tail wags dog: streamers want to say 'aaargh' so we are getting a pirate adventure

BMaC

Adventurer

• Jan 5, 2019

• #1

A friend of mine has an interesting theory. Streamers such as Critical Role and the like are a tax that grognards like me pay. The play style of streamers is unrepresentative but for whatever inscrutable reason they attract younger players to the game. The grognard gets the benefits a large market brings: notability the presence of flourishing third party publishers (Kobold Press and Goodman Games ftw); access to a larger player base; continued expansion of the D&D IP and corporate support for the franchise. The theory continues: classic dungeon crawls and their ilk are of no use to streamers: they are heavy on encounters which streaming is not and it is harder to work in the one-liners and 'humorous' one-upmanship which is the streamer's bread and butter. To conclude, we are getting a pirate adventure because streamers want to say 'aaargh.' Grognards like me are free to ignore the pirate adventure just as we ignore the streamers, but this means we are ignoring a huge portion of the official release schedule. This is why the book can be though of as a tax: we 'pay' it so we can continue to enjoy our Greyhawk homebrew, the one crunch book per year, and outstanding 3rd party 5e products.

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2019

log in or register to remove this ad

hawkeyefan

Legend

• Jan 5, 2019

• #2

A sea faring adventure is a staple, so it was only a matter of time. I wouldn’t say that streaming really has much to do with it.

 

MarkB

Legend

• Jan 5, 2019

• #3

Right, because nobody ever published a popular seafaring sourcebook before livestreamed gaming was a thing.

 

Laurefindel

Legend

• Jan 5, 2019

• #4

Seen in that light, grognards have been paying a “tax” since the early days or 3rd edition - not to mention players’ empowerment - which came up around the turn of the millenium almost 20 years ago. That’d be well before the Rise of the Streamers.

that being said, there’s definitively a change in paradigm to adapt the game for new demographics and newer principles of game and campaign design, which is only natural IMHO.

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2019

DEFCON 1

Legend

Supporter

• Jan 5, 2019

• #5

Here's a better theory... grognards already own 40 years worth of dungeon crawl modules and adventures, and they are intelligent, clever players who are capable of modifying their adventures to be used in 5th edition. You should be flattered that WotC doesn't feel the need to make dungeon crawl adventures for you anymore!

Oh wait... they just released an entire megadungeon sourcebook for you. Nevermind.

 

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Jan 5, 2019

• #6

I can’t make head nor tails of that!

 

L

lowkey13

Guest

• Jan 5, 2019

• #7

*Deleted by user*

 

Jacob Lewis

Ye Olde GM

• Jan 5, 2019

• #8

This theory makes me want to say "Aaargh!" in a very non-piratey way.

 

I

Immortal Sun

Guest

• Jan 5, 2019

• #9

Do you have any idea how selfish you sound right now?

 

Parmandur

Book-Friend

• Jan 5, 2019

• #10

BMaC said:

A friend of mine has an interesting theory. Streamers such as Critical Role and the like are a tax that grognards like me pay. The play style of streamers is unrepresentative but for whatever inscrutable reason they attract younger players to the game. The grognard gets the benefits a large market brings: notability the presence of flourishing third party publishers (Kobold Press and Goodman Games ftw); access to a larger player base; continued expansion of the D&D IP and corporate support for the franchise. The theory continues: classic dungeon crawls and their ilk are of no use to streamers: they are heavy on encounters which streaming is not and it is harder to work in the one-liners and 'humorous' one-upmanship which is the streamer's bread and butter. To conclude, we are getting a pirate adventure because streamers want to say 'aaargh.' Grognards like me are free to ignore the pirate adventure just as we ignore the streamers, but this means we are ignoring a huge portion of the official release schedule. This is why the book can be though of as a tax: we 'pay' it so we can continue to enjoy our Greyhawk homebrew, the one crunch book per year, and outstanding 3rd party 5e products.

Click to expand...

I think approximately none of this rings true. Firstly, the playstyle I have seen from streamers is representative of a wide variety of types, it isn't all "one thing," and Critical Role in specific is pretty close to my experience of D&D but with higher quality silly voices. Dungeon crawling is more common than piracy, though piracy is suspiciously in at a time when insiders might have had access to playtest rules.

Another thing is, it doesn't look like we are necessarily getting a sea-themed adventure book, but a sea-themed rules books (maybe both?).