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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8976541" data-attributes="member: 8461">For all the talk about the issues that come with making TTRPGs more like MMOs in terms of the play experience (itself a rather inflammatory topic, as the former being like the latter is often taken as a pejorative), I'm not sure that it's germane to discuss the latter's sales methods in terms of the former; they're simply too different to draw a relevant parallel.Shades of this can be seen in the recent OGL debacle, where WotC was accused (credibly so, to my mind) of pursuing an enhanced revenue stream for D&D by bringing a large portion of its play online, with the tiered subscription fees and inherent micro-transactions that typify MMO play. Naturally, the fan-base rebelled, and while a large part of that was due to the announced revocation of the OGL in favor of a much more restricted license, no one was happy about the leaked plans for the new online setup either, as I recall.But that's largely a digression; the more central point is that you can't really compare the Pareto principle's application of a TTRPG to an MMO, because the methods of engagement are very different. While MMOs are collaborative in terms of the players being able to interact, the experience unto itself can be as singular or as group-oriented as an individual player wants it to be. Leaving aside "raid quests" and other activities which require a group (and presuming that there's no single-player equivalent, which I believe D&D Online had), it's entirely possible to treat an MMO as an expansive single-player game with rather lively NPCs, instead of being a group activity.Notwithstanding solo-specific modules (and, I suppose, people intent on playing group-focused TTRPGs solitarily, though I'm not sure I've heard of anyone doing that on anything more than a brief lark), you can't really get that from a tabletop role-playing game. Unlike an MMO, there's no graphics or sound or quest-giving program which will still be present if there's no one there. Barring the books being an enjoyable read unto themselves, you have to have a group (or at least one other person to play while you GM, or GM while you play) in order to engage with the game.That's important here because (I think) it changes the dynamic in question with regard to how the 80/20 split functions. The grognards for a TTRPG aren't simply a dedicated base who buys everything that comes out (though they absolutely can be), providing a core revenue stream which the company then looks to build on, but also serve as a dedicated outreach group, evangelizing the experience. While diehard fans of any particular pastime are likely to tout its merits, TTRPG grognards act as potential mentors to a degree which (again, in my opinion) eclipses most other hobbies – certainly MMOs – as they create a path to entry which requires simply showing up to play, without the need to download or install anything, create an account, or work out any technical issues which may arise (at least outside of VTT play).In other words, at least as far as TTRPGs are concerned, the 20% help to bring in the other 80%, and while catering to any particular segment of the fanbase runs the risk of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_bias" target="_blank">selection bias</a>, fans who make other fans are the most valuable fans (or at least, I'd expect WotC to see to see it that way). To that end, I don't think it's an issue of "chasing grognards exclusively," there's very much a middle ground between that and completely pushing them away, which (to my mind) has been a lot of what's been happening lately; cameos by the characters from the old D&D cartoon are nice and all, but the play experience of older editions has been increasingly ignored in favor of an alternative play-style which (from what WotC seems to think) will be more appealing to new fans unto itself, relying on pop culture references to have already primed the proverbial pump in terms of drawing fans in the first place.To that extent, it seems more to me that the dangers of focusing exclusively on grognards in an MMO manner are both overblown and inapplicable, as WotC seems to be going too far in the other direction. The current strategy for bringing new fans in seems to present D&D as a pastime rather than a hobby, and while there's always going to be some people who only ever dabble in the game (traditionally as much as 80% of them), I worry about the dedication of the fan-base which that cultivates. While some will invariably become diehards in their own right (i.e. tomorrow's grognards), I think that presenting D&D as something can be engaged with (if what we heard about WotC's VTT plans are true) in a manner similar to "idle games" (if that's what they're called now), and whose interest comes less from what you can create on your own (either in terms of your own character or making your own campaign world) and more from a passing desire to try what you've seen on Stranger Things or Critical Role, will result in an overall decrease in that sort of dedication. Overblown though it may be, the "Matt Mercer effect" is real.Now, it's entirely possible that I'm overthinking things, and that most fans will still overwhelmingly go for traditional (non-digital) play, with the usual number becoming dedicated evangelists. But if not, if we see a shift in the overall method of engagement which de-emphasizes what grognards bring to the table, then I worry about what will happen when D&D's time in the pop culture limelight inevitably comes to an end; I'm not sure if "evergreen properties" are real or not, but if they are I'm not sure that D&D can become one of them to the same degree as Star Wars or the MCU, though it's clear that WotC/Hasbro desperately wants that to be the case. Should it turn out not to be, and the hobby experiences a contraction that's at all proportional to the popularity it's enjoyed over the last few years, then a group of grognards would be among the few things left to cushion its fall.But WotC doesn't seem interested in contemplating the possibility of failure, and instead is aiming for ever-higher success without looking down. Given their recent missteps with regard to the community, this attitude doesn't engender me with a lot of confidence, and though I might be accused of being a doomsayer, I can't help but be nervous about what a grognard-free D&D might end up looking like.</blockquote>

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