What if WotC just said "That's it."

[Mercurius]

Let's see, I'd immediate roll d8 and then consult the following table, taking immediate action:

1. I'd grab my copy of the 4E Player's Handbook and jump into the nearest active volcano, shouting "My precious, my precious" as tattered errata sheets floated up on the wake of my plunge.
2. I'd finally settle down and write the Greatest Fantasy (Heartbreaker) RPG Ever Created.
3. I'd camp outside of Gareth-Michael Skarka's house and beg him to teach me all that he knows.
4. I'd papier maiche all of my game books into an effigy of Gary Gygax (with d20s as eyeballs) and then self-immolate as I prayed to his hallowed visage.
5. I'd rename myself Noah Erickson and start a website called "Noah Erickson's Unofficial 5th Edition News" and then train my faithful henchman named Boris to take over for me in a couple years when I ascended to some version of the outer planes.
6. I'd scan my shelf of hundreds of game books and work myself into a state of apoplexy, then desperately scan pages 83-84 of the 1E of the Dungeon Master's Guide, trying to understand what is wrong with me.
7. I'd create an undead army and swarm Renton, WA, seeking tasty game designer brains to chow upon.
8. I'd travel back to 1970 to a small town called Lake Geneva, dress up in designer snowboarding gear complete with goggles, then accost the home of of 32-year old Ernie Gygax, place my Ipod headphones on him when he's sleeping and blast 21st century House music, saying in an ominous voice, "Thou Shalt Sticketh to Thy Toy Soldiers and Never Create a Game Called Chainmail or Dungeons & Dragons," and then I would publish the OD&D rules under my name and become the Grand Dictator of RPGDom for perpetuity.

 

[gamerprinter]

If it were during the time of 3x, when I was still a WotC fan, it would be a concern.

From a Pathfinder 3pp publisher's point of view, I would be concerned about the reprecussions that hit the industry, positive or negative, and the possible future without the 800# gorilla in the way, or the drop in overall customer base in thinking that 4e was all that was keeping them in the hobby.

Since I don't play 4e, what it would to mean to me outside the two above scenarios? Nothing at all, I don't give 4e a thought even now. So what WotC does or does not do, is almost meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

GP

 

[Stormonu]

Let's put a wrinkle in this.

WotC says "we're done, we're not making any more RPG stuff".

3rd party suppliers don't come forward to make new product.

Other companies decide that RPGs don't make money and fold, to never produce product again.

WotC (and other companies) start prosecute the sharing of homebrew product (like the TSR days) and somehow successfully repeals/shuts down the OGL.

The government declares your RPG books to be contraband and has them confiscated.

Yeah, I know this will never happen. But how would you react? Would you simply find another hobby? Would you revolt and fight back? Would you secretly design your own "retroclone"? What would you do? How invested are you in RPGs/D&D?

 

[Raven Crowking]

(1) WotC stops not: No effect on me. I no longer play Official D&D, and I can use modules from any era with very little work.

(2) TSR stopped at AD&D: Very big effect on me. No OGL, so no RCFG. Would I still be playing? I honestly think not.


RC

 

[kitsune9]

No effect on me since I went with Pathfinder.

 

[shadzar]

What if WotC, tomorrow, just up and said "That's it. We're freezing the D&D codebase. No new versions, no new editions. It's what we want, it sells, we'll write adventures and sell rulebooks. Enjoy!"

I don't mean the financial or business "what if" for them. That speculation is beyond me.

I mean you guys, the people who play WotC D&D - or we can expand it out and say "What if TSR were still around and they'd said 'that's it' at AD&D."

I would ask folks to keep EW stuff out of this - I'm not asking for "Why didn't they stop when xyz edition was obviously perfect and all others are just pale imitations" type answers.

Just wanna know if you'd keep on going with D&D hereafter. Or thereafter in the alternate futures.

You ask to keep the edition war out, but then sort of start it yourself due to neglect, but that is all i will say about that.*

Effectively, this has already happened for me; but they don't "write adventures and sell rulebooks" even.

I am still playing D&D as i have for going on 30 years, and own maybe 5 books with a WotC logo from around 1999.

*TSR DID in fact say that's it at AD&D. I know they had a 3rd edition in the works, but even if they didnt get bought, management would have never got around to putting it out...but that is another thread, and 16 probably already exist on these forums about that.

I think this thread is about would you stop playing if you had nothing new to buy, and no I would not.

All proprietary material you ever needed was 3 books, and once that material was set nothing can change that to require more, or the players are likely to "what if we just quit buying games that need us more than we need the things in the game."

In regards to the edition fatique concept and thread...i hate to say, but this "what if" you present would probably be the best option for them. Run D&D with a skeleton crew compared to what is there. No major designers need to be payed since nothing major is being designed. Hire freelance artists for commisioned work or have contests for people to submit things that might get published and get there name in the D&D history.

Better yet, they could become their own Random House, and jsut have the editors and such and take all submissions, and just decide what to use to print and what gets "D&D" logo stuck on it. Would reduce their costs greatly, then allow them to pass htose saving on to the customer and be able to capture a larger market by having a cheaper product that many others wouldnt be able to compete with.

Think I've gone off track...but I would still play as I still do.

 

[thedungeondelver]

You ask to keep the edition war out, but then sort of start it yourself

No I didn't, Cochise.

 

[Diamond Cross]

It wouldn't hurt me any.

I'm pretty much happy with 3.5e myself.

 

[Shazman]

It wouldn't matter. I'd still keep playing Pathfinder, although considering how many people dislike 4E, it's probably not the best place to freeze the rules.

 

[Azgulor]

What if WotC, tomorrow, just up and said "That's it. We're freezing the D&D codebase. No new versions, no new editions. It's what we want, it sells, we'll write adventures and sell rulebooks. Enjoy!"

I don't mean the financial or business "what if" for them. That speculation is beyond me.

I mean you guys, the people who play WotC D&D - or we can expand it out and say "What if TSR were still around and they'd said 'that's it' at AD&D."

I would ask folks to keep EW stuff out of this - I'm not asking for "Why didn't they stop when xyz edition was obviously perfect and all others are just pale imitations" type answers.

Just wanna know if you'd keep on going with D&D hereafter. Or thereafter in the alternate futures.

(Me? yes on the would keep playing in the alternate future; I don't play the current ruleset.)

Honestly? I'd be completely unaffected for the following reasons:

1. I've been playing RPGs a very long time. No plans to stop.
2. While I have my 1e & 3e books for nostalgia's sake, I moved on to Pathfinder and am very, very happy. Looking back at the time when I abandoned 2e until the time I investigated 3.x, I played numerous other RPGs.
3. WotC & I parted ways permanently with 4e. Best of luck to them & 4e's fans, but I don't need WotC or the current edition of D&D.
4. The business plans and/or publishing realities of any RPG company have little ability to affect my existing RPG library -- unless I choose to let it bother me in some fashion.

Bottom line, I play RPGs. Aside from nostalgia, I care little whether that RPG says Dungeons & Dragons on the cover.