Henadic Theologian
Legend
Any particularly examples of that come to mind?
D&D 5E New D&D Survey, with some in-depth setting questions
- Thread starter Urriak Uruk
- Start date
Any particularly examples of that come to mind?
roger semerad
Explorer
I just filled out the survey and figured people here might be interested in my thoughts. I'm in the weird position of being very interested in pen and paper D&D, but never actually playing it.
Here's a brief overview of my interest in D&D. My first contact with it was the video game Baldur's Gate. Prior to that I hadn't played a western rpg. The level of freedom that game allowed was pretty revelatory to me, and instantly made me a fan. When Neverwinter Nights came out I was very impressed with the changes 3rd edition brought. Shortly after I started buying the pen and paper books. Even though I wasn't looking to play the game in person at the time, those books really fired up my imagination. When Eberron was released it instantly became my favorite setting, and I bought most of the 3rd edition books about it. I also bought a decent amount of 2nd edition books just out of curiosity, and the 1st edition player's handbook. When 4th edition came out I immediately fell in love with it. I was actually pretty close to actually playing the game at this point, but was working myself so hard that I didn't have the energy to do it. I did buy a lot of 4th ed. books though. When 5th was announced I was initially very exited. Every edition change so far had been a big improvement for me. I wasn't really paying attention to what people were saying online at this point, so I didn't know what the discourse was like. When I got the 5th edition books in, my interest in D&D as a whole dropped off a cliff. 5th isn't bad by any means, if 4th wasn't ever released and 5th came right after 3.5 I probably would have loved it. 4th was a thing though, and it changed what I wanted out of D&D. It feels like I missed my window to get into this game, and it really bums me out. I still think about getting into a 5th game from time to time. From what I've learned about pen and paper games, a good group can make any system fun. That's the rub though, finding the right group. The first couple of groups I join will probably not be a good fit. That then leaves the system itself to provide the fun, and I just wouldn't find a 5th game much fun on a purely mechanical level.
On to my survey questions I remember.
Favorite classes - wizard, monk
Favorite races - tabaxi
Favorite setting - Eberron. reasons checked "unique twist on classic D&D", "low magic world", "noir-pulp aesthetic", "Player friendly", "moral greyness", and "other - the gods are distant and unreachable, and might not even exist."
Have I ever played pen and paper D&D? No.
Why is that? It seems like more work than it's worth currently. I was also a big fan of 4th edition, and that colors my thoughts on 5th. I might still like a 5th ed. game but I'm not enthusiastic about looking for one.
How likely am I to recommend D&D to someone (1-10 scale)? 7.
Why did you say that? D&D can be an awesome experience, but it requires a decent amount of work and trial and error to get the most out of it. So it's not something to just do on a whim looking for instant gratification.
Am I aware of the D&D Adventurer's League? yes
How much time do I spend watching D&D content a week? 1-5 hours.
From there they start asking me about the various places I get my info, for me it's mostly youtube and enworld. What D&D media I watch, for me Acquisitions inc., and a few eps. of Critical Role ( I should have used the other option here, but didn't. I watch a few of the funny shows like Crit Crab, JoCat's crap guide to D&D, and Deerstalker's 1 for all. Every once and a while I'll watch something else if it catches my attention). What D&D games I've played - Most of the ones released around the time of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. What games I've played - I checked a ton here, I'm a big gamer.
and finally, what are my current favorite games? The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Civilization 4( I have, and will likely never, stop playing this game).
Edit: I remembered a few more questions.
Do you have any friends or family that plays D&D? No
and there was a question about weather you thought VTTs were on a stable, upward, or downward trajectory. I voted upward.
