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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Luce" data-source="post: 5710639" data-attributes="member: 29760">I voted Other.Let see...Other games (such as gurps) while having a plethora of supplementary materials cannot come to fraction of the amount that  D&D has throughout the editions. One of the drawing point that the game has for me is exactly this support. In previous editions thanks to the "Dungeon" magazine new DM and players were exposed to variety of (styles of gaming) at a very reasonable price. This made the learning curve more manageable for younger/new players.Other systems more often either tended to be more niche focus (I like L5R for example, but trying to run "kick in the door" style of game seems to go against the intentions of the game) or relied on the GM/ST to make the stories/chronicles/adventures what-have-you.This leads to the result of other systems to tend to have more "hardcore" gamers. Which often leads to internal policing of gaming groups. Also since D&D has the largest exposure more people are familiar with it then more niche systems. [I would like to run me a game of BESM, Endival or Burning wheel for years but very few people know those systems.]Another point is that (IME) most gamers start playing in their teens. Meaning: 0) Most often long time friends. 1) At that stage they lack the life experience/emotional development level for certain games (Will you play Wraith the Oblivion with 13 year old? I wouldn't.) 2) Different social dynamic. When the group consist of 13, 15 and 16 year old, some characters are better/more effective. And not necessary due to cheating. Even everything else being equal this few crucial extra years of experience make a difference. 3) This also leads to more consistent gaming stile throughout the group, or at least the GM knows the players well enough to cater to testes. 4) It is a stage of experimentation, trying different games/setting/variant rules without reservation. This is possible thanks to having more free time that overlaps-Summer vacation, spring break, snow days. Life dynamics. Somewhat related to the previous point. Early game experiences tend to be within a  circle of friends. As people grow up go to college, marry and have career and children it becomes harder and harder to have a consistent  group that way you have in earlier years. Players come and go. Different players have different expectations/standards of what is a good game. Scheduling becomes a big issue for older players. They go for depth rather then breath, that is become very proficient at a few systems. Few problems can stem from that:1) Gamer knowledge. If you invested a large amount of time in a game and internalized the rules/facts it becomes very difficult to overlook what you know either to gain an advantage or to overlook an deviation (breaking you suspension of disbelief). [Setting lawyering]2) Extreme rule mastery, to the point of exploring a lot of loopholes.Example:Lets say, there is an ability that lets you roll exploding damage few times a day (that is re-roll max roll (ex. 8 on d8, 4 on d4)). On the surface look good, especially on a critical, but not that game breaking. "Did you say you custom order a thousand adamantium needles?!" Can you see where this is going? No? Let me give you a hint: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobius_strip" target="_blank">Möbius strip - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a> AKA a real life example of what 1d1 can look like. The above was not implemented in game, though it become in-joke, now when you roll max damage on a crit you have to say "Attack of the thousand needles" (It is more cool then it sounds, at least we like it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />)The above was just an example how with enough real life knowledge and persistence any system can be broken.Resent communication explosion.1)Before the mid 90s the loopholes you knew were limited to what your group had discovered or you learned while attending conventions. Now many are a google search away.2) Game companies like other businesses started to have an easier feedback loop. The problem is that that sometimes gives a more active minority disproportionately more influence.In other words outliers can devastating effect on trend prediction.Lets say somebody finds a way for 4 level group to wipe the floor with a mind flayer with ease. They share it with other charOp focused parties, and suddenly WOC is receiving a lot of complains on their boards that the CR of flayers is flawed. (This is a moment to say that not every charOp player I met wants to dominate the game, many just like to be challenged. Many like to use complex real life inspired tactics and expect the DM to bring the play to their level.)  So the company introduces a newer tougher breeds of flayers/ or new items or erratas them.This creates an ever increasing gap between the optimized and the unoptimized. In summary, D&D happens to be the most widely played system (not necessary exclusively) and as such attract larger variety of players who does not always see eye to eye. Other systems, due to either their more focused creation to support a certain style of play and/or more limited number of supplements require more focus to learn and master.Many D&D groups consisting of adults tend to be more fluid, people coming and going. This can  creates (at least an initial) disjointness in expectation since unlike some other games there is a larger range of playing style. I like that there is no one "True Way" to play specified in the rules, but that can sometimes cause clash of expectations.Finally I like to point out that there is a "Wrong Way" to play, and that is to "not have fun". One of the best remedies for the hobby IMO is for individual gaming groups to focus on making their own experiences enjoyable and do not worry too much of how other people do aor do not play. Revolution from within the ranks so to speak. All too often I found myself too caught in a heated discussion and start start to judge.  First I do not know all the facts, and Second it is unlikely that I will ever be in the same group with the other posters. Lets switch from "live and let die" to "agree to disagree" and walk away from the endless and ultimately fruitless discussions that only polarize the community.Have fun and happy gaming.</blockquote>

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