D&D 5E Alphastream - Why No RPG Company Truly Competes with Wizards of the Coast

[Oofta]

If CR decided to go back to say Pathfinder, or even jumped to something like Call of Cthulhu, its disciples would leave D&D in droves. WOTC knows how much CR is driving sales, and will do everything their power to keep Mercer and his crew happy.

I have never seen data on it, would be very interested how many current players picked up the game via CR, and were never exposed to a proper session at a table before jumping into the game. I have run into a few at my gaming cafe, and their view of D&D is radically different than that of players pre-CR.

Much like @billd91, I don't see much difference. My games look a lot like CR and always have. We have slightly less exposition, but then again we aren't gaming every week for 3+ hours.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The Call of Chulthu is to offer a gameplay totally opposed to D&D and dungeons crawlers, more focused into investigation and survival horror, when D&D PCs are practically one-man-army, even the glass-canon spellcasters.

If I was Hasbro I would worry about Paizo, Paradox Entertaiment or Chaosium being acquired by some cinema or videogame studio, because then those franchises could become true rivals.

There is not only one factor but a combo. CR helped a lot, but also Stranger Things, for example, or those arcades by Capcom, or the videogames Baldur's Gate and Newerwinter Nights.

And other advantage is D&D is the game parents want to play with their children and these are willing to play with the older members of the family. Even Ravenloft or Dark Sun can be not-too-mature for teen players. It is a serious advantage when players can start before when other titles are for +18 (and not only for the threads, but too complicated rules).

* D&D is not only a system and a franchise, but a "metaverse", and only World of Darkness by White Wolf has grown enough to be a potential rival.

And games based in famous franchises could sell more, but these have got a "time limit", and after the licencing deal it was to start from zero again.

* The weak point of D&D is not ready yet to be totally multi-genre and right power balance with the firearms and high-tech. A d20 Modern 2.0. is totally possible, and a new Star Wars d20 but these can't be compatible with D&D because barbarians, monks, paladins and focused melee-fight classes are replaced by gunslingers and one-man-army.

* The 80's cartoon helped to promote the franchise out of the English-speaker countries. I started with the Endless Quest game-books, a loved memory from my childhood. I started to know really the RPGs near of the end of 92 year, thanks by a one-shot magazine.

 

[Helldritch]

It’s not unique at all — there are tons of generic rule sets. Hundreds of them. No, that’s not the secret of its success.

I will politely disagree. All other generic rule sets are either clones of D&D or simply so ingrained with a specific setting that they are stuck with their fan base. Palladium is quite generic, but the system is quite heavy to learn. And each settings, though diverse, are bound to the rule sets which are far from generic.

CoC is bound to the Lovecraftian universe. Same with Shadow run, Paranoia and lots of other.

But re reading my argument, I should've said, generic and with easy to learn rule that can be adapted to many genre.

 

[Bolares]

I have seen enough anecdotal evidence to KNOW that much of WOTC's success in the past 3 years is driven by the popularity of CR and by the fact that Covid has made online gaming with others a larger thing than before. And CR's success was driven in part to Covid, as housebound people watched the equivalent of a TV show.

As to the actual hard numbers, only WOTC has even close to a handle on that. CR has now earned income in excess of 20 million (you can look that up) in the past 3 years. They are actors running a business. They have a business relationship with WOTC, that is mutually beneficial.

Now you are being more reasonable. Sure, much of 5e's success is because of CR, and CR is VERY sucessful. But It's more like a symbiotic relationship than CR carrying 5e in it's back as the post I was responding to made it seem.

 

[darjr]

I have noticed that CR drives new people who have never played into the hobby. Often they are unconnected to others who play and seek out groups. It’s telling when I see folks bristle against this or them.

I embrace them and encourage them.

 

[Bolares]

Every time someone says that CR is the reason 5e is a hit it shows how little people grasp the size of 5e. Critical Role is lightning in a bottle. They have almost 2 million fans. There will probably never be another show with that level of success in the TTRPG genre. Still, that's not even 10% of the people currently playing 5e. 5e is not only more popular than ever other game, not only more popular that every other edition. It's more popular than every other edition COMBINED. D&D was always big, sure, but 5e is big for D&D, is way bigger than Hasbro ever dreamt it to be, it doesn't lead the RPG industry, it is the RPG industry.

 

[Bolares]

I have noticed that CR drives new people who have never played into the hobby. Often they are unconnected to others who play and seek out groups. It’s telling when I see folks bristle against this or them.

I embrace them and encourage them.

This is true and very important. CR brings new demographics to the game to, wich is vital. More women come from CR, more queer people come from CR, and we need not only to embrace and encourage them, but make them feel part of the community, as they trully are.

 

[darjr]

Every time someone says that CR is the reason 5e is a hit it shows how little people grasp the size of 5e. Critical Role is lightning in a bottle. They have almost 2 million fans. There will probably never be another show with that level of success in the TTRPG genre. Still, that's not even 10% of the people currently playing 5e. 5e is not only more popular than ever other game, not only more popular that every other edition. It's more popular than every other edition COMBINED. D&D was always big, sure, but 5e is big for D&D, is way bigger than Hasbro ever dreamt it to be, it doesn't lead the RPG industry, it is the RPG industry.

Yes this.

I will add though that CR is only getting started. Wait till after the Amazon series.

But I also believe it’s true about D&D 5e.

And the Amazon CR show will drive D&D and the hobby.

 

[Bolares]

Yes this.

I will add though that CR is only getting started. Wait till after the Amazon series.

But I also believe it’s try about D&D 5e.

Yup. This is not a shot on CR. I love Critical Role. It's just that 5e is in a whole other level.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Depends on what you mean by "historical accident". Pathfinder started doing better than D&D Q2 of 2011, 5E wasn't announced until spring of 2012.

But yeah, PF was kind of just D&D 3.75 for a lot of people while D&D 4E was a different game altogether for a lot of people.

Its a historical accident in that they were able to take advantage of D&D fans who had liked 3e, but not 4e, and that was a significant sized group. That's unlikely to occur again, and certainly wasn't when PF2e came out.