getting over the D&D community 

I made it, and there's a reason I'm glad I've done music and haven't dug too deep into the drama unless it mattered to me. I've definitely learned some amazing things that I'm trying to be better about in my own games and future projects, but I am also just trying to enjoy this for what it is. I will say I miss hanging with creators in the field more and want to try and be better about staying connected ;u;

Thought this was going to be a 29 minute getting over it video without any commentary

I made it. I guess I'm sad that the "D&D Community" seems to take precedence over "the TTRPG community." Don't get my wrong, I love D&D--I've been playing since 2016 for a reason--but I love Pathfinder, and Call of Cthulhu, and LANCER, and... so many other games I haven't got a chance to play. I ran a game of F.I.S.T. recently, using a pre-written adventure. Prep, including __learning all of the rules I needed to know__, took under an hour. And the concept of the game--independent militia trying to figure out what bound a part of Nevada up in so many parallel universe copies of itself in a horrifying fractal zone before the U.S. military moves in and wipes everybody out--is the sort of thing I'd never think to do in D&D. And it was so much fun. For sure, some people are toxic about this. Some people are so hostile to the idea of using D&D for anything that isn't medieval fantasy--or even using D&D for that, if they're the worst kind of Pathfinder fan--when in reality 5e is a super flexible, super hackable system once you're into it. But when I say "don't just homebrew D&D, play another system," I don't say it because I don't love D&D, I say it because I love so many other systems too. It's a problem that Pathfinder is the model D&D system. D&D is complicated. Pathfinder is even more complicated. It creates this perception that to play any other game you have to do all that learning all over again. But you don't. There's so many systems that are so much easier to learn. Mothership. Powered by the Apocalypse games. Etc. We need an iconic rules-light system to teach people that they can branch out without a huge commitment, and they can branch out without abandoning the "D&D community." I love D&D. But I also love vanilla ice cream. Doesn't mean it's the only kind of ice cream I want to eat. And I would certainly be more interested joining an ice cream club than a vanilla ice cream club.

[I made it] Over the past 2 months or so, I completely switched to Pathfinder, solely for one of my players being unsatisfied with D&D's Warlock and thought Witch looked neat. I stopped listening to all my D&D podcasts, because switching systems mid-campaign is tough as a Dungeon/Game Master and learning foreign rules is hard when you're listening to a podcast that has the old ones. Then I stopped watching D&D content. Then this video appeared on my recommended. And now, without really joining the Pathfinder 2e community, I've come back from a time from when the only thing I watched on RU-vid was either you or Zee Bashew, to PF2e tutorials, and now completely TTRPG-unrelated stuff. And coming back to this video, I feel a bit of regret. I pawned off my D&D books so the system switch would pay for itself, and watching this video made me realize how much I miss, and how much I will miss, being a true part of the D&D community. The Pathfinder community, while large, is so small that it's mostly that niche, core audience that you talked about in the video, and I just can't enjoy that. And while I can feel myself becoming a by-the-books grognard, both from Pathfinder being easier to game master and just generally getting used to TTRPGs more and more, I'm still sad about having to leave the D&D community, because I simply can't consume content about one game and play another with the way my brain works. I'll miss Zee Bashew, I'll miss Legends of Avantris, I'll miss Tales from the Stinky Dragon, and I'll miss Blaine Simple. This comment will probably be the last time I interact with the D&D community for like, a year, until I've memorized PF2e enough so consuming D&D content won't fry my brain. Giving one last little bit of feedback before I go, know that it doesn't go over too well on the algorithm side, but I adored your "off topic" videos like your Four Souls one, and I'd love to see more. Sorry for wall of text, bye.

24:52 This definitely contributes to the toxic atmosphere in online discourse. People ran out of things to talk about, so they usually either fade away, or make bold and controversial statements to maintain their following.

I made it. You say this video is a love letter to the D&D community, but it feels like it is also a love letter to "Getting Over it with Bennett Foddy". It perfectly captures its style and purpose in a way that evokes exactly the types of thoughts the actual game did. Thank you for your amazingly dedicated work!

I made it. As a longtime 5e DM with ADHD the more sessions I run and the more I need to homebrew to fix rules gaps (or more specificaly the chapters that say "The DM can decide how it works"), the more I seem to forget which rules are mine, the game's, or a mish mash of stuff scrounged from across the internet. And the more I forget how any of them even work. For me the behaviours of Wotc in 2023/2024 were simply the straw that broke the camel's back. I was already struggling but I wasn't considering other systems to try. It gave me to poke I needed to search and I found many I want to try including Call of Cthulu, Blades in the Dark, Cyberpunk, and PF2e. I was lucky to get to be a player to try Blades and Cyberpunk, and they were fun but not what I want every week. The codified nature of PF2e seems to be what I want as a DM, in order to support my poor memory by having access to free rules I can lookup as I need without needing to shill for all the books (or pirate them all). Having more rules means I can choose to ignore what I don't like instead of the problem with 5e where I needed to keep making the same stuff up over and over. I am still running 5e, doing more experimental sandboxy stuff, and I am a little concerned that at least 2 of my lingtime friends/players won't like PF2e, but I don't know yet. I bought the Beginner's Box and am hoping to get together in person (we usually play online). I do still love the idea of D&D. It is more than an edition or even a brand. All TTRPGs are one. Pick your fancy.

I made it. My biggest gripe with D&D and in part the community as well, is that a lot of the time it is discouraged to try out other systems, advising instead, to patch up the game until it's unrecognizable from the base material into the thing you want to play. I understand being afraid of starting the climb all over again,( I was as well, until the OGL fiasco encouraged me to stop supporting WOTC) but you lose out on so much by not taking a step outside your comfort zone and propagating the idea that you can make 5e into whatever you want, just makes taking that first step harder. It's a shame but it is what it is, the problem comes with D&D overshadowing every other ttrpg to the point that most people don't know that other tsystems exist. People new to the scene are often directly funneled into 5e and there's only a precious few who get to experience another game as their first tabletop, and that only aggravates the issue. I've personally left the system behind for pathfinder 2e because after years of playing 5e it never clicked for me, thanks to this, I found myself more willing to try out other games that I really enjoy, games I wouldn't have tried if I fervently stuck with 5e as the sole system. In summary, I think homebrewing the game to an absurd degree is fine but there should be more encouragement to try other systems and holding up D&D in a pedestal like it used to be, is ultimately unhealthy and detrimental to ttrpgs as a whole. As a brief final point, with D&D being virtually a monopoly, it drowns out content creators for other systems. Making it much harder for people to find out about other systems and impossible for creators for other systems to make a living, which sucks imo. Sorry for the lengthy post, overall great video.

I made it. There's an old quote from a military officer: "A soldier shouldn't fight because he hates what's in front of him, but because he loves what's behind him." It's important to take a step back and remember what we fought for; not a hatred for WOTC, but a love for D&D. I dont have any interest in the new system myself, I'm perfectly content with 5e as it stands. There's more than enough room for creativity, and experimention. There's some things I might borrow from the new system(I hear the second attack from duel wielding weapons will be a free action, that sounds good to me), and when WOTC changes things I simply choose to ignore them and encourage my players to do the same. I for example don't like the Monsters of the Multiverse book because i don't like the changes made to some of the playable races; when my players create characters, i tell them they can use the new or old version of the race, either to represent where they come from(goblins in MOM are from the Feywild, goblins in Volo's are from the material plane), or just as a different version of their race. Silvery Barbs is a stupidly powerful spell, so only one caster in my playgroup can have it at a time. The game is, always has been, and always will be what we make of it. So long as we take that to heart we will always be playing dungeons and dragons exactly as Gary Gygax intended

I made it. I have to say it feels good to hear someone talk about the dnd community like this its usually a touchy subject for most people i encounter cause they are defensive of how they play but in the end i think you were right about having to try systems yourself. I tried pathfinder a while back and i couldnt really get into it i preffered the homebrew dnd i played more often but i still want to give other systems a try in case i find one i enjoy. Sorry for the long message.

That was some intense Getting Over It gameplay.

I commented *before* the video before I made it, talking about how my group is trying out Daggerheart (which is that open beta ttrpg started by critical role) and joking about how timely it is that the video showed up right after night one of the Daggerheart campaign I joined up with a campaign for family friends (which drifted apart eventually), but my first long term dedicated campaign was during high school, and it sparked what is basically a multiverse that's spanned 5 years of shenanigans I will say that it's a little nice that the lore stays consistent even across different systems, so I don't think the system was necessarily a problem, that or the storytelling rode out no matter what

I made it. D&D has never been about the company for me, or the wider community, it’s been about the imagination and the game, I love roleplaying stupid scenarios with my friends as well as serious emotional moments, I love refining my rules to make a balanced game and throwing a rules out the window because my friend wants to try something stupid, I love brainstorming ideas using the newest official subclasses and spending all of my money on homebrew books to support businesses and to broaden my ideas. But above it all, I love spending time with my friends, i could stop playing dnd and instead invite all of my friends over to just come up with stories and it would probably get the same effect, but dnd gives us a refined lens to experience all of our stories through, if it wasn’t obvious by this point I’m a forever DM but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it’s always worth it everytime my session ends and my players talk about much they enjoyed the session or everytime one of my players messages me with ideas or their character or to just simply say how excited they are for this weeks game. It was never about the company or the community or the discourse, for me it was always about my friends and the people I play the game with.

