The tabletop roleplaying game industry has grown significantly over the past decade, fueled by blockbuster franchises, mainstream exposure, and the popularity of series like Critical Role. But this explosive growth has come with a price, particularly the loss of longtime fans who feel alienated by the companies they once supported.
Companies abandoning their core audiences and their own core competencies will never stop fascinating me. I think scaling up gets to a point of diminishing returns. “MORE MORE MORE/constant growth” is unsustainable on its face because nothing manmade can grow forever. But I digress.
The upshot is some companies deserve to die and be replaced by something better.
It's not "misguided," it's infiltration and subversion. They put profits and DIE over everyone. Thus, they loathe you. It's no coincidence nearly all major companies are going with DIE.
WotC can go eff itself. I gave up on those a-holes before 3e came out. We all went to RuneQuest III and haven't looked back since.
I bought the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game, 4th edition. It's a slimmed down, prettier knock-off of DnD 2e. It promises to be fast and fun like gaming was in the old days. For $40, I got a core rulebook, 3 books of adventures, a pair of monster manual expansions (the MM is part of the core book,) an expansion for equipment/tools. This looks like the kind of game I can have some simple, light-hearted fun with. I recommend it if for nothing else than to stick it to WotC.
Companies abandoning their core audiences and their own core competencies will never stop fascinating me. I think scaling up gets to a point of diminishing returns. “MORE MORE MORE/constant growth” is unsustainable on its face because nothing manmade can grow forever. But I digress.
The upshot is some companies deserve to die and be replaced by something better.
It's not "misguided," it's infiltration and subversion. They put profits and DIE over everyone. Thus, they loathe you. It's no coincidence nearly all major companies are going with DIE.
My teens prefer my original AD&D books or the Basic/Expert books to the new editions.
Love to see OSR bros on substack!
WotC can go eff itself. I gave up on those a-holes before 3e came out. We all went to RuneQuest III and haven't looked back since.
I bought the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game, 4th edition. It's a slimmed down, prettier knock-off of DnD 2e. It promises to be fast and fun like gaming was in the old days. For $40, I got a core rulebook, 3 books of adventures, a pair of monster manual expansions (the MM is part of the core book,) an expansion for equipment/tools. This looks like the kind of game I can have some simple, light-hearted fun with. I recommend it if for nothing else than to stick it to WotC.