"That's Not How Fantasy Works!"

Ever run a game and have one player just implode during the first session because 'you're not doing fantasy right'?

Running a game, and the group is heading into a village. We describe the farms and farm houses along the way - low stone walls to mark regions, low, one-level homes, and the like. It was winter, and the players decided to check on the farms, and we described how the people living on there tended to keep the animals in with them, sharing the body heat to protect them from the cold. One of the players (we'll call him 'Fred') grumbled about this, saying that there should be barns and haystacks and people didn't live with their animals. (Hint. People did.)

Whatever.

Once the group made it into the village, the first thing that happened was the player immediately looked for the tavern. They found the village pub, and the group went in to sit down and get a meal. There was a few things to eat - not much, mostly bread and a bit of broth, but plenty of alcohol.

Fred was grumbly about that too, and asked why there wasn't things like venison, mutton, or stew, or the like. He got informed that the community are mostly farmers, and have food at home. They don't get a lot of travelers, and aren't going to cook up huge meals and slaughter animals on the off-chance someone is going to be coming through the area. Fred then asked for a room.

"Does this look like an inn?" The group got directed to a family with a large home that could put the group up for the night for some coin.

Fred looked at us. "Why aren't there rooms?"

"Because, again, this place doesn't get a lot of travelers, keeping an inn is expensive, and the majority of the community are farmers."

The group went to the house. The main floor was a store, where goods were sold and letters and parcels were picked up from the few times messengers or couriers came through with deliveries. The family there offered their rooms to the party, and slept down on the main floor for the night.

Fred was obviously displeased and at the end of the session vented.
"This isn't D&D.  You don't understand fantasy."

Us: "Hmm?"

"People don't live with their animals, they're supposed to have stone and wood houses, and barns, and stuff.  There's supposed to be taverns where we get food and a place to sleep, and barmaids and musicians at the fireplace and stuff. You just don't get it."

Us: "Does this look like a community that can afford all that?"

"You're not doing it right."

Now, mind you, the group was from another region, so they weren't expected to know what was going on locally - that was kind of the point. A clean slate to work with and a new environment.

So, a bit later they make it to the city. It's got fortifications - stonework to protect the buildings and farms inside, guards and patrols and such.  The group going in had to explain where they were from and show travel papers.

Fred: "Travel papers?"

Us: "Yeah, so. In this region serfs are considered part of the land, they're not allowed to travel without their lord's permission. If you're going to travel, you need to have travel papers, or proof that you're an actual citizen. For all they know, you could be an escaped serf. Obviously you don't look like escaped serfs, but they really don't know what to make of you."

The group discusses with the guards, coin is exchanged, and directions given to go get papers that indicate the group have permission to travel within the city, seek employment, and do business.

Most of the group is getting into the vibe of it, realizing that the region isn't as well off as their homeland, and under stricter control. We were using a more 'realistic' setting for the PCs to deal with, while allowing their homelands to be closer to the fantasy trope (being that we didn't contradict their backgrounds, and didn't tell them 'well, this is what it's like back home too' or anything.)

The group had some coin, so purchased a small, unused lot to set up base camp, and paid a bit more for some basic furnishings. At the end of this session, Fred was on our case again, saying there shouldn't be travel papers, or 'taxes', or anything of the sort.

Us:  "Why?"

Fred: "That's not how it's done in fantasy."

By this point, the rest of the players started getting involved, coming up with a few ways that yes, this makes perfect sense. We mean, we weren't even doing 'dark fantasy' or anything with this, it was just 'business as usual' for a feudal society with little to no 'middle class'.

Fred didn't stick around for much longer - he was more upset that we weren't doing a 'high fantasy' game where adventurers could come and go as they please, didn't have to pay for anything except for food and a room, didn't have to deal with the community in any significant way, and didn't answer to any local authority.

Our usual response to such: and nothing of value was lost.  We continued the game, the other players had a good time, and that was that.

We mean, we get it.  Fred was looking for a specific experience, and we weren't providing that.  There were two options -- Fred gets with the program and accepts that this game world is not the usual kind of fantasy game world, or we part ways and Fred finds a table more suited to his style of play. He chose the latter, and we hope he had a good time.

Meanwhile, the group finds out there's a conspiracy among the local nobility, the shire reeve trying to get some "bandits" together to rob the baron, paid for by the baron's oldest son, the baron's daughter trying to infiltrate the bandits to find out who's behind it - suspecting another baron, who's in the process of trying to marry her and expand his territory, you know, the usual plotting.

It wound up involving two houses burning down to the ground, a grain silo exploding from a fireball and wiping out an entire village, and some other hijinx, but that's how games go.