D&D 5E Don't Throw 5e Away Because of Hasbro

[SlyFlourish]

Twenty six pages into the thread but what the hell, I'll jump back in.

I'm not saying people shouldn't support current D&D products. That's up to each of us to decide. I'm not saying you should play 5e if you don't like 5e. There are lots of RPGs we can enjoy.

I'm saying one need not stop playing and enjoying 5e, supporting companies who publish awesome 5e products like Kobold Press and EN World and Cubicle 7, just because one might be mad at Hasbro. If a group collectively decides to jump on board with Tales of the Valiant or Level Up A5e, I think they can do so without worrying about supporting Hasbro if they don't want to support Hasbro.

5e is awesome. It's open. There are lots of variants. Enjoy it if you like it.

I think it matters that we separate the term 5e from D&D because one does not equal the other anymore. I also play a ton of 5e games and other RPGs, if that matters.

 

[Zardnaar]

Twenty six pages into the thread but what the hell, I'll jump back in.

I'm not saying people shouldn't support current D&D products. That's up to each of us to decide. I'm not saying you should play 5e if you don't like 5e. There are lots of RPGs we can enjoy.

I'm saying one need not stop playing and enjoying 5e, supporting companies who publish awesome 5e products like Kobold Press and EN World and Cubicle 7, just because one might be mad at Hasbro. If a group collectively decides to jump on board with Tales of the Valiant or Level Up A5e, I think they can do so without worrying about supporting Hasbro if they don't want to support Hasbro.

5e is awesome. It's open. There are lots of variants. Enjoy it if you like it.

I think it matters that we separate the term 5e from D&D because one does not equal the other anymore. I also play a ton of 5e games and other RPGs, if that matters.

Pretty much. If you dont want to play 5E for whatever reason so be it. Don't like the orange cover oh well your call.

Other versions, editions, rpgs and hobbies available.

Hasbro sucks it's up to you if you want to support them in any way.

 

[Remathilis]

In recent years - and certainly the issue with Hasbro has contributed - I've started to understand that things I love are "brands." That trademarked Ampersand my wife has on the back of her car - it's a logo, free marketing for a multi-billion dollar corporation. It used to feel like "I'm showing off my fandom to other fans so we can feel part of a community, talk about what we love, etc." Now having the Rebel Alliance logo on a shirt, a backpack with a Captain America shield button, or whatever - it's all just merchandise. Everything has sold out so much and is so bland that it doesn't feel like I'm a part of anything anymore.
I've gotta get back to feeling closer to the hobby. I don't think I can do that with this brand while D&D is under a cynical corporate control.

It's the price of capitalism. The logo you put on the back of your car, be it the ampersand, a deadhead sticker, or Lucky the Celtic Leprechaun, and you are pledging allegiance to some corporation. I suppose it's possible to go indie and local for all your needs, but in the world today that's a very hard and conscious decision.

 

[Parmandur]

It's the price of capitalism. The logo you put on the back of your car, be it the ampersand, a deadhead sticker, or Lucky the Celtic Leprechaun, and you are pledging allegiance to some corporation. I suppose it's possible to go indie and local for all your needs, but in the world today that's a very hard and conscious decision.

I mean, that or you can just enjoy the products you like without assuming any value to the corporations themselves?

 

[Retreater]

It's the price of capitalism. The logo you put on the back of your car, be it the ampersand, a deadhead sticker, or Lucky the Celtic Leprechaun, and you are pledging allegiance to some corporation. I suppose it's possible to go indie and local for all your needs, but in the world today that's a very hard and conscious decision.

Perhaps it seems different to me because I have associated much of my personality with nerd fandom: Star Wars, DC Comics, D&D, etc. Since I fell in love with those properties, they've been absorbed by massive, multi-billion dollar corporations.

Of course Star Wars was successful when it was created by a spunky, independent filmmaker in George Lucas. It feels different now that it's just another brand under the Disney umbrella.

D&D is much the same way. I'd daresay that what Gygax was doing (creating a game system and world for the players around his table) is closer to the experience we all have with the game than what's going on now. I'm not just talking about the C-suite ... the designers are sending out massive surveys to potentially millions of players and tracking data on mobile apps to determine what makes a "good game." Instead of artistry and ... soul? It's down to what will sell more books (or honestly, subscriptions to D&D Beyond.)

 

[Remathilis]

I mean, that or you can just enjoy the products you like without assuming any value to the corporations themselves?

That's the price. You pay it or you don't. If you don't mind that price, (I don't) then you pay it. If it's too much, you find something else. But it's not unique to RPGs or even Geek spaces. I know a knitter who won't use a certain brand of yarn. It's just how the economy is structured.

 

[scruffygrognard]

I haven't supported them in over two years since none of the products interests me.

I do feel that there is has a BIG drop in quality for WotC's D&D products over the past few years, especially when it comes to settings (I'm looking at you, Planescape and Spelljammer).
If WotC's not going to give settings the love they deserve, they should license them out to other companies.

 

[Oofta]

I do feel that there is has a BIG drop in quality for WotC's D&D products over the past few years, especially when it comes to settings (I'm looking at you, Planescape and Spelljammer).
If WotC's not going to give settings the love they deserve, they should license them out to other companies.

I thought that by publishing settings they opened up the IP to publishers on DmsGuild? Not quite the same as turning over IP to another company, but it does open them up to other individuals. As far as specific IPs, I guess I don't have a particular fondness for any given D&D setting, I'd just as soon use something completely different. Most of the value from settings like Planescape and Spelljammer seems to come from nostalgia.

Of course I also don't really use published settings other than to occasionally steal ideas from, so I don't really have a lot invested one way or another.

 

[Remathilis]

Perhaps it seems different to me because I have associated much of my personality with nerd fandom: Star Wars, DC Comics, D&D, etc. Since I fell in love with those properties, they've been absorbed by massive, multi-billion dollar corporations.

Of course Star Wars was successful when it was created by a spunky, independent filmmaker in George Lucas. It feels different now that it's just another brand under the Disney umbrella.

D&D is much the same way. I'd daresay that what Gygax was doing (creating a game system and world for the players around his table) is closer to the experience we all have with the game than what's going on now. I'm not just talking about the C-suite ... the designers are sending out massive surveys to potentially millions of players and tracking data on mobile apps to determine what makes a "good game." Instead of artistry and ... soul? It's down to what will sell more books (or honestly, subscriptions to D&D Beyond.)

I think your Star Wars example is a good example of how things look different in hindsight.

Star Wars was a spunky independent filmmakers dream; when A New Hope was being made. By the time Return of the Jedi was being made, Lucasfilm was its own corporate juggernaut. Toys and merchandise were everywhere. Decisions in the movie were made due to branding ideas (cute teddy bears help defeat the Empire? They will sell millions!). When the prequels came out, you could not swing a stick without hitting a Star Wars branded item.

Disney didn't do anything to Star Wars that Lucasfilm wasn't already doing. Perhaps it is only a matter of scale.

Unfortunately, we have reached a point where things we love are hoovered up and either pimped to excess or lost forever. (The video game industry is a good snapshot of what that looks like).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I do feel that there is has a BIG drop in quality for WotC's D&D products over the past few years, especially when it comes to settings (I'm looking at you, Planescape and Spelljammer).
If WotC's not going to give settings the love they deserve, they should license them out to other companies.

Did you read SCAG?

But multiple settings makes bad business sense anyway. They can’t be successful without hurting some other part of the IP.

5e has, quite rightly, focused on supporting homebrew settings for the most part.