D&D 5E A new Golden Age for D&D

[Celtavian]

The thing I find interesting is I've never seen a show like Critical Role be successful. It is in essence a bunch of people playing D&D. They make it very entertaining. Matt Mercer is a pretty amazing DM. He and his voice actor friends show how fun it can be to sit down as a group of friends and play D&D. I like that Critical Role is showing that any group of people (not just nerds and geeks) can sit down, make up a character, and play as a group. D&D is mainly a group game of make believe using a numerical resolution system using dice, much like other games. A way for people to participate in a story like they would read in a book or see in a movie. To make a character they create the star of their fantasy life rather than live vicariously through actors or writers. The attraction to TTRPGs was never a hard to understand phenomenon. It was always the same type of motivation that drives movie or book sales. The desire to escape into some other world and be someone else for a time, someone that is part of a story in a fantasy land that doesn't exist save in the imagination.

 

[garnuk]

I was a bit surprised by the Google Ngram results. (Unfortunately they only go up to 2008)

https://books.google.com/ngrams/gra...ns;,c0;;DUNGEONS & DRAGONS;,c0;.t1;,D & D;,c0

 

[Mercurius]

The Ages, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron, roughly correspond to reallife Ages, where both Gold and Silver are part of the Stone Age. Gold was the first metal that humans refined metallurgically, followed by silver, and long later the bronze and other copper alloys.

While the sequence connotes a descent spiritually (especially into violent societies), it also corresponds to the rise in political power.

In the context of D&D, the descent from the Golden Age corresponds to less and less the creativity of individuals, and more and more ‘tradition’.

Interesting perspective. I think the "spiritual descent" has often been linked with "technological ascent." Perhaps this correlates with the increased product output, which culminated in the gluttonous 2E-3E-4E phase. This brings further resonance with "Cycle of Ages theory" and furthers the idea that 5E is a new golden age in that the amount of product is much less, the focus more on, as you say, "the creativity of individuals."

I’m digging the Eastern groove on cyclical Golden Ages. However, I think every 5-10 years is a little too often for a golden age to happen. At that frequency, the term “golden age” starts to lack luster. It may be more appropriate to simply say D&D is at the high point of the cyclical process. That is not an attempt to diminish the popularity or success of 5E, I think that is something to celebrate. Though I think many of the choices WOTC has made make D&D a bit too exclusive to make this a Golden Age.

One thing to consider is that the Hindu view has cycles with cycles. In terms of D&D, we can look at the entire history of D&D as going through a larger cycle, then each edition going through its own cycle. The breakdown I gave back on the first or second page was for a specific edition. The "golden age" is more of the halcyon era, a simpler time before things blew up in the "silver age."

Of course it is just a theory, an interesting lens to look through, and I wouldn't want to be too literal or concrete about it. My initial feeling, though, is that D&D is thriving in a way that I haven't seen for over a decade, there's just a good vibe in the air and a sense of anticipation--at least for me--as to what direction WotC will guide the ship next.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

TL;DR but, I'm inclined to agree. "The" Golden Age was probably the mid-80's, but in terms of a thriving hobby becoming more and more accepted, yeah, I'd say we are within "a" golden age, or Renaissance.

5e brought me and my friends back to the gaming table after 20-some years, so there must be something going right, maybe just that the zeitgeist is primed for the nerd seeds to flower openly - who knows.

I'm just glad to be gaming again, and I have 5e to thank.

 

[JeffB]

Hmmm.

I Think BY FAR, Wizards have given us their best version of the game yet.

I think DnD is far more accpeted these days.

Creatively, I think today is absolutely bland, boring, cheese-whiz when it comes to fluff/story material.

I wouldnt call it a golden age for the ttrpg by any means, having been through the ramp up to, and the original phenomenon/boom.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Interesting perspective. I think the "spiritual descent" has often been linked with "technological ascent."

True. If you think of the 80s fad years as an innocent Golden Age, and the long-delayed modernization of the game with 3.0 and 4e, as an age of sophisticated (system mastery, balance) cynicism/decadence, then 5e could be seen as a sort of successful back-to-nature return to the innocence & virtue of the primal epoch.

