How Do I Escape D&D?

Although I’ve been writing games (and about them) for over 20 years, I haven’t done much for the Big One. I’ve done a few OGL bits here and there, a Dungeon article for 4e, and a run on the dual statted line for 7th Sea. I talk a lot about the other games that are out there on the panels and podcasts I get to be on and there’s always one inevitable question:

"I love this new game that I bought but I can’t get my group to try it. How do I escape D&D?"

That question has come up a lot on social media since the OGL 1.1 leak. Here are some of the options I’ve seen work well when I’ve suggested them to friends. Different tactics work well on different people so don’t be afraid to keep trying even if you strike out at first. I also hope folks will post their success stories in the comment to offer additional advice.

Don’t Trash The Mothership​

In trying to sell a new game, a lot of people make the mistake of comparing everything to D&D. Usually in a negative way where D&D does it badly and the new game does it well. True as that may be, remember that people have feelings about D&D and those feelings are often complicated. It’s better to focus on the positive stuff that a new game does without needing trash talk. Players are already making those comparisons when considering a new game.

Learn To Love The One Shot​

The true villain of any D&D game is logistics. There will almost always be someone unable to make it or nights where the current DM is unavailable. These nights can be opportunities to try out a different game to see if it vibes with a group. There are a lot of great starter sets out there that make this sort of game easy complete with ready made characters and a story that plays out in a session or two. There are also games built for this mode of play like Fiasco.

Check Out An Actual Play Of The New Game​

Critical Role gets a lot of press in this space but there are a few crews who play games other than D&D. Showing one of these games to a group will help them learn the rules and see what you like about the game. Of course, I would love it if you check out my crew Theatre of the Mind Players but there are some other great shows in this space like The Glass Cannon Network and One Shot Podcast Network among others.

Find The Right Fandom​

While there are a lot of fans of D&D, those fans are also fans of other things. Licensed games are your friend here. If you have a member of the group that’s based their current character on Aang or Spock, they are more likely to try Avatar Legends or Star Trek Adventures. Players into a genre will do the work on learning new rules because they want to experience their favorite world.

Switch Either Genre or System But Not Both​

Some people prefer to ease into the pool rather than jump in. For those folks, switching one element of an RPG might help with the change. Play fantasy with a different system like Savage Worlds or Shadow of the Demon Lord. Or choose another 5e game in a different genre. There are some excellent conversions out there like Doctors & Daleks or works like Everyday Heroes.

Build To A Season Finale​

Jumping out of an ongoing campaign can be frustrating to players who have invested into the story and their characters. Take a page from how TV networks run serial stories. Build to a season finale in the story: a big battle, a dramatic trial, a wedding full of intrigue. Give some storylines closure, hint at some new ones to come, but helping the storyline come to an end for not makes it easier to move to a different one. And, if nobody likes the new game, there’s always room for another season.

 

[Autumnal]

That first one is universally good advice. I won’t automatically always dismiss someone slagging on a game I like (or its creators when they’re my friends), but it makes their work much harder. And some days I will just move on to something else. The more constructive positives I hear, the more attention I pay.

 

[aco175]

I wonder how many people try new games. I see several options above for trying another game other than D&D, but my problem is that I do not have the time to play D&D as much as I would like and if I get the chance to play- I would play D&D over another system. Maybe not quite what the thread is talking about, but might be part of the problem in trying new games.

 

[FoolishFrost]

Savage worlds pathfinder. Easy jump to base savage worlds.

 

[billd91]

Don’t Trash The Mothership​

In trying to sell a new game, a lot of people make the mistake of comparing everything to D&D. Usually in a negative way where D&D does it badly and the new game does it well. True as that may be, remember that people have feelings about D&D and those feelings are often complicated. It’s better to focus on the positive stuff that a new game does without needing trash talk. Players are already making those comparisons when considering a new game.

Yeah, this one is really off-putting. Some of the worst aspects of other games I’ve encountered is the attitude of the designer. Don’t trash part of the hobby, don’t even imply it, to boost your corner of it.

 

[schneeland]

Most of this is solid advice, but I'm not sure about "Switch Either Genre or System But Not Both". My experience is rather contrary to that and willingness to try out new rules was notably higher when also switching genres, whereas with fantasy, people trended to gravitate back to D&D (at least among those who liked D&D and were not already looking for something else).

 

[Yora]

Yeah. New tool for the same job or new job with the same tool are both not good ways to get a fun game.

New tool for a new job.

 

[edosan]

That first one is universally good advice. I won’t automatically always dismiss someone slagging on a game I like (or its creators when they’re my friends), but it makes their work much harder. And some days I will just move on to something else. The more constructive positives I hear, the more attention I pay.

Agreed. If the only thing you have to sell your game is “5e sucks!” I’m mot interested.

 

[BrokenTwin]

I find in my personal experience, one-offs are definitely where its at for luring players into trying new systems. It's an unfortuate truth in my circles that the bulk of players have very little interest in learning any more mechanics than they absolutely have to.

My rate of actually being able to keep players playing other systems has been frustratingly low, regardless of how much they enjoyed the one-shot.

 

[payn]

The OP pretty much covers my methods for escaping D&D.

Digging in a little more on the trashing the mothership bit, it's all in the distinction. Firstly, folks often mistake taste and mechanical value. For example, a system might be quite balanced and does exactly what the designers intend it to do, but you may dislike how it feels or plays out at the table. Being able to articulate that point is huge and something many folks miss. They will just say, "its garbage" without any quantification. I try my best to avoid that.