But eventually it became clear to me that it was just a form of consumerism, I was buying them only because I could, but I was using maybe 5% of them. The main purpose was merely psychological, my puerile desire of a "perfect game" which was taking the form of a collection of books sitting on a shelf, cherrypicked only occasionally even though in those years we were indeed playing the game a lot.
Came back when 5e was announced and public playtesting started. That idea alone was a gamechanger and key paradigm shift. I really appreciate their choice of a low publishing volume, and bigger focus on adventures rather than character material. It brought me back to where we started with BECMI and none of us knew or cared about books, all our focus was on two things: playing the adventures, and creating DIY props to improve the fun an the table (custom character sheets, pictures, counters, mixed tapes, whatever!).
I certainly don't think there is too much 5e stuff published. I think that because I am satisfied without even buying most of it, this makes for yet another reason why 5e has been the best edition for my tastes.
I was just about to write a response to the interesting and provocative original post, when I read Li Shenron's post here. I really love the ideas expressed in the forums here at Enworld and have occupied hours reading and thinking about the communications that take place here. Of all the posts, this one from Li Shenron may be the most important one I have read (except for the opportunity to communicate with Gary Gygax when he began posting a year or so before he passed...I met him in my early 20s, but it was fun to read what he had to say 15 years later).
When we think the solution to our problems is through purchasing a product, then we have likely succumbed to the the universal message of advertisement: there is a product or service that you can purchase that will fix your problem. Succumbing to this feeling can be fun (e.g. retail therapy), so I am not making this basic observation with any moral judgment. But consumerism is a mentality, a person can exhibit it even if that person does not have a dime to spend.
It is not often discussed that one of the core, brilliant ideas contained within D&D and, by extension, table top role-playing games, is that it is a game of cooperative storytelling that doesn't need product to sustain. In the 1990s I LARPed in a Vampire game in different locations throughout NYC (including the Winter Garden at the base of the World Trade Center) where the sole mechanic was paper, rock, scissors. A D&D table top game could be played in perpetuity on a desert island with a few players using some similar mechanic for conflict resolution.
Wizards of the Coast was correct and inspired when they decided to support Dungeons & Dragons primarily as a
community-building phenomenon when the new iteration of rules came out in 2014. They were brilliant and even revolutionary when they released the OGL way back in 2000...I mean how many companies or corporations think like that? Even as they are a commercial entity, I think they get that the rpg community is a community first, bound by the thrill of cooperative storytelling and the expression of the imagination.
I am sympathetic that Wizards needs money to exist and I have even occasionally purchased one of their products that didn't tickle my fancy simply to express a vote of support for them, but I have been delighted that their efforts have been to bring in new players and launch large new storylines rather than issue forth incessant product that people like the OP may have felt obligated in some way to purchase at first.
Thinking about D&D, though, in terms of editions, extends this kind of commercial thinking. Again, as above, no judgment, if that is how one wants to look at the world (again, shopping can be fun). I wrote something similar in the "Last of the Editions" thread. I think the incessant focus on editions is, ultimately, a disservice to the development of storytelling potential. What little can be gained in terms of small mechanical improvements is offset through having to relaunch old product ideas in the new edition.
We can probably learn from this guy, who has been DMing the same campaign for 39 years:
Londoner's Dungeons and Dragons game has lasted 38 years, and counting (Of course, he scratches
his commercial itch through collecting miniatures). His emphasis is on story, world exploration, and characters. I have heard him interviewed many times and he almost never mentions Wizards of the Coast or TSR
products. He might incorporate new books that players bring into his game, but his energy goes to game mastering the story birthed at his table. Gary Gygax would be proud.
Thank you, Li Shenron.
This is how WotC is making their money while cutting back on their book schedule. Players can't just get away with buying a single book and have now three more years worth of material to use... if they want lots of new options they have to continually pay up just like DMs have been doing for the past 40 years.
