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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jrowland" data-source="post: 6206174" data-attributes="member: 94389">There are a LOT more options out there than D&D. Geek is Chic, and younger gamers are very open to ttrpgs.The OP made a point about DMing that I think is the biggest issue: DMing is hard/time-consuming/thankless/etc.They key to D&D, any edition, is DM support. Pathfinder and Paizo make a great product, but ultimately it comes from the Adventure path products, not the rulebooks. You buy the rulebooks to enhanced your adventures.D&D next makes in-roads with a simpler system, but there is an underlying tension here: As a player, I want deep, intricate characters with deep intricate progression. I applaud the attempt to make a "simple" version for new players, but once you have the D&D hook, you want more. However, this is in opposition to the needs o the DM: Fast NPC creation, ad hoc resolution, simple to run yet memorable (to the players) monsters. In a way, character development is a mini-game for players, mechanics plays into that. DMs are narrative driven, and burn-out, IMO, occurs when a DM is weighed down by trying to maintain mechanics. DMs feel like irrelevant, more like a computer (a bad one usually), than a storyteller/narrator. Most DMs thrive when the story is compelling. Thus the need for good published adventures (For busy DMs to grok quickly, be inspired by, etc) or excellent narrative-focus DMing advice.I know there are those that *hate* DM fiat, but without it, DMs are in reality players in charge of the guy that always loses and never gets full character development, leading to burn out. DMs need freedom from the mechanics, in order to drive the narrative and elicit the Oohs and Ahhs from the players, game after game.We are getting old, but the game only dies if we let it.</blockquote>

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