D&D 5E Aversion to Creativity?

[steeldragons]

The underlying issue isn't really laziness or being too busy or any of that. The real reason so much material is in demand is that "the game" isn't primarily about what is going on in the campaign anymore, its about having new rules widgets with which to do cool stuff. The PHB has been out long enough that most of the Lego set parts are very familiar now and there are only so many things you can build with the same bucket of bricks.

This is because gaming culture at large has moved away from what the characters are actually doing as the primary area of interest. The focus has moved largely on what can be accomplished via synergies in the published rules. In order for that game to remain interesting, constant expansion sets are needed to provide different bricks that can assembled in new combinations.

If the game revolves around what is happening in the fictional game space then very little published material is actually required. The B/X boxed sets will keep you going for many years because all the really interesting bits are imagination based.

Once you accept that for many players, the primary area of interest will be getting an AC of X by Y level, or how to legally pump out ZZZ damage per round, then you will see how important regular officially released products are and how new generated home content just won't do the trick. After all, you can't go online and crow about beating the system and how your character is by far the baddest in the land if you have to use home brewed material to get it.

This is also an excellent point and another axis/variable to throw into the equation.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Especially given the massive canon of works that are already out there from previous versions.

When I first started playing D&D there were 3 books and a few modules that frankly, once I played a couple of them, were too hokey to consider for campaign play. From there on out we made up our own stories and had a ball. Like today, those three books were all we needed!

 

[Umbran]

The underlying issue isn't really laziness or being too busy or any of that. The real reason so much material is in demand is that "the game" isn't primarily about what is going on in the campaign anymore, its about having new rules widgets with which to do cool stuff. The PHB has been out long enough that most of the Lego set parts are very familiar now and there are only so many things you can build with the same bucket of bricks.

*THE* underlying issue. Really?

Are you sure you want to break out the broad brush? You know how that usually ends, right? Especially if folks take your painting as being less-than-complimentary?

Consider: Going online and crowing about how awesome you built the character to beat things up isn't really inferior to going online and telling folks how they're all doin' it wrong.

 

[ExploderWizard]

*THE* underlying issue. Really?

Are you sure you want to break out the broad brush? You know how that usually ends, right? Especially if folks take your painting as being less-than-complimentary?

Consider: Going online and crowing about how awesome you built the character to beat things up isn't really inferior to going online and telling folks how they're all doin' it wrong.

Who said anything about wrong. Puzzle solving via rules exploration is one way to do things. A whole group of like minded players can have a blast doing this. There are probably some DMs who enjoy the arms race type of game too. Its all about finding the right group to fit your style.

One interesting point is that fans of the puzzle solving style require a constant stream of official support for their continued enjoyment, while players of some other styles may not.

 

[TwoSix]

This is because gaming culture at large has moved away from what the characters are actually doing as the primary area of interest. The focus has moved largely on what can be accomplished via synergies in the published rules. In order for that game to remain interesting, constant expansion sets are needed to provide different bricks that can assembled in new combinations.

Naturally. I only have a few hours a month to game. I have many more hours to wile away on the boards discussing theorycrafting. Especially when you add on to that the nearly universally true admonition "No one cares about your character," which means actually talking about your current game on the boards is pretty much a fools errand.

 

[Paraxis]

D&D is like Lego, sure you can use a basic simple set and your imagination to have hours of fun, but the more sets or bricks you collect the better. I want options to exploit and optimize with, when the new Elemental Evil pdf came out I didn't read it cover to cover for fluff, I scanned it for abusable rules options to help me make my next character build. Legos are fun.

 

[TwoSix]

Oh, and because this is a brand new and controversial opinion on these boards:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?144853-Creativity-where-has-it-gone

 

[Zaran]

I could say WotC has an aversion to be creative too. Instead of coming up with a new Setting or new modules they are giving us railroady adventure paths shoe horned into Forgotten Realms. Instead of growing the RPG in house, they have focused on licensing and relying on other companies' creativity. Yay, More board games, more dice games, and video games ! All of which, doesn't help me as a GM or interest me as a player.

I'm averse to people constantly pointing out that all I need to do is buy old pdfs from when D&D was truly awesome. Or when they are implying that I am not being creative or or I'm being lazy with my home campaigns because I want to know what new stuff is coming out from WotC. Just because I would like to see more stuff from WotC doesn't mean I am not playing the game. It's because I am enjoying the new edition so much that I am wanting more!

 

[aramis erak]

Note, for a moment, some of the verbiage you are using. "Aversion to creativity". "Adverse to creating their own stuff". The connotations may be accidental, but they do sort of suggest that you already have an answer in mind.

I don't think it is mostly about having an aversion. It is about *time*. We aren't in high school or college, with loads of free time to do whatever we like. So, we like to pick and choose - do the things that are most fun for us, give us the most bang for the buck, or that are apt to be the most successful.

Good point, but not as long term market relevant as it may seem.

My old high school still has the same number of groups playing openly at lunch, and they're about the same number of players, perhaps a few more, largely playing in the same spots. (I'm a substitute teacher. I've been able to check...) And another area high school has the same group sizes and numbers that friends recall, and largely, playing in similar locations (Yes, there's still gaming happening in the bridge between SWS and EHS... according to several staffers, there are 2-3 groups playing there every year, and I can attest to seeing that every year since 2004. Not small groups, either - each runs 6-8 players.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a distinct aversion to create your own stuff nowadays?

There certainly /was/ in the 3.x/Pathfinder era (which, technically, is still going on in the shadow of 5e). Or, rather, less need for it. With the OGL, 3pps could put out a flood of supplements, so if there was the slightest demand for something, it got created by some upstart little company, even if the quality might not have been there. WotC wasn't exactly shy about putting out plenty of official stuff for the current ed, even going so far as an 'everything is core' philosophy with 4e/Essentials.

Modern versions of D&D didn't just take the firehose approach to providing supplemental materials, there was also a 'RAW' mystique that became enshrined in the 3.x era of so-called 'player entitlement' (for instance, to modify a monster you added levels/feats/skills to it like it was a PC, to create a new item you spelled out what feats and spells were used to create it) and which WotC declined to challenge with 4e/Essentials, which was so voluminous, carefully balanced and clearly laid out that it was quite a challenge to add homebrew material to without seeming to 'break' it (player material, that is, monsters were easy enough to add/change, FWIW). So, we've had 14 years of players expecting to get lots of options, and DMs being discouraged, one way or another, from providing those options, themselves.

With 5e, though, WotC is again encouraging homebrewing, both explicitly, in the guidance 5e give DMs, and by providing a looser, less complete, indifferently balanced system that invites tinkering and additions.

Personally, I love creating stuff for my campaign. That's the biggest draw for me as a DM; creating something and seeing my players 'interact' with it (be it spell, class, monster, or whatever). When I see people complaining about "there aren't enough archtypes for Class A", or "Class B needs more spells" I get perplexed.

In 5e, the DM does have freedom (almost an obligation, really) to fix it up and fill it out to get it just right for his campaign and his group, but it provides players with no such encouragement. If you want something that's not covered by the 33 magic-using and 5 non-casting archetypes in the PH, you have to either browbeat your DM into making one just for you, or whine to WotC to come out with a Player's Option supplement....