RPGMemes

That's kind of my point though. It's still d&d, even with house rules. So it's perfectly fine (imho) to say d&d is great.

If it's less relatable to you because of that then... don't relate to it. I enjoy reading about other peoples fun sometimes and couldn't give two fucks about the ruleset they use. But hey, different strokes and all that.

Expectations for new players will most likely be "oh, this sounds like fun" more than "i want to do this super specific thing too and will be heartbroken if i find out it was all a big lie".

About representation i must say that most tables o played at had some house rules.