Going Nuclear:1D&D

[delericho]

Gonna phrase this as politely as I can. Specifically I'm advocating burning 1D&D down to the ground and all the D&D branding. Thus includes online play, the movie, video games, new edition everything. If you play MtG you can make your own decisions.

Essentially boycott everything WotC/D&D related. If you're feeling motivated throw in Hasbro and MtG related.

Given that D&D is now a lifestyle brand, I don't think a boycott will really hurt them - as long as you remain engaged with D&D in any form, you're helping them.

So you'd need to stop playing any edition (switch to another game entirely, and obnoxiously correct anyone who refers to it as 'D&D'). And only ever speak about D&D in a negative light.

The one thing most likely to hurt them is to consistently refer to the upcoming movie as a "crappy remake" - as far as possible, tie it to the cinematic abomination of the 2000's. (It helps that the director of that one is credited as a producer here.)

The problem being, of course, that to be successful you would need to damage the brand, and that may not be desirable.

One last thing: I do think any talk of "going nuclear" is still premature. It's just about possible, although unfortunately I think unlikely, that WotC will reverse course on this. So I would be inclined to wait until Friday before doing anything drastic.

 

[Zardnaar]

Given that D&D is now a lifestyle brand, I don't think a boycott will really hurt them - as long as you remain engaged with D&D in any form, you're helping them.

So you'd need to stop playing any edition (switch to another game entirely, and obnoxiously correct anyone who refers to it as 'D&D'). And only ever speak about D&D in a negative light.

The one thing most likely to hurt them is to consistently refer to the upcoming movie as a "crappy remake" - as far as possible, tie it to the cinematic abomination of the 2000's. (It helps that the director of that one is credited as a producer here.)

The problem being, of course, that to be successful you would need to damage the brand, and that may not be desirable.

One last thing: I do think any talk of "going nuclear" is still premature. It's just about possible, although unfortunately I think unlikely, that WotC will reverse course on this. So I would be inclined to wait until Friday before doing anything drastic.

Well the lifestyle brand is pixie dust and wishes atm.

Probably should have included if true in OP.

 

[Stormonu]

I intend to do what I've kept doing for years. Buy what I like and not buy what I don't. I don't have any loyalty to the company, just to the product as far as it meets my needs.

I've already said multiple times I'm not going to a new edition. If that is what OneD&D becomes, I won't be picking it up. If it remains the "same edition" but none of it grabs my fancy, I won't buy it - and will probably cancel my Beyond subscription if the content is no longer of any use. If WotC stops 3rd party creators, I'll just make my own. In the end, I have enough content already to last me for the next two or three lifetimes.

D&D has been wonderful that they've opened their system up for others to play in, but it hasn't always been that way - and a lot of other games aren't open like D&D. Not having 3pp won't stop me from buying D&D product if it's good, but a lot of 3pp has been better than WotC's of late, so WotC would have to up their game if they want my money.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Boycotting is not the best way. Just deal with them like we did TSR from the 90. Have small time independents pirate everything.

Sure other big corporations like Kobold Press and Paizo will suffer for this, but that will open the door for a lot more from less established and offshore corporations.

Mod Note:

Piracy or advocating piracy is not permitted on ENWorld.

 

[Nefermandias]

Gonna phrase this as politely as I can. Specifically I'm advocating burning 1D&D down to the ground and all the D&D branding. This includes online play, the movie, video games, new edition everything. If you play MtG you can make your own decisions.

Essentially boycott everything WotC/D&D related. If you're feeling motivated throw in Hasbro and MtG related.

And do it across all forms of social media, reddit, YouTube etc.

For me last time around it was Paizo this time around it's Kobold Press and everyone else.

Just remember monetization means nothing good.

Crush the 1.1, see them crumble before you, and to hear the lamentations of their CEO.

No.

What you mean by "last time around it was Paizo" ? I stuck with 4e back then, it is in fact my favorite version of the game by a huge margin. I will stick with the new 2024 edition now too.

I'm sure there's plenty of people away from the internet who feels the same. So, hard nope. I will keep playing Dungeons and Dragons just like one been doing since the 90s.

By the way, people keep putting Kobold Press on a high pedestal, but personally I find their Tome of Beasts atrocious. No 3pp for me and my table. Thank you.