I made it. I get PF2 not being everyone's cup of tea. But, I've just run out of things to play in 5e. Every character just feels the same after you've played a lot of characters (mine die a lot) to the point where I've had to come up with ridiculous homebrew to keep in interesting. Pf2 has exactly what I'd wanted to sink my teeth into, to the point where it's hard to make the name character twice. Still hoping to get my main play group to give it a try. 🤞

I made it. As someone who doesn’t play pathfinder and has no interest in ever playing pathfinder, calling people recommending it “selfish” and “wrong” seems like a weird overstep here. They clearly prioritize a different aspect of the game than you, but I don’t see how their perspective on what DnD players frustrated with the system might enjoy is any less valuable. Sure, there may be less people interested in that crunchy combat aspect than there are interested in systems made for in depth roleplay, but both types still exist. It’s no less fundamentally incorrect than recommending something like Burning Wheel, or a third party 5e supplement.

I made it, and I'm gonna risk sounding like a cranky old asshole here, but goddamn does some of this discourse feel so othering. I started playing TTRPGS in my teens and I'm in my 30s now. D&D wasn't my first system, but when I started D&D 4th had just dropped and the community was in the throes of edition purism and thinking WotC suck (they did then and do now) but we enjoyed 3.5 so we played it. What really strikes me about the recent turn in the culture around 5e and the 'drama' is that it feels to me like 5e hardcore fans are just like the way the fanbase were during peak 3.5 but on different platforms. Now there's Reddit and RU-vid, back then there was GitP and forums and /tg/, but we all love fun stories and fun builds and the culture is so much the same, but since all the drama happened it feels like the deep core of people who started with 5th ed want nothing to do with the wider community, whether that be people who want to play older editions or people who play other systems even though the fun and the culture are relatively speaking the same. I'm a big pro wrestling fan and right now that community is completely plagued with toxic factionalism. You're only allowed to like one show in the eyes of a loud minority, and if you like the one they don't like you're an awful person, and I feel like TTRPGs are headed in a similar direction, it feels like we're standing on the precipice of a repeat of early 4th ed where a loud minority are going to be evangelising their game of choice and putting down people who disagree and that sucks because we're all having the same fun. I'll admit, the drama made my group revert back to playing 3.5 and we're loving it, but we didn't play a huge amount of D&D to start with. But I'm here for anybody who's using any system or engine to tell stories with their friends as long as they're not being an ass about what system I'm using to tell mine.

I made it. *flashbacks to getting over it playthrough* "Oof, you just lost a lot of progress, a real punch in the gut." (cool format for a video tbh, very creative)

Honestly I think we as a community needed this video, to clarify for and console those of us unsure what to think in, frankly, this turbulent time for dnd o7 Blaine

I made it. I really hate that that is the common perception of the pathfinder community. It was similar years ago when I first peeked into it and hasn't really shaken that. And those people definitely exist. I think in any space, people who find passion in something that is under the shadow of the popular leader in the space, often have strong compulsions to be demeaning towards that popular thing. Music being an easy example. A lot of people who don't listen to mainstream pop music actively talk about how bad it is. People who play videogames but don't play fortnite or call of duty, will often complain about how "those aren't real games" or "those games are trash". I ve always thought this to be a bad attitude to have towards things, but it does happen very often, and sometimes I can understand where people are coming from when they go about it in the right way. While there may be people biting at any chance to tell someone "x game is better than D&D" I do think there are a lot of people who see creators online say "I like DND but I wish x,y &z were different" and then try to point them in the direction of a different game that might have what they are looking for, instead of just homebrewing 5e. Often times when the complaints are about combat systems or customization options, "you should try pathfinder" is often an answer given. But I think years of people yelling "pathfinder is way better than DND" have unfortunately muddied the waters for those who are just trying to get people into a game they believe someone might enjoy. I still enjoy my 5e sessions and actually really like some of the new changes upcoming. I would never begrudge someone who has fun with the system, despite the flaws I might think it has. I also understand how "learn a different system" is a difficult, sometimes impossible task, and being told to do so repeatedly can be annoying. I used to play every week, sometimes twice. And the last year or so I can barely squeeze in a monthly session. Its sometimes just not practical to find the time for a new system when you can just tweak the old one. Anyways thanks for the space to rant if anyone read through. Ive heard several larger creators specifically call out pathfinder for this reason, and its always a crappy feeling as someone who just enjoys what the game has to offer

I made it - I am surprised that you made the assumption that PF2E was made for combat. There's so much juicy stuff in it for RP and Character Creation.

I made it. This is such a relief to find, being new to DnD and seeing all the fire and brimstone being tossed about is overwhelming and not understanding why everything seems to be so loud just makes it worse, it's nice to see something different, and it does make me more hopeful for the future of DnD.

I made it, yay. I do remember the OGL debacle as well as the beginnings of OneDND as my group did actually try to do OneDND but we moved away to Pathfinder. However, those were more like the final nails of a coffin rather than the main reason. In spite of that, I still wish to join a 5e group again but I can't seem to find the magic of it again. Pathfinder is enjoyed by everyone in my group to my knowledge and I am mixed on it. 5e was just something special for me as it was my first step into Tabletop RolePlaying games and I am greatly thankful for it. It inspired so much creativity in me through MANY homebrew classes, races, or worlds and I don't think there is a single other game that could have done that to me. Heck, a friend and I regularly make solo games for one another using our iterations on the d20 and D&D/Pathfinder systems while also getting inspired from other places. I don't think I'll stop any of that soon, but I do owe everything to D&D for that. So long as that passion drives me and others, I know this game will survive.

I made it. I made it to the last second. This video feels like something I really needed to hear, being stuck in the miasma of DnDrama. I’ve been on this ship for 7 years now, and I’ve loved most of it. The highs and the lows too. The Ouroborosian way the community consumes itself honestly hurts to see and this feels like a small glimmer of light in this vast sea of void

I made it The last two years or so have been quite a journey for me. I had grown really unhappy with DnD over time, despite the fact that I had started playing it with such enthusiasm and whimsy just a couple of years before that point And then the whole hoopla on January 2023 happened, and it made me take a hard look at myself, and what was around, and the problem really became clear - the problem wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the fun and creative roleplay and storytelling with my friends anymore, but it really was that the rules and the game itself just weren’t calling to me anymore, because they really matter - a lot, even! The event in January was the catalyst for me to look into different games, I gave Pathfinder a try, I fell in love with it, and I swapped wholesale with my friends. We just took our stories and our beloved characters and we just…converted it, and it worked really well for us. In a lot of ways, the ways we played dnd already aligned with pathfinder. This ended up meaning that we had both fun and engaging roleplay, and also combat that really satisfied all the people in our table who were more combat-oriented (me especially) So in the end…it really made me realize that I never really liked dnd all that much. I just enjoyed my friends, I played 5e because that’s what they were playing, but now we do something different, and we even do different other systems for other types of games (cyberpunk and delta green, for example), and it’s really what works for us You feel DnD is close to perfect, and I think that’s perfectly valid. How you feel matters, and I think that we just coexist fine as just people who want to share beautiful stories with our friends. That’s what matters, isn’t it? I never was active in the dnd community, and I stopped following after I left around January last year. I’m saddened to hear that things haven’t stopped, and I honestly hope it settles - because you guys deserve better. I might not be in this community anymore, but I do wish you all the very best

So far im only at the start of the video, but i must say i enjoy your videos in general, whatever you want to move on to, il most likely watch it

I made it. I'm brand new to the D&D community. I'm playing for the first time in a couple weeks. I've been growing to love this game as nothing but a spectator for around a year. But almost all of the online discourse around it seemed like it was trying to dissuade newcomers from even giving it a shot. Every comment section had the army of people saying "Pathfinder is better," the army of people saying "WotC sucks, don't support the game," and the army of people who, like myself, have never even played but still want to learn. To everyone else like me, I urge you to give it a shot. You may find a hobby that will stick with you for years, or you may find that it's not for you. I'll be finding out which group I'm in soon enough. But don't let the online drama make your decision for you. Go play. Have fun with your friends. Make memories. And don't forget to take a few pictures to look back on in a few years and remember the first time you tried Dungeons and Dragons.

I made it ❤ Thank you for putting this together Blaine. This style of video was nice to see. I've got a complicated relationship with D&D. Originally I fell in love with it as a player, but soon I couldn't help but take the DM chair. And it really was a fun trip. I met a lot of people, learned a lot about myself in the process. An unfortunate thing I learned is how much of an all-consuming thing it can be. Especially if you're letting other people's expectations control you. D&D helped me learn the difference between good friends and good players and even people who just use you for their amusement. Always speak up about how you're feeling, and if you don't want to run a game then don't. TL:DR If you're going to share a passion with other people, make sure they can respect your boundaries.

