D&D historian Jon Peterson asks the question on his blog as he does a deep dive into how early tabletop RPG enthusiasts wrestled with the same thing.
Based around the concept that 'D&D can do anything, so why learn a new system?', the conversation examines whether the system itself affects the playstyle of those playing it. Some systems are custom-designed to create a certain atmosphere (see Dread's suspenseful Jenga-tower narrative game), and Call of Cthulhu certainly discourages the D&D style of play, despite a d20 version in early 2000s.
playingattheworld.blogspot.com
Based around the concept that 'D&D can do anything, so why learn a new system?', the conversation examines whether the system itself affects the playstyle of those playing it. Some systems are custom-designed to create a certain atmosphere (see Dread's suspenseful Jenga-tower narrative game), and Call of Cthulhu certainly discourages the D&D style of play, despite a d20 version in early 2000s.
![playingattheworld.blogspot.com](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZ3KBHyYylw1sc_Dgq2VSAcIq-aaK4L_UF7Wo9306-RZ8rdZl8X17unYSx5ePMKLjZtCa4K_BeQwFxGptuAlIxMZOwIBE9MT6ZHcGQn3dzy0UdE_ACxJGPJ_xCVsQbbS30VnYkxWYAug/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/AnE%252374-miller-systemgraph.jpg)
Does System Matter?
Dungeons & Dragons started out as a game with such an adaptable and open-ended set of rules that early adopters questioned whether any fur...