Fantasy That Doesn't Know What It Is

The argument that most any version of D&D "doesn't know what it is" is valid, and this has been true since the first edition. We have always felt AD&D was a mash-up of a few different fantasy genres, Tolkien and many Appendix N others, and the game "was its own genre."

Every version of AD&D and D&D was like this, and the "what it was" permanently changed at the company's whim. The first edition is the game's purest form, incorporating wargaming and Appendix N. The second was a role-playing game based on the NYT Bestseller novels. The third was "Magic: The Gathering D&D." The fourth was World of Warcraft, the tabletop game. The fifth Edition was the "we're sorry" edition, which went back to basics but made the game into a rules-focused superhero ARPG. Clones of D&D were one step removed. They still didn't know what genre they belonged to, except for "Not from Wizards."

In a sense, the game is "what you make of it."

It isn't anything, really, like a box of action figures and toy vehicles isn't anything.

Some games offer a generic framework for various worlds. Other games offer a generic version of a specific world. GURPS is the former, and D&D is the latter.

The first edition is the pinnacle of the genre, untainted by corporate influences, and the best "generic fantasy" game, blending various forms of fiction to create its own unique world. You can't say this game, or any future derivatives, has a genre except "generic fantasy."

We were aware of this as early as the 1970s.

I also hear the criticisms of Shadowdark. It is still one of my S-tier games, offering the best implementation of 5E, but it is often described as "generic dark fantasy" due to its fantasy genre. However, even within the "D&D"-style generic fantasy genre, it is deadlier and features a theme of evil, evoking a sense of magical darkness akin to a horror movie. Is it any particular genre? This still falls within the "generic fantasy" genre, combined with "evil darkness," which is acceptable.

The game is establishing its own unique setting, which is helping to solidify its legacy as "something else" and making it more than just a generic fantasy ruleset. I hope the new setting guide gives this game a "what" and "where" that many crave. December and the Western Reaches book delivery is a long time off, but I look forward to that Christmas present and this game getting its own identity.

Many get jealous of it, but it is false; they didn't think of making this game first. Technically, the 5B game was one of the first, and there have been rules-light 5E implementations at every gaming convention since 5E was made. However, the audience for Shadowdark doesn't come from the OSR; it comes from the 95% of the market that plays 5E, which is why the game is so huge.

Shadowdark is an OSR gateway game. It is also a direct replacement for D&D for many, which is good. Overall, rules-light 5E benefits the hobby and the OSR.

But no D&D game will ever do a specific version of fantasy well. It will always be a staple of the D&D genre. If I want a fantasy game based on a book or specific setting, I will grab my copy of Basic Roleplaying or GURPS and start designing a real game from scratch. You can't do particular fantasy with D&D anyway, since the game's "books full of stuff" tend to intrude on the conversation, and you will have mages in Game of Thrones casting "Tenser's Floating Disk" and "Magic Missile." Beholders will be floating around. As cool as it sounds, it will ultimately prove to be unimpressive.

D&D makes every genre its own, and generic fantasy is no exception.

It is like saying that Marvel movies are in the MCU genre but aren't superhero movies. Anything in the MCU genre is part of the MCU, not any other superhero genre.

D&D brings its standard set of "fantasy assumptions and the kitchen sink" to the table, and it takes over your genre. Sure, you can ask "what is the genre" all day, but the only answer you will get is "kitchen sink fantasy."

I love kitchen-sink fantasy as a genre, but I am always wary of it because it takes over your game, shoves your ideas out the window for the sake of the kitchen sink, and brings everything else in through the door.

However, if you attempt to categorize generic fantasy games into a single genre, you will be chasing your tail in circles forever. They aren't any genre but themselves.