Recent content by AlViking

I assume yet more "bribery" conspiracy theories? Because they can't just enjoy playing D&D, think its better for the long run campaigns CR is known for, DH is still a new system and by doing a rotating cast they can do D&D and DH both? Nah. Must be bribery.

The tangent came up because someone stated D&D was just like MS and Windows. Except they have very little in common because MS used all sorts of anticompetetive practices to establish and maintain their dominance in both the OS and web browser markets. WOTC may have won the popularity contest...

My point is that people sure seem to keep trying to say that D&D is in spite of the system. I disagree. The brand has a lot of advantages but no matter how much brand recognition you have, no matter how much you spend on marketing, it doesn't matter in the long run. Brand recognition, nostalgia...

If past performance guaranteed sustained popularity we'd still gave Pan Am, Toys R Us, Blockbuster just to name a few off the top of my head. I like the current version of the game as do people I play with. Seems like millions of people also like the game. So yes, the game is well designed for...

There are a lot of reasons. What's your point?

You keep putting words in my mouth. It's an open market, WOTC is not doing anything to prevent competition. Other than that? There have been plenty of opportunities over the past half century for a different game to become top dog.

That's not what they say on their wiki.

Which is not answering my question. I don't understand why killing minions is different than any other monster. It seems like you're saying killing minions bad, killing standard monsters not bad. Its fine I just don't understand why.

Do you have the same issue with John Wick, James Bond, pretty much every action movie and TV show? Because that's what they were trying to model. Nameless hirelings dropping like flies is pretty common. I'm not saying its good or bad, its just an odd aspect of the game to call out as different...

It's a game that works well for a lot of people. That and enumerable other factors that nobody really understands.

I find alignment useful for a general starting point on personality and viewpoint. For a lot of enemies it's a good starting point or frequently all I'll need. After all a lot of enemies don't even get 15 minutes of fame. Meanwhile I can also use alignment as a general predictor of behavior...

Did I say anything about it being "better"? Better is in the eye of the beholder. Matt has stated that they decided to use D&D instead of PF because 5e was better for streaming because of it's relative simplicity. Having looked into PF, that simplicity also made 5e a better game for me.

Nothing is stopping other companies from creating new games. With crowdfunding options available it's even easier than before. D&D may be dominant but it's still an open playing field unlike operating systems.

Almost all versions of D&D after the 80s boom and previous to 5e had an initial spike in sales followed by a drop-off. The devs for 5e thought they were working on a final version of the game just to keep the IP alive. The years of growth with are a major change to the pattern of boom and...

There are innumerable reasons for D&Ds success. Name recognition, acceptance of gaming culture, desire to connect on an individual level, rise of superhero and fantasy movies, people who played TTRPGs when they were young playing with their own kids. We also can't discount a ruleset that in my...