D&D 5E Are we in D&D's Golden Age?

[DwarfHammer]

I've grabbed tons of free stuff from www.DriveThruRPG.com (and DMs Guild) and have incorporated what I liked best into my own homebrew campaign. If something is particularly good, I've even gone back and bought it again for >$0 to throw the creator a bone. Being that "non-commercial" means "not intended to make a profit" and a popular definition of "homebrew" is "anything created by players that is not an official product", I thought that DriveThruRPG might be helpful for you inasmuch as you can get a lot for free there. Apparently I missed your intent. Good luck finding what you're looking for.

Thanks

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, for every slick and professional D&D product, there's a dozen rawer zine-type booklets. With Kickstarter, DMsGuild, and DriveThruRPG, it's easier than ever for indie creators to get their ideas out there.

Most settings are now being written as brief zines and single documents... the idea of supporting a huge setting with dozens of books really isn't the thing anymore.

 

[Shiroiken]

Are we in the golden age of the game?

We are in A golden age, but not THE golden age. The first was the late 70s & early 80s. I consider this the 2nd golden age, but arguments could be made that early 3E was also a golden age due to the OGL, player expansion, and the internet.

 

[Istbor]

Yes a lot if it isn't very good. I had more than I could use around 2016 and no longer buy stuff.

Archetypes are the new prestige classes. There's more arcetypes than PrCs it seems.

Clarification very selective what I buy. I bought the Midgard stuff, but no longer buy splat, and the APs.

Interested in campaign settings, shorter adventures ( 16-32 pages). Could maybe get a Xanathars 2 type book.

I got that book too. Well worth backing the project. I also backed Monte Cooks 5e Conversion Arcana of the Ancients. Pretty excited.

 

[ad_hoc]

So by the usual standard of 'golden age', the 70s to early 80s were the golden age of RPGs when everything was new and innovative. Innovation today happens in social networks, not the rules themselves.

What we have now is D&D regaining its status as a cultural phenomenon. Not unusual to happen when the kids who played back in the day grow up and want to rediscover their childhood interests. It could have happened with 4e if they hadn't botched the actual game so badly. I know there are people who loved it, but it really wasn't D&D; which is what returnees are looking for. Now the online generation has picked it up and it's great.

Most of the people playing 5e had never played before.

I'd guess the biggest demographic is 20-30 year olds.

 

[Zardnaar]

Most of the people playing 5e had never played before.

I'd guess the biggest demographic is 20-30 year olds.

Wonder how many will stick around long term. Eventually the buzz will wear off.

Enough will probably hang around to keep D&D safe for a few more decades.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

In the early 80s I was watching the D&D cartoons on TV while playing with my D&D action figures with my friends. I wasn't old enough to actually play.

I'd say we are in a second golden age, but this time focused more on the game itself instead of the brand.

Warduke...best action figure EVER.

 

[Panda-s1]

The SRD helped dramatically, and the creation of the OSR. As far as indie and homebrew development go, it seems we're in the best age now as things have dramatically matured since 2000.

Yeah, for every slick and professional D&D product, there's a dozen rawer zine-type booklets. With Kickstarter, DMsGuild, and DriveThruRPG, it's easier than ever for indie creators to get their ideas out there.

I always kinda felt like the deluge of both official and third party content in 3rd edition days may have hampered growth? like all you ever needed was a PHB to play (hell I didn't even have that when I started), but I also feel like a huge amount of physical supplements creates this illusion of a barrier of entry. I feel like slow pace of first party supplements and third party material being largely confined to the internet makes for a more welcoming environment.

Wonder how many will stick around long term. Eventually the buzz will wear off.

Enough will probably hang around to keep D&D safe for a few more decades.

not sure what the "buzz" is, D&D is a commitment, not a one and done sort of deal.

 

[Zardnaar]

I always kinda felt like the deluge of both official and third party content in 3rd edition days may have hampered growth? like all you ever needed was a PHB to play (hell I didn't even have that when I started), but I also feel like a huge amount of physical supplements creates this illusion of a barrier of entry. I feel like slow pace of first party supplements and third party material being largely confined to the internet makes for a more welcoming environment.

not sure what the "buzz" is, D&D is a commitment, not a one and done sort of deal.

Eventually 5E will peak or people move in from critical role, or something else turns up and people go do that instead.

A lot of casuals will try it for a year or two then move in for whatever reason.

Eventually they'll hit saturation point. Everyone who wants a phb has one and sales will start to decline.

If that happens 2 or 3 years in a row they'll start thinking about 6E which won't happen until 2024/25 minimum.

 

[houser2112]

From a game mechanics standpoint, 3E was the golden age. The unified d20 mechanic, wealth of player options, and the first non-vancian spellcaster were all things I loved.
From an accessiblity standpoint, 5E is the golden age, as others have said (although that might be coincidence).
From an art standpoint, 1E-early 2E was the golden age. Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, and Clyde Caldwell made art that I would have hanging in my house if my wife would let me. The art in the books these days is trash.