Why am I fast forward though till you start talking again???

I made it. Despite the controversy I still love D&D and all the content the fans are still making. I hope one day they'll see pass the fact that D&D was made by wizard of the coast, instead see that D&D was made by the fans. And for those who are hiding the fact that they like it because of the community, hope they see this video and know it's okay.

I made it. The best way I see it is that D&D feels like, and should feel *more* a game engine. It gives you the core fundamentals, all the tools you need to create something great, but ultimately leaves you with the tools to build your own thing. I'm currently in a campaign where 5/7 players are new to the game. And most of the stuff we use are homebrew. I feel like sourcebooks should give guides on how to create and balance homebrew mechanics, because trying to outsource to community forums feels daunting at least to me. Tl;dr. I feel D&D should embrace a mindset of "here's how you *can* play the game, here's some worlds we created, which you can use. BUT, here's how you can create your very own worlds and mechanics to the best abilities, and we'll give you the tools to do so"

Impressive video and neat way to edit it (as if it was the narration of getting over it) I made it to the end and now that I'm here you have me thinking about what TTRPGs really means to me thank you for the perspective

I made it. I straddle the line between 5e and Pathfinder 2e. I’ve ran and play 5e, and I’ve ran PF2e with the same group. There are advantages and disadvantages to each and I plan on running both in the foreseeable future. After completing the homebrew game my friend is running, I plan on running Wild Beyond the Witchlight, but using the Monsters of Murka 3rd party rules to make it a “modern” campaign. I’m excited to be working on that in the future!

I made it. I started playing D&D the 3.0 days over 20 years ago. It has been a formative part of my life and taught me better methods of personal interaction and how the person I was pretending to be at the table was just a piece of the best parts of me. I migrated to Pathfinder 1, when I saw that it was 3.5 with just more. More options, more customization, and some rules fixed. Because of that I completely missed 4e and the growth of the 5e community until I picked up 5e after a long hiatus from RPGS. The prevalence of discord and Start Playing was what turned me towards the RU-vid creators that bow populate my feed everyday. The OGL crisis hit for mostly the reason it was hitting many of these creators, I was concerned that they, not me, would be losing some part of their livelihoods due to restrictions on content creation. DM’s online would lose out when VTT’s would be threatened. I felt for the community, because I am just a casual player with no stake in the game beyond my enjoyment, which has not wavered. I’m excited for the revised 5e. I’m excited for the content creators that will have new things to discuss and create. I hope that the people who are making new systems and 3rd party books prosper and continue adding to the play space so everyone can zero in on the things they enjoy. I’m in America and it feels like negativity is part of the cultural fabric some days. I’m not here to add to it. I’m here to find joy in what I can, and I applaud anyone trying to do the same. Thanks, Blaine, for the insightful words and a calm pause to my day.

(i made it) im just tired of people yelling and hating whenever i say i enjoy playing dnd 5e, i know hasbro is terrible but i still enjoy the books that wotc make.

I made it. I understand the sentiment that (I think) you have, Blaine. I understand the desire to go back to the days before the OGL scandal. I understand the love of D&D and the need to not be bullied or ridiculed for enjoying what you love. Going back to a simpler time when my passion for D&D made me feel like I was doing something special and wonderful, without reading negative sentiments about my hobby or feeling judged. Some of the best memories of my life were made with this game. But WotC betrayed us and showed us that for them we are just a bag of money, not people. This should not be forgiven. Literally the only reason D&D is the trunk from which all other branches grow is because people believe it is true and will always remain so. And I wish our community would have more faith and at least try to change the status quo, instead of intellectualizing and justifying their desire to stay with 5e and pretending that they are not doing it at the expense of their integrity. What I mean is that you don't have to change the game, you can stick with D&D if you like it best. But you absolutely should accept that most of the community would be better off if D&D stopped being a trunk and became one of many branches. If you love D&D and actually wish our community well, I don't think you should ever advertise the official books or even the starter kit before using homebrew. And even if you only care about the best D&D experience, you REALLY DON'T NEED to buy the official books ever again. Turn to the community that made this game the great phenomenon it is, not the scoundrels currently at the helm of WotC. Switch fully to SRD supplemented with homebrew, or start supporting independent projects like Tales of the Valiant and others that are fully compatible with your favorite game and are arguably just independent, better versions of it. If you honestly don't want to do this because you prefer the status quo where "official" D&D remains the dominant game in the community, consider whether you're subconsciously doing it selfishly. Just some food for thought.

I made it. I love D&D. But at heart I'm a TTRPG player. And it pains me that people are filing down hammers to make soup easier to eat with them instead of learning to use a spoon. I love D&D, I started with 5e. But same as I cant eat the same meal every day, I cant play the same TTRPG for 20 years. Stepping out of your comfort zone, even for a one shot, will benefit most people. Especially if the comfort zone has just turned to weird power gaming and people making insane characters cause they've reached the limit of what you can do in a hack and slashy, constrained TTRPG like D&D. Watch more films, listen to more music, play more games. Dont do yourself the disservice of doing one thing on repeat forever.

I made it. First time I watched a complete playthrough of Getting Over It. Your points about modifying D&D to get what you want out of it were really good. The idea that the rules are completely static may be one of the biggest problems in this community. I would love if there was more emphasis on picking and choosing what you keep and what you change in official D&D content. It might prompt more collaboration with the Dungeon Master over what you want to do, rather than trying to "break the game" by finding loopholes.

I made it, and personally I don't really feel affected by any of this because I haven't even truly started DnD yet. I tried, but I struggled to find a DM. The only DnD thing I ever participated in was a single session that was meant to continue but was cancelled because we the players couldn't find a schedule that worked for everyone. It was pretty fun though, and I still wanted to play in an actual campaign, but I did not manage to find a single available DM after that, until I got bored from searching and stopped. Well I searched a bit here and there afterwards, but still to no avail. I don't really care that much about big people in the community, or popular DMs, or what version of the game is used... I just wanna be able to play the game man.

1. I made it 2.A. The second Hasbro/WotC sent The Pinkertons, the mother-flipping PINKERTONS, to intimidate a MtG RU-vidr into "giving back" the cards that WotC mistakenly sent them, is the exact second that I was done with this corporation. Until D&D is in better hands, not just new management, but a whole new company - or preferably, no company, just full public ownership (as if) - then I am done with them. I will still play RPG's. Even older editions of D&D. But not 5e. There are other games, other systems, other stories and memories to make. 3. And that is the real point. Any and all RPGs should be about the stories and memories we make around the table. The rules or edition or system don't really matter. The company that makes it "shouldn't" matter (unless they make it about themselves and not the community). The haters and grognards shouldn't matter either. The real treasure really is the friends we make along the way. If a game or group isn't doing that for you, then find one that does. It's a big world out there.

I made it And I just wanna say thank you for speaking about all of these issues in the community in such a love letter style format. The tone, the information, the personal anecdotes. They create such an interesting atmosphere and really give a good encapsulation of what this community is really like

I made it. Honestly this was a pretty chill video. I got into DnD 3.5 around late middle school to early high school a little after it came out. I played it at a campout when a bunch of regulars in that group I was with started playing. It was really fun and even though I was the youngest at like, twelve, they gave me a seat and walked me through it. I had fun playing it up until 4th edition came out. Now while I have my issues with 4th edition it was pretty much all my friends played for a while even after 5th became a thing. Then we just kind of stopped. Mostly because I, and all of my other friends, moved on from DnD. Why you may ask? Well, most of our games didn't last till the end and people just kinda tuned out during them. For me though, It's mostly a setting thing. Some people didn't like the rules sure... but it's not like pathfinder was a better option either. When we branched out however... Everybody suddenly started having a hell of a lot more fun. Some of my best TTRPG memories aren't from DnD (3.5 or otherwise) but other systems with more varied settings/goals. Games like Call of Cthulhu, World of Darkness, this cool final fantasy inspired TTRPG called Fabula Ultima, to even wild and whacky systems like maid RPG. I feel that, while scary, players should step outside their comfort zone and play a game that looks interesting if they so wish to. Whether it be because of cool lore, interested rules, a whacky tone, or whatever. I say even branch out and play games initially written in other languages if you have the means. There are some really fun JTTPRGs, like sword world which is sort of an alt DnD itself. That said I think DnD is a good starter system and if people want to stick with it since it jives with them then all power too them. But if they wanna branch out or start with something else then that's fine too... However I agree with you that I don't like it when people push pathfinder down people's throats. I really don't care for it's setting and it seems like it's biggest claim to fame is just being alt DnD. Somebody offering Pathfinder as somebody's first RPG without even considering the kind of genres, gameplay styles, etc the person in question is into. Especially if it turns people off the hobby. That said... DnD might not be the best first option for people too since i know people that might like other TTRPG systems but grew to hate the hobby after one game of DnD and not jiving with it. Personally I'd say if you wanna get somebody into it, and you're used to Dming, learn more about the person's personality, figure out what their interests are, and get them into a setting that matches their style/appeals to them. The TTRPG world is just bigger than one pond, it's got limitless potential.

