What makes Dungeons & Dragons "Dungeons & Dragons?"

[Dannyalcatraz]

Do you still play it?

Personally, I will play any RPG on my shelf, in print or not.

In the case of games with multiple editions, I probably have a favorite I'd prefer to play: D&D- 3.5Ed or a 3.X game; HERO- 4th, 5th or 6th. Etc.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Personally, I will play any RPG on my shelf, in print or not.

In the case of games with multiple editions, I probably have a favorite I'd prefer to play: D&D- 3.5Ed or a 3.X game; HERO- 4th, 5th or 6th. Etc.

No argument here, but he (she?) specifically said he played D&D because of the ongoing flow of new official material for the game.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The soul of D&D? Dare ye ask what comprises the soul of D&D?

 

[FireLance]

So, let's say that in 2013 or 2014, Hasbro decides to sell Dungeons & Dragons, the brand, and, as corporations sometimes do, priced it at a stupidly high level that no one bites at. And instead of keeping it going (and keeping the brand value at its current level, more or less), they decide to "rest" it (again, as corporations sometimes do), and effectively close up shop. There are no new D&D books -- not even the latest edition -- being sold. The online material gets shut down. Dungeon and Dragon close their doors.

A dark age settles on official Dungeons & Dragons.

Do you still play it? If not, what alternative do you go with, and is that choice based on a similarity to D&D, or would a constant flow of supplemental information for, say, GURPS be enough to switch your loyalty to a wildly different system?

I will probably lose any enthusiasm I have for running D&D. I might run games in other systems if there was a good stream of good supplementary material, and I had no particular issues with the system (a little vague, I know, but I won't know if I have problems with any specific system until I've read through and/or played it). If anyone is willing to run, I might play, but otherwise, I would probably just turn to computer games instead.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The soul of D&D? Dare ye ask what comprises the soul of D&D?

Actually, I was asking what comprises its most elemental essence.

 

[GreyLord]

For 3.X/D20 I have my Special Editions that I expect should last a LONG time.

Speaking of which, I even have the AD&D books and they still are around, so the D20 Special editions should last me even longer...

Just because something is out of print doesn't mean I still can't play it or use it.

 

[Hussar]

I can get behind the supplement idea.

What makes a game D&D? Modules, lots and lots of modules. No other RPG has anywhere even remotely approaching the amount of pre-generated adventures that D&D has in any edition. The fact that you can run D&D (again, any edition) without creating a single adventure and play for years makes it D&D to me.