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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 6251432" data-attributes="member: 2205">I tend to agree with this.  Whatever it was that held together D&D's dominance for so long was somewhat artificial; or at least, not based on anything inherent in the game itself.  People theorize from time to time about the effect of levels, or archetypes, or whatever, but I don't buy it.  I think it was inertia and the much bally-hooed "network externalities."The "schism" such as it was, just accelerated a process that was happening anyway, and gave more credible options to people who like the concept of RPGs but not necessarily of D&D, and yet who wanted to have options that they could actually concievably recruit players to play.  I think White Wolf showed in the 90s that such a concept was possible.  The OGL and schism between, particularly 4e and Pathfinder, was a rather predictable outcome based on the same concept.Now that it's been done, and seen, and the public perception has caught up to reality about the suitability of alternatives to D&D, I think the RPG base will continue to find new homes with other games at a higher rate than in the past.  This isn't necessarily great news for WotC or D&D specifically, but it is, generally, good news for gamers.</blockquote>