I made it. Thanks for such a calming video about this situation. I really needed the reminder today that this IS a hobby that I do for fun and that is important to remember. Also, I love the editing style of putting this discussion over gameplay of getting of it, really well done video.

I made it, and after seeing this I feel inspired to maybe... create something that will make people feel satisfied and happy, a TTRPG, I know it wouldn't be as grand as DND or pathfinder, but the world is crazy and in Brazil a new TTRPG showed up less than 3 years ago and it is absurdly famous. Maybe it is a delusion of grandeur, but if the stars let me I promise to make something people will enjoy making content about, something that isn't set in stone and will make people want to create as well, sorry for this comment not being much about DND, I just felt like sharing these feelings, thanks for making the video creator.

I made it. I genuinely love that you made this video. Personally I have a hard time socializing, so I often end up a bit out of touch with the wider community in a lot of things, so I haven’t realized things had gotten like this, so thank you this was very informative. You honestly hit the nail on the head here in a lot of aspects. To me D&D is a game, and games are about having fun. If you not having fun, find your fun, whether it’s in a different game, or changing the one you’re currently playing. Also, since your speaking of D&D being a tree and it having many boughs, each being the many ways people enjoy whatever D&D means to them; Could we perhaps call D&D the Yggdrasil of RPG’s? It runs through and connects and supports everything, from the RPers to the Wargamers, the World-weavers and Lore-smiths to the Hack-and-Slashers and Grim Gauntleteers; Power Gamers, Suboptimal Builders, Min-Max-Er’s, The Jack of all trades, and every other style, fashion, and taste. I very much like this idea you’ve inspired in me, of a grand tree of D&D spanning the vast reaches of the community; it warms my heart, and I thank you for that, and for all you do and make.

I made it and havent skipped any second of the Video i honestly just enjoy rp with friends when something doesnt fit us we just adjust it / add it so we can enjoy the time we spend together

I made it. One of my favourite things about TTRPGs is the game is what you make it to be. D&D isn't a whole, finished game, it isn't like video games where any updates are unavoidable and the game is played in the same way (or multiple same ways) every time. D&D is a foundation and something to be changed and customised. I think the community has a tendency to view it as this unchanging thing, that what WotC says is some kind of mandate, and though WotC has an effect on the mechanics of the game as they dictate it, nothing is stopping players from making the most customised, personal version of the game. Whether they use D&D or another system as a foundation, each TTRPG is totally different table to table, and I love that so much.

I made it to the end of the video. I've been wanting to start a Call of Cthulhu game IRL, but i get really overwhelmed with putting it together. The social interactions required, writing the story, making sure i understand the game enough to teach it to new players, and finally actually committing to the idea. What i value in a roleplay game is a de-emphasization of combat, large focus on roleplay, story, and mystery.

I made it and you've made me realize me realize some hypocrisy I had about the game and the fans because I judged the new system without actually reading what it had to offer and I would die on that hill (or mountain ig). Thank you for making this video Blaine, while I am shopping around systems (partly to get a taste of new things and for the love of learning a system) I won't forget the good times I've had with this game and its dedicated content creators.

I made it, I appreciate that you spoke to something I have felt for a long time. I love this hobby I love dnd but whenever I find myself trying to talk to people about the hobby I am almost always immediatly and often violently met with bitterness and frustration. It has actually been silently pushing me away for some time, I am a forever dm, and everytime I think about trying to start a new game I am turned away why would I want to put all of this time love and effort only for all of my work to be spit on and discarded like trash. I love DND yall, that is my tagline my cord in the dark holding onto what little positivity I can as me and my friends build worlds together, I refuse to let my flickering candle go out. If you made it this far, please show kindess to each other, we all are going through tough times so be a brightspot in the dark, peace.

I made it. I recently saw a video about from a pretty large creator how optimizing character builds, learning the math, multiclassing without an in-character reason and using features from new books to make stronger characters perpetuates a cycle of dopamine-inducing power and buying new books to make even more absurd characters until there’s no game left to play, that you’ve “won dnd” and “if you wanted to play a game you should go play baldurs gate 3” with enough heavy cynicism to almost make me choke. At the end of it, i remembered a flood of other similar videos throughout the year I saw and just… got tired. I’m tired of just seeing nothing on my feed that’s positive for dnd. My friends won’t stop going on and on about how bad dnd is, echoing the same problems over and over and at this point it makes me just wanna curl up into a ball. It’s exhausting.

Well, I made it, and while I don't like WotC for what they tried to do and are doing, I can't write off a hobby that's been part of my life for so many years and brought me so much joy. I started with 5E, the beginning, raised on stories of TTRPGs told by my own father, a man who started DMing 1st Edition. His style influences my games and yet I've made it all my own, but I feel he impressed a lesson on me that I've carried through all my games as a DM and a Player: "You don't have to use the rules you don't like. It's YOUR game. Play it how you want, tel the story that you want, use the Rules you want, and if you don't like a ruling, make a new one." I've strived to teach other DMs that as well, to mixed results. I'll look at the new rules, and if I don't like them, I won't use them. WotC can get me on its VTT when it makes it better than pen and paper, or the myriad other VTTs out there. D&D survived the fall of TSR, it'll survive WotC, as long as we remember one simple lesson passed down to us from Wargame to Tabletop, player to player, hand to hand: "Bear in mind the principle that anything can be attempted." We're all Grognards now.

I made it. Watching this video made me realise just how much of a choke hold dnd has over the entire ttrpg community, perhaps I am being too cynical or going off the mark, but through the whole video I felt a sense of close mindedness, like dnd was the starting point and default by which every other game should be chosen and analysed, like dnd or pathfinder are all there is, I jumped off the dnd bandwagon way before the whole ogl thing happened, but I’m so glad that it brought many online creators to actually look at what else there is to appreciate in the industry sorrounding this single game, but here I felt (and I underline felt since I could very well be wrong) like these RU-vidrs were leaving behind the oh so precious dnd to which they owe everything, instead of being people smart enough to look for greener pastures, the dnd community is stagnant, there IS nothing more to talk about, it’s what would happen if every single gaming RU-vidr only talked about Mario, or every movie reviewer only watched marvel movies, dnd is strangling the life out of an art form that deserves so much more and I just can’t understand people who decide to keep looking at shadows in a cave instead of going out into the fields

I made it (though I skipped a few parts without commentary). I will admit, it is hard to talk about this as I haven't played any TTRPGs. All I have is the D&D 5th ed player handbook. I don't even have a die set of my own. Most of what I gotten have been stories from RU-vid channels. I've know about the issues that was 4th ed and the cluster that One D&D was. But because I have never played I have felt like it has never truly concerned me. I just like hearing stories of groups (both the good and bad), learning about things like I did from The Crap guides,, and other things here on RU-vid like what potential balance changes could be made for classes or monsters. I don't view things anywhere else so what I have seen has been limited. It has been good for me and makes me hope for a day where I can play (I have my reasons that I don't wan t to discuss). My post isn't much but I think X20Adam said it best "is that D&D is fun, and that's all its ever needed to be." I just get in my own way from people like you and the others here on this network. So thanks.

I made it. I may not be a player, but as an observer, D&D is just a fun little thing I like to hear about. At the heart of it all, I just view it as a fun story to hear about. All the fun adventures that people have and talk about, like its local gossip or something. I may not have a horse in this race, per se, but I'd hate to see people try and destroy something that clearly means so much to a lot of people. While I may not have a huge stake in D&D as a while, I do have a stake in the happiness of people.

I made it! I started D&D because i liked RP chats on Amino but the lack of rules and setting really started grinding my gears. I had ideas to play so I took up the DMing role and hosted a game with a simple premise. There's been years and i've been through burnout to passionate rp moments between characters that were the highlights of my time. I slowly tried to move on to WoD, however it is not so popular and it makes it so much harder to find groups. I still hold 5e close to my heart tho and I still love to play it because it is just easy to grasp and because it is easy to find groups in this game. Listening to all that's beyond my interests is an interesting insight into the whole D&D community. Kinda sad in a way too, and I'd say I wouldn't want to change 5e's rules to the "newer" edition cuz It just works the best for me and whenever I found something I don't like I'd just tweak it to my taste and talk with my players. Thx for the video, btw. Glad to see that it made so many people gather here to discuss their opinions, clever way too! Cya!

[I made it] I was hardcore into the D&D ecosystem with 5e, it was my first ttrpg and becoming a forever dm (by choice) made me deep dive into every aspect of the game. I would consume a lot of d&d content as I wanted to know everything. Nowadays I do play pathfinder as my system of choice, it's just what works for me and my players. I have a desire to be a system polyglot, someone that plays a variety of ttrpgs, as I feel no matter what the system is you will have tradeoffs of some kind. It is really just what tradeoffs you are willing to make and where you find the fun.

