WotC How much does Hasbro / WotC impact your feelings towards D&D?

How much does Hasbro / WotC impact your feelings towards D&D?

  • 5

    Votes: 61 18.1%
  • 4

    Votes: 28 8.3%
  • 3

    Votes: 52 15.4%
  • 2

    Votes: 61 18.1%
  • 1

    Votes: 135 40.1%

Out of curiosity and not just based on Ezekiel’s reply, if the poll was how does TSR affect or impact your feelings toward dnd back when they were the stewards of the game, what would people, who were playing back then think? Of like me, just a teenagers, no online stuff other than dragon or dungeon magazine and didn’t know about their internal issues, sueing 3rd party often until years later since we not have social media and the internet to know news pretty quickly. Back then I would have voted a 1 cause I didn’t know anything behind the scenes, now. Just like WoTC I voted a 1, they did some stupid decision making but I still enjoyed the game with friends and that what it comes down too for me.
I was not yet alive for 1e and did not learn to read until well after 2e launched, so I cannot really say. I technically was exposed to 2e just before 3e came out, but I never actually played it. THAC0 hurt my brain trying to grok it, especially with how sloppy the game was with what was beneficial vs harmful. (I have seen 2e-derived text which uses every possible combination: "+X penalty ", "+X bonus", "-X bonus", and "-X penalty" to THAC0. It's awful.)
 

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. . . if the poll was how does TSR affect or impact your feelings toward dnd back when they were the stewards of the game, what would people, who were playing back then think?
I started playing in late 1979 in college. After a while. it became clear to me that TSR were fairly deficient in knowledge of many fields, and made many mistakes in their rules and worldbuilding. When I started reading Dragon, I saw the contortions they went through to avoid admitting mistakes, even typos. They took themselves way too seriously, and I found I couldn't take them seriously at all.

I looked at rules they published sceptically. I didn't ignore them, because it established a common base with other groups I met, but I didn't adopt them automatically either. TSR had no authority in my eyes, and I found their settings extremely kitsch. I used my own judgement, and that of the good GMs I met, about what made an enjoyable game. I'm still playing a campaign from those days weekly.
 

Out of curiosity and not just based on Ezekiel’s reply, if the poll was how does TSR affect or impact your feelings toward dnd back when they were the stewards of the game, what would people, who were playing back then think? Of like me, just a teenagers, no online stuff other than dragon or dungeon magazine and didn’t know about their internal issues, sueing 3rd party often until years later since we not have social media and the internet to know news pretty quickly. Back then I would have voted a 1 cause I didn’t know anything behind the scenes, now. Just like WoTC I voted a 1, they did some stupid decision making but I still enjoyed the game with friends and that what it comes down too for me.
Back then, I knew little and cared nothing at all about TSR as a company and their dealings.
 

Out of curiosity and not just based on Ezekiel’s reply, if the poll was how does TSR affect or impact your feelings toward dnd back when they were the stewards of the game, what would people, who were playing back then think? Of like me, just a teenagers, no online stuff other than dragon or dungeon magazine and didn’t know about their internal issues, sueing 3rd party often until years later since we not have social media and the internet to know news pretty quickly. Back then I would have voted a 1 cause I didn’t know anything behind the scenes, now. Just like WoTC I voted a 1, they did some stupid decision making but I still enjoyed the game with friends and that what it comes down too for me.
I'm only a couple years too young to have noticed, but my dm is a few years older than me. He recalls not liking TSR as a company but still generally enjoying the product, though it was only one of several games they played back then, and I don't think corporate malfeasance was really a factor in deciding what to buy.

And honestly - I think that's still broadly true. People aren't buying the 2024 rules because they're not interested in the new rules, not because WotC is doing corporate stuff.
 

On the issue of TSR and how it affected me, it did as time went on. I absolutely loved the things that Judges Guild put out and I think it still holds up today. Mayfair's Role Aids were similar to me. TSR eventually had problems with them and lawyers got involved. For me, this was one example of why I found myself moving away from D&D and exploring other games at the time. Things like Rolemaster and Champions were really what I broke away from D&D for.

Much like today, I went back and played D&D when that was the campaign my friends wanted to play. While I had the core book for 2E, all those "Complete book of X" didn't get purchased.
 

I'm only a couple years too young to have noticed, but my dm is a few years older than me. He recalls not liking TSR as a company but still generally enjoying the product, though it was only one of several games they played back then, and I don't think corporate malfeasance was really a factor in deciding what to buy.

And honestly - I think that's still broadly true. People aren't buying the 2024 rules because they're not interested in the new rules, not because WotC is doing corporate stuff.
That's true. I don't like WotC as a company all that much, but if I really thought 5.5 was worth the squeeze I'd buy it.
 

On the issue of TSR and how it affected me, it did as time went on. I absolutely loved the things that Judges Guild put out and I think it still holds up today. Mayfair's Role Aids were similar to me. TSR eventually had problems with them and lawyers got involved. For me, this was one example of why I found myself moving away from D&D and exploring other games at the time. Things like Rolemaster and Champions were really what I broke away from D&D for.

Much like today, I went back and played D&D when that was the campaign my friends wanted to play. While I had the core book for 2E, all those "Complete book of X" didn't get purchased.
I bought as many of 2e's supplements as I could afford at the time, and more in print and pdf since. Product-wise it remains my favorite official D&D.
 


Out of curiosity and not just based on Ezekiel’s reply, if the poll was how does TSR affect or impact your feelings toward dnd back when they were the stewards of the game, what would people, who were playing back then think?
Same answer of 5

I'm on my third attempt to type out why but every time it got so much toxic stuff and noted about sexism and racism that has been a theme in both TSR and WotC that it'd freak a whole lot of people out...

That tree's been rotten since the seed was planted.

Plus the game system back then just wasn't that good compared to so many other options.
 

I voted 3. Their actions have convinced me that I no longer wish to purchase WotC products (and especially don't want to subscribe to any of their services) in order to play D&D, but I'm not purging my existing 5e collection. If my group ultimately decides they prefer D&D to PF2, then I'll use Tales of the Valiant and other 3PP OGL products instead, when I desire new material I haven't created myself.
 

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