Support the Alternatives

I deleted my rant about the YouTube 5E preview channels that I have never heard of or subscribed to flooding my feed. I feel someone is paying to boost all these videos, and I am not giving them any views. The closer we get to the 2024 D&D releases, the less I care about the official books.

D&D died during the OGL disaster.

It is a mobile game now, and I am not interested.

I prefer supporting new games and communities rather than old games or giving money to people I dislike. Don't reward behavior you disagree with, and don't fall into the hate or hype. These "Wizards did What?" YouTube videos are just as annoying as the other side's boosted shills.

Let go of the old editions and support new, independent games. I'd much rather play Old School Essentials than Rules Cyclopedia, B/X, BECMI, AD&D, or any other classic version of the game supplied by Wizards. With editions like Basic Fantasy, you can even play for low cost or free.

I keep going back to the late 1980s when the community said AD&D sucks, and we all abandoned the game. We moved on to GURPS, Rifts, Shadowrun, BattleTech, Vampire, and other games until Magic the Gathering killed the hobby. The hobby has been dead since 1995 when the market collapsed.

However, the only thing that has changed between 1989 and today is the impact of social media and nostalgia. To those of us who were there, we gave up on AD&D since it was level-based, it was too "kill for treasure," and the class-level-race-alignment system was too limiting and did nothing for roleplaying. There have been no fixes to the game since we all walked away. Nostalgia is not a patch.

But some people in the indie scene are giving it their best shot.

Now is the time to back indie, non-OGL, and non-SRD games and communities. By doing so, we can help them flourish, ensure they receive the support they need, and foster competitive alternatives. People can write adventure and rule supplements for these games, which is a freedom not available for AD&D or any other legacy TSR game.

Do I play classic legacy games like the originals? Yes, I do. They are all from indie creators, though, and the appeal is more for nostalgia than gameplay in some situations. Shadowdark took aim at the gameplay and modernized it, which makes a game that not only hits the nostalgia note but also delivers an upgraded gameplay experience.

I lean more toward OSR games that "fix the game" and make gameplay enhancements rather than copying old games, warts, etc. Other OSR games, like Stars Without Number, use the familiar as a base for new experiences.

For 5E, I am settled on Level Up A5E. Tales of the Valiant is still far too new to make a call. This is another edition that "fixes the game" rather than photocopies it. But this discussion is not about 5E, though my pick for it matches my feelings towards OSR games.

The games I am sticking with either enhance the experience or provide a new one. My top five are Stars Without Number, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Shadowdark, GURPS, and Old School Essentials. I could put Castles & Crusades in here, but that insanely good game tends to crowd out the others. I have it in storage to give the others (OSE & LU A5E) a chance. C&C will kill 5E if I have it out, and I have books I want to enjoy for Level Up.

C&C will have a spot in my top five.

But for now, it feels nice to ignore the bought-and-paid 2024 previews and do my own thing. My mind is mine, I enjoy what I do, and I am no longer jumping on AAAA-game bandwagons for the hype.