The TTRPG Is Dead, Long Live the TTRPG
Is the golden age of tabletop roleplaying dead?!
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The above tweet was posted 1.7.24 claiming the golden age of TTRPGs is dead. As a historian of D&D I think Ben has a particular lens on the current situation. I believe it would be accurate to say the Golden Age of Dungeons and Dragons is dead, and I think it was done dirty in a back alley with a meat cleaver by Hasbro and corporate greed fueled by a basic misunderstanding of gamers and TTRPGS. But tabletop role-playing as a whole? I don’t think it could be argued we are in anything other than a flourishing age for the hobby.
Who is Mr. Riggs?
Mr. Ben Riggs recently published a book I personally just picked up in audiobook form last week that I am excited to listen to called “Slaying the Dragon” all about the terrible company decisions that led to the collapse of TSR - the original company that created Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve already read “Game Wizards” by Jon Peterson which was a fun read on the same subject but this one apparently goes deeper.
From the previews and a couple YouTube videos that are already out there about the book, it seems to go farther and deeper than other books on the subject and I am genuinely excited to learn from a love of the TTRPG and as an aspiring game content creator on what not to do from a business sense.
I have every reason to believe this book will be great, and I think it is coloring what Ben thinks about this moment in time. Last year’s debacle with the Open Game License (OGL) and the Hasbro’s attempts to “fully monetize” D&D players reflect some of the insanity that occurred when TSR began to plummet.
Ben thinks the market will become less innovative, bland and boring, and everything will kind of sputter out. I believe these predictions are true for Dungeons and Dragons, but thankfully D&D does not equal all of TTRPGdom anymore, and hasn’t for a long time.
What’s Different This Time?
I believe, compared to the situation Ben spent alot of time researching, the current moment is fundamentally different. D&D has been around for some time, it’s not just the first to market juggernaut that is the center of the universe. It may still hold the biggest market share still, but there are so many amazing options out there for a TTRPG player - And WOTC and Hasbro seem to be trying to lose their loyal fanbase.
I spend alot of time reading and looking at TTRP games, as I am enthralled by the world of tabletop role-playing and actively learn as much as possible to create my own entries into the space. So obviously I would have a more optimistic view of the market, as I am invested, but as an almost life-long player, I still feel like this is the best time TTRPGs has ever had.
I actually didn’t even play D&D more than a one-shot until 5E. I’m lucky to have had nerds around me running games like “Dark Heresy” and a game called “Obsidian: Shadow Nations” with the creators well before I could appreciate such a thing. I’ve seen the TTRPG space first hand for decades, and it certainly feels like a golden age right now.
Financing and The Market
The direct to consumer ability that exists today is umprecidented. Crowdfunding can test the viability of an idea before any money is spent generating a product or can bring serious inflows to projects that prove they have the goods to deliver. Ben Riggs seems to think the market will be dilluted and the games will become LESS interesting and more bland becaus that’s what happened last time. There are certainly entries that will do this, I think the 5E-likes like Tales of the Valient needs to be careful or it will be this, but the vast majority of projects I see are looking to innovate in one way or another: To tell a specific kind of story in a specific setting, just using the TTRPG as the vehicle to enable tables of players to create that story.
There are alot of games designed after the “Powered by the Apocolypse” engine, and some of them even add enough of their own juice to be a separate game like “Blades in The Dark”. And there are still some games from back in the beginning of TTRPGs that are coming back - See “Dragonbane” by free league and the OSR/NSR scene has piles of games that are proving both that they have a different voice and that people want to pay them money for their games.
My personal favorite “Shadowdark” pulled in over a million dollars and was created by a small outfit over a couple years.
The barrier for entry to market is very low today versus previously. There are entire companies thriving with a handful of full time employees and even more like myself just creating content part time. Software and printing technology has simply lowered the bar for bringing professional-grade zines and books to market.
My Two Cents
I belive the heart of the TTRPG playerbase was shown when the OGL debacle took place. The players whole-heartedly signed on with the rights of third party creators and what the OGL originally stood for. TTRPGs don’t belong to the suits, each individual table of players ends up with their own mythos, their own exact rules, all playing games similar to each other weaving stories with their friends - And corporations can’t get in the middle like they have managed to do with videogames and they don’t understand it.
I do think the air has let out of D&D and it hasn’t fully hit yet. They seem stuck on what’s next - from a C-suite perspective. I still think the creative team on D&D 5E and D&D One or whatever it’s called are people trying to make the best game they can, but Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are going to struggle to see the “growth” they want with the same offerings in a market that is endlessly hungry what’s needed to run great games at tables.
They’ll continue to get people by over-monetizing every little thing and trying to make people play the way they dictate, but I have ultimate faith in the hobby and it’s foundation on personal human connection being timeless. The way we play will change, but telling a story with your friends, your way - isn’t going anywhere.
Credit
The below video from Professor Dungeon Master inspired me to write this piece.
What I Am Up To
TTRPG Reading: Death In Space
TTRPG Production: Almanac of Abomination System Neutral TTRPG Zine is accepting pre-orders. Goes to the printers this month!
Audiobook: Slaying the Dragon, The Hunger of the Gods - Bloodsword trilogy is super good!
Current Campaigns: Just getting back into it after holiday break. The town of Kinholdt has an outbreak of Yellow plague causing undeath and somehow there are demonic entities involved?! - Most of the party contracted the disease, but there is hope…
D&D 5E: Due to scheduling conflicts we are still working our way to the epic final boss fight. Excited to do it.
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