Me too. The folks I play with are happy to play whatever the GM wants to run.
D&D 5E Is 5e's Success Actually Bad for Other Games?
overgeeked
B/X Known World
It really depends on the players.
I’ve played various editions of D&D with basically the same group for about 35+ years. Basic, AD&D, 4E, and now 5E. To a person they’d rather not play than play something that’s not D&D branded.
Other groups I’ve played with are willing to play anything, though they have preferences for this or that game, but would rather not play than play something that’s even remotely D&D-esque fantasy.
Zardnaar
Legend
Probably not it's always been hard to get players for anything's that's not D&D.
Only way I used to pull it off was when I was gaming with RL friends. Let's do Star Wars or whatever.
Recruiting online or gamestores good luck.
I've stopped buying other RPGs including Pathfinder because it's essentially a waste if money unless you want a pretty book.
Example few years back I bought Numanera. Never played it because can't find the players so I have a pretty $100 paperweight.
Only way I used to pull it off was when I was gaming with RL friends. Let's do Star Wars or whatever.
Recruiting online or gamestores good luck.
I've stopped buying other RPGs including Pathfinder because it's essentially a waste if money unless you want a pretty book.
Example few years back I bought Numanera. Never played it because can't find the players so I have a pretty $100 paperweight.
Enevhar Aldarion
Hero
That one was popular enough that it got a video game made for it. Same with Pathfinder. I guess that could be another gauge of a game's success. Did it get enough sales/notice for a company to spend a ton of money making a video game for it?
Zardnaar
Legend
Yep. Might have got more people playing the video game than the RPG.
I've heard more people played the Warhammer games than tabletop minis game.
I liked the RPG as well and got as fair as character creation.
Traditionally I've had little problem running Star Wars on occasion Saga or D6 but only played two one shots last couple of years when various players couldn't make a session of 5E.
And one session of Risk 2210.
LongTimeLurker
Explorer
you have not made a convincing argument that D&D ISN'T all you need. looking down on people because they don't feel like learning the rules for your favorite fantasy heartbreaker is super lame. if someone is happy playing d&d and that's all they want or need to have an enjoyable time role playing then that's fine. a snobby attitude surely isn't going to convince anyone.
and if my experience is anything to go by, my life WAS NOT improved because i happen to have the rules for VtM 1st edition, two different versions of Top Secret, three slightly different rulesets of CoC and a metric ton of Palladium junk floating around in my head...
Zardnaar
Legend
The not D&D crowd has always been a bit snobby since at least the 90"s.
It seems to offend them they struggle to get players even in 2Es dying days.
Doesn't help the other RPGs are either even more niche, collapse or change companies so you don't have a continuous system.
Enevhar Aldarion
Hero
My main gaming group that played the World of Darkness games was mostly college girls, so my experience may have been different than yours.
Don Durito
Hero
Yes and no I think.
There's always going to be groups that will try anything, and there's always going to be groups that stick to what is familiar (in this case 5e). 5e's success doesn't change that and by raising the overall gamer population probably increases the number of people willing to try a new innovative small game.
But it does seem to be having a strangling effect on second tier games. What's lacking is significant numbers of players for whom the familiar thing is something other than D&D. There's not a lot of room for other games to carve out significant player networks at the moment. But this is not just about the success of D&D, it's also about publishing and fragmentation and the fact that the internet has made so many people able to compete with D&D that it's difficult for any game other game to really rise in public perception.
There's always going to be groups that will try anything, and there's always going to be groups that stick to what is familiar (in this case 5e). 5e's success doesn't change that and by raising the overall gamer population probably increases the number of people willing to try a new innovative small game.
But it does seem to be having a strangling effect on second tier games. What's lacking is significant numbers of players for whom the familiar thing is something other than D&D. There's not a lot of room for other games to carve out significant player networks at the moment. But this is not just about the success of D&D, it's also about publishing and fragmentation and the fact that the internet has made so many people able to compete with D&D that it's difficult for any game other game to really rise in public perception.
PsyzhranV2
Hero
I reiterate: my dislike of D&D's position as market leader is entirely political. I don't believe any RPG should dominate the market and the cultural consciousness of the hobby as much as D&D does. I actually don't happen to have a favourite fantasy heartbreaker at the moment, though I'm open to suggestions. Right now though, I'm more concerned about the viability of small game studios and independent creators, as opposed to the games they produce. And arguments to let the market run its course will fail to convince me, because again, you're talking to an anarcho-communist.
I can't believe I haven't mentioned itch.io yet. There is a whole ecosystem of games and game design that exists there in parallel to the big name games.
itch.io titles tagged "physical games" "role playing" (sorted by popularity) (4,405 results)
itch.io titles tagged "zine"
itch.io titles tagged "PbtA" (438 entries)
This kind of independent creative output and expression is something I find beautiful. Of course I don't believe all the games there are perfect; some of them are probably complete garbage! But that this platform and these opportunities exist for independent creators is something worth celebrating and nurturing, no matter the quality of their output so long as it hurts none. And the itch indie scene certainly isn't dying; it's alive, well, and growing. But it would be doing even better if these games had more presence in the audience's awareness, as opposed to being relegated to a dedicated hobbyist's curiosity. And until then, many of these independent creators remain among the working poor, with the worst case scenario being that they burn out entirely.
There's a joke among indie game designers about how they keep passing the same $20 bill around. It has a grain of truth to it; the biggest audience and financial supporters for many independent creators is often times their colleagues and compatriots. What I hope is that some day, we can move away from that, that indie creators can break into the mainstream while still preserving their artistic integrity. But WotC's market dominance certainly doesn't help in realixing that future. And that is why I don't like D&D 5e.
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