Conformity to biological (or even "scientific") expectations, whether by intentional design or lack of it, is the boring choice for most fantasy monsters.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 16, 2019
The same goes for worldbuilding by using (or allowing the assumption of) Earth norms for societies that wouldn’t and shouldn’t resemble Earth’s. Bigtime media properties do both. And it's still more boring (or actually problematic) than relatable.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 16, 2019
On the flip side, Tolkien himself took care of the half-orc (and evil humanoid) problem various iterations of D&D still haven’t managed to narrate satisfying solutions to since the fecund Gygaxian orcs of AD&D. (Hint, wicked magic was involved.) All this is really just my way of saying I don't want goblin babies in my adventures, thanks. It's not an interesting moral conundrum. And I don't care if your world is based on Eastern European myth. You can imagine a whole lot different, so please do.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 16, 2019
It is an interesting balance between creating something provocative/compelling vs. resonant. Go too far in one direction, it’s just boring old retreads. Go too far in the other direction, and no one can connect with the material. I consider something like Dark Sun to be a good (though far from perfect) example using a D&D world. There is a lot of stuff that's turned on its head from traditional fantasy, while still grounding folks in elements that resemble classical-era societies.
— Chris Tulach 🏳️🌈 (@christulach) April 16, 2019
Sure, but I think @ChrisSSims was referring less to “trying out new realms” & more “don’t feel obligated to stick with real-world biology, science, or society – those things can & should change in a world with magic,” even if it’s still stereotypical fantasy. Good examples include any fantasy setting that claims to be polytheistic (most in D&D) but then has aspects of post-monotheistic Earth religious moralism in it. Many creators and fans cite "medieval realism" as if either word belongs outside scare quotes in this context.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 16, 2019
The same goes for gender roles in this context.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 16, 2019
Yeah, that’s one of my pet peeves too. Have they not looked at the morality systems of stuff like Roman, pre-Christian Viking, etc. cultures? Both the words you mention should be warning words to any fantasy creator. 🙂 Even the Forgotten Realms falls into these traps. Probably unintentionally, but I fear that's how a lot of this stuff happens. Lack of intentional design.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 16, 2019