The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread ΛΕ

[Arakhor]

It's a campaign setting and every setting needs a place to call home. Sigil was clearly intended to be that home.

 

[Traitorfish]

Adsense is watching.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Similarly, Dark Sun appears pretty original if you aren't as familiar with baroque future-past and dying earth subgenres that were popular in the '70s and '80s.

I've read a few Dark Sun novels, and found the setting interesting. I've never played any of the modules, though, or read any of the source material.

And that's not a bad thing, mark you, D&D settings aren't intended to be blindingly original, but to provide a framework for players and GMs who want to run a campaign in a particular setting without having to go through a lot of tedious world-building. The reason that the more generic settings like Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms seem to endure is that it turns out people mostly want a pretty boilerplate fantasy world, at least if they're playing D&D.

Gah. I find Forgotten Realms pretty boring. My preference is Krynn (Dragonlance).

 

[sophie]

If they thought the property was worth that much to begin with, why wouldn't they be pumping out Planescape stuff themselves? This is like saying banks should never give out loans at the market rate, because some people might reap higher profits than the average.



So shouldn't they be more willing to sell?

It costs them nothing to hold the IP rights. Why would you ever give away something that costs you nothing for nothing?

 

[Traitorfish]

I've read a few Dark Sun novels, and found the setting interesting. I've never played any of the modules, though, or read any of the source material.

I get the impression that Dark Sun landed a little to late to really take off. It came out in 1991, by which time the whole "Conan on Arrakis" aesthetic was going out of style. Partly, I think this is because the setting was aimed squarely at a portion of the tabletop audience for whom games are a way of playing out heavy metal album covers, and by the mid-90s, the aesthetic of heavy metal was shifting from fantasy towards horror and dystopia sci-fi.

Gah. I find Forgotten Realms pretty boring. My preference is Krynn (Dragonlance).

I think that the popularity of Forgotten Realms, or at least compared to the other high fantasy settings, probably owes a lot to its use a setting for most of the more successful video game adaptations. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale are how a lot of players first encounter D&D, so for a lot of them, the specific trappings of that setting are what constitutes Dungeons and Dragons.

I'm lead to understand that Dragonlance did fill a similar role for a while in the '80s, when the books were very successful, but between some behind-the-scenes troubles, and a shift in fantasy fandom away from the very shiny, epic fantasy aesthetic to a grittier, superficially more "realistic" one, it lost ground to the very slightly edgier Forgotten Realms setting. It's also probably why Greyhawk slid into the background; that setting never really had a large body of peripheral material, so it only became "the" D&D setting if you entered into the game directly, which I think became less common as the game became popularity outside of established tabletop communities.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I get the impression that Dark Sun landed a little to late to really take off. It came out in 1991, by which time the whole "Conan on Arrakis" aesthetic was going out of style. Partly, I think this is because the setting was aimed squarely at a portion of the tabletop audience for whom games are a way of playing out heavy metal album covers, and by the mid-90s, the aesthetic of heavy metal was shifting from fantasy towards horror and dystopia sci-fi.

I don't remember actually seeing much Dark Sun material other than the novels. Earlier this year I decided to complete my collection of the novels, so now I can finally read the entire set of trilogies and the Prism Pentiad.

I think that the popularity of Forgotten Realms, or at least compared to the other high fantasy settings, probably owes a lot to its use a setting for most of the more successful video game adaptations. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale are how a lot of players first encounter D&D, so for a lot of them, the specific trappings of that setting are what constitutes Dungeons and Dragons.

I'm lead to understand that Dragonlance did fill a similar role for a while in the '80s, when the books were very successful, but between some behind-the-scenes troubles, and a shift in fantasy fandom away from the very shiny, epic fantasy aesthetic to a grittier, superficially more "realistic" one, it lost ground to the very slightly edgier Forgotten Realms setting. It's also probably why Greyhawk slid into the background; that setting never really had a large body of peripheral material, so it only became "the" D&D setting if you entered into the game directly, which I think became less common as the game became popularity outside of established tabletop communities.

I've never read one word of Greyhawk. I do have a moderate number of Forgotten Realms novels, but as mentioned, they're really bland (in my opinion).

Dragonlance is a series I got hooked on by the 2nd or 3rd page of Dragons of Autumn Twilight. And then I found that some of the modules included sheet music for the songs in the novels, and that was it. Boom, definitely hooked on the whole thing. I've worn Dragonlance-inspired costumes to conventions, transposed the sheet music from piano to organ, and even started a crazy crossover fanfic combining Dragonlance and Doctor Who (what do you get when you throw Fizban, Tasslehoff, Sarah Jane Smith, and K-9 into the same story? Sheer chaos of the ridiculous kind. Fizban and K-9 do not get along. ).

