tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post8334630797200763432..comments2024-03-09T19:23:22.482-03:00Comments on The RPGPundit: Classic Rant: The Americanism of D&D and the Gonzo AestheticRPGPundithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-92078364969233628742017-09-18T16:45:26.611-04:002017-09-18T16:45:26.611-04:00In Sword & Sorcery, sure, because S&S has ...In Sword & Sorcery, sure, because S&S has its origins in pulp writing which is very American.<br />But LoTR certainly has a lot of elements of class. It's just that most of the people who have speaking parts are upper class. The exception are the hobbits themselves, where Frodo is kind of the middle-class country squire and the other three are lower-class peasants. And you can see recognition of class in how the other hobbits behave toward Frodo, and how they all behave toward everyone else in the story. In Tolkien, class is so significant that anyone who's not aristocratic is either mute or half as tall as everyone else! RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-18929601961495366042017-09-18T14:37:55.360-04:002017-09-18T14:37:55.360-04:00Interesting note on social class because downplayi...Interesting note on social class because downplaying social class may be very American but social class is also downplayed or non-existant in most sword and sorcery as well as Lord of the Rings and copies.Ruprechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00139664977453444000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-74570316206918258102017-09-15T19:05:41.723-04:002017-09-15T19:05:41.723-04:00That wasn't a complaint. The complaint, if any...That wasn't a complaint. The complaint, if anything, is that people (Americans included) call the default D&D setting "european fantasy" when it isn't. <br /><br />Dark Albion is "European Fantasy". Greyhawk, Mystara, the Realms, etc. is Disneyland-Europe Fantasy at best. RPGPundithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267330191433119298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-27457042816220258432017-09-15T13:18:41.675-04:002017-09-15T13:18:41.675-04:00I would agree with 'handy' cosmology being...I would agree with 'handy' cosmology being very American (if we didn't invent Supply Side Economics we certainly made it famous, and if that isn't D&D-friendly theology nothing is) but if we have a 'cult of the gun' knights certainly had a 'cult of the sword.' Stitch Seamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02493128814546844907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-49274784295058780972017-09-15T12:52:00.449-04:002017-09-15T12:52:00.449-04:00Is it really surprising, or "problematic"...Is it really surprising, or "problematic" that a game which was:<br />• Written by an American<br />• Published in America<br />• Based on fictional precursors written by Americans, and<br />• Primarily sold to Americans<br /><br />. . . is "Americanist"? How could it be otherwise? This is like complaining that the Torah is "kinda Jewy."<br />Trimegistushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17421300991534803449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600947515654238699.post-76106152149242623682017-09-15T09:53:36.507-04:002017-09-15T09:53:36.507-04:00Weapon-fetishization is also very american, as is ...Weapon-fetishization is also very american, as is the naively handy divine cosmology with their neatly arranged, neurotic gods.<br />I agree that a total disregard for class sticks out the most in "Mondo D&D".<br /><br />However, all this is tied so hard into the fundamental aesthetic that removing parts is pretty hard- most gamers view most of those aspects as non-negotiable.Heinzelgangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02138347283760558643noreply@blogger.com