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The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

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Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#281

Post by brandoncordell »

topmonk wrote: post #37

Just figured I mention tabletop simulator which is a sandbox and editor that allows you to recreate and play nearly any boardgame ever created. I'm using it to play a tabletop RPG with some other people I met online, and it works very well. https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/Tabletop_Simulator...

And you can find almost any game you can imagine in the workshop for free. Best part is that some of the complicated games are scripted with Lua so you don't have to worry about setting up the game yourself.

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#282

Post by mkane848 »

shemnon42 wrote: post #38
dragonwriter wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All the RPG market needed was one publisher with good production values and broad distribution to . Wizards was happy to oblige... I think you can make a very good case that D&D 4e in 2008 was where they decided to “discard a big chunk of its worst, thorniest rules”, and that the big innovation in 5e, released in 2014, was less about discarding thorny rules and more about reconnecting the streamlined rules with the…

4e wasn't “discard[ing] a big chunk of its worst, thorniest rules”, it was a re-write to sell splat books and accessories, to try and turn it into pen and paper World of Warcraft, and make it a miniature focused expensive game. It failed. It was D&D in name only and an abomination to those who really cared about it. 5e was the streamlining and modularization that was needed so you could play it like it was 2e, or 3e/…

>It was D&D in name only and an abomination to those who really cared about it.

That's just demonstrably false and sounds like gatekeeping. 4E had a lot of good ideas that didn't always have the best execution. And a lot of the grid-based stuff was pushed so that an online toolset could be released alongside it, but it never actually happened. I think it's telling that even in 2018/2019, D&D Beyond has only JUST started being good enough to be truly usable, and it still doesn't have an online grid/board system (ala Roll20). Imagine how much of a mess it was in 07? Even the character generator that you could get back then was insanely clunky.

D&D didn't need 4E to get people into buying minis, that's just ridiculous if you look at MinatureMarket or any other site that sells oldschool minis. You can disagree with design decisions or the marketing, but to say that it's not D&D is a bit much.

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#283

Post by rmidthun »

projectramo wrote: post #248

There are two reasons to pick other game systems over D&D: 1. You don't want the medieval + magic world and want to explore other timelines. Maybe futuristic, Star Wars etc. 2. You don't like the mechanics. Maybe the game system complexity slows you down or else there is some weird arbitrage opportunity that messes up the incentives. (Let's spend the whole game killing orc babies to build up XP instead of solving the…

FATE. Designed to be about the simplest thing that could be called a system, but endless flexibility in what you use it for. The Accelerated version is about 40 pages, the Core version is a more detailed, but still less than the typical RPG rules set.

The system is designed so that the players can influence the events of the game at the cost of increasing difficultly. For instance, every character has a High Concept, such as "Best swordsman in the kingdom". This can be used by the player in many ways, such as celebrity notice, justifying related skills, background, etc. but the game master can also invoke it for things like bitter rivalry, getting conscripted or not being able to go incognito.

As such, the system can work at many different levels. One popular setting has characters as magical cats, another as post-human cyborgs. And it all works.

For a list of various settings: https://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-worlds-and-adventures/

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#284

Post by path411 »

bluntfang wrote: post #232
gambiting wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, in a casual discussion I'd frequently say that I "play D&D all the time" even though I have never in my life played Dungeons and Dragons - we usually play derivatives of DnD and other roleplaying games. But DnD is something that most people at least recognize so for me it became a generic term for roleplaying game, just like hoover became a generic term for a vacuum cleaner.

dnd is the kleenex of table top RPGs?

Probably more like the 'dumpster' of ttrpgs. I think almost anyone outside of the genre has no idea that it even is a brand name.

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#285

Post by garfieldnate »

hellepardo wrote: post #61

My friends and I play D&D because we have no real other option. We used to play Minecraft and other collaborative building games as a group, but then one in our group went fully blind. There is a complete lack of good multiplayer computer games for entirely blind players (admittedly that is quite a challenge), but D&D requires only imagination, which all of us still have. Highly recommend if you have friends with vis…

Tau Station was built to be entirely accessible to blind users: https://blog.taustation.space/blog/making-tau-station-an-acc....

