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

[francisca]

I pretty much stopped being actively interested in what WotC was doing with D&D in the early 3.5 days (2004, I guess). So, really it wouldn't affect me at all. I'm an old school guy, and I'm happily playing older editions, and if I really wanted something else, I have RuneQuest, Stormbringer, T&T, and if for some reason I got interested in OGL/d20 systems, I still have the SRD and the Conan d20 books on my shelf.

Further, I'm not one of these guys for whom "in print" is a deciding factor, other than being able to get my mitts on a product, of course.

So it would have no effect on me whatsoever.

 

[Greg K]

It would have no effect on me as I stopped playing D&D last year and switched to Savage Worlds to replace D&D (and d20 Modern). If I want a class/level based system, I have True20. Furthermore, if I really want D&D, I have the 3.0 core books, the 3.0 and 3.5 srds, Unearthed Arcana and a bunch of third party supplements to run, but I pretty much get everything I want out of Savage Worlds without all the hassle.


The only downside to switching to Savage Worlds has been
a) that there is no official Al Quadim , Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, and Ravenloft (not a big issue given the 3e and 4e handling of these settings).;

b) no official versions of the 1e and 2e demons and devils, beholders, drow, and mind flayers;

c) Ari is writing for D&D and not Savage Worlds

Hmm.. now that I think of it, perhaps saying "That's it", would be cool. Well, it would be if they licensed out the monsters and settings above for Savage Worlds and True20*

* based upon them using 1e Greyhawk (Folio , Dragon magazine, and the pantheon presented by Gary Gygax in Dragon) , Forgotten Realms (1e greybox, 1e FR line and 2e Faiths and Avatars), pre-revised Darksun, and Ravenloft: Realms of Terror

 

[oldgamergeek]

Not a bit My imagination is so hyperactive and I have so many books, e books and stuff I could play D&D for the rest of my life and not run out of stuff, not to mention the non D&D game stuff I have.

 

[Pour]

I'd keep playing 4e until my campaigns end, but really miss my online Compendium and the refinement/expansion of the rules. Then I'd try some other systems for longer stints than one-shots.

Eventually I'd come back to 4e D&D, though. I just really enjoy it and have a firm grasp of how to build and run it, more than I did any edition before it.

And mirroring previous sentiments, I'd miss the tiles and the minis, and I would be much more inclined to design my own mechanics. I'd probably end up relying on the 4e blogs and the homebrew forums a lot more, too, and whatever movements crop up to support the edition.

 

[El Mahdi]

Taking thedungeondelver's scenario from the OP one step futher, what if Hasbro decided that WotC just wasn't worth it anymore...?

• Could you see the D&D rules frozen as is, published in one basic book or as an eternal/final Red Box, and sold under the Hasbro brand with the rest of their games (in Toys-R-Us right next to the other "novelty" games like the Ouija Board)...?
• Essentially disband Wizards of the Coast and have a small part of Hasbro themself develop/release small "adventure"/"theme" boxes once or twice a year (like new versions of Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly)...?
• Limit DDI to the final distilled ruleset, and continue the online service but with no more extra innovation (it just is what it is)...?
• End Dragon and Dungeon magazine once and for all...?

If this scenario hapened, how would it affect the "fan" community...? The Industry...?

I know I'd keep playing my own homebrew, just as most here have said they'd just keep playing their own preferred/current system - whether it be a homebrew, retro-clone, out-of-print/older edition, etc. But even if I didn't have my homebrew, I'd keep playing whatever is available, tweaking them if necessary, but I'd play. As much as having the right system for me is definitely part of my enjoyment of the game, in the end it's the actual "playing" that matters to me...the getting around a table with friends and participating in a creative, collaborative experience part. I really don't see that part changing. Over time, I could see the RPG Hobby community significantly shrinking, but never completely disapearing.

I think places like ENWorld would still be here. But, would they just morph into an online fan/cult classic community devoted to a small hobby (which really is about what we all are now), with no more focus on news (as their wouldn't be anymore D&D "News")...? Would the industry itself change...? What about White Wolf, Palladium, Paizo, etc...?