I belonged to a science fiction club in college, and for one of our parties, the menu was a Dragonlance theme. There's a source book called Leaves From the Inn of the Last Home that has an extensive section on Krynnish recipes (with real-world equivalents), so you can make an entire meal from appetizers to desserts, with both nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages.

I've never noticed anything like that for any other AD&D setting.

 

[Mouthwash]

It costs them nothing to hold the IP rights. Why would you ever give away something that costs you nothing for nothing?

I was asking if they would *sell* it, not give it away.

 

[Takhisis]

To them it's the same. Also, as has been pointed out, most if not all D&D settings are interconnected, so why would they ever want to get round to untangling that particular setting from all the others?

 

[BenitoChavez]

Why is Bill a nickname for William? Also, why is Jack a nickname for Jonathan? Aren't Will and John nicknames enough? Why do they get two nicknames?

 

[Mouthwash]

Also, why is Jack a nickname for Jonathan?

I did not know this was the case.

Aren't Will and John nicknames enough?

John is a separate name from Jonathan.

 

[Traitorfish]

Why is Bill a nickname for William? Also, why is Jack a nickname for Jonathan? Aren't Will and John nicknames enough? Why do they get two nicknames?

Lots of English names are like this: Richard can be "Rick" or "Dick". Edward can be "Ed", "Ted" or "Ned". Robert can be "Rob" or "Bob". When a name becomes as common as these, especially if it's likely to be appear multiple times within the same family, finding multiple ways to abbreviate it is pretty natural. You're more likely to need to distinguish between Edwards than you are Zachariahs.

 

[sophie]

Jack: Consider the diminutive form -kin, related to German -chen (cf. Hund -> Hündchen, Magd -> Mädchen, etc.) Visible in English -chen: cook -> kitchen, fox -> vixen

-kin comes from Dutch. Anyway John -> Jan, Jankin (little Jan) -> Jakin -> Jak -> Jack

I would suspect that same route gives Henry -> Hank (Henkin), Charles -> Chuck (Chukin), etc.

William -> Bill is far less clear, but could be a nickname-by-rhyming (William -> Will -> Will/Bill) similar to the origin of Richard->Dick (Richard -> Rick -> Rick/Dick)

Also +1 to what MW said: etymologically speak, John and Jon are not interchangeable.

 

[BenitoChavez]

I did not know this was the case.



John is a separate name from Jonathan.

I was under the impression Johnathan/John was a variation in spelling of Jonathan/Jon since they are both pronounced the same.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Lots of English names are like this: Richard can be "Rick" or "Dick". Edward can be "Ed", "Ted" or "Ned". Robert can be "Rob" or "Bob". When a name becomes as common as these, especially if it's likely to be appear multiple times within the same family, finding multiple ways to abbreviate it is pretty natural. You're more likely to need to distinguish between Edwards than you are Zachariahs.

It's an impressive coincidence you chose that example. I had a friend in the navy who went by "Rhy" because he had an older cousin Zach. They were both named for the same grandfather. That family naming thing can get you no matter how unusual the name, apparently.

 

[Takhisis]

William -> Bill is far less clear

Betacistic Will/Vill/Bill, perhaps? Or from children having trouble with the labial-velar double articulation and going for labial rather than velar?

 

[sophie]

I was under the impression Johnathan/John was a variation in spelling of Jonathan/Jon since they are both pronounced the same.

While they are etymologically related (both descending from "yeho" - Jehovah, John comes from Jōħānān (cf. Gk Ἰωάννης (ioannes)) "God is gracious", while Jonathan comes from yonatán (again, cf. Gk 'Ιωνάθας (ionathas)) "What God has given"

tc;dr: John is not actually short for anything. Jon (no h) is short for Jonathan (still no h)

 

[caketastydelish]

I've been going through a lot lately (including actively seeking employment although I think I've finally got a bite...).

But as a result of hustling all the time (compared to relaxing, where I was before) I am nearly constantly grumpy, irritable, and hard to get along with. Those who are close to me say they've noticed the personality change.

Any way for me to go back to being nice to people (or not so pissed all the time) while still being as productive as I am now?

 

[Synobun]

I've been going through a lot lately (including actively seeking employment although I think I've finally got a bite...).

But as a result of hustling all the time (compared to relaxing, where I was before) I am nearly constantly grumpy, irritable, and hard to get along with. Those who are close to me say they've noticed the personality change.

Any way for me to go back to being nice to people (or not so pissed all the time) while still being as productive as I am now?

What helped me was routine. Something specific to the hustle and not from the 'past'.

Suggestions will be pretty cliche, though. Like, if you wake up early, do yoga or tai chi. Or go for a walk. Or something else solitary that lacks something being at stake and isn't a relic from a time when you weren't being productive (e.g. "video games" is not going to be a good idea if your past life involved playing video games all the time).

 

[Takhisis]

You have to find something new, as Synsensa said.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Why do they get two nicknames?

And don't get me started on Elizabeth. Or how Margaret makes its way to Peggy.