Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Lasting Impacts of the Pandemic on D&D
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Retreater" data-source="post: 8209479" data-attributes="member: 42040"><p>Not to sound doom and gloom, but I think the hobby has been changed significantly in the long term. While these are my experiences, I feel they likely mimic those of others as well.</p><p>1) VTTs. Not only has my group accepted online gaming, we've made it the standard. Due to adding players from other locations to our groups, we simply cannot play in-person anymore without excluding others. More than likely the rare in-person game will be to just hang out more than actually play a game.</p><p>2) Simple games. Transitioning to online play, we wanted to find easier to play games. These have been a great boon and very enjoyable. I don't see us going back to crunchy games.</p><p>3) Shorter sessions, more frequent. Partly because of playing online, we are able to game more frequently and at regular times (not having to worry about babysitters, travel, etc). Whereas we were only able to come together for one 6-hour session on a Saturday once a month, we're now able to regularly play for 2.5 hours on a weeknight. This has changed the pacing of my games to try to move along more quickly to feel that "something" has happened each session.</p><p>4) Greater conversation outside of the game. We have less time to discuss tangential issues during our shortened sessions, so we handle side quests, shopping, character backstory, and general "what do we do next' conversations via email. </p><p>5) Convention attendance. I've heard panels of industry insiders and convention organizers, and they seem to agree that massive conventions like GenCon are likely going to change forever. I've been able to attend a variety of online cons I could never have attended in person, tried out new systems, taken part in organized play events, etc. All I am missing are dinners with friends and the vendor hall. So I order online (at a discount). I usually spend thousands of dollars every year with travel, food, event registration, etc. I think that for me, those types of conventions are not coming back.</p><p>6) Small presses. I have really been delving into Kickstarters, IndieGogo projects, and small publishers. Partly this is because I'm doing all my gaming online (so PDFs are as valuable as in-print - if not moreso). Also I am playing "smaller" games. I haven't purchased a WotC book in a long time and so long as I am not playing 5e, I don't see a reason to do so. But I'll support the heck out of small publishers.</p><p>7) I haven't rolled a physical die in months. All of the accoutrements I used to think I needed to play are no longer necessary. Minis, battlemaps, terrain, dice, etc., I do all that through the VTT. I can put that stuff in deep storage. </p><p>8) I am playing more than ever. I can find a game any day of the week, any time of day. I am running 3+ games a week. VTT play has opened up endless possibilities.</p><p>9) My FLGS doesn't matter anymore. I hate to say it, but I no longer have a reason to go to my FLGS. I'm not going to play there. They don't have a good selection of books, and I don't need the physical products anyway. (They are far less useful than getting a PDF when you're playing online.) </p><p>I think most all the growth in gaming is on the digital front, and it's been astronomical. I don't think it can be translated into a physical space due to the limitations. I think that this is the future of gaming, and it's okay. I will still look back on in-person gaming with some fondness and even do it occasionally for the fun of it, but otherwise, I'm all online now.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Retreater, post: 8209479, member: 42040"] Not to sound doom and gloom, but I think the hobby has been changed significantly in the long term. While these are my experiences, I feel they likely mimic those of others as well. 1) VTTs. Not only has my group accepted online gaming, we've made it the standard. Due to adding players from other locations to our groups, we simply cannot play in-person anymore without excluding others. More than likely the rare in-person game will be to just hang out more than actually play a game. 2) Simple games. Transitioning to online play, we wanted to find easier to play games. These have been a great boon and very enjoyable. I don't see us going back to crunchy games. 3) Shorter sessions, more frequent. Partly because of playing online, we are able to game more frequently and at regular times (not having to worry about babysitters, travel, etc). Whereas we were only able to come together for one 6-hour session on a Saturday once a month, we're now able to regularly play for 2.5 hours on a weeknight. This has changed the pacing of my games to try to move along more quickly to feel that "something" has happened each session. 4) Greater conversation outside of the game. We have less time to discuss tangential issues during our shortened sessions, so we handle side quests, shopping, character backstory, and general "what do we do next' conversations via email. 5) Convention attendance. I've heard panels of industry insiders and convention organizers, and they seem to agree that massive conventions like GenCon are likely going to change forever. I've been able to attend a variety of online cons I could never have attended in person, tried out new systems, taken part in organized play events, etc. All I am missing are dinners with friends and the vendor hall. So I order online (at a discount). I usually spend thousands of dollars every year with travel, food, event registration, etc. I think that for me, those types of conventions are not coming back. 6) Small presses. I have really been delving into Kickstarters, IndieGogo projects, and small publishers. Partly this is because I'm doing all my gaming online (so PDFs are as valuable as in-print - if not moreso). Also I am playing "smaller" games. I haven't purchased a WotC book in a long time and so long as I am not playing 5e, I don't see a reason to do so. But I'll support the heck out of small publishers. 7) I haven't rolled a physical die in months. All of the accoutrements I used to think I needed to play are no longer necessary. Minis, battlemaps, terrain, dice, etc., I do all that through the VTT. I can put that stuff in deep storage. 8) I am playing more than ever. I can find a game any day of the week, any time of day. I am running 3+ games a week. VTT play has opened up endless possibilities. 9) My FLGS doesn't matter anymore. I hate to say it, but I no longer have a reason to go to my FLGS. I'm not going to play there. They don't have a good selection of books, and I don't need the physical products anyway. (They are far less useful than getting a PDF when you're playing online.) I think most all the growth in gaming is on the digital front, and it's been astronomical. I don't think it can be translated into a physical space due to the limitations. I think that this is the future of gaming, and it's okay. I will still look back on in-person gaming with some fondness and even do it occasionally for the fun of it, but otherwise, I'm all online now. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Lasting Impacts of the Pandemic on D&D
Top