The Escapist on D&D Past, Present, and Future

[Kid Charlemagne]

D&D needs a new video game series. Preferebly one that gets a 90%+ rating from reviewers.

Agreed - I didn't realize the Atari deal was done with. That is huge, good news. I also like what I read from Mearls in this article; it sounds like they've taken the lessons they've learned to heart (and not just the 4E lessons).

 

[Ahnehnois]

"We've lost faith of what makes an RPG an RPG," he said, admitting that in trying to please gamers with a limited imagination, 4th edition might have punished those with an active one.

"Let's just play D&D," he said. "Just cut all the that can get in the way, and say 'Look, we have all these different ways you can express yourself in the game,' and let's just give people what they want. Don't trick people into things they want or just come up with something new for the sake of it. [Let's] get back in touch with what makes role-playing games great, what makes D&D great."

Every time I see these sorts of quotes, I wonder to myself, "Do they get it, or are they just becoming better politicians?"

 

[Matt James]

Ryan Dancey is quoted as saying that tabletop RPGs will go the way of model trains. I would be interested to hear what people think about that.

"I think the tabletop RPG market is enduring a kind of death. I think it is transforming into something that isn't a viable commercial business for more than a handful of people," said Ryan Dancey, former VP of RPGs at Wizards and marketing guru at White Wolf/CCP. Dancey was instrumental in developing the OGL before the 3rd edition era of D&D, but he foresees the RPG industry becoming a dead hobby like model trains. "Kids stopped playing with trains, and the businesses that remained dedicated to hobbyists who got more disposable income as they grew up, until the price of the hobby was out of reach of anyone except those older hobbyists. Eventually, it became a high-end hobby with very expensive products, sold to an ever-decreasing number of hobbyists. As those folks die, the hobby shrinks. That is what is happening to the tabletop RPG business."

 

[Ahnehnois]

Ryan Dancey is quoted as saying that tabletop RPGs will go the way of model trains. I would be interested to hear what people think about that.

Unlikely.

 

[Lum The Mad]

Ryan Dancey is quoted as saying that tabletop RPGs will go the way of model trains. I would be interested to hear what people think about that.

Sounds plausible at first. But I can't see this happening any time soon.

Again: because of video games. As long as games like Skyrim are coming out there will be people out there who will get hooked and start researching "roleplaying" online. It's a small step from there.

Also: inappropriate comment removed- Plane Sailing, enworld admin

 

[bhandelman]

Ryan Dancey is quoted as saying that tabletop RPGs will go the way of model trains. I would be interested to hear what people think about that.

Unlikely for the same reason he listed model trains dying. The model train industry is dying because they priced out beginners. The RPG industry will never be more expensive than the cost of a book and a set of dice, because if WotC were to charge $300 to play DnD there will always be another RPG at the standard prices or lower. The market may shrink as other hobbies become popular, but there is no reason it would ever die the same way as model trains will.

 

[Matt James]

Unlikely for the same reason he listed model trains dying. The model train industry is dying because they priced out beginners. The RPG industry will never be more expensive than the cost of a book and a set of dice, because if WotC were to charge $300 to play DnD there will always be another RPG at the standard prices or lower. The market may shrink as other hobbies become popular, but there is no reason it would ever die the same way as model trains will.

I wonder how much of his comments had to do with the MMORPG he's trying to stand up.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I wonder how much of his comments had to do with the MMORPG he's trying to stand up.

I think it's really the other way around; he's working in MMO's because he thinks that is the way of the future. Ryan has believed P&P gaming is dying for a long time now.

 

[Mark CMG]

Then you must not have read the rules for the earliest edition, which suggested you use Chainmail to act out combat, or you have the same memory problem a lot of people here do.

I played Chainmail before (O)D&D was even available. Lots. But how much of the three little books are devoted to combat? There's this line on the bottom of page 18 of Men & Magic, the first of the three little booklets, that explains what the column in the character class tables means:

Fighting Capability: This is a key to use in conjunction with the CHAINMAIL fantasy rule, as modified in various places herein. An alternative system will be given later for those who prefer a different method.

The alternate system they give comprises the lower half of page 19 and upper half of page 20 of Men & Magic. But just to be clear, there is stuff on other pages that feeds into this. It's just not as much a focus of the three little booklets as the 4E rules devote to combat. Even if we include the 45 pages that make up Chainmail (setting aside that which pertains to mass combat) to the 120 pages of (O)D&D, the combat system is not a huge focus. For another clue to focus, take a look at spell lists from various editions and games and estimate for yourself what percentage of the spells are designed to be used in combat situations (keep a side tally of those that are useful both in and out of combat). It's easy to do with the page and a half of spell tables in (O)D&D but I leave it to you as I am sure you have the three little booklets right beside your well-worn copy of Chainmail as I do . . . if memory serves.


*edit* Interestingly, I played a couple of games of Chainmail just last March at Gary Con and will likely play again this March. I also played a number of games of each edition (except 2E) of D&D in 2011. It's interesting to play them all in such a short span and get the chance to compare them more closely.

 

[Dark Mistress]

Ryan Dancey is quoted as saying that tabletop RPGs will go the way of model trains. I would be interested to hear what people think about that.

They might. I wouldn't be shocked honestly. As tech keeps pushing the boundaries eventually they will start having games that work so well with the computer playing the part of the GM there will be no need. How soon that happens is anyone's guess though.

Of course model trains still exist. I still know of a couple of stores and I know they still have conventions and such. Granted the hobby is a shadow of it's former self and the average age keeps going up and up but it still exists.