Handbook of Erotic Fantasy: Elven Decorum (Patreon)

First of all, just to get it out of the way: wood elf. *snerk*

Now that the important business is done with, what do you say we talk about culture clash, and why it’s a good thing for your games? Let’s shall. 

We’ve all been to pseudo-medieval Europe, and it’s a nice setting to keep in your back pocket as a default. That’s because it’s comfortable and familiar. There’s an inn where you can chat up a cantankerous barkeep. There’s a smithy where you can grab new gear. Maybe you’ve got a wise old sage with a “GP 4 Quest Hooks” sign hanging out front. There’s the lord mayor’s office, the local temple, a friendly neighborhood thieves guild, and a standard-issue flammable orphanage down the lane. 

These are exactly the things you want to change up when you’re introducing some bizarre new setting. I mean sure, the spider-themed tyranny of Menzoberranzan or the dinotopia that is Chult will grab your players’ attention and give them that “gee-whiz this is fantasy” feeling. It will wear off after a session or two though, and then you’re only left with inns and smithys and orphanages all over again. If your not careful, your exotic setting will begin to resemble the re-released original Star Wars trilogy with fantasy wandering by in the background: it’s there, but it doesn’t have much impact on the story. That’s why I say to change up the parts of the game that players use most frequently. 

If your players are used to talking to His Majesty as a primary quest giver, turn that fancy schmancy throne room into a brothel (assuming your players are down for adult material, of course). If the standard inn is old hat, then let them rent out hammocks in the boughs of some enterprising treant hotelier. Give them wall-climbing lizards to ride instead of horses. Make them buy magic items from seafaring Atlantis-salvagers rather than merchants. Turn the lord mayor into a council of character-possessing ancestor spirits. In other words, if you want to emphasize a cultural difference, I think it pays to disrupt the game as well as the setting. Part of the appeal of fantasy is meeting new peoples from distant lands. If you want your players to experience that culture clash, then they should feel some of the same jamais vu as their characters. That means hitting them square in the familiar game elements. If all goes well, you’ll feel every bit as smugly satisfied as Elf King there.