As you might infer from the title of my blog, I am a fan of the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Setting. I have spent literally thousands of hours reading, writing, and dreaming about Greyhawk. Technically, I was a fan of the setting even before it was an official setting; most of my homebrew campaigns prior to 1980, when the first Folio was released, featured a Duchy of Aaqa, or an Empire of Lum, or other places whose names were gleaned from the tiny glimpses we read about in the artifacts and relics sections of Eldritch Wizardry and the DMG, and had gods like St. Cuthbert, similarly sourced. At the risk of being called immodest, I am a Greyhawk "superfan".
However, what you might not know is that I'm also a fan of the Forgotten Realms. I am also a fan of Dragonlance. And the Wilderlands of High Fantasy campaign. And have had very enjoyable experiences in Dark Sun and Ravenloft.
For me, enjoyment of a particular campaign setting is not a zero-sum game. That is, I don't have a limited supply of "campaign appreciation points" that must be dolled out between the various campaign settings out there. Sure, I don't have an unlimited amount of time to devote to gaming (not even the many hours I had in my youth, which seems endless now that I look back on it, compared with what I'm able to devote to gaming these days).
Thus, I don't understand the mindset that says, "I'm a Greyhawk fan. Therefore, Forgotten Realms sucks and so does WotC for choosing it as the next setting!"
Now, it's certainly possible to not like a particular setting on its own merits; Planescape annoys me, for example. But I don't have to mention that fact every time that I bring up my love of Greyhawk. Unfortunately, it seems that some folks do. I've seen it in the last 24 hours in various forums, in reaction to the announcement that the Forgotten Realms is going to be the official setting for D&D for the foreseeable future.
Not everybody has to love that announcement (personally, I think it's probably the best choice they could have made, other than perhaps developing an entirely new setting). But I just don't understand the mindset that says that any piece of good news for a setting that's not my primary favorite automatically means I need to trash that setting. Or, as I have also seen, to trash the company that made the decision. Or the rules that are going to be used.
The Realms being the default setting for 5E isn't going to make me any more or less likely to play 5E. That will be based on the rules themselves. Ditto WotC as a company. Stuff they make that I like, I'll buy. Stuff they make that I don't like, I won't buy. Simple.
However, what you might not know is that I'm also a fan of the Forgotten Realms. I am also a fan of Dragonlance. And the Wilderlands of High Fantasy campaign. And have had very enjoyable experiences in Dark Sun and Ravenloft.
For me, enjoyment of a particular campaign setting is not a zero-sum game. That is, I don't have a limited supply of "campaign appreciation points" that must be dolled out between the various campaign settings out there. Sure, I don't have an unlimited amount of time to devote to gaming (not even the many hours I had in my youth, which seems endless now that I look back on it, compared with what I'm able to devote to gaming these days).
Thus, I don't understand the mindset that says, "I'm a Greyhawk fan. Therefore, Forgotten Realms sucks and so does WotC for choosing it as the next setting!"
Now, it's certainly possible to not like a particular setting on its own merits; Planescape annoys me, for example. But I don't have to mention that fact every time that I bring up my love of Greyhawk. Unfortunately, it seems that some folks do. I've seen it in the last 24 hours in various forums, in reaction to the announcement that the Forgotten Realms is going to be the official setting for D&D for the foreseeable future.
Not everybody has to love that announcement (personally, I think it's probably the best choice they could have made, other than perhaps developing an entirely new setting). But I just don't understand the mindset that says that any piece of good news for a setting that's not my primary favorite automatically means I need to trash that setting. Or, as I have also seen, to trash the company that made the decision. Or the rules that are going to be used.
The Realms being the default setting for 5E isn't going to make me any more or less likely to play 5E. That will be based on the rules themselves. Ditto WotC as a company. Stuff they make that I like, I'll buy. Stuff they make that I don't like, I won't buy. Simple.
0 comments:
Post a Comment