Or, y'know, it's 30 years after a fad, it could just be a standard-issue come-back, as the young folks who made the fad popular back in the day hit mid-life. But that'd be so pedestrian.

In terms of D&D, we can look at the entire history of D&D as going through a larger cycle, then each edition going through its own cycle.

It is easy to see a cycle in each edition, strong initial reception, followed by increasingly numerous and detailed supplements until it becomes unwieldy.

there's just a good vibe in the air and a sense of anticipation--at least for me--as to what direction WotC will guide the ship next.

No one can accuse you of not 'thinking positive.'

 

[Greg Benage]

I started playing during the Golden Age (1974-1984 on my calendar), and this is no Golden Age. This is better. The game is better (which it should be after all these years, though this is something of an indictment of editions that weren't necessarily better IMO). Mostly, though, the internet makes it better. In 1980, D&D was more mainstream and that made it relatively easy for a kid (me) to discover it, but the internet makes it possible (even easy) for my 48-year-old self to play. The internet gives me a free VTT to find players to play the game in my underwear, free maps and tokens, free discussion forums where I can talk about the game endlessly.

There were certainly more products for sale during that Golden Age, but the free resources provided by the online community are far more useful to me. I mean, golden-age Dragon magazine was cool...but the internet is quite a lot better. The classic dungeon modules (many of them) were cool, but frankly, having learned from them, they have nothing to offer that I can't surpass using free resources -- good maps are the one thing I can't do, so it's fortunate that there are many people in the community who can and who share, and their work looks a lot better than the old-school maps in those classic dungeons.

Maybe it depends on what you want from the game. If you want "story," you probably want lots of story content, and maybe it's better (or quicker/easier) if you can buy it. If you want to explore dungeons (and/or wildernesses), battle monsters, and loot treasures, then a good map, a Monster Manual, some rudimentary creativity, and a wee bit of time are all you need (like, an hour to prep a four-hour session). Since this is the best part of the game, in my opinion, and "story" is the weakest part of the typical game (whether purchased or homebrewed), I'm in a pretty happy place.

 

[Uchawi]

As a new player, I believe the edition of D&D you started with defines a golden age, because it is the edition where everything is new. After that, golden age may take on a different meaning. From my perspective 1E and 2E defines the golden age of D&D. That is where I started. But once I experienced it, I did not have a yearning to go back from a rules perspective. While others still play oblivious to what anyone else is doing.

I believe 5E is trying to go back to some of the ideals of 1E or 2E golden age where story was king, and the rules played second fiddle. But I want a 5E golden age that includes a flexible and modular rule system, in addition to new stories. But classes like the fighter have regressed to the dark ages when considering the 3.5 tome of battle or 4E

I don't thing you can just use sales to define a golden age, especially today with competitors like Paizo. I consider them the new TSR. And from that perspective, they would define the new golden age of RPGs as an entire package. WOTC is just a shadow of TSR.

 

[gyor]

I think its a Golden Age of RPGs, Vampire: Requiem 2e, Werewolf: The Forsaken 2e, Mage: The Awakening 2e, Changeling: The Lost 2e, Promeathan: The Created 2e, Hunter: The Vigil 2e, Gor RPG (ducks rotten fruit), Numera, D&D 5e, Pathfinder, I'm sure you guys can add others.

But its not a Golden Age of D&D without releasing new setting books, proper full ones, with proper support. For me this is prerequiste.

 

[Eric V]

Stepping back a bit, it certainly helps that we are in a period where all "geek" stuff has gained much in popularity and is now considered more mainstream, so it's easy to see how that might help give a "golden age" feel.

I guess I use different criteria; for me the "golden age" was when I could walk into my hobby store and always find new and interesting products to try out in my game (many just got read, but even that was good!), or inspire new games and settings and the choice seemed limitless (Al-Qadim, Greyhawk, FR, Ravenloft, Dark Sun and Planescape were all being published!).

So for me, as a gamer and especially as a consumer, the "golden age" is the height of 2e.

-E