D&D 5E I think the era of 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons had it right. (not talking about the rules).

[Shasarak]

In today's political and social climate I'm guessing the WoTC would like to get away from dark elves. I would say Drizzt has run his course as well but hell they have run characters into the ground for far longer.

Haha, yeah we can not have any popular coloured characters.

 

[Parmandur]

'For some reason,' yes. Maybe it's just like a 'cult' movie, that way? Part of it's appeal could be its relative obscurity or unpopularity or even stigma (not to mention quality). Or from another angle, it could be seen as an elitist hobby, and the thing about the appeal of elitism is it loses credibility if it gets too big. It's existing fans who bring new people into the hobby, but could be we're also the ones driving people away from it, in a way. 80s was the fad period, the fad ended.








I'm not sure if that's heartening or depressing.

Fads go, fads come.



Perspective might make the difference; I want D&D toys for the kids, and I like terrible movies (and good movies, but I'll keep my expectations in check!), so I think it's fantastic.

 

[Parmandur]

LoTR is bigger than D&D and had a massive franchise already there.



See The Phantom Menace. Bad movie one of the highest grossing SW films because it benefited from the original trilogy, novels and comic.



Aren't the D&D novels ending? I would argue they did not do what they originally planned and even Drizzt might not sell now.

True, but Lord of the Rings twenty years ago was fairly niche, and the D&D brand is not nothing.

They have not commented on the apparent end of the novels, but that is almost certainly because they are going to launch movie tie-in novels, alongside the toys and lunchboxes, etc.

 

[Tony Vargas]

, and I like terrible movies (and good movies, bit I'll jeep mu expectations in check!),.

I wonder how much of a crossover there is between D&Ders and B-movie enthusiasts?

 

[Parmandur]

I wonder how much of a crossover there is between D&Ders and B-movie enthusiasts?

I have to imagine huge.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I wonder how much of a crossover there is between D&Ders and B-movie enthusiasts?

Not that it is indicative of the D&D fan-base at large, but my groups over the years have always been largely B-movie enthusiasts - including that those not completely into the B-movie genre as a whole still held a few B-movies (namely Army of Darkness) in high regard.

And for each of the D&Ders I've known that wasn't a fan of any B-movie, I've known one that was so into B-movies that they'd actually catch on to which ones I'd borrowed plots from for our table-top games.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Over time new player's will become advanced players and they will want more content so it is inevitable.

Not all "advanced players" will want more content.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Over time new player's will become advanced players and they will want more content so it is inevitable.

Well, the ones advancing in the direction of 'system mastery,' anyway, will want more content to master. Those advancing towards DMing might want setting and adventures.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Well, the ones advancing in the direction of 'system mastery,' anyway, will want more content to master. Those advancing towards DMing might want setting and adventures.

Those advancing in other directions (like 'shared storytelling') might look into other games...

Just for the sake of discussion, not everyone will feel the need to move on. I don't really see my players nearing any sense of being done with 5E. However, they do all to one extent or another express frustration with the way Pathfinder has gone.

I've found it to be a bit cyclical. People want more material, they get it, they use what they will and discard the rest, and then want more. Eventually, they get their fill, and then they want a simpler take or a streamlined version..."core only" or old school games, or approaches like 5E.

I think it's smarter to give people the baseline, and then give them the ability to add their own additional material...people will only make what they need, so they'll create the one class they need...they won't create a splatbook with of classes that they will mostly ignore.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Not all "advanced players" will want more content.

Indeed. Which is evidenced by the huge success of Basic D&D well into the 80s. Those 1+ million copies of the basic set sold weren't all to new players. Many of the Basic D&D players are like myself, who would switch between AD&D and B/X depending on our mood. Each has it benefits, and you don't need more content just because you've become "advanced", whatever that means. The great thing about D&D (and TTRPG in general) is that you have an infinite amount of content as long as you have your imagination.