Giganotosaurus
Dreaming of Electric Sheep
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2018
- Messages
- 4,318
- Reaction score
- 14,183
Does that mean we'll be getting a "&" book eventually?And they did publish a book of dungeons earlier this year, so it was their turn.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Does that mean we'll be getting a "&" book eventually?And they did publish a book of dungeons earlier this year, so it was their turn.
Alustriel’s Atlas of AmpersandsDoes that mean we'll be getting a "&" book eventually?
When will they decide that different colors are canon too?I did read somewhere that they've apparently given up on trying to get folk to remember that Dragonborn don't have tails, and are just accepting that the community has decided tails are canon now.
Its the improv DMing supplement.Does that mean we'll be getting a "&" book eventually?
And alliteration too, it would seem.Alustriel’s Atlas of Ampersands
When I toyed with the idea of starting an OSR blog, I wanted to call it Ampersands & Alliterations.And alliteration too, it would seem.
I wanted to call my brand of D&D Daemons & Deathrays but someone beat me to it.When I toyed with the idea of starting an OSR blog, I wanted to call it Ampersands & Alliterations.
I’d go with Submundos & Serpentes (literally “Underworlds & Serpents”, in Portuguese) which I might call Warrens & Wyrms in English.I wanted to call my brand of D&D Daemons & Deathrays but someone beat me to it.
I know this is the kinda corporate and kiddie thing that drives a certain segment batty but I just think of how awesome 10-year-old me would have dug it.
In matters of taste? No, I don't think there's anyway to get to there from here. Big corporate products that are geared to sell to lots and lots of people are always going to be a crafted to appeal to the broadest spectrum possible, so that usually means less idiosyncrasies, and less of a "bespoke" hobbyist feel to things.Just got back from spying the gaming section at Barnes and Noble. Flipping through the 5e D&D books, and I'm just struck by homogenized and WalMart-ized they are.
I realize every generation gets different things from gaming and has different tastes, but is it possible that 5e just objectively sucks compared to 1e?
Am I wrong in assuming you are talking about art direction and aesthetics here and not the actual content?
I don't care for the art or default setting but the 5e system is quite solid. Why do you think 5e objectively sucks? It's kind of funny you compare it to 1e because in comparison the AD&D system is a pile of unrelated fiddly subsystems kludged together into an unwieldy whole. I imagine you say 5e sucks because of the marketing and art direction with an eye towards mass appeal.Just got back from spying the gaming section at Barnes and Noble. Flipping through the 5e D&D books, and I'm just struck by homogenized and WalMart-ized they are.
I realize every generation gets different things from gaming and has different tastes, but is it possible that 5e just objectively sucks compared to 1e?
If that's your reaction then that's totally valid (for what it's worth, I don't like its aesthetics either) but I'm guessing old farts like us aren't really the target demo for Hasbro? They're trying to bring in the teen and early-twenties set, and I'm guessing their market research tells them that this approach is the one to take. Fortunately we appear to live in a golden age of RPGs where there seems to be something on the market for everyone. Whether it's art and art style as big selling points, of if variety of systems and settings are your thing.This is what I meant. Almost nothing about the art, fancy hardcovers, and slick page paper evokes any kind of positive feeling from me.
Where is the support for D&D for old farts? Not at the chain bookstore.Fortunately we appear to live in a golden age of RPGs where there seems to be something on the market for everyone.
Why is support at big chain bookstores important? Kickstarter, POD, DrivethruRPG, FLGS stores, word of mouth on forums and blogs; that's where the RPG community and creative content is thriving. Read tenfootpole.org, take a look at Necrotic Gnome and the adventures they are making for Old-School Essentials (basically B/X D&D), Goodman Games' 5e stuff (and DCC RPG more broadly). There's dozens, (hell maybe even hundreds?) of quality small press publishers out there trying to cater to old-school D&D and non-D&D games.Where is the support for D&D for old farts? Not at the chain bookstore.
