My original title for this article was “Unpopular TTRPG Takes: Part 1. (Be Advised.)
My list of likes in the TTRPG hobby would fill half the Interweb, and that’s just the stuff I know about. I love games. I love gamers.
Dungeons & Dragons was one of the first TTRPGs I ever played. You betcha. I think the game itself is just swell. I actually don’t even mind the 5E rules, but I only use them for other games and sourcebooks these days. Here’s four things I would change about D&D as a whole right now.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
Also, be warned. Long rant ahead. If you’re easily offended by someone talking mad shit about Wizards of the Coast, now’s probably the time to go read a different article. I got riled up again.
First up- Did you know it’s D&D’s 50th Anniversary?
I have no doubt in my mind someone would have mentioned it eventually. What drives me up the wall right now is the absolute lack of regard for the anniversary by the company who currently stewards and licenses the game. I have a completely different vision of how I would want the 50th year of my game to go. Check this out:
Every month on the first week of the month, there would be three critical, well published official releases. First, a brand new 5E D&D adventure or sourcebook commemorating D&D’s birthday. Second, there would be a conversion of an AD&D classic adventure done up nicely for 5E. Last, there would be a reprint of Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Magazine, or some other collector’s item from the game’s long history.
Special dice, T-shirts in sizes Large through 4XL, along with cups, koozies, dice accessories, minis, and all of that are a complete and utter side note. The focus would be on the game if it were up to me. Note that I didn’t say Baldur’s Gate 3, LEGOs, or shoes. Note I didn’t mention someone’s funky, vaguely D&D themed clothing line.
Let Hasbro advertise all of the non-gaming IP merch on their own. Let WotC advertise the freakin game. Heck, let WotC make more product for the game. Has everyone completely forgotten what we’re supposed to be talking about?
Second, y’all at Wizards of the Coast need to work on your marketing strategy.
(Not that anyone from WotC listens to me or cares what I have to say about anything, obviously.) About the time some overpaid cosplay YouTuber mentions “My Agent told me…” I have lost all respect for someone as a champion of the game. Hear me now, oh YouTubers, WotC simps, and shills of all things Hasbro- Some of us in the TTRPG community are getting really burned out on watching a bunch of actors pretend to play D&D. Please, for the love of God, stop shoving them down our throats!
I’m putting a lot of D&DTubers on mute these days and I’ve discovered an absolutely huge number of what I would consider credible indie TTRPG YouTubers. The “cult” as I now refer to a certain club of WotC shills has become increasingly self-absorbed as of late. This bunch of rabid shill D&DTubers have their own 5E Kickstarter projects they’re pushing this year and honestly I’m already sick of hearing about them. It is bloody obvious who these “cult” members are because everyone cross promotes the others’ stuff. (*I originally had a different word there, but my editor said “no.”)
Again, as mentioned above, I lose most of my respect for a YouTuber or some “Content Creator” on Instagram the second they tell us, “WotC sent me this enormous pile of merch for free.” It makes the “Influencer” look cheap. It makes Hasbro/WotC look cheap. It makes it look like WotC has no respect for themselves or the value of their product. See also: It’ll be in the discount bin at Ollie’s in three months.
Total side note: Wasn’t Joe Manganiello supposed to be making a documentary about their overpriced 50th Anniversary book? Wonder how that’s going now. Do you suppose he might have been a little salty over WotC cancelling Dragonlance out from under him?
Third, please stop treating LEGO like it’s regular D&D.
LEGO is not the same as D&D. I should dig my old Knights LEGO sets out of the basement and takes some pictures. I can do the same thing, probably better, using medieval and Star Wars LEGOs with actual D&D rules. Y’all full grown adults paying $399 for a set with the D&D logo on it just baffles me.
Kids, you can play with the LEGOs all you want after the game. I’ve got some pretty sweet Ninjago stuff my kids built that I could show off. Maybe we could play Marvel Superheroes RPG with LEGO pieces next week as a cute one shot. But hear me clearly- LEGO pieces are not a replacement for D&D minis!
I shouldn’t even have to go there, but we’ve got otherwise reasonable, well paid TTRPG actors making videos trying to sell Hasbro’s new $399 LEGO D&D set. The silliest part is there’s nothing new in that set. Everything you see was already made using bits and bobs from other LEGO kits. And the actors, etc? Y’all seem like you need some self-respect. Let Wasbro hire some actors with their big ad budget and go back to playing regular D&D!
Last, let Hasbro do all the IP crap they want, go back to the actual D&D game.
Does anyone else think September was a dumb release date for the new/not-new D&D Player’s Handbook? Likewise, does anyone else think November was a dumb release date for the new/not new (yet endorsed by Matt Mercer) Dungeon Master’s Guide?
And where the 🦆Ing 🦆🦆 is the Monster Manual?!? February 2025? How is it not in front of us yet?!? That should have been WotC’s top 🦆🦆Ing priority going into this year! Screw having designers, architects, whatever the corporate Mcmuckity mucks want to call themselves playing LEGO with G___ D_ and some other actress. Get in there and finish the damn game!
Screw Vecna’s ROFL Stomping of the Multiverse. Screw Stairs of the Infinite Cash Grab. Put out the freakin PHB, DMG, and bloody Monster Manual then do all that other crap. I don’t need the union guy from Paizo, Jason Tondro, writing a book about D&D’s 50th Anniversary as Told By Revisionists and Hocked by Shills. What any self-respecting D&D gamer worth their salt should be clamoring for is the base core books of the damn game!
I apologize if this offends anyone, but I’m a touch riled up about it. It just makes me ill as a gamer and as a D&D fan of four decades. Cripes, I didn’t even think Fourth Edition was this bad.
Wizards of the Coast could do so much better with Dungeons & Dragons.
That’s really what this all boils down to- even some of the most devout D&D nerds out there saw it last year during the Great D&D Open Game License Debacle of January 2023. Even the most loathsome of OSR Grognards could do a better job with D&D than WotC is doing right now. I’ve said before, I’d take the job at a fraction of what they’re paying Brink, Crawford, Perkins, or Jason Tondro.
But, hey. That’s why I have a small but loveable blog, and they’re in charge of a multimillion dollar franchise that’s hemorrhaging money like it’s Old Faithful spewing water. They can sell a metric crapload of D&D LEGOs, but they can’t get the three books involving the game printed all in the same year. (B-u-l-l-s-h-i-t!)
I almost feel hollow saying it after this rant. Again, sorry if I upset anyone. It’s my take on the whole thing.
Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.
Jeff's Game Box 