D&D is Friendship

The new Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is exceedingly popular this year as Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) finally figured out exactly what players want in an RPG. It was called D&D Next, is casually known as Fifth Edition, but the official title given by WOTC is just "Dungeons and Dragons." And with good reason, as it isn't trying to stand out as a "new" edition of D&D, so much as it is rebranding itself as nothing-like-previous-editions.

New D&D has simplified combat systems with advantage dice akin to the Edge of the Empire (Fantasy Flight) system which take away a lot of the math involved in previous editions and get down to just rolling the dice for solutions. It's about the dice rolls and ultimately it should be. Most of the proficiency bonuses are low and similar to Pathfinder (Paizo) so that anyone can add as they go and figure out how well they're hitting. The class styles for each class are like a combined version of Prestige Classes mixed with thematic heroic choices. If you're a bard, maybe you focus on lore and know all about history; whereas maybe if you're a combat bard you just need ways to keep your friends alive. There are straightforward ways to level into any theme that works for you.

Edition wars are a mainstay of the D&D culture, with many older players from 2nd edition never wanting anything but that system because "It's what they grew up with." Most 3rd edition converts had books for almost a decade to choose from and enjoy the heavy tables and min-maxing so that they can be powerful. They don't convert to new systems because the complexity is the point. There are the rare 4th edition players, which were undersupported by WOTC and hated by most other RPG players. They just want to play a game that is straightforward and fun.

Part of owning a game store is hearing all the opinions of players of all ages and juggling the issue that most RPG players have a near religious adherence to their system of choice. Anything new is toxic and a "cash-grab" (Never mind the fact that 5 editions in 40+ years is probably healthy for any game). Magic has a new set every 3-4 months. Most board games don't go more than 3-5 years before reprinting or revising some rules. For a complex system of world interaction like D&D I'd hope for almost more tweaks so that it is more balanced, but they hold back most of the time.

The trick, and I think this is the biggest thing, is that most old guard D&D players want their system to be the rules backbone, the Bible of their RPG experience, so that there is no question that their rolls and their choices in game are correct. This is a flawed dichotomy, as the whole point of RPGs is that it's an outline, a place to begin, and that all world building and rules decisions are up to "GM-Discretion" for a reason. The point of an RPG is to experience the world in an honest way and the rules simply make it possible, but to have a hard-and-fast "this is how it has to be" is to destroy the integrity of the system. The game is about who you are playing with and why that's fun. The rules should come second, especially since a good game can last years.

The new D&D is making it easier for new players to jump into RPGs, which is great, since the more people that play a game, the more feedback and experience people can get with RPGs. It's a lot like capitalism in that way: The greater the market, the more it fluctuates and the better balanced the internal system operates. Ultimately the new system is great, well received, and will probably exist for years to come to exemplify what D&D is to all players.

The trouble with any old-guard RPGers and the hesitant new ones is that they don't always have a group to play with regularly that they enjoy. The system is all it is for them and that's how they interact. Finding a good group means finding 4-5 great friends you want to explore a magical world with for years to come. It's a commitment, a relationship, that most games only manage to create for 1-3 hours in the world of table-top. D&D is about friendship and the lasting experience of gaming with a group for months, if not years, at a time. A well written system is there to allow that friendship to exist in game, as heroes working together to fight great evil, and to perpetuate the need to return as friends in real life so that together the experience of role-playing will bring the group together for years to come. Dungeons and Dragons is just another way to party with your friends in real life and treating it as such is the way to long-term sustainability within the RPG culture.