Here's a brief overview of my interest in D&D. My first contact with it was the video game Baldur's Gate. Prior to that I hadn't played a western rpg. The level of freedom that game allowed was pretty revelatory to me, and instantly made me a fan. When Neverwinter Nights came out I was very impressed with the changes 3rd edition brought. Shortly after I started buying the pen and paper books. Even though I wasn't looking to play the game in person at the time, those books really fired up my imagination. When Eberron was released it instantly became my favorite setting, and I bought most of the 3rd edition books about it. I also bought a decent amount of 2nd edition books just out of curiosity, and the 1st edition player's handbook. When 4th edition came out I immediately fell in love with it. I was actually pretty close to actually playing the game at this point, but was working myself so hard that I didn't have the energy to do it. I did buy a lot of 4th ed. books though. When 5th was announced I was initially very exited. Every edition change so far had been a big improvement for me. I wasn't really paying attention to what people were saying online at this point, so I didn't know what the discourse was like. When I got the 5th edition books in, my interest in D&D as a whole dropped off a cliff. 5th isn't bad by any means, if 4th wasn't ever released and 5th came right after 3.5 I probably would have loved it. 4th was a thing though, and it changed what I wanted out of D&D. It feels like I missed my window to get into this game, and it really bums me out. I still think about getting into a 5th game from time to time. From what I've learned about pen and paper games, a good group can make any system fun. That's the rub though, finding the right group. The first couple of groups I join will probably not be a good fit. That then leaves the system itself to provide the fun, and I just wouldn't find a 5th game much fun on a purely mechanical level.
On to my survey questions I remember.
Favorite classes - wizard, monk
Favorite races - tabaxi
Favorite setting - Eberron. reasons checked "unique twist on classic D&D", "low magic world", "noir-pulp aesthetic", "Player friendly", "moral greyness", and "other - the gods are distant and unreachable, and might not even exist."
Have I ever played pen and paper D&D? No.
Why is that? It seems like more work than it's worth currently. I was also a big fan of 4th edition, and that colors my thoughts on 5th. I might still like a 5th ed. game but I'm not enthusiastic about looking for one.
How likely am I to recommend D&D to someone (1-10 scale)? 7.
Why did you say that? D&D can be an awesome experience, but it requires a decent amount of work and trial and error to get the most out of it. So it's not something to just do on a whim looking for instant gratification.
Am I aware of the D&D Adventurer's League? yes
How much time do I spend watching D&D content a week? 1-5 hours.
From there they start asking me about the various places I get my info, for me it's mostly youtube and enworld. What D&D media I watch, for me Acquisitions inc., and a few eps. of Critical Role ( I should have used the other option here, but didn't. I watch a few of the funny shows like Crit Crab, JoCat's crap guide to D&D, and Deerstalker's 1 for all. Every once and a while I'll watch something else if it catches my attention). What D&D games I've played - Most of the ones released around the time of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. What games I've played - I checked a ton here, I'm a big gamer.
and finally, what are my current favorite games? The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Civilization 4( I have, and will likely never, stop playing this game).
Edit: I remembered a few more questions.
Do you have any friends or family that plays D&D? No
and there was a question about weather you thought VTTs were on a stable, upward, or downward trajectory. I voted upward.
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Argyle King
Legend
I would need to go back and re-read. Mostly, I remember the wording about why people like certain things being skewed toward assuming that the person taking the survey felt that certain things were good to include/highlight in a setting.
LordEntrails
Hero
Common problem with any survey. It is pretty hard to make generic questions that do not bias some of the respondent's answers. There are dissertations galore on it if interested.
Argyle King
Legend
I'm aware it is a problem.
That's why there are agencies hired to do polling and surveys.
For this particular survey, there were instances of the skewed wording being heavy-handed toward particular views.
I wish I would have thought to screen shot, but I didn't. At that point, I was far enough in that I just wanted the survey to be over.
Scribe
Legend
I think you downplay how big Dragonlance was back in the day.
doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Yeah seriously. I had to add a whole spiel in the Other column.
Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
I don't think thst it is a flaw necessarily, just suggests that dracophilia and love of the novels are probably the big themes they've gotten before.
doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
It means there is widespread magic, but it is very low level, and there are vanishingly few high level magics or magic users.
A setting where only very ancient dragons and giant kings have ever cast 9th level spells, few people have ever seen magic greater than 3rd level spells, but every blacksmith knows a couple rituals, is wide magic.
Nah I think they meant exactly what they typed.
Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
In the past, they just had open-ended comment fields for the favorite Setting question: these felt like an attempt to distill the key aspects of previous feedback and see if they float with the fanbase.
