Thank you! I am baffled by this phenomenon. There are specific RPGs I don’t like, but I simply don’t find it a good use of my time to go “participate” in those forums and yuck on those people’s yums. Critique is one thing, constant bashing is… baffling.
It's well documented that some ex-fans will stick around and
hate-watch the thing they used to love, complaining about it constantly and being as toxic as possible, rather than simply walk away and find something
new to enjoy. While the term was coined for fans of TV series, I have absolutely observed the same thing with certain D&D ex-fans who won't admit or accept the "ex" part.
While I find the constant negativity of some fans exhausting . . . to be fair, they may not be fans of 5th Edition D&D, but are fans of older versions of the game. D&D isn't just a game, it's a lifestyle hobby that many of us have incorporated into our identities. So . . . to have something you love, live, and breathe change in ways that doesn't make you happy, can be a bit upsetting in a greater way than simply,
"I don't like this new thing".
But still, those fans would better serve their own mental health by listening to Elsa and just . . .
let it go. Continue to play the D&D you want to play, we are spoiled with options between the five major editions, all of the OSR and fantasy heartbreakers out there . . . the beauty of this game, this hobby is that you are EXPECTED to tinker with the rules, with the settings, with the lore, the tone and style, with every aspect of the game, in any way that you want.
We get old, things change, D&D has evolved with the times. It's okay if you prefer what came before . . . you just gotta accept that time waits for no one and it's not all about you.
I've been collecting and playing since the early 80s and D&D has changed a LOT over the past 50 years. I like most of the changes, but not all, and I do miss some aspects of the old rules, the old lore, the old style . . . but I don't let it bother me. I play 5th Edition D&D, and modify the game, the lore, whenever my sensibilities don't match with the modern direction of the game. I try not to rant towards the current stewards of the game, WotC, and accept that just because a change isn't to my liking, doesn't make it a bad change made by out-of-touch designers.