 

[Zardnaar]

No.

What you mean by "last time around it was Paizo" ? I stuck with 4e back then, it is in fact my favorite version of the game by a huge margin. I will stick with the new 2024 edition now too.

I'm sure there's plenty of people away from the internet who feels the same. So, hard nope. I will keep playing Dungeons and Dragons just like one been doing since the 90s.

By the way, people keep putting Kobold Press on a high pedestal, but personally I find their Tome of Beasts atrocious. No 3pp for me and my table. Thank you.

I cared about Paizo last time around this time I don't in terms of I use their product and want them to do well.

Nevertheless I want them to hang around subject to anything self inflicted they do.

 

[Jadeite]

@Nefermandias :
If 4e is your favorite edtion by a huge margin, why would you play 1D&D instead of it?

 

[Nefermandias]

@Nefermandias :
If 4e is your favorite edtion by a huge margin, why would you play 1D&D instead of it?

Because I want to?

Do you only ever listen to your favorite song? Do you only ever eat your favorite food? What kind of question is that? What are you trying to prove?

B/X is my second favorite, BTW. That doesn't stop me from playing 5e too.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Because I want to?

Do you only ever listen to your favorite song? Do you only ever eat your favorite food? What kind of question is that? What are you trying to prove?

I'm not the person you replied to, so I can't speak for them. But at least for me, those comparisons are flawed because a game system is not a single experience, it is a spectrum of possible experiences. It's not a single song, heck it isn't even a single band, it's a genre. It's not a single dish, or even a common ingredient, it's a cuisine. There are nigh-infinite variations within "4e D&D"--or any edition, it's nothing special about 4e. We've had people explicitly say that already with regard to 5e, that the material they already have is more than enough to keep them going for years and years.

B/X is my second favorite, BTW. That doesn't stop me from playing 5e too.

I mean, I wouldn't expect it to. But if there's something that has become negative about a given thing, one would think that switching to one's favorite (once it makes sense to do so) would be a reasonable response. Moreso than fully sticking to the now-problematic thing regardless of the problem, I mean.

 

[Nefermandias]

I'm not the person you replied to, so I can't speak for them. But at least for me, those comparisons are flawed because a game system is not a single experience, it is a spectrum of possible experiences. It's not a single song, heck it isn't even a single band, it's a genre. It's not a single dish, or even a common ingredient, it's a cuisine. There are nigh-infinite variations within "4e D&D"--or any edition, it's nothing special about 4e. We've had people explicitly say that already with regard to 5e, that the material they already have is more than enough to keep them going for years and years.


I mean, I wouldn't expect it to. But if there's something that has become negative about a given thing, one would think that switching to one's favorite (once it makes sense to do so) would be a reasonable response. Moreso than fully sticking to the now-problematic thing regardless of the problem, I mean.

Yes, but I don't see anything negative about One D&D. I don't know how this conversation got to this point.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

At this point in time I just want Foundry/Forge, Chaosium and Pinnacle to survive the upcoming chaos in good shape so my digital table can keep on gaming in our favorite systems.

What I'm more worried about is a dysfunctional economy that keep repeating destructive cycles. Passionate small company create something great. Gets bought up by a larger company that still make a descent product and communicate with consumer base. Gets devoured by Megacorp shark that naughty word on consumers to maximize profit for a short period, while the product get turned to fecal matter and flushed down the toilet. Rince and repeat. It's both sad and depressing.

 

[Jadeite]

Because I want to?

Do you only ever listen to your favorite song? Do you only ever eat your favorite food? What kind of question is that? What are you trying to prove?

B/X is my second favorite, BTW. That doesn't stop me from playing 5e too.

I certainly won't listen to a certain song or eat certain food, just because it's the newest version (in fairness, I usually avoid food that's too old, but that says more about the viability of food analogies than my personal taste).
If I lose interest in a certain game, I usually switch too something more different than just another edition. And there are tons of games I have yet too play (even though I own quite a few books for some of them).

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Yes, but I don't see anything negative about One D&D. I don't know how this conversation got to this point.

One D&D is, in part, being updated in order to make people adopt the new license.

