Sort of related to the "Should D&D be public domain" topic...

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm confused why it matters what other people enjoy. As long as you can find people to play the game you enjoy, whether it's 3E, 4E, Toon or your homebrew mashup of Gor and My Little Pony using GURPS, why does it matter? If you're willing to play online -- and the tools for doing that are better all the time; there are days it seems like that's all anyone is using Google+ for at this point -- you can find an audience for literally any game.

 

[Mallus]

There are 14 standards

People- " Hey ! Lets make a universal standard so we dont have to use all these other ones!"

A year later - There are 15 standards.

The XKCD quote, while funny, as usual, doesn't apply to D&D/RPGs. 15 or 20 or 100 "standards" aren't a problem. Tabletop D&D doesn't run on a computer. It's not a dozen business systems trying to interface with each another.

It is a social game that runs on a small group of people. Who are probably eating Doritos and reciting Monty Python gags -- wait, do gamers still do that? I'm dating myself...

Saying there needs to be a single standard grossly underestimates the power and flexibility of the hardware D&D runs on.

(It's also like saying there needs to be a single standard for painting or singing)

 

[jedavis]

The XKCD quote, while funny, as usual, doesn't apply to D&D/RPGs. 15 or 20 or 100 "standards" aren't a problem. Tabletop D&D doesn't run on a computer. It's not a dozen business systems trying to interface with each another.

It is a social game that runs on a small group of people. Who are probably eating Doritos and reciting Monty Python gags -- wait, do gamers still do that? I'm dating myself...

Saying there needs to be a single standard grossly underestimates the power and flexibility of the hardware D&D runs on.

(It's also like saying there needs to be a single standard for painting or singing)

I think that, applied in this context, the point of the xk is not "there should be a single standard" (as perhaps the OP would construe it), but "all attempts to create a single standard here will necessarily fail." This, I think, may be true because people (particularly people like gamers) have strong preferences and a history of resisting 'upgrades'. I know that I have pretty much no interest in 5e; I've got Traveller, ACKS, and Trailblazer, and I think those should nicely cover my RPG needs for the next 3-4 years or so, provided that I can find players. That's part of the issue, though - the more systems there are, the more fractured the community becomes, and if people hold to their strong preferences, eventually it becomes very difficult to organize a game in person in areas of low gamer-density (ex: I'm in a 4e town presently, and I've had a devil of a time recruiting for ACKS). And I'm not sure that's a particularly good thing for the community as a whole.

So, conclusion - I don't think there should be One System to Rule Them All (and in the darkness bind them). But there are certainly enough systems on the market that adding another one just seems likely to increase the glut and confusion. It almost reminds me of the 3.x/OGL 3pp heyday, except instead of tons of supplements we have tons of systems.

(Also - we still quote Monty Python, but no doritos for us; the powder coating gets everywhere)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I prefer "One System to Rule Them All and in the dorkness bind them..."

(But that's 'cause I'm pretty dorky.)

...your homebrew mashup of Gor and My Little Pony using GURPS...

Mmmm..just had an image of Cabot astride a rainbow-maned pony...