Dungeons & Dragons has 15 Million Players in NA Alone; Storyline Is "The Da Vinci Code meets Gangs o

Interesting. The following tidbit has me excited about the new storyline:

“The Stream of Many Eyes” ... story — which will be revealed on June 1 — was described by one D&D staffer as 'The Da Vinci Code meets Gangs of New York.'”

 

[Ace]

I think 40% of the player's being women is a bit of a stretch however there are more female players than back in the day and I think that's terrific.

 

[Morrus]

I think 40% of the player's being women is a bit of a stretch

.... because...?

 

[Mouseferatu]

Skepticism is fine in its place, but what we see on these threads every single time this topic comes up crosses the line into genuine paranoia, often paired with what comes across as a deliberate effort to piss on other people's enjoyment. It's tired and it's ugly, and worst of all--and the reason I'm truly fed up with it--it completely sucks the air out of any other discussion of the topic.

 

[Mouseferatu]

.... because...?

Because personal anecdote and opinion trump data and statistics. C'mon, Morrus, you should've been briefed on that fact when you joined us over on the "Sensitive Apologists Who Foolishly Refuse to Disbelieve Everything We Hear" faction.

 

[Parmandur]

Oh, it's not that I deny it, it's that I don't think it's the pivotal difference, since it's not really a difference, the difference is in the community around it, and the timing...

Yeah, OK, enjoy the moment, but don't deny the past moments.
TSR went under and it looked like, if RPGs survived at all, they'd be led by WWGS, instead, WotC swooped in, white knighted D&D with 3.0 and made it immortal as d20.

I wouldn't deny the past moments at all, they are how we got here. But, they must be kept in perspective: WotC D&D, at least, has no parallel to what is going on now. 3.0 was never on top in this way, to this extent, with such a large segment of society.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I wouldn't deny the past moments at all, they are how we got here. But, they must be kept in perspective: WotC D&D, at least, has no parallel to what is going on now. 3.0 was never on top in this way, to this extent, with such a large segment of society.

To put it in perspective, if WotC hadn't acquired D&D and put 3.0 /and/ d20 out there, there'd be no 5e, period - no PF, no OSR, either. Riding the wave of a come-back is lovely, but saving the line from extinction was historic.

 

[Parmandur]

To put it in perspective, if WotC hadn't acquired D&D and put 3.0 /and/ d20 out there, there'd be no 5e, period - no PF, no OSR, either. Riding the wave of a come-back is lovely, but saving the line from extinction was historic.

Right, which I just said, twice: but, what is going on now is, numerically and culturally speaking, larger.

 

[happyhermit]

Grandfather; "Yes child, it's all very good that you've cured cancer, as long as you remember that if I hadn't had sex with your Grandmother you never would have been born."
Grandchild; "Ok?"

I could care less about the D&D name, without 3e we wouldn't be at the same place, but it's impossible to tell what would have happened (including what would have happened with the name). If "D&D" had gone away it's entirely possible that some other game might have achieved this sort of cultural relevancy at some point, and that would be pretty cool too.

 

[Parmandur]

Grandfather; "Yes child, it's all very good that you've cured cancer, as long as you remember that if I hadn't had sex with your Grandmother you never would have been born."
Grandchild; "Ok?"

I could care less about the D&D name, without 3e we wouldn't be at the same place, but it's impossible to tell what would have happened (including what would have happened with the name). If "D&D" had gone away it's entirely possible that some other game might have achieved this sort of cultural relevancy at some point, and that would be pretty cool too.

Exactly, 3.x was good and successful, but the point in question was why there weren't articles, posts, etc. like we are seeing now with 5E: because it wasn't this big, riding this sort of wave. Things have changed.

 

[Morrus]

Grandfather; "Yes child, it's all very good that you've cured cancer, as long as you remember that if I hadn't had sex with your Grandmother you never would have been born."
Grandchild; "Ok?"

I could care less about the D&D name, without 3e we wouldn't be at the same place, but it's impossible to tell what would have happened (including what would have happened with the name). If "D&D" had gone away it's entirely possible that some other game might have achieved this sort of cultural relevancy at some point, and that would be pretty cool too.

D&D *did* go away. Like properly. Stopped being published. Lots of people kept playing it, nonetheless.

Then WotC bought TSR and announced 3E, and this website was born.

The OGL means that D&D can’t go away ever again. Whatever happens, some iteration of D&D will always be possible.