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#286

Post by usmannk »

nouveaux wrote: post #55
usmannk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love a recommendation on a starter game (or a few!) if you find yourself with a minute! I play with a group who, including myself, are novices when it comes boardgames. Between 3-6 players most of the time. We found ourselves getting really into Puerto Rico and recently tried Terraforming Mars but didn't _love_ it. I think TR would be better on a second playthrough when we actually know the rules though :). I pla…

Terraforming Mars is my favorite game. I think its worth giving it another try. I would remove the Corporate Era cards for now. These are the cards with the white triangle near the bottom left. Here are some games I would suggest for a group that likes Puerto Rico: -Lords of Waterdeep -Castles of Burgundy -7 Wonders (scales well to 6 players) -Pandemic Legacy (co-op) -Clank -Azul -Splendor These all have different me…

Thank you! We actually did remove them, and all started with the “starter” corporation. I think there’d be more variety next time when we don’t. Also we know not to end the game so quickly now!

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#287

Post by usmannk »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #134
usmannk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love a recommendation on a starter game (or a few!) if you find yourself with a minute! I play with a group who, including myself, are novices when it comes boardgames. Between 3-6 players most of the time. We found ourselves getting really into Puerto Rico and recently tried Terraforming Mars but didn't _love_ it. I think TR would be better on a second playthrough when we actually know the rules though :). I pla…

If you like Puerto Rico you are probably past the gateway stage. Similarly strategic games I can recommend - Concordia, 5 players. 6 with Venus expansion. - Lords of Waterdeep. 5 players. 6 with expansion iirc - Istanbul. 5 - Power Grid. 6. - Dominant Species. 6. - Eclipse. 6. - Dead of Winter. 5. - Tiny Epic Galaxies. 5. Filler game. - Agricola. Current edition is 4. 6 with expansion. - 7 wonders. Up to 8 iirc. - Sc…

Will definitely look into these, thanks!

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#288

Post by dagw »

SaulOfTheJungle wrote: post #241
mcv wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No real other option? There are dozens of other excellent RPGs available that rely more on imagination than sight. D&D is merely the gateway game. There are of course D&D spin-offs and clones like Pathfinder and 13th Age, old school (OSR) "retro-clones" like Dungeon Crawl Classics, Lamentations of the Flame Princess and many, many others. Then there are the classic non-D&D games like Shadowrun (in its 5th edition now…

What non-D&D game would you suggest to someone who enjoys D&D but would like to explore other systems?

If you like the basic 'fantasy' setting of D&D, but want a game with a more gritty and 'low' fantasy feel I very can highly recommend trying to find a copy of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying.

If you want a game which is more realistic and almost entirely 'straight' historic medieval Europe, but where magic, as they believed in it at the time, is real, go check out Ars Magica. Ars Magica is especially recommended if you like playing mages and want a game with one of the most fleshed out and 'realistic' magic system ever seen in a role playing game.

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#289

Post by ZeikJT »

ravedave5 wrote: post #69
hellepardo wrote: post #61

My friends and I play D&D because we have no real other option. We used to play Minecraft and other collaborative building games as a group, but then one in our group went fully blind. There is a complete lack of good multiplayer computer games for entirely blind players (admittedly that is quite a challenge), but D&D requires only imagination, which all of us still have. Highly recommend if you have friends with vis…

I haven't done anything but one of the quick D&D campaigns with the prebuilt characters but I am REALLY enjoying gloomhaven as an alternative. I know there's some vision required there but it seems similar to D&D.

It's an alternative if your favorite part about D&D is fighting (if so I'd recommend 4th instead of 5th). The role playing you do in Gloomhaven is non-existent in comparison.

Re: The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons

#290

Post by nouveaux »

alexgmcm wrote: post #217
nouveaux wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Digital board games are superior in almost every way except face to face player interaction. For games with a high level of complexity, the analog version is always terrible. Forgetting to move a bit when the game state changes is always a sore point. Unfortunately, these games are generally more challenging to port to digital as well. For more casual games, I prefer to play in person with a beer in hand. (PS My day…

What would you recommend for 2 players? (often I can only play with my SO)

Without knowing what kind of games you like, I can safely suggest Splendor and Azul. Both plays well with 2 and scales up to 4 equally well. If you like more strategy, Lords of Waterdeep.

There are some excellent 2 player games as well. I would start with Patchwork. If you like something more heavy, 7 Wonders duel is an excellent game.

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