I made it. I’ve been thinking about quitting the hobby entirely over the past week, no more playing, no more DMing, no more creating. All gone… of course I’ve had similar thoughts of not wanting to play anymore but it was only recently that the thought of throwing everything away was so exciting and made me really happy. That being said it’s honestly really scary to think about just ending and deleting my campaign, I want to tell that story and I want to spend time with friends, I’ve put so much time into this hobby that ending it feels like a sunk cost fallacy, I still have ideas that I want to share with my friends. I don’t feel like it’s all bad, that it’s complicated, that there’s enough malice to relish the idea of being done with it all but still a sense of hope and optimism for the future I was hoping this video would help with the process but it could never be quite that simple, still it’s nice hearing someone talk about DnD like this

22:40 a wild Mumbo Jumbo has appeared

I made it. Dnd will always hold a spot in my heart. I remember playing curse of Strahd over the phone with my boyfriend. We only play together but it was always fun making characters and telling stories. I started out with Puffin Forest and his stories and slowly I started watching other content. Yours is one of my top favorites. After awhile we realized dnd specifically wasn’t what we were looking for and started looking at other games. It’s funny you said something similar but saying “let’s talk about ttrpgs” is always a mouthful, so even when we are talking about other things we always just call it dnd. Sorry if I didn’t add much. On another note, I can’t wait for Silver’s Monster Girl Manual! Haven’t had the resources to preorder yet but I hope to soon! Anyway keep doing you, and I will keep watching.

I made it, TLDR: don’t sweat things like what system you use or specific rules. Try new things and find out what’s fun for your friends I got into dnd from Jocat’s crap guide series, so I was 100% HYPED for over the top antics, weird and unorthodox characters, and dumb comedic bits. I first played because I was staying at a friends house for a night to watch all the alien movies and he had forgotten he had a session that night over discord so he played with his group while I half listened. I thought to myself “hey I’ve been listening to this funny guy say some funny things about this game. I could use some funny in my life right now.” So in the middle of them doing something that sounded important I blurted out “You guys got an open spot?” The DM made some kind of joke with the party and played it off. But the others asked if I was serious and basically forced the DM to add a 6th character to the party. And I knew nothing about how to play so the next night me and the dm hopped on a call to explain rules, give introductions, and get a vibe for me. 2 weeks later I’m playing. Now this campaign was level 1-20 and had been going on for a year at this point. So I was out of my depth. I’ve never done roleplay I don’t know the mechanics. I just wanted to play this funny water genasi character. Everyone was real supportive though. They worked with my clunky roleplay, helped me understand combat, and the dm let me try stupid stuff without insta killing my character (there were times we he should have). As I played I noticed everyone had parts of a session that piqued their interest. One liked rolling big damage numbers with divine smite, while someone else liked the tense moments of story roleplay while everything could go wrong if the guards found out we were lying. Another one. She seemed to like the deep cathartic character moments. I found myself enjoying all of those things, but I never really had that one thing until after one session where my character caused an entire castle full of people to start attacking us. The group has NEVER had so much yelling in a call as that session. Now I need to clarify no one actually had a problem with me. In fact most of them found it hilarious that the party was so thoroughly screwed. So the session ended with howling laughter. Realized then that what I enjoyed most was just hanging out with those people. We still play. I’ve even dm’d a campaign. And I’ll talk about other systems all the time. We use crazy amounts of Homebrew and I’m sure one day we will switch to something else but for me it isn’t about the game. It’s always just been finding time to hang out with these people. I feel that(on the internet at least) people tend to care too much about the rules of whatever system they play. But I’ve found that the best system to play, is the one that you and your friends enjoy the most. And if you aren’t enjoying the rules of your game then it’s a good thing it’s all imaginary anyways. When it comes to rules written by developers (both large and small) I don’t tend to care if they’re bad. Because whether you’re chatting over a group call, or sitting around a table playing the most intense and emotional story of the decade, remember this; “this is for us. We don’t have to follow someone else’s idea of ‘fun’” And hey, if you realize your group has more fun doing something else. Anything from video games to weekend mini golf, then you can do those things too! Do what makes you happy. And if anyone reads all of this then here take this:🍪

I made it. This is super insightful and oddly vulnerable feeling. I always appreciate your thoughts, and still think I owe a lot of my initial confidence in leaning into content creation from when you reached out. These days I’m leaning less into “dnd info” and more into “fun fantasy moments” but I’m still deep in the homebrew weeds. I like it there.

I made it. As someone who was a gm for a group in high school, dnd has been part of my life for quite some time now. Even as I'm trying out new systems like pathfinder 2e or Lancer, I still think that dnd will hold some place near and dear in my heart. A lot of my creative passions came from wanting to make cool stuff in those early years, and they've stuck with my ever since. Bit sad to see that some circles in the hobby have gotten sour, but it always makes me happy to see that some places are still flourishing despite it. To anyone reading this, I hope you have a good day, and if you're in any sort of tabletop rpg group, I hope you have a real fun time next session :)

I made it. I started playing D&D in 2015, this was 5E of course, I have never played any TTRPG up until this point in my entire life. I never had the idea of, or faintest clue what I was getting myself into, but I'm so glad that I did. 9 years later I still play 5e with the same friends that I did all that time ago... I owe many thanks to who I have become as a person to D&D and by proxy WOTC I guess. When the OGL things were going on, some of those same friends were getting a bit upset ant that's understandable, but when one would mention that we should switch to another game, or older edition only because of the OGL, I wasn't having it at all. I explained to them that this is the game that we all love, that we all play consistently on a weekly basis for the past 7 years at that point, I explained that the game hasn't changed, just the perception of it, and that they were falling for it and becoming just another sheep in the flock. It wasn't me trying to change them or alter their view, but only to make them realize what they were saying they didn't really feel, and to that they agreed, and we are still playing 2 years later. Things like DC20, Daggerheart, and other games that are splinters from D&D are cool, but if you want to go play those games, go play them because you are genuinely interested in them, not just because you want to somehow stick it to the man and show WOTC whats what. I have played AD&D 2e and I can say that it is fun, but I don't get the same feelings I get when I play 5e, nor did I feel the same excitement, and sheer happiness I did when I tried 5e for the first time, when I tried 5e for the very first time it was like I unlocked a part of myself that I didn't know I had locked up, and that is the reason why I love 5e so much. To see WOTC try to fix 5e brings me so much joy I can't even explain it, it's is my favorite TTRP I have ever played, and I look forward to what happens with it next, 5.5, 6, 7 or whatever edition it is.

I made it, Captain Blain and I just wanna roll dice and have fun

The honest truth for me, is that D&D is fun, and that's all its ever needed to be.

I made it. Thank you for your input. I've been playing Pathfinder since 2016, but D&D 3rd edition was my first dive into the tabletop gaming scene. In a few years since, I found that Pathfinder (and the friends I've made since who also play) was the system for me. D&D is not a terrible system. It's not for me, but I appreciate how easy it was for people to find their niche in it. My main problem came when the Magic: the Gathering community had their anger reach my ears. After War of the Spark (admittedly I wasn't particularly tethered to the game anyway) I gave up on the game seemingly because I saw that WotC cared about that product less and less. Over the next couple of years anytime I heard something about WotC it was claims about terrible business practices and other hot topics, some of which were debunked. Racial discrimination towards their writers, the whole proxy special bs, and my personal dislike for cards and mechanics they were printing that I just could not wrap my head around. After the OGL announcement, and researching what that meant, it was clear to me WotC was being a bully trying to take advantage of the success from others. I refuse to forgive them, and I quietly do it by not giving them a penny from my wallet. Sadly, I've also sworn off buying 3rd party publishings for 5e because it endorses the game made by a company that bullies its own customers. That being said, I still play 5e with friends when invited. I make it known I will not buy anything, but will happily use materials that are free or else supplements I do not have to pay for. I sadly cannot keep up with players who know everything inside and out, but I have fun showing off even the core foundation of a basic character. Human Fighter (cavalier) is my current one and I'm having a lot of fun! I don't like hearing people getting betrayed and backstabbed on a game they made a living with. But it gets to a point I just gotta let them lie in the bed they made. For whatever reason D&D remains as your favored game, I'm simply happy you found a game that's fun. Everyone's preferences differ, and I respect the separation players are making between D&D and WotC. (Have fun reading THAT! 😂 Wow, I got way too into it. Lol TL;DR - Not a D&D player, no hate towards D&D, I just despise WotC.)