Why is support at big chain bookstores important? Kickstarter, POD, DrivethruRPG, FLGS stores, word of mouth on forums and blogs; that's where the RPG community and creative content is thriving. Read tenfootpole.org, take a look at Necrotic Gnome and the adventures they are making for Old-School Essentials (basically B/X D&D), Goodman Games' 5e stuff (and DCC RPG more broadly). There's dozens, (hell maybe even hundreds?) of quality small press publishers out there trying to cater to old-school D&D and non-D&D games.
objectively
No, it's just not for you and that's okay. You do not have to be the target market for everything.Just got back from spying the gaming section at Barnes and Noble. Flipping through the 5e D&D books, and I'm just struck by homogenized and WalMart-ized they are.
I realize every generation gets different things from gaming and has different tastes, but is it possible that 5e just objectively sucks compared to 1e?
It's not, but that's rather like me wandering into PC World and asking where the support for my Atari STe is. As folk have pointed out, the actual support for older editions is large, varied, and online, and the barrier to get in on it, as a consumer or a creator, is negligible.Where is the support for D&D for old farts? Not at the chain bookstore.
No, it's just not for you and that's okay. You do not have to be the target market for everything.
That assumes subjectivity, though. Why isn't it possible that 5e, aesthetically and in terms of its artistic quality (not in terms of how it "works" mechanically as a game), is just simply inferior? After having been away from gaming for 30 years, what I see in many games, even in the ones that I adore, are some of the same forces at work that I've seen in retail, or in automobiles, or any other area of modern consumerism where "let's make it slick and/or cheap and sell it at a big box store so we can throw it away" reigns. Yes, that helps bring these cultural products to lots more people than ever before, but in the process you lose something fundamental to what made them so good to begin with.
Yes, it's possible that I'm just an old ass who is yelling at kids on his lawn. But sometimes those guys are right about something.
My kid has never looked at my old black and white D&D books, or retroclone stuff aping that aesthetic, and went "ooooooh, what's that??"
He does my 5e books. I suspect that if that older aesthetic were objectively better, he - and some of those other young whippersnappers ruining our hobby - would have embraced the old stuff over the new stuff.
And sure, some do, once exposed to it. And some don't.
Kind of like it's a subjective preference.
Literally my only complaint is that I'd like to see more than just 5e on the shelves, so people can see there's more to roleplaying. But honestly, given the choice between "all 5e" or "nothing", I'll take "all 5e" every time.Personally I think the above is a good thing. We are in the midst of a situation where D&D and roleplaying has grown to the point where merchandising outfits are trying to cash in. Like the below which is a fancy notebook of graph paper.
View attachment 33031
View attachment 33032
Looks like a few subjective judgements there.That assumes subjectivity, though. Why isn't it possible that 5e, aesthetically and in terms of its artistic quality (not in terms of how it "works" mechanically as a game), is just simply inferior? After having been away from gaming for 30 years, what I see in many games, even in the ones that I adore, are some of the same forces at work that I've seen in retail, or in automobiles, or any other area of modern consumerism where "let's make it slick and/or cheap and sell it at a big box store so we can throw it away" reigns. Yes, that helps bring these cultural products to lots more people than ever before, but in the process you lose something fundamental to what made them so good to begin with.
Maybe they are. Or maybe they just liked different things.Yes, it's possible that I'm just an old ass who is yelling at kids on his lawn. But sometimes those guys are right about something.
WOAH. That is a pretty substantial spike.For those who are interested I grabbed and formatted the numbers I got from my DriveThruRPG orders. So see the impact of the pandemic I also did a month to month from Dec of 2019.
View attachment 33035 View attachment 33036
Objective beauty also isn't something you get to gatekeep behind things like training or credentials
But hey, maybe you're right, so find a way to objectively measure 5e and your favourite D&D and come back to us with your results. But remember: only objective measurements.
They share your subjective opinion?What about those who have already agreed with me that 5e is aesthetically inferior?