D&D 5E After 2 years the 5E PHB remains one of the best selling books on Amazon

[pemerton]

According to the website linked earlier retail sales of RPGs increased by 40% from 2014 to 2015. That didn't just happen because 5e is a better made game than other games/editions. It happened because there are people playing RPGs now that didn't feel comfortable or welcome to do so before.

You're laying everything at the door of WoTC and 5e, instead of recognising that times have changed, the roleplaying community have evolved and nerd culture is at an all time high making it more socially acceptable...
The books don't play the role you think they do.

The books send a signal from the publisher as to:

Who it thinks its audience is.

What sort of behaviour/outlook the publisher expects from players of the game.​

As I have already posted upthread, I don't think that 5e signals any rules change as to PC building.

But it does affirm that certain sorts of people are part of the gameworld, and in that way it sends a signal to the player-base about who they are, and what sorts of characters they might want to play.

But I think it's almost impossible, without access to the sort of information that only WotC would have, to know whether these signals significantly affect sales.

 

[evileeyore]

Also note that there is no entry for sex or gender on the character sheet.

That's because it doesn't matter.

Exactly.

I'm glad we agree that gender doesn't matter in tabletop roleplaying games.

 

[ad_hoc]

I'm glad we agree that gender doesn't matter in tabletop roleplaying games.

I didn't say that.

Being inclusive matters. Allowing a player to play a character of any gender, no gender, or changing gender matters.

What matters is not forcing someone to pick a gender, especially from a binary perspective, and have their stats change based on their choice.

 

[evileeyore]

Being inclusive matters.

Not to everyone. To you, most certianly. To me, not as much.

Allowing a player to play a character of any gender, no gender, or changing gender matters.

Only if such exist within the framework of the game. Otherwise, no, it doesn't matter.

What matters is not forcing someone to pick a gender, especially from a binary perspective, and have their stats change based on their choice.

I've never seen that in any game I've ever played or run in the last 34 years.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I can point to a few examples from the dim past, but a few examples is/was not an industry standard and thus not something even worth discussion at this point.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Just a note in case no one already made it: physical bookstores aren't dead, and are in fact growing again, as are hobby stores, and sales of physical books in general, including among young readers. Research shows that young readers prefer physical books for leisure reading.

 

[PMárk]

I'm glad we agree that gender doesn't matter in tabletop roleplaying games.

Honestly, I think it is a bit far-fetched.

So every external recognizance of the character matters (skin, eye, height, weight, age), and gets a distinct place in the character sheet but gender isn't? Sorry that seems overtly political to me.

You could be any gender, or non-gender, or anything, it doesn't force you in any way and I wouldn't want to force any player into any binary or non-binary choice. But your choice, regardless of what is it, is a part of your character concept and how others see and interact with her/him/anything. Last time I checked, not every inhabitant of the worlds of D&D is a pansexual-nongender person. There are such persons and you shouldn't be penalized for playing one in general (certain individuals', like NPCs opinion might varies greatly), but that's also part of the character's concept.

WoD games don't have a gender section on the sheet, but they don't have the others either. They just have a "description" section. I think it is better that way, but if a sheet has places for hair color, skin color and age, yes, i think it should have a place for gender also. Especially that the PHB speaks about it in the character description section. If you want to write "nondescript" into it, that is perfectly fine, but it is a part of your character's description.

 

[Gentlegamer]

If you want to actually destroy D&D go ahead and keep pushing the "progressive intersectionality" cultural Marxism as the core tenet of the game.

 

[evileeyore]

Honestly, I think it is a bit far-fetched.

Which part?

So every external recognizance of the character matters (skin, eye, height, weight, age), and gets a distinct place in the character sheet...

They do? Not on sheets I'm familiar with. Though I did some googling and 1 out 5 different 5e sheets had them, so maybe it's a 'thing' these days. I'm used to the simple "Description" line.

...but gender isn't? Sorry that seems overtly political to me.

Only because you're making it so. Don't like the layout of the charsheet? Make one that appeals to you.

 

[oknazevad]

I think it is an interesting question to ask why. Is it something intrinsic to the edition itself? Is it a matter of right place, right time--that the cultural zeitgeist supports D&D now more than it has in previous years, or at least going back to the 80s? Is it the light publication schedule? Something else? Some combination of the above and more?

All of the above, from what I've seen.

Firstly, this is the easiest edition to learn since Basic. Maybe even easier, because of more unified mechanics. That helps get new players to try it out and, more importantly, continue to play. It's funny; people over the last two years have said how this is the first edition to feel like the successor to (pick your favorite old edition), with 2e and 3.x mentioned the most. But it really feels like the successor to B/X in many ways, too. Which is also aided by the surprising robustness hidden behind those lighter, easier to learn rules; that keeps the game interesting without becoming overweighted with options. More on that in a bit.

The cultural zeitgeist is a major part, as well. Let's be honest, geek culture is finally cool. Superheroes and Star Wars dominate the box office, cult serialized tv series lead the ratings, fantasy and sci-fi tropes and stories are everywhere. And then comes along a little Netflix series called Stranger Things that is a love letter to the game, boosting it to all new levels not seen since the 1980s setting of the series. I mean, how many more people have heard of Demogorgon now? Yeah, it is absolutely prime real estate for it.

And while lamented by some who can never have enough game material, I must say that the light production schedule actually does help. Firstly, it hasn't overwhelmed the game with stuff, as in past editions. That keeps the game accessible to new players, and avoids power creep, which is a turn off to seasoned but not hardcore players. Keeping up with the Joneses saps the game of fun for all except a hardcore percentage.

The light production schedule also makes every release a bit of an event. Look how much every new AP hardcover results in a major spike in discussion here. It's actually a true case of less is more, and I hope they don't over do releases any time soon.

 

[PMárk]

Which part?

Not including just that, but every other descriptor in the character sheet.

They do? Not on sheets I'm familiar with. Though I did some googling and 1 out 5 different 5e sheets had them, so maybe it's a 'thing' these days. I'm used to the simple "Description" line.

Yes, the official multi-page ones features columns of weight, height, age, skin, hair and eye color and a big box you could draw or wrote your appearance. So, a column about skin color is okay, but one about gender isn't? The one I think is in the beginner box features gender. Fan-made ones i have features gender.

Only because you're making it so. Don't like the layout of the charsheet? Make one that appeals to you.

Again, I would not want to force any choice on anyone! I just think your choice, regardless of what it is is just as a much a part of the character than the color of eyes. Leaving out just that seems to be a desire of appealing to certain narratives.

Again, I like the simple "description" column better.