I made it. After the whole Pinkerton situation, I immediately tried jumping ship and switching to Pathfinder, but I felt myself being drawn back in. I'm still very much into 5e, mostly because I really like the people in the group Im in. But in terms of the whole OGL debacle, I personally think it was beneficial to certain TRPGs. For instance, because of it, Pathfinder 2e is now developing more of its own identity with the remaster in its goal to break free of the OGL. I'm trying to get into other TRPGs, but now, it's mostly so I can play a TRPG at all. Nowadays, I don't try to get people to switch to Pathfinder, I try to get them to play Pathfinder as well. When I heard my brother was getting into D&D, I was elated. So, yeah.

i made it, and i can now see that D&D just isn't for me- not yet. i really just had nothing to do and no one to talk with, and i thought i could hit three birds with one stone with D&D, as it was seemingly being a hobby with aspects that seemed right up my alley. it didn't turn out the way i expected. maybe it was the group, maybe it was just me. my guess is both. but if i have anything to say, it's... thank you. you've provided countless ways for me to pick this back up when i return, and have given me a lens into what i see as the most interesting part of this community. i stuck around your channel for over a year despite having never played due to lacking a group, and it helped me find my way to a core part of the things i seriously enjoy, and that very interest is what will have me back... someday. i probably will stick around this channel (don't wanna miss out) but i feel like this is some sort of goodbye, haha. thank you.

I made it. Personally, I’ve been playing D&D for over the past 4 to 6 years, give or take what you really consider to be the actual way of playing the game, and I’ve admittedly grown somewhat tired of playing the same system for so long. Between new rules barely making an effort to change and improve, and the conflict caused by the company behind the game itself, I chose to start trying out new systems to play with. Personally, I did adore Pathfinder 2nd Edition when I gave it a try, but I was aware some of my friends who weren’t as into the hobby as me didn’t share my excitement, but this video did help me out understand that I don’t have to be angrily loud about the distaste I’ve acquired for D&D’s current system, and that instead I should simply try to enjoy both old and new things with my friends at our own pace. I will probably still play D&D with those friends who don’t feel like playing combat with a lot of mechanical depth, and with those who don’t want a system so light in rules that it could fit in a single sheet of paper without missing a thing, as after all, the idea of the game and of nearly all TTRPGs is to hang out with friends and enjoy playing make believe.

I made it. When I first started I didn’t start with 5e. I started with 4e with my family, and we switched to a fantasy flight rpg because 4e was too much sword and sorcery, with not a lot else I switched to 5e in 2019 after a Long break from ttrpgs and it was fun! I loved it and it was interesting, but, the mechanical nuance of RP Elements, some combat, and some exploration and downtime made me want more. I always felt like asking my GMs for a cool thing I could have my dwarf bard do between adventures was basically asking to ad-lib new rules. I got sick of it, and switched to pf2e. I became the “just try pathfinder” jerk found in this video, I didn’t introduce it to my friends in a way that was at all constructive because I hadn’t yet had time to run the game for Anyone. I then ran it, I loved it, and then found parts of a community with its own set of problems, and 5e migrants now applying the “just patch it in” mindset into a far more focused and finished whole. I got sick of it, and found Wildsea, 7th Sea, and Salvage Union instead, and I’m loving it. If I had never played two different editions when I was a kid, I probably wouldn’t have had the bandwidth to see the flaws and change. The expectation that everyone in the 5e community Should jump ship to a new edition is just wrong and unhealthy, as you said. It harms communities outside of 5e that are just developing when you bring in huge waves of people who’s only motivation are getting away from the thing, not diving in because they enjoy it. And salvage union and Wildsea have been the most fun to run for a While. I won’t go back to 5e, but I could play 2e again, because now I know what I like, and can get it from the three different games I enjoy most, the specific expressions available in each of the three games.

I made it. Been playing D&D and been apart of the community for a decade now. Shortly after finishing my first campaign I was asked to DM, I haven’t looked back since. I was always agog at how much content there was for players over dungeon masters. I am so thankful for creators like yourself that have sprung up helping me along my journey to be a better DM. Thank you.

I made it Much like any other fandom or subreddit or discord, the worst part of a community is always the most vocal. My friends and I all play 5th edition, but none of us are even remotely interested in what Wizards are coming out with for 2024. Will we switch to another system? Probably not. There's so much third party 5th Edition content that we could probably play forever, and the creators of that deserve our money more than Hasbro does.

I made it! Honestly, what I like about 5e the most is the abundance of homebrew. I like to have as many toys to play with as possible and as many options as possible. I personally do not mind when WotC tries to make their game as easy to access as possible, sinec it just means more people in the community, who can make more things. So far, the only change WotC made that I was fully nagative about was monster Spellcasting - turning Inate Spellcasting and Spellcasting into the same thing. I understand that it makes the monster easier to use and easier to design since you don’t have to give a monster dozens of spells since, even if it doesn't die in 2 rounds, it will probably stick to 3 spells and not use any others, but it feels like putting mechanics over lore and roleplay. I wish they would do what Jetpack 7 did where Spell Casting works like Innate Spellcasting, but you still have their level in a specific spellcasting class, like Level 20 Druid. It can be both simple if needed, but I can also look up what a 20th level druid can do if I want some more complexity. The monsters that suffer the most are legendary spellcasters like Vecna or Tasha. Of course, the yop results when you try to look them up are people who also weren't fans of the change, and so made their own statblocks, and honestly some are pretty great, AND I can simply choose the one I like the most, or get inspired and make my own. That is why despite everything, no matter what WotC does, I still love the game for its community.

Sent here from Duke's video. Thanks for your thoughts, Blaine. Was lovely to hear. And, I made it.

I made it! Thank you for making this video. As someone who hasn’t really interacted much with the wider DND community, it was a very interesting to watch, and explained some stuff about the vibe of the few online message boards I’ve ventured onto. I noticed a lot of assumptions being made about why I played DND and what I was wanting to do with characters and the game itself, both as a DM and a Player. One thing I was particularly surprised by was the amount I, and other people in the room, were being told to play a different game. As you said, not every game is going to work for every person, and it takes a lot of time and commitment to learn a whole new set of rules. Additionally, TTRPGs aren’t usually something you can play by yourself. If you want to keep playing with the friends you already play with, you’d need them to be willing to struggle up the new mountain with you. Not everyone has the time or (more importantly) money, they can spend on a new set of rules, especially when they’re don’t know if they’ll even end up enjoying the game.

I made it, I started with the community, I watched you and Dingo doodles (Fools gold) who got me into d&d. I think something about the classes and spells resonated with me. I had known about d&d for a long time, always wanted to play it but never wanting to read the books or dm a game for my friends who also had no idea how to play the game. Getting into the community meant I learned a few of the rules and had fun doing it. I slowly learned about roll 20, picked up how to use the platform, then started playing d&d with a group, who taught me how combat worked. Now I dm a most homebrew campaign and (Well I am- still very much here- in the community) I still enjoy d&d. Regardless of the new edition, regardless of what ever WOTC says, regardless of what anyone says to me about critical roll or pathfinder or what ever other table top game exists. I am aware the d&d is a broken mess of a system, I am aware that we don't have as many spells as pathfinder, I am aware that a lot of homebrew is compatible with other table top games....although I am aware d&d is a rough, broken mess (Opportunity attacks and Flanking make it so you always want to be with 5ft of your enemy, then with surroned you got a whole new mess.) but- I think I will continue playing my broken little mess of game...because at this point it is my broken little mess of a game. I love it's flaws, and I'll be sad to watch people from the d&d community slowly leave to go to other things (it's just going to happen) I'll keep watching the old videos and endlessly being thankful for how I got here. TLDR: I never asked for a good game, I asked for d&d. :D

I made it! Honestly, maybe you're right that something other than DnD could be better for me, but I'm here to have fun and spend time with my friends... and if they wanna stick to DnD, so be it. I like the storytelling aspect more than the rest, and the mechanics are broad enough to make tons of stories possible. No diplomacy or interaction mechanics other than some rolls works just fine in my case. I *am* branching out a little, like checking out Grimoire of the Heart, which is a Persona system, but that's gonna be for next year, at least. Too busy with real life to DM or participate in another campaign right now. Maybe I'll check out Pathfinder and DC20 'till then and who knows! I might like it! I joined DnD to be able to talk to people better among other things, and I might just make new friends by branching out too! Not like that means I gotta stop playing DnD and my old friends either. I hope everyone here can just... have some fun in their free time, and get enraptured in a story when the world seems so damn horrible. If it's a break for the mind so that we might keep going forward and changing things, then might as well do what we find fun, right?

