I really don't think it should be called the "ORC license"

[Ruin Explorer]

Seems weird at first, but it's sooooooooooo good.

It sounds really good to me!

 

[Lanefan]

I mean, I can only speak anecdotally, but I think AD&D's loss was mostly White Wolf's gain. Like, when I got to university in 1997, not only had the RPG club grown to the point where it was meeting in a larger space (so I was told, obviously I was new), but there was, IIRC 1 table of AD&D players, vs. 6+ tables of White Wolf players (I think 3 of which were Vampire). There were more Ars Magica players than D&D players! That's obviously 18-22-year-old players, not the whole market, but I thought it was interesting.

So D&D on life support? Definitely. Other RPGs? I can only say that's not what I saw. Well hmmm - generic medieval fantasy RPGs were suffering pretty badly (D&D, Rolemaster, etc.), like, they were "uncool" - but anything that wasn't that, particularly Urban Fantasy/Horror stuff was doing pretty good. Then 3E and Exalted both helped make fantasy RPGs cool again, and pretty much saved that genre between them (people forget how big a deal Exalted was at the time, I think).

Different countries, different trends I think.

Here, from what I saw/recall, Vampire (particularly the LARP version) had a pretty good run in the mid-late 90s, but that was about it. Exalted? Not sure that ever took off here; I certainly never knew of anyone playing it, nor was it a big deal in the FLGS's.

Beyond that, IME from about 1995-1999 it was all Magic all the time. Then 3e came out; between that and some Magic burnout D&D took off again, and more or less hasn't stopped since (though WotC seem to be doing their level best of late to end that streak). Even during the late-4e-era dip TTRPG-ing as a whole was still banging along far stronger than in the mid-late 90s thanks to PF and a host of other d20-based systems.

 

[payn]

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Slaw dogs for the win, though.

Yep, that or spicy chow chow.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Ketchup is an abomination of cuisine.

There are so many amazing alternatives to basic cafeteria yellow mustard. Why has this not happened with ketchup?

 

[MNblockhead]

I don't think I even knew Ketchup® (or catsup) existed until I was in my mid-twenties. Unlike American-styles of pizza, it wasn't part of the necessary food groups I missed out on.

Kobolds Emancipating TTRPG Content Heroically Unfettering Players

Kindly Esquires Triumphantly Contesting Hasbro's Unlawful Prevarications

Killing Evil Tyrannical Corporate Hasbro's Unlicensing Program

Kleptomaniac E-bros Taking Content Hereby Undone Permanently

 

[MNblockhead]

More seriously, ketchup is an example of where what was once a brand name has become common parlance for the product in question, much like kleenex has for a tissue. This is relevant today in that one could maybe argue that "dungeons and dragons" has become common parlance for tabletop role-playing games in general; and if that's the case WotC's claims to ownership of the name lose a lot of steam.

The spelling "ketchup" goes back to the 1600s and seems to be the oldest of the variant spellings that have existed over time. It is a Chinese loan word. A transliteration of a word for a sauce from southeast Asian made from fermented fish. In Chinese-language (Mandarin) class, I was taught that it came from Cantonese. But the Oxford English Dictionary traces its etymology to the Hokkien dialect but may also have originated from Malay and not Chinese. But since Hokkien was the lingua franca of south-east Asia at the time, that's likely where the British picked it up from, even if it entered Hokkien from Malay.

In any event, no need to put the mark after it.

And new world tomato ketchup is awesome. A hot dog should be eaten with a small bowl of ketchup to dip it in after each bite.

 

[Reynard]

I would accept any of the above, but I'm British so what the hell do I know lol?

What do you people even call hotdogs?

 

[billd91]

You're right.

I should have put miracle whip on 'em.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

What do you people even call hotdogs?

Frankfurters or hotdogs usually, depending on age/background. Younger people are more likely to just go with hotdog.

Here's Tesco's listing for one of the most popular brands - https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254273333

The on-packet name is Frankfurter (and they are originally German, the brand Herta - though Nestle bought them and then sold them to a Spanish company lol) but Tesco also calls them Hot Dogs so there can be no confusion.