Like it or not D&D is THE flagship of the hobby.With no D&D the hobby would have a lot less bodies coming into it.Now dont get me wrong,I play Pathfinder and think that even more peeps would gravitate to it,since it might be the only'big' game left in town.I just honestly think that w/out D&D it would be the gradual decline into oblivion of our little social exparement.
If Hasbro Pulls the Plug....
- Thread starter TheAuldGrump
- Start date
Croesus
Adventurer
One intriguing possibility is that taking D&D out of the market might open up roleplaying in a way that hasn't happened in at least 10 years, and possibly since the first white box set.
While D&D has a built in base of consumers, it also has a lot of baggage. Tell the average person that you play D&D and you'll still get "that look" more often than not. In addition, I'd argue that the current consumer base places significant limits on how D&D can evolve - every time there's discussion of a new edition, the flamewars begin over which sacred cows must be kept, whether or not the new rules are really D&D, etc. D&D also seems to have suffered from a common fate of mature industries - the longer a product is around, the more the company focuses on existing customers to the exclusion of new opportunities. In gaming this almost always takes the form of more complexity.
If Hasbro takes D&D out of the market, it suddenly opens the space for something completely new. And there will certainly be some who try to fill that void. Whether or not they succeed will depend on how hard they try to be "the next D&D" vs. something new. What that new thing would be I can't say. But just think of the possibilities...
Bedrockgames
I post in the voice of Christopher Walken
I've already pretty much moved to other systems now, so it won't really impact my gaming much. In the long run it may be good for the industry because you will have some real competition for the first time in a long time.
JeffB
Legend
I'd continue to play PF Beginner Box (current system of choice) , C&C or my retroclones/OD&D systems I still own.
What I would really miss is the "fluff" of D&D proper that doesn't make it into PF or some retroclone products- the illegal monsters (beholders, Mind Flayers, etc ) , the named Deities (GH, FR, etc), the named magic items, The famous dungeons and adversaries (Inverness, Vecna, Snurre Ironbelly, Eclavdra e.g.), the campaign settings, etc.
What I would really miss is the "fluff" of D&D proper that doesn't make it into PF or some retroclone products- the illegal monsters (beholders, Mind Flayers, etc ) , the named Deities (GH, FR, etc), the named magic items, The famous dungeons and adversaries (Inverness, Vecna, Snurre Ironbelly, Eclavdra e.g.), the campaign settings, etc.
I'd be sad if D&D were marginalized and stuck on a shelf collecting dust at Hasbro.
Like it or not, D&D is the gateway to the hobby and is the 800 pound gorilla in the room of gaming. If you say "I play D&D" to people, most will at least know something about the game, even if it's just "that game where nerds roll weird dice in their basement." If you say that you play Pathfinder or Call of Cthulhu or another game, the name recognition is a small fraction of the name recognition of D&D. You would have to say, "Pathfinder is a role playing game like Dungeons & Dragons" for most people to get it.
I'm sure Paizo, and other companies, would carry on and be successful for years to come, but I believe the hobby would begin a slow descent into obscurity due to the lack of name recognition. People that played D&D in the 90s and 00s and left the hobby for whatever reasons (family, job, kids, etc) and wanted to get back into the hobby in 5-10 years would not find D&D books on the shelves of their local book stores and probably assume the hobby got absorbed into World of Warcraft or other online computer RPGs.
Like it or not, D&D is the gateway to the hobby and is the 800 pound gorilla in the room of gaming. If you say "I play D&D" to people, most will at least know something about the game, even if it's just "that game where nerds roll weird dice in their basement." If you say that you play Pathfinder or Call of Cthulhu or another game, the name recognition is a small fraction of the name recognition of D&D. You would have to say, "Pathfinder is a role playing game like Dungeons & Dragons" for most people to get it.
I'm sure Paizo, and other companies, would carry on and be successful for years to come, but I believe the hobby would begin a slow descent into obscurity due to the lack of name recognition. People that played D&D in the 90s and 00s and left the hobby for whatever reasons (family, job, kids, etc) and wanted to get back into the hobby in 5-10 years would not find D&D books on the shelves of their local book stores and probably assume the hobby got absorbed into World of Warcraft or other online computer RPGs.
Dragonblade
Adventurer
No offense to Paizo or Pathfinder fans, but without 4e or a 5e that builds on 4e's framework, I and I suspect a majority if not all 4e players WILL NOT switch to Pathfinder. It has too many issues for us and just doesn't do what we want it to do over the long run.
4e is my D&D. If Hasbro stops supporting it, I will probably use the OGL, strip out WotC's IP and trademarks, and publish it as an OGL game. There is nothing in 4e mechanics wise that is not derivative of 3e.
4e is my D&D. If Hasbro stops supporting it, I will probably use the OGL, strip out WotC's IP and trademarks, and publish it as an OGL game. There is nothing in 4e mechanics wise that is not derivative of 3e.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
I'm betting there would be an explosion of 4E houserules and 4E adaptations/clones on the internet.
Pathfinder would become defacto D&D. And Paizo would probably create a 4E'esque game to run concurrently with Pathfinder.
People would play RPG's just as they have been playing RPG's. New gamers would come into the game as introduced by other players (which is the predominant way new gamers still come into the game even today).
Don't know if the overall gaming community would hold steady in numbers or slowly decline (50/50), or even increase (but I doubt it).
Games other than D&D and Pathfinder may see a surge, or may not. Depends on whether the communities numbers holds steady or declines.
The demise of FLGS's is hastened even more than it is now.
The Hobby would become an even more obscure and fringe hobby compared to the mainstream. Within 5 years, people will be saying "You play D&D...?!?" "I thought that fad died out decades ago..."
Pathfinder would become defacto D&D. And Paizo would probably create a 4E'esque game to run concurrently with Pathfinder.
People would play RPG's just as they have been playing RPG's. New gamers would come into the game as introduced by other players (which is the predominant way new gamers still come into the game even today).
Don't know if the overall gaming community would hold steady in numbers or slowly decline (50/50), or even increase (but I doubt it).
Games other than D&D and Pathfinder may see a surge, or may not. Depends on whether the communities numbers holds steady or declines.
The demise of FLGS's is hastened even more than it is now.
The Hobby would become an even more obscure and fringe hobby compared to the mainstream. Within 5 years, people will be saying "You play D&D...?!?" "I thought that fad died out decades ago..."
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
Myself? Nothing at all different. I stopped spending any real money on D&D stuff back when 3.5 was still in fashion. Bought the 4E core books but they are unplayed. Bought Pathfinder and it also goes uplayed. WotC lost me long ago so I would be all but entirely unaffected.
That would depend heavily on Hasbro/WotC decisions beyond just ceasing publication as it currently exists. Would they sell the IP? Cease using it for ANYTHING? How much of a hole would they leave to be filled by others? Any vaccum would be filled, it's just impossible to predict with what. Some would just abandon the hobby, some would cling to existing and older editions, etc. Meanwhile, the D&D name could continue to be used for novels, computer games, action toys, movies, board games, lunchboxes, underwear, or whatever while Pathfinder and others fight for position in the remaining RPG market that D&D would have abandoned.
Mark CMG
Creative Mountain Games
I think that basically happens among the boots on the ground as it is and that with or without D&D being published it would continue to work just as well. Or that people, when speaking to someone who isn't all that familiar with RPGs, says something like, "I play X, it's an RPG like D&D, and this is how RPGs work . . ." While others who play PF or some retro/clone simply say, "I play D&D" and leave it at that unless someone asks for a greater explanation.
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