I made it. I got into the tabletop community purely because I stumbled into loving it. My first system wasn't 5e, instead a mix of 1e and 2e that my art teacher made. Despite that I ended up playing 5e the most during high school and most of my time with TTRPGs. I'd like to say that I still respect 5e, so I will but not to all parts of it. 5e has never been a trunk of a tree to me, but more of a large step on my staircase. From a broad stroke it's just as important as the other steps to make the staircase work, no matter how awkward the climb or descent may be. But from a more fine stroke it's rough to look at. I can never ignore it, but I sure can feel my appreciation for it waver depending on my mood that day. Because of it's size I can make some changes to it so it's more comfortable, and the experience I have with it preps me for any other step I take. But I've stubbed my toe on it constantly. The bar for me to be interested in a game that uses it grows higher, not from hate but from already having played the system so many times, it can feel like too many some days. My enjoyment of it comes less from the system itself but more from what people do with it. With 5e 2024 out for people to buy, I have a distaste for it not from a reason mentioned. I dislike it simply because I view it as a patch for the system, that has the same cost as a new system. I know that it's similar to look at this and think "While what's so different with this and 3.5e and pathfinder, or 1e and 2e?" I never bought/owned the books for 1e or 3.5e and played them for years on end, I did with 5e. It's not fair to 5e 2024 from a far view, but to me personally I just can't look past it. I've begun getting into pathfinder more. It's not because I was told that it was "better D&D," a phrase I've never heard until this video, but because that TTRPG content creators I got into used it and those creators were the ones I felt enamoured with. I never got into the more mainstream creators outside of a couple clips, mainly cause they never clicked with me. I'd never tell someone to directly jump into pathfinder without any experience first, play some of the video games, try out some easier systems, try out 5e first. But I see sticking with one and never dipping your toes in the waters of other systems as...well, lame and saddening. This applies to any system. I did feel frustrated with some things said, and there are definitely points I disagree with. Maybe a sneer showed on my face at certain parts. But I at least still wanted to hear everything that had to be said, just so that I can give my time before giving my feelings. I almost never visit this channel, or similar channels outside of a select few that scratch the itch I have for this type of TTRPG content. Most of the knowledge or skills or experience for tabletop hasn't come from explanation videos but more actual play (Whether I'm in it or just a viewer). It makes me glad that I can come out of a video from what I normally dislike, feeling that the time spent listening to it was worth it, even if it did make me annoyed at points. If you took the time to read through all of this comment on a month old video, you've made it.

I made it. I think I only started to look into D&D around 2017. I've tried playing RPGs for a long time, but thanks to been a young person with few friend, it was a very slow start. It was only around 2 years ago that I finally played D&D for the first time, but I can't say I wasn't experienced on the game. Between 2017 and 2022, I consumed everything I could about the game, going into forums talking only about D&D, reading blogs on rankings about each player options, learning the best and worst parts of the game. There were many times I got so hyperfixated on the game that I got burnt out without ever have played it (unfortunately, I do this to all my hobbies, get so fixated before trying the thing that in the end I don't even do it) When I finally played the game, it was right when I started hearing and reading everywere online about how the game was getting worse by X and Y reasons, and soon after the OGL stuff happened and that soured my view on D&D to this day. But I still get excited to see people talk about the game, because at the end of the day I like this game even after all this. Thanks to D&D, I discovered a passion for the whole TTRPG community, and even if my main campaing isn't using D&D, its using a game that directly branched out from it. Tahnk you for doing this video, I and many others needed it right now :)

I made it. I was so mad at the OGL dumpster fire, I almost walked away, but D&D is not only what I know, it's what I love. I've been playing D&D since I was a teen, so if the company makes me that mad (which is not off the table), I'll just keep playing D&D, except I won't buy new stuff (been a minute on that front, anyway). If I must have something new, I'm competent to make it and get it reasonably balanced, or convert things from previous editions, anyway. My game hardly requires new stuff from WotC. Since I don't play with strangers on the internet, it's never gonna be a problem to homebrew stuff. My advice, if you don't like something about D&D is similar to yours; fix it. It really doesn't take genius level intellect to change it in a way that suits your style and still works

I made it, but mainly by skipping around because I was curious as what the point of the video was. Was it going to be a "Wah, DND bad because controversy 20408" or a "I'm leaving the community because I fell out of love. But wait, in about 9-10 months or a year I'll be back like it never happened." And when I saw this was a normal post about the heart of the community and the problems, I decided to say my piece here. Look, I know WOTC and Hasbro has done some dumb shit. And so have some youtubers, players, and all of that. Not to put too much of a downer on it but that happens! Shit happens all of the time, its what happens when you get people up there with the power and glory. It's also what happens when something gets popular. It starts off small, then more people get into it and then you get the idoits, the glory hounds, the people who just enjoy the memes, and on and on and on. It gets to the point where I get scared that a hobby/show/franchise I love gets popular because I know that's when the dark side comes out and makes the people like me a small voice. You also get the hipsters and the people who get so broken by all that happens that they go "I hate this now! IT always/sucks now! I'll never come back." (Narrator voice: 5 years later) "Wow, this was always awesome." I know it happens because it happened to me. I fell out of the hobby with 4th editition, came back with 5th and now play a butt tonn of RPGS and would like to find some online people for the other books I own. It HAPPENS. I also know one thing. It can be hard, because we as a people LOVE negativity. It's sadly hardcoded in our psyche. We seek it out in order to know what is dangerous and bad so we can be safe and run away. It's just that some people like it more than others and will actively seek it out. Either because they want to see it or hope that they can find someone to prove them right about how bad something is to the point where they will ignore evidence that it isn't so. It's just, human nature. People do this and there is, sadly, nothing you can really do to fix it. However, I have made a system for myself that helps with all of the fandoms I'm a part of (and it's a lot. Trust me) and I hope this can help too. 1) Find the toxic areas of the fandom, take note, and then run. Block the people, run away, I don't care just leave. You see a comment thread on twitter where they look like they're about to say something negative? Block it and RUN! You see a post that says "Hey, did you know what WOTC did this time?" say to yourself "I don't really care." and walk away. You don't need to click on every video, read every tweet, or look at all of the news. 2) Bad people are everywhere. However, these people are actually the minority. The problem is that these people are usually the loudest and most annoying of the bunch. The only thing you can do is be the example of the good side. Talk about the good things, show the good things. Wich brings me to 3) If you noticed the negativity is creeping in, try talking about what is good. You don't need to say "Yeah I know." Instead step in with a "Hey! did you know that a Rouge/wizard makes for a fun combo?" It's small, but you will find people who will talk about that. And if you need to, be a loud voice about it. 4) Stick with what you like. I have a ton of DND reddits I'm a part of and you wouldn't believe the times in my feed I just scroll past the latest "Hey, WOTC ate some puppies! LET'S RANT ABOUT IT!" 5) Look, corperations are run by people. And people are stupid. These big wigs just want money and they'll do whatever it takes to get it. They have no idea how a normal person works and they never will. (Ironically, I just finished watching the Poochie episode of the Simpsons that hits on this) And they tend to mess with what isn't broken. How to handle this? Well, for me, its like this. I usually focus on what I love about the product, focus on that, and ignore the rest. Take what happened last year for example. I think I was one of the FEW who didn't say the sky was falling around here, and you know why? Because I took and breath and realized: The books were still here, the ability to play with my friends in the real world, Discord and what have you was still here, the old books were still here, and so was a long list of Actual play streamers were still here. No one was taking that away and they won't ever. I love this game because I love makig characters, I love making stories, I love sending people against big threats, and I love just having fun with people. These things won't change. Yes, new rules, new stupid mistakes, and so much more will come. And that's what I do.I know someone out there will come along and say I'm wrong because I have "Toxic positivity" or I just "Consumme" (mispelling is a must) without critique. But I do critique, but I don't let it take away from me just going "Fuck it. I just really want to play/watch/or talk about something I like." and move on. Because things always change, and they always will. The important thing is to be satisfied with who you are and what you like. And that's who I am. I love DND, I love watching fun videos, and I love to tell stories. I'm a positive person and no one is gonna take that from me.

Edit: I made it! Per your request, sir. I think my first issues with WotC was when they made a humerus commercial suggesting players were too intellectually deficient that they didn't think of using the INDEX when trying to find rules on grappling... and then banned people from the forums for asking if they thought we are really that dumb. I watched even calm, polite questions being banned. That's when staff quit and created Pathfinder. I primarily play Pathfinder 1e for fantasy, though I have played some 5e. It depends on if you want streamlined or crunch as to which of those you'll prefer. In some ways, I like both systems... just not WotC. I have also played many versions of Mechwarrior/A Time of War, Shadowrun, Star Wars, many of the 40k RPGs from Fantasy Flight, and old out-of-production games from Leading Edge Games. I recommend trying lots of things. You might make some new friends trying a different system, or just find more fun fiction to enjoy. And Blaine - keep up the good work, man!

I made it. This is a little stream of consciousness. I greatly appreciate your perspective. When the OGL drama dropped, the president of the D&D club I was in (who mainly played pathfinder) had a massive freak out in the discord and said that our club no longer supported D&D and that everyone should go try different games. He was just happy to have the chance to push a different system. He said, after that point, that D&D was a bad system, and that he did not like certain aspects of the game such as the lack of a way to calculate living expenses. I said that I do that enough in my regular life, I’m not interested in doing it in my escapist fantasy. I haven’t tried another fantasy TTRPG (though I am excited to try Daggerheart) because I don’t have time. I’ve been a student and working full time for years, so carrying the knowledge of the game I accumulated during high school is the only way I can really engage a system as a DM the way I want to. It would take years in another game to get to the point I am now where I can improvise a monster statblock in 2 minutes. I’m excited for the new evolution of D&D because it seems like a lot of the issues I have seen on the DM side of things are being corrected. Most things are being upgraded, and a few things probably rightfully tuned down (Paladin Divine Smite). I’ll certainly be buying the new PHB, and will enjoy using it. I never have used third party content, and in fact generally don’t allow it in my games. I generally play RAW with maybe a tweak or two, and that is the way I like to run a game. D&D allows for a great mix of cinematic and tactical combat combined with relatively loose RP rules, and that is exactly what I want out of a gaming system.

