I find horses and horse riding a really traditional Tolkien trope.  Where are the man size riding dogs?  Where are the racing snails?  Where are the goat drawn chariots?  Where are the giant flying whales?  A D&D setting should embrace more fantastic transportation in my opinion if it wants to escape Tolkien because it's not just eliminating humanoids but also the various other cornerstones of Tolkien worldbuilding.

Quote from: Bucket;1036578Hahaha to be honest I find horses and horse riding a really traditional Tolkien trope.  Where are the man size riding dogs?  Where are the racing snails?  Where are the goat drawn chariots?  Where are the giant flying whales?  A D&D setting should embrace more fantastic transportation in my opinion if it wants to escape Tolkien because it's not just eliminating humanoids but also the various other cornerstones of Tolkien worldbuilding.

Nope, there are several good reasons why you don't use carnivores or omnivores as mounts. Besides, people were riding horses not only in Europe, in fact, horseriding was arguably invented on another continent;).
Make them small steppe horses that can't carry a knight, if you want to avoid Tolkien, but keep the settings making sense. Remember, RE Howard had horseriders from different places, and nobody accuses him of being like Tolkien:D!

Quote from: AsenRG;1036772Remember, RE Howard had horseriders from different places, and nobody accuses him of being like Tolkien:D!

Doesn't Conan predate The Hobbit by five years?