Critical Role A key part of Linda Codegas Critical Role Interview

[hawkeyefan]

I can't say that I'm too hopeful. In the wake of the OGL 1.1 announcement, several 3pp said that they were working on their own system. Sounds great. The problem? It's sounds like it's more of the same. I don't want to disparage them too heavily, but a fair number of these "Screw you! I'm making a new game" creators seemed to just be reinventing the wheel, with some flagrantly tracing over the pre-existing design plans.

Kobold Press basically implied that it would be D&D 5.1. Some others already had quickstarts and previews, and these were basically just D&D variants too. One I saw looked pretty OSR, but nothing really stood out as to why I should pick this OSR game over the myriad of other OSR games already out on the market that are competing for the same exact niche.

Right, there are already X flavors of D&D. And WotC can't stop those from getting into people's hands, even if they can disrupt the companies who publish them. They're already out in the wild, and people will continue to find them.

What I'm not excited to see, and what I'm worried about, is that we're going to get Kobold's version of 5e and Goodman's version of 5e and so on. And yeah, maybe they'll all be compatible in a kind of loose OSRish kind of way.... but that's kind of the problem... the OSR already exists, and so do other D&D alternatives. Do we need more? I know I don't, and I'd argue that the hobby would be better off if people started devoting times to non-D&D or D&D-alike games.

I hope my concerns turn out to be totally unfounded.

 

[Morrus]

I can't say that I'm too hopeful. In the wake of the OGL 1.1 announcement, several 3pp said that they were working on their own system. Sounds great. The problem? It sounds like it's more of the same. I don't want to disparage them too heavily, but a fair number of these "Screw you! I'm making a new game" creators seemed to just be reinventing the wheel, with some flagrantly tracing over the pre-existing design plans.

Kobold Press basically implied that it would be D&D 5.1. Some others already had quickstarts and previews, and these were basically just D&D variants too. One I saw looked pretty OSR, but nothing really stood out as to why I should pick this OSR game over the myriad of other OSR games already out on the market that are competing for the same exact niche.

The idea is that something will emerge as the 'replacement' for 5E. It's not supposed to be different. It's about taking ownership of the hobby. Having many creators doing it is natural; over time, the number will be whittled down, and one or two will emerge at the fore. Patience!

If you want non-5E games, there's a thousand out there. Take your pick! That's not what these folks are doing.

 

[Morrus]

I know I don't, and I'd argue that the hobby would be better off if people started devoting times to non-D&D or D&D-alike games.

The people should start buying them. The industry doesn't need more non-D&D games. There are thouands of them. The industry needs people to buy the existing non-D&D games.

I'll start. Here's mine!

What's O.L.D. is N.E.W.

Three roleplaying games. One O.L.D. One N.E.W. One N.O.W.

www.woinrpg.com

 

[Aldarc]

The idea is that something will emerge as the 'replacement' for 5E. It's not supposed to be different. It's about taking ownership of the hobby. Having many creators doing it is natural; over time, the number will be whittled down, and one or two will emerge at the fore. Patience!

If you want non-5E games, there's a thousand out there. Take your pick! That's not what these folks are doing.

I do agree that forerunners will emerge when it comes to the 5e clones, though I don't understand why "taking ownership of the hobby" requires a cloned 5e replacement as opposed to anything else. That also doesn't really explain, IMHO, the OSR-style hacks that are a part of this wave. There are already established forerunners in the OSR space: e.g., OSE, SWN/WWN, C&C, DCC, etc.

 

[Morrus]

I do agree that forerunners will emerge when it comes to the 5e clones, though I don't understand why "taking ownership of the hobby" requires a cloned 5e replacement as opposed to anything else. That also doesn't really explain, IMHO, the OSR-style hacks that are a part of this wave. There are already established forerunners in the OSR space: e.g., OSE, SWN/WWN, C&C, DCC, etc.

I don’t really understand the question. People make 5E stuff because that’s the stuff they want to make. Other people make non-5E stuff. Some, like me, make both!

 

[eyeheartawk]

I think we should standardize around FATAL.

 

[ValamirCleaver]

I think we should standardize around FATAL.

Circumference & all?...

 

[eyeheartawk]

Circumference & all?...

Especially circumferences.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Is the interview available anywhere? I don't think anyone's posted a link yet. But, I may be being blind.

 

[TwoSix]

I do agree that forerunners will emerge when it comes to the 5e clones, though I don't understand why "taking ownership of the hobby" requires a cloned 5e replacement as opposed to anything else. That also doesn't really explain, IMHO, the OSR-style hacks that are a part of this wave. There are already established forerunners in the OSR space: e.g., OSE, SWN/WWN, C&C, DCC, etc.

I imagine because the only sort of game that could actually become a new tentpole for players and 3pp to rally behind is a game that is basically 5.X.