I made it. it feels so refreshing to see a video on this topic that is not radical/extreme to one side of the argument and acknowledges different perspectives. sometimes I feel a little alienated from the community just because I stayed with 5e and didn't switch to a different system. for me, 5e works perfectly fine and I like a lot of things in the system but I feel alienated when people shit on those things and say how better it works in X system. I really like combat in 5e and some of my most memorable moments are combats but when everyone is saying 5e combat is slow and limiting and basically shit and How it's so much better in other systems. comparing other systems to 5e in this way makes me want to try these systems even less because it feels like they are just hating on what I like more than showing what cool and new things are in this new system they are talking about. anyway sorry for the long rant. great video I would love to see some more discussion videos like this in the future.

I made it. As somebody who saw the rise of 5e in real time and who lived through 4e's edition wars, there is something bizarre about seeing the struggles of the TTRPG community play out on a scale I couldn't have imagined in my youth. The stakes are different, the reasons for dispute muddied by a thousand social and economic factors heaped on the unstable foundation of personal perspective and struggles for belonging and community. One thing that I will say this video helped me with is coming to terms with how my method of playing RPGs is just as valid as anyone else's despite its obscurity. My game of choice is a version of Pathfinder 1e that is heavily modified by dozens of 3rd-party books and subsystems, many of which I have written myself (most are tied to Spheres of Power, which I highly encourage folks to try if they want more robust and dynamic engagement with magic). What I have at my table won't be emulated by folks who play 5e or Pathfinder 2e or MCDM or any other game, and that's fine. Something else that I would like to say to the players and DMs among you is to just try climbing some of the other mountains. Check out an odd game at a convention or LGS and read through its rules, maybe try a oneshot. Those sorts of experiments have been among my most rewarding times with RPGs, and I have fond memories of sitting down to a system I knew nothing about and exploring its wonders bit by bit.

I made it, and respectfully disagree a tad with some of these points. I’ve seen plenty of videos that I expected would me more than drama being just that, with disastrous comment sections to boot, but at risk of outing myself as having been unobservant or offline during the worst of it most of what I saw was drawing attention towards corporate problems more than fearmongering or rage-baiting. Perhaps I was lucky enough to avoid the bad apples though. I have had plenty of moments where I would voice an opinion on or around D&D and face some extreme and bizarrely pointed bad faith arguments, and am by no means pretending like online discourse has been pleasant simply because I haven’t experienced the worst of it. And I find my interest in reading someone’s advice drops when the bulk of it boils to little more than “Play Pathfinder” or “Abandon D&D”, but I think it bears mention that glueing yourself to 5e by the hip robs you of top some rather worthwhile systems that are absolutethly worth your time. I started with 5e after years of growing up in nerd culture that gave me plenty of expectations on what it would be, and it was a good mixture of easy to learn with some light crunch and gave plenty of breathing room. As someone who now runs a group at the school I work at for nerds very much like I was, I **started** them with 5e, before asking how they felt about trying other games that I had learned. Learning systems like Chronicles of Darkness or Mutants & Masterminds isn’t easy, but 5e hardly was either. Especially without any other TTRPG experience, but I was willing and able to help them in learning whatever system they wanted to try and doing my job as Gamemaster to make the game what we as a group wanted it to be. I made sure they knew the rules and mentioned tools they can and should use like 5etools for D&D or CompCon for Lancer, and I’ve seen many students who started with D&D move on to start a Lancer group, or run their own games of 5e, or whatever weird systems they find and tell me about before I look it up myself. While 5e is hardly the worst system to exist simply because it’s creators are flawed, I would the common notions of it are heavily flawed. It’s toted as a good entry point for newcomers because people have entire chapters memorized and can recall rule for things like grappling immediately. This isn’t invalid, but there are systems that are lighter on the rules (or forego them entirely) that can be and usually are a better initial experience for tabletop gaming than the wall of math that I’ve seen many people across multiple groups see it as. 5e not being simple is hardly a bad thing, were it simpler I think it would be much worse, but things like hit dice and expertise can be another straw in a pile that starts quite large at level 1. I would consider myself a part of the D&D community, given I’m running a game a week of it and hombrewing things just as often, and have definitely noticed a palpable change. But no matter what change may come, D&D has always at its core been about the same thing as any other game: The stories you tell with the people you play with, and all the myriad ways people enjoy telling them.

I made it. I used to love this system 3-4ish years ago, but now it’s gotten stale to me. I have made my own system, and even delved into some obscure ones, but even then, I always remember my first table, my first natural 20, the friends I made. In conclusion; this community means a lot to me, thank you all!

I made it... I kinda of want to make videos about D&D and writing. But never figured out how to put all the parts of the process together. I can write, I can record and I can edit. But it was never clear how to make one fit into the other.

I made it. But I also left the game about a year ago. My group and I left for greener pastures and haven't really looked back.

I made it. And cannot help but feel this speech was pretty pretentious. Then again, I don't play DND, and don't play RPGs at all, so who cares

I've made it. I value the passion of D&D's fans, but I have a lot of gripes with the actual system itself. It's incredibly obvious that D&D 5e could not be what it is today without the creativity and passion of its fans. My group and I prefer a system that does a lot of work for the players not the other way around so we switched. D&D players are still my compatriots and I hope they have fantastic adventures. One day, everything ends, so whatever brings people their happiness and doesn't harm others is a beautiful thing.

Thank you so much for being willing to say something positive about D&D.

(I made it) I’ll play a game as long as it’s fun for myself and my friends. The rules/mechanics are findable without giving a company money so I see no issue with liking a game and not supporting a company and its choices.

As someone who is into every tyle of RPG since 2001, I feel like I have to put It gently here. You don't learn one system by heart, You play one shot in five of them, them You make Your own rules. There are systems out there that are ONE page long. If You play D&D You are already in the most nerd shit possibile, just let Yourself Explore. Most of You already Play different game, just don't know It. There is no good, or bad way. There is only You and other people. +I swear to You. D&D is just a gate. You may like the jam, the melting pot, the crucible or You may just need It to get through. But It's just the entrance. Don't fear the next step.

I made it. What I love about D&D is the lore - the weird, nonsensical world that was hinted at in my old copy of the 1E Monster Manual 2, and fully expanded upon in the first Manual of the Planes. One of my favorite D&D creators, thus, is AJ Pickett, who does deep research into older editions of the game (4E not included) and can make you an expert into all facets of, say, Sahuagin, if you simply put him on in the background for 40 minutes. I feel that he and people like him are putting work into preserving all the wonderful ideas and thoroughly off-beat world that this game is so good for.

honestly, i think of it as a separating the art from the artist thing, i enjoy the game itself, the game is going to be there no matter what hasbro tries to do with it, as long as people stil enjoy playing it

I made it. I love that you are a rock to hold on to in a sea of anger and controversy staying calm and asking specifically for our thoughts so that you might learn something. That is truly touching.

I made it! I recently returned to playing TTRPG's (I was one of those old paper and pen D&D'ers back in the days of 2e) and have been pretty disillusioned about how WOTC has been treating the game I used to love. What's interesting also to me is the comments about community - I've been researching and contemplating writing a book about fandoms (there's fandom scientists out there!) and it's interesting for me to see the same sorts of things at play in the D&D fandom as I've seen in others. Anyway, thanks for the measured video and perspective - I love that you used Getting Over It as the 'backdrop.'

I made it. I jumped ship from DnD to Powered by The Apocalypse games years ago. The number crunching was never for me. I always kept an eye out for what was happening in DnD since it is the biggest ttrpg in the space. If something bad happens in DnD it bleeds parasitically into the rest of the space. As someone who has tried to stop caring about DnD it feels impossible to truly leave it.

Personally, I very much like dnd, but after multiple oneshot and 5 campaigns I ended up exhausting everything I wanted from this system, and I realised how limited D&D's class system is- with two different paladins receiving the exact same benefits at level 1, 5 or 9, they didn't really feel like two different characters to me. So I'm hoping to move to other, more versatile systems, like Pathfinder where very few features are identical for two characters even if they have the same class, or cyberpunk where there are no templates like classes in the first place (Except one ability you choose depending on whether you're a solo or nomad, I guess), or Legend of the Five rings where what templates are there are an integral part of your character rather than an abstract distinction between a fighter and wizard. But right now I'm waiting until other players in my groups get border with D&D enough to try something else.