D&D General “Folk” D&D vs. “Official” D&D

[el-remmen]

I have to admit that I already held this opinion so he was preaching to the choir for me but I like how clear and (relatively) succinctly he put it.

 

[overgeeked]

In the comments he mentions that someone told him it should be Law vs Chaos. I couldn't agree more. Chaos all the way.

 

[Malmuria]

In the comments he mentions that someone told him it should be Law vs Chaos. I couldn't agree more. Chaos all the way.

"Someone" = Zedeck Siew

 

[pogre]

As a guy who ran WFRP for years with no official support I reckon I'm probably a folk guy. However, I don't mind running official games for cons and Adventure League. However, I don't worry too much about Hasbro "destroying" the game.

IMO gatekeepers are more dangerous to the hobby than a few rules and terminology changes.

 

[Malmuria]

I do appreciate his optimism that "folk dnd" as he puts it is resilient even if the popularity in official dnd comes and goes

 

[Retreater]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think most people outside of a very specific group of people on messageboards and social media even notice what the official D&D is.
My group of teenagers pull out all kinds of homebrew, have random species printed out from Reddit, don't know what the current adventure line is (Spelljammer?), haven't heard of OneD&D, and haven't the foggiest idea when I pull out an old houserule from 2nd edition.
This sentiment also carries over to the group I've DMed at the local library, the massive school D&D clubs.
In my view, the upcoming generation of players could care less if it's an "official game." They want what's cool, what they find online. D&D is no longer a monolith.

 

[Umbran]

I think he misses the fact that healthy communities have what is analogous to an ecology.

There is interplay between the smaller, more numerous entities and the larger, "apex" entities that helps keep the ecology more or less stable and thriving, even while individual entities within the ecology come and go.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

D&D was designed to be "by folk".

Now the youngest generations have discovered D&D, and even although this lost popularity there are other options: Pathfinder, Call of Chulthu or World of Darkness. The TTRPG as hobby has arrived to stand and now these aren't going to fall in the oblivion easily.

Maybe D&D doesn't need WotC, but Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Spelljammer... still needs Hasbro to promote these subfranchises.

 

[Malmuria]

7:38: “there’s a real sense in which companies like wotc and games workshop act as a kind of parasite on their respective hobbies, siphoning money from players who think that they need them when that is increasingly no longer the case.”

discuss amongst yourselves (or not)

 

[overgeeked]

7:38: “there’s a real sense in which companies like wotc and games workshop act as a kind of parasite on their respective hobbies, siphoning money from players who think that they need them when that is increasingly no longer the case.”

discuss amongst yourselves (or not)

Completely true. That’s capitalism.