Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
How Do I Escape D&D?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="robowieland" data-source="post: 8892739" data-attributes="member: 7026452"><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]272209[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>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 <em>7th Sea</em>. 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:</p><p></p><p>"I love this new game that I bought but I can’t get my group to try it. How do I escape D&D?"</p><p></p><p>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.</p><h3>Don’t Trash The Mothership</h3><p>In trying to sell a new game, a lot of people make the mistake of comparing everything to <em>D&D</em>. Usually in a negative way where <em>D&D</em> does it badly and the new game does it well. True as that may be, remember that people have feelings about <em>D&D</em> 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.</p><h3>Learn To Love The One Shot</h3><p>The true villain of any <em>D&D</em> 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 <em>Fiasco</em>.</p><h3>Check Out An Actual Play Of The New Game</h3><p><em>Critical Role</em> gets a lot of press in this space but there are a few crews who play games other than <em>D&D</em>. 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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl30aqmZc3P5VDM6dNLFE-w" target="_blank">Theatre of the Mind Players</a> but there are some other great shows in this space like <a href="https://www.glasscannonnetwork.com/" target="_blank">The Glass Cannon Network </a>and <a href="http://oneshotpodcast.com/" target="_blank">One Shot Podcast Network</a> among others.</p><h3>Find The Right Fandom</h3><p>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 <em>Avatar Legends</em> or <em>Star Trek Adventures</em>. Players into a genre will do the work on learning new rules because they want to experience their favorite world.</p><h3>Switch Either Genre or System But Not Both</h3><p>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 <em>Savage Worlds</em> or <em>Shadow of the Demon Lord</em>. Or choose another 5e game in a different genre. There are some excellent conversions out there like <em>Doctors & Daleks</em> or works like <em>Everyday Heroes</em>.</p><h3>Build To A Season Finale</h3><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="robowieland, post: 8892739, member: 7026452"] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="1673558529885.png"]272209[/ATTACH][/CENTER] 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 [I]7th Sea[/I]. 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. [HEADING=2]Don’t Trash The Mothership[/HEADING] In trying to sell a new game, a lot of people make the mistake of comparing everything to [I]D&D[/I]. Usually in a negative way where [I]D&D[/I] does it badly and the new game does it well. True as that may be, remember that people have feelings about [I]D&D[/I] 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. [HEADING=2]Learn To Love The One Shot[/HEADING] The true villain of any [I]D&D[/I] 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 [I]Fiasco[/I]. [HEADING=2]Check Out An Actual Play Of The New Game[/HEADING] [I]Critical Role[/I] gets a lot of press in this space but there are a few crews who play games other than [I]D&D[/I]. 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 [URL='https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl30aqmZc3P5VDM6dNLFE-w']Theatre of the Mind Players[/URL] but there are some other great shows in this space like [URL='https://www.glasscannonnetwork.com/']The Glass Cannon Network [/URL]and [URL='http://oneshotpodcast.com/']One Shot Podcast Network[/URL] among others. [HEADING=2]Find The Right Fandom[/HEADING] 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 [I]Avatar Legends[/I] or [I]Star Trek Adventures[/I]. Players into a genre will do the work on learning new rules because they want to experience their favorite world. [HEADING=2]Switch Either Genre or System But Not Both[/HEADING] 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 [I]Savage Worlds[/I] or [I]Shadow of the Demon Lord[/I]. Or choose another 5e game in a different genre. There are some excellent conversions out there like [I]Doctors & Daleks[/I] or works like [I]Everyday Heroes[/I]. [HEADING=2]Build To A Season Finale[/HEADING] 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. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
How Do I Escape D&D?
Top