Nice article. However, I slightly disagree on the premise. You assume that DnD has been killed by these woke activists, in 5e. But a point should be made that, mechanically, since Wizards of the Coast introduced 3rd edition, DnD was not DnD anymore.
Because, mechanically, 3rd edition was not the same game as DnD 2nd edition. There was no backwards compatibility with the older editions anymore, it was a completely different game, and the only thing that was "DnD" was the logo on the cover.
I had the fortune of finding this small channel on YouTube, called "Grumpy Old Grognard". He had a lot of interesting takes, and I credit him formpushing me to shift from "not-DnD" 5e to OSRIC. For this argument specifically, I his video " Dungeons & Dragons was dead long before the OGL 1.1 came along" is the one I am citing, and I agree with him wholeheartedly on the topic.
D20 is a better, more consistent, more logical, and better tuned system than the 25 year old Frankenstein conglomerate that was AD&D 2E.
The old system was great, but a tabletop RPG had never been done before and the whole thing was cobbled together from scraps and random ideas over the years. It was a decades long learning process that kept adding new code to the old code until the engine could only be run by a savant who knew it like the maintenance guy the building manager can't fire or replace.
I played 2E with a guy for years, years! And before every other die roll he would go, "wait, do I want to roll high or low on this one?"
As another commenter noted, D&D died a while ago. Perkins et al are just scavenging in the remains of what a great man once built.
TSR killed D&D when Gary was pushed out of the company. The 2nd edition was published without him and thus lacked his genius and vision. Everything published afterward is like photocopying a photocopy, again and again and again. No real vision beyond trying to ape the "D&D thing" that the new designers are spiritually incapable of understanding.
Chasing revenue streams killed D&D when the corporate world realized there is no money in this niche hobby. If you publish a game that is "finished", the market will eventually fully saturate and no more books will be purchased by hobbyists. Simply selling "adventure modules" doesn't generate the same scale of revenue as core books, and so a never ending parade of "new editions" and supplements are released.
Consumers killed D&D by buying the garbage WotC shoveled out. I take pity on this group, in particular, since they lack the immune system to effectively overcome the hype and marketing. However, they have and still do contribute to its downfall.
If you like D&D, the first edition still rules. You can play what Gygax the Great wrote. You just have to develop an immunity to hype and marketing, and you will be free.
Nice article. However, I slightly disagree on the premise. You assume that DnD has been killed by these woke activists, in 5e. But a point should be made that, mechanically, since Wizards of the Coast introduced 3rd edition, DnD was not DnD anymore.
Because, mechanically, 3rd edition was not the same game as DnD 2nd edition. There was no backwards compatibility with the older editions anymore, it was a completely different game, and the only thing that was "DnD" was the logo on the cover.
I had the fortune of finding this small channel on YouTube, called "Grumpy Old Grognard". He had a lot of interesting takes, and I credit him formpushing me to shift from "not-DnD" 5e to OSRIC. For this argument specifically, I his video " Dungeons & Dragons was dead long before the OGL 1.1 came along" is the one I am citing, and I agree with him wholeheartedly on the topic.
Yes and no.
D20 is a better, more consistent, more logical, and better tuned system than the 25 year old Frankenstein conglomerate that was AD&D 2E.
The old system was great, but a tabletop RPG had never been done before and the whole thing was cobbled together from scraps and random ideas over the years. It was a decades long learning process that kept adding new code to the old code until the engine could only be run by a savant who knew it like the maintenance guy the building manager can't fire or replace.
I played 2E with a guy for years, years! And before every other die roll he would go, "wait, do I want to roll high or low on this one?"
OSRIC is a good system if you want a solid 1st Edition experience.
As another commenter noted, D&D died a while ago. Perkins et al are just scavenging in the remains of what a great man once built.
TSR killed D&D when Gary was pushed out of the company. The 2nd edition was published without him and thus lacked his genius and vision. Everything published afterward is like photocopying a photocopy, again and again and again. No real vision beyond trying to ape the "D&D thing" that the new designers are spiritually incapable of understanding.
Chasing revenue streams killed D&D when the corporate world realized there is no money in this niche hobby. If you publish a game that is "finished", the market will eventually fully saturate and no more books will be purchased by hobbyists. Simply selling "adventure modules" doesn't generate the same scale of revenue as core books, and so a never ending parade of "new editions" and supplements are released.
Consumers killed D&D by buying the garbage WotC shoveled out. I take pity on this group, in particular, since they lack the immune system to effectively overcome the hype and marketing. However, they have and still do contribute to its downfall.
If you like D&D, the first edition still rules. You can play what Gygax the Great wrote. You just have to develop an immunity to hype and marketing, and you will be free.