Would the erosion/fracturing that happens with each new edition make the above scenario the only realistic way for D&D to stay in print in perpetuity...?

Hmmm...it's an interesting scenario...

 

[shadzar]

Taking thedungeondelver's scenario from the OP one step futher, what if Hasbro decided that WotC just wasn't worth it anymore...?

• Could you see the D&D rules frozen as is, published in one basic book or as an eternal/final Red Box, and sold under the Hasbro brand with the rest of their games (in Toys-R-Us right next to the other "novelty" games like the Ouija Board)...?
• Essentially disband Wizards of the Coast and have a small part of Hasbro themself develop/release small "adventure"/"theme" boxes once or twice a year (like new versions of Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly)...?
• Limit DDI to the final distilled ruleset, and continue the online service but with no more extra innovation (it just is what it is)...?
• End Dragon and Dungeon magazine once and for all...?

If this scenario hapened, how would it affect the "fan" community...? The Industry...?

I know I'd keep playing my own homebrew, just as most here have said they'd just keep playing their own preferred/current system - whether it be a homebrew, retro-clone, out-of-print/older edition, etc. But even if I didn't have my homebrew, I'd keep playing whatever is available, tweaking them if necessary, but I'd play. As much as having the right system for me is definitely part of my enjoyment of the game, in the end it's the actual "playing" that matters to me...the getting around a table with friends and participating in a creative, collaborative experience part. I really don't see that part changing. Over time, I could see the RPG Hobby community significantly shrinking, but never completely disapearing.

I think places like ENWorld would still be here. But, would they just morph into an online fan/cult classic community devoted to a small hobby (which really is about what we all are now), with no more focus on news (as their wouldn't be anymore D&D "News")...? Would the industry itself change...? What about White Wolf, Palladium, Paizo, etc...?

Would the erosion/fracturing that happens with each new edition make the above scenario the only realistic way for D&D to stay in print in perpetuity...?

Hmmm...it's an interesting scenario...

I dont think D&D is family oriented enough for HASBRO to want to take unto its own people, so it needs WotC as the niche creators to maintain it, unless it were to turn it into the Descent/HeroQuest (since it owns the game until 2015) type of board game which it knows good.

That being said all the other things would fall to the wayside.

The fan community would probably be hurt a little, OGL and the like or whatever there is for the recent editions would probably have no support, so 4th edition material wouldnt exist from other companies as the license can be revoked? 3rd edition would be able to go on, because that OGL seems irrevocable, which means Pathfinder I think would have no problems and may take over due to it being the closest to 3rd edition with a full ruleset?

Retro-clones would still be around as long as the HASBRO legal team doesn't deem them a threat. Considering D&D would effectively be off the market and those older editions the retro clones emulate would likely be of no concern as HASBRO wouldnt devote attention to them. Again take HeroQuest and how they allow a few websites to reproduce the contents except for making the boards and minis, and host them on those websites from all the expansions down to the rules, "dungeon tiles", and cards.

Why would the industry change? It might start to cannibalize itself and the winner become the next "D&D". Other companies would continue on as they have been. Unles they have something licensed that HASBRO takes that license away when closing the doors to WotC, there really shouldn't be panic in the streets.

Fans might panic in the strets not knowing what to do and where they are going to spend their money, but it might develop better player created content without having to rely on published content to play; IF they continued to play.

Hope I didnt miss anything in your additional quandries.

 

[Corathon]

The imagined scenario already happened as far as I'm concerned. I just kept on playing.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I would continue playing the myriad of games that I play, be it L5R, whatever edition of D&D, BESM, etc, etc, and sadly bemoan the loss of the hobby as it begins to strangle itself to death.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

I'd actually be disappointed that Dungeons & Dragons was left to rot. I imagine Paizo would pick up the slack as they've had to do anyway but still. There is still something important to me about a living, breathing D&D, even if I don't like it's current incarnation as much as the previous and in all likelyhood would dislike a new 5e even more.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

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'd be thrilled. I have plenty of rules, and dislike the treadmill, but feel I have to stay on to some extent to keep current.

Plus adventures are my favorite products, so I'd be perfectly happy if that's all that was sold.