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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mearls" data-source="post: 4905996" data-attributes="member: 697">Every gaming group needs at least one person who is into/hardcore about the game they're playing. That person is the DM, the guy who bought the boardgame they're sitting down to play, or the guy who hooked his friends on the collectible minis/card game.RPGs have an advantage over other types of games in that they are cooperative. If I'm a hardcore gamer playing the fighter, it's in my best interest to make sure that the n00b playing the wizard knows what he's doing. Now, there are some potential issues there, but generally D&D has been forgiving to new players because of this.The bigger issue, IMO, is making new hardcore gamers. Bridging the gap between casual and hardcore is key, because that's how you really grow the gamer population.For instance, take a look at Settlers of Catan (or really any of the big boardgames.) If you sit down to play Settlers with a friend who is really into it, you can play it once and learn all the mechanics. Chances are, you'll like the game enough to play it a few times. With a really well designed game like Settlers, there's a good chance that you like it enough that you go out, buy it, and teach other people to play, all based on one session.That's how games grow. They change people who are casual about them into people who are fans of them. The simplest way to do that is to make a game someone can learn well enough to play on their own after a game or two with someone who knows how to play it.Now, the obstacle RPGs face is that they've traditionally followed a path of becoming more and more difficult to pick up quickly. If you take a game like Champions, the first edition was 64 pages. The upcoming sixth edition weighs in at something like 600 pages. Each edition assumes you've played and mastered the one that came before.At their root, new editions of RPGs have to aim at existing and new players. Most games aim at the current fan base, and those folks have already mastered the basics. They want more stuff! So, you give it to them. But in doing that, you're putting up barriers to making fans of beginners.The funny thing is that it's really only non-D&D RPGs that follow that path, at least among tabletop games. D&D has gone in the opposite direction, with each edition aiming to become easier to play and learn. The page count goes up from edition to edition, though other games dwarf it in terms of relative increased page count, and each edition has sought to make the game easier to learn, easier to play, and easier to teach.It's another place where D&D is the outlier, even though it's always been the most popular game in its category. I think D&D is as casual player friendly as ever, but I think the reason you've seen a lot of RPG systems fall by the wayside is that they've grown to the point that new players can't become hardcore about them.</blockquote>

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