Quote from: jhkim on September 01, 2021, 01:25:42 PM

Quote from: SHARK on August 31, 2021, 08:50:08 PM

Quote from: SonTodoGato on August 31, 2021, 07:50:45 PM
What frustrates me the most is the fact that one takes time to do some research to pull off a decent setting but when the actual game comes the players are idiots who also don't give a single fuck and play "medieval europe but with pistols xDD" and slap a noble across the face because "that's what my character would do xDDD :v" . It's very frustrating to prepare a nice setting for people who can't appreciate it. I don't blame them, but it is underwhelming anyway.

It doesn't matter if the environment is a Dark Ages Britain, Spain, Viking Norse, medieval Slavs, Imperial China, or somewhere in between. You start adding in historical inspiration, in an effort to get away from the "Seattle 2021 D&D"--and any of these environments can become lethal hell holes of judgment and damnation really quickly, before the party ever gets out beyond the town gates. Most players respond favourably, because for one, it actually is new, fresh, and interesting. Secondly, unlike "Seattle 2021 D&D"--the town or city environment also becomes challenging, in its own ways. Social class and status become important. How you address different people can make the difference between making a friend, or swinging from a rope. How they *DRESS* becomes important and meaningful.

When I'm running historical or pseudo-historical games, I usually make sure that the PCs are from highly respected families or otherwise have solid positions of respect like an important patron or similar. In almost any historical society, being a complete stranger of no rank almost always sucked, and it's a rough way to game. The D&D default is homeless wandering stranger with a bunch of coin -- but that's a poor fit for historical settings, in my opinion, bordering on unplayable in many cases.

So, for example, when I ran my Vikings & Skraelings game, most of the PCs were scions of a successful homestead. When I ran my 1860s pulp Korea game, the PCs were from the most prominent families in eastern Jeju.

If a noble from a respected family acts like a complete idiot, they lose respect - but it's a long way to being hung from a rope.

Quote from: SonTodoGato on August 31, 2021, 01:59:02 PM
To me it is the other way around. A more popular setting allows you to have more leeway since you already know what it is like; everybody knows medieval Europe more or less, so you can improvise and decide when to take some liberties. But what is an 18th century town like? Or ancient egypt? You don't know as much, so you may feel constrained to work with the limited information you have.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll on September 03, 2021, 07:27:29 PM
Most 20-year-olds don't know what '60s Star Trek is. And have never heard of any '70s dystopian sci-fi films. So I doubt they will know medieval Europe. They don't know US history beyond 4 years ago. That's why finding a setting they know is important before starting any game.