D&D General D&D's Utter Dominance Is Good or Bad Because...

[Micah Sweet]

You can't have innovation without change.

True, but change does not assume innovation. It's just change from what you were doing to what you're doing now.

 

[Oofta]

If you only know of one experience how can you say its the only thing you want?

Just because you drive Buicks all of your life doesn't mean you won't like a Toyota.

I've test driven Teslas and didn't care for them. I've done one shots with other games and they just didn't bring anything that made them more enticing than D&D. I know the general shape and performance of pickup trucks and know they're not for me without even a test drive. I knew before I tried it that I wouldn't care for Sushi (technically sashimi, which in the US for better or worse is pretty much synonymous 99% of the time) and was not surprised when I tried it and didn't like it. It doesn't matter that I've tried it multiple times because people keep insisting that I just haven't had good sushi. Sometimes just know what they want and don't need to spend significant effort to try other things to know they won't care for it.

It's dismissive to tell people that they would like something if they just tried it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Because most things in life we don't enjoy as much as our favorite things. You don't think most music is good as the bands you love, most food isn't as good as your favorite food. So if you listen to another band or eat another food simply because someone else really likes it you are probably not going to enjoy as much as what you already really like. It's just simple odds; any person will grade most things as around average or worse.

If you are introduced to roleplaying through WotC 5e, and know no other game, it is impossible to know if any other game would be better for you, and assuming it probably wouldn't be directly encourages stagnation and the victory of inertia.

 

[Kurotowa]

Depends ... I usally play with people I consider friends - and part of that is that I'm willing to leave my comfort zone once on a while, and they're as well. It might not always work out, but as far as I'm concerned, trying things your friends are into usually is a good way to broaden your horizon.

I think it depends partly on the personality type of the people involved, and depends partly on what they're coming to the table for.

It's like the divide between introverts and extroverts, or early adopters versus the people who stick with what's familiar until it falls apart. Some people hunger for novelty, and are eager to try new things and learn new rules sets because they enjoy it. Other people play for comfort; they have a harder time learning new systems, so they have more fun if they can just sit down and play something they already know, with maybe just one new campaign specific house rule or sub-system.

My group sometimes has board game nights, and on those nights sometimes we're all feeling up for learning a brand new game someone brought, and sometimes everyone's tired from work or kids and just wants to relax with something they already know. The people who want novelty are always up for trying a new game, but at least in my group that isn't a majority of us.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I've test driven Teslas and didn't care for them. I've done one shots with other games and they just didn't bring anything that made them more enticing than D&D. I know the general shape and performance of pickup trucks and know they're not for me without even a test drive. I knew before I tried it that I wouldn't care for Sushi (technically sashimi, which in the US for better or worse is pretty much synonymous 99% of the time) and was not surprised when I tried it and didn't like it. It doesn't matter that I've tried it multiple times because people keep insisting that I just haven't had good sushi. Sometimes just know what they want and don't need to spend significant effort to try other things to know they won't care for it.

It's dismissive to tell people that they would like something if they just tried it.

No one said they would like something new if they tried, just that they could, with the implication that new experiences in gaming are worth the risk.

And this is directed at those with a lack of experience with any gaming not WotC 5e, not at you, who have clearly looked around and made your choice.

 

[Umbran]

If you only know of one experience how can you say its the only thing you want?

Just because you drive Buicks all of your life doesn't mean you won't like a Toyota.

Sure. If you don't try a thing, you cannot know that you won't like it.

On the other hand, so what? If they are having a whole lot of fun with D&D, that's awesome!

On my second try, I found a brand and style of blue jeans that I find comfortable. Might there be some other brand or style that is even more comfortable? Sure, it is possible. But it would take a significant time and effort, and possibly money, to explore all the others. It should be considered okay for me to stop at this point, and just buy the brand and style I found that works, without folks looking down their noses at my choice.

Folks are allowed to stop at something that satisfies their basic requirements without people admonishing them for not seeking the optimal experience.

 

[TheSword]

Because most things in life we don't enjoy as much as our favorite things. You don't think most music is good as the bands you love, most food isn't as good as your favorite food. So if you listen to another band or eat another food simply because someone else really likes it you are probably not going to enjoy as much as what you already really like. It's just simple odds; any person will grade most things as around average or worse.

Sorry most people live in pretty stupefying ignorance of the potential of the world around them.

I’m currently sitting in a beachside shack in Tobago, in the blazing sun, eating food I’ve never tried before, listening to music I probably wouldn’t buy, drinking a cocktail I wouldn’t make at home and having a damn good time doing it. A far cry from England which is currently -7 degrees C.

Familiar is absolutely not necessarily better.

 

[HomegrownHydra]

Okay, I'm kind of lost ... I thought you were basically saying "D&D is top because of it's excellence, and claiming that there may be other factors involved is nothing but a cheap attack", but maybe I misread that.

I'm not saying there aren't other factors, of course there are. My original comment was to point out that the claim that people only or primarily like D&D because it's their first RPG they've played is false. If it wasn't a really good game they wouldn't enjoy it, and so it is wrong to say that if someone prefers D&D to CoC it's simply because they've been ruined by D&D.

 

[Oofta]

Sorry most people live in pretty stupefying ignorance of the potential of the world around them.

I’m currently sitting in a beachside shack in Tobago, in the blazing sun, eating food I’ve never tried before, listening to music I probably wouldn’t buy, drinking a cocktail I wouldn’t make at home and having a damn good time doing it. A far cry from England which is currently -7 degrees C.

Familiar is absolutely not necessarily better.

Unfamiliar is also not necessarily better. A lot of people would prefer the comforts of home.

 

[HomegrownHydra]

Sorry most people live in pretty stupefying ignorance of the potential of the world around them.

I’m currently sitting in a beachside shack in Tobago, in the blazing sun, eating food I’ve never tried before, listening to music I probably wouldn’t buy, drinking a cocktail I wouldn’t make at home and having a damn good time doing it. A far cry from England which is currently -7 degrees C.

Familiar is absolutely not necessarily better.

Everyone, including you, is ignorant of most things in the world. We all have to make choices on how we spend our time and money based upon very limited knowledge and experience. That others aren't as open to trying other RPGs as you or me is not a character flaw.