GBS

Eh, while that's technically true, the boost from D&D's popularity was mostly a thing, like, 10-20 years ago, back then the OGL was first slapped together and WotC was a very different company. Like, for reference, the original OGL (aka the one they tried to sneakily "update") was written at around the same time that Nemesis/Prophecy/Invasion came out. And the fundamental goal was that no one would pull another Roberta Williams and torpedo the hobby's shared cultural legacy. Did it lead to a big upsurge in the hobby? Kinda, yeah — it lead to a shitton of terrible d20 games, and the existence of Paizo as we currently know it. But the trick they tried to pull is essentially the D&D equivalent of Magic30 — it's the current owners of the company pissing goodwill that was built up 20 years ago for short-sighted gain.

To rephrase my arglbargl early in the thread — the version 1.0a of the OGL was a good fucking thing for the D&D portion of the hobby (with the rest of the hobby getting the trickle-down of people who didn't like 3.x), but the fact that all of the major players in the D&D sub-hobby are threatening to make their own license (with blackjack! and hookers!) indicates that its reason for existing has effectively passed. It'd honestly be for the best if D&D flipped WotC off and walked off.

To use a bit of a tortured metaphor, if RPGs were the internet, D&D would be social media... and the specific instance of D&D that WotC publishes (namely the fifth edition of "Hey, let's cut my business partner out of future royalties" AD&D) is... let's say Twitter.

...

I had a big ol' rant about what the current RPG "boom" feels like from the perspective of someone who started playing back in 2009 (and who has been reasonably active in the RPG scene since), but I deleted it because... ugh, it's damn alienating, and ranting like this makes me damn tired.

The important thing is that I hope you have a damn good time in your next game.

EDIT: You know what? As a more Riptide-y use of my frustration... if anyone wants suggestions of games to try, just ask. I've got enough RPGs living in my head rent-free that I might be able to give you some cool shit to try out.

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EDIT: You know what? As a more Riptide-y use of my frustration... if anyone wants suggestions of games to try, just ask. I