Just like how 4e happened, in part, in order to make creators switch to the GSL. And in so doing, 3PP for 4e became almost nonexistent, with Green Ronin and ENWorld being the only two publishers of 4e 3PP I've ever heard of.

 

[Nefermandias]

One D&D is, in part, being updated in order to make people adopt the new license.

Just like how 4e happened, in part, in order to make creators switch to the GSL. And in so doing, 3PP for 4e became almost nonexistent, with Green Ronin and ENWorld being the only two publishers of 4e 3PP I've ever heard of.

Sure, I won't pretend to know what their reason for releasing One D&D is. I don't really care either.
3pp content don't affect my game in any way and I just wanted to point out that this might be the case for a lot of people out there.

 

[Jadeite]

3pp content don't affect my game in any way

But it does. Fourth edition would not have been made the way it was without 3rd party products like Iron Heroes. And 5e's Spellcasting is rather similar to that of Arcana Unearthed/Evolved. Just because you ignore third party material doesn't mean that it won't merge with the main branch to be enjoyed (or disliked) by you.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Given that D&D is now a lifestyle brand, I don't think a boycott will really hurt them - as long as you remain engaged with D&D in any form, you're helping them.

So you'd need to stop playing any edition (switch to another game entirely, and obnoxiously correct anyone who refers to it as 'D&D'). And only ever speak about D&D in a negative light.

The one thing most likely to hurt them is to consistently refer to the upcoming movie as a "crappy remake" - as far as possible, tie it to the cinematic abomination of the 2000's. (It helps that the director of that one is credited as a producer here.)

The problem being, of course, that to be successful you would need to damage the brand, and that may not be desirable.

One last thing: I do think any talk of "going nuclear" is still premature. It's just about possible, although unfortunately I think unlikely, that WotC will reverse course on this. So I would be inclined to wait until Friday before doing anything drastic.

yeah that is about how you hurt them... if that is what you want.

This isn't a major thing you HAVE to do. I am not sure that enough will even think of it to make it matter, HOWEVER I do feel that we should keep everyone who WANTS to send a message to know this.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

@Nefermandias :
If 4e is your favorite edtion by a huge margin, why would you play 1D&D instead of it?

I'm not him but I have told this before and will again... I am not surrounded by others wwho love 4e. I have friends that want to play 3e or 2e or PF or other games... 5e is none of our 1st choices but it is the edition we can all 'put up with' someone else called it the 'compromise edition'

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm not him but I have told this before and will again... I am not surrounded by others wwho love 4e. I have friends that want to play 3e or 2e or PF or other games... 5e is none of our 1st choices but it is the edition we can all 'put up with' someone else called it the 'compromise edition'

You know, there's at least a dozen heavy posters here who love 4e. You folks ever think of getting an online game together?

 

[FormerLurker]

There's some problems with this idea.

First, boycotting D&D also means not playing, as that's an advertisement for their game. It's not enough if you're still playing with content you own, as you're still recruiting people to play that game and telling people you play D&D. You need to find another game and hype that.

Second... D&D pretty much IS the tabletop industry. According to ICv2 in 2014, RPGs were a $15 million dollar industry. They were up to $35 million by 2015 and $45 million in 2016. By 2021 they were $105 million! Some of that was Kickstarter but a lot was D&D. Something like 70-80% of the money in RPG sales likely comes from D&D, and removing that by "burning 1D&D down to the ground" will rapidly contract the hobby. Game stores will take a massive hit. No D&D pretty much reduces the entire industry to irrelevancy. Without the biggest name in gaming bringing in new players, this will become a greying hobby. Dying.

 

[Composer99]

1) The 4e Discord is active and usually has around a half-dozen LFG posts on the go at any given time. So finding people to play 4e, if you're willing to play online, is eminently doable.

2) Apropos of the main thread topic, io9 received a leaked copy of the entire new "OGL" and Linda Codega wrote about it at Gizmodo. We also have Tweets from Kickstarter and more recently Griffon's Saddlebag regarding the veracity of the new "OGL". (The OGL -- Just What's Going On?)

WotC has locked up most official talk with NDAs so that's as good as it gets.

If a complete OGL leaked to a journalist isn't "good enough" (keeping in mind Codega has a source to protect), I'm not sure what to say.