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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9448476" data-attributes="member: 7035894">I will agree that D&D does benefit greatly from inertia. Being by far the most popular and established brand of fantasy TTRPG gives it a number of advantages aside from the underlying quality of the game, which is largely subjective.1. Sunk costs. This is not just, or even primarily financial. The financial aspect is important, though, since if I walk away from D&D I am walking away from a small small fortune in adventure and setting guides, etc. However, the more substantial sunk cost is in terms of time and knowledge. I've internalized D&D rules over many years, but more importantly, so have my players, who are not nearly as interested in TTRPGs as I am. If I tell my home game that I would like to switch to a new system to still do basically the same thing, play a fantasy TTRPG, they probably will decline. Certainly my spouse would.This is why folks tend to stick with the system that they have grown into and heavily invested in.  For example, if you've spent years playing and modding 1e with your group, there is a pretty significant incentive to stick with it. If you're still having fun, why swap?2. Infrastructure. I love DnDBeyond. I run a lot of games for different groups, and it saves me a ton of time. I cringe at the thought of trying to run D&D Club at my school without it. And it also lets me share all the books with my players, which makes it a lot easier to attract and keep players. And that's not even talking about all the other accessories and 3PP that are available for D&D.3. Population. Millions of people know D&D, and just about everyone has heard of it, so many have at least a passing interest in checking it out. This confers a lot of advantages when it comes to attracting players, scheduling games, and so on.4. Longevity. D&D is pretty much permanent at this point. Even if Hasbro imploded tomorrow, D&D would live on. I can be confident that I will continue to be able to play D&D for the rest of my life, should I so choose. DC20, not so much. I can't tell you how many fantasy TTRPGs have come and gone over the 50 years of D&D's lifespan.As for quality: I think D&D is an excellent game. DC20 might be even better, or it might be worse. But given all the other factors, I don't have much incentive to switch. If D&D wasn't fun and I still wanted to play a fantasy TTRPG, then of course I would look elsewhere. More likely is that I get tired of the medieval fantasy genre altogether and play something else for a time, as has happened for long stretches in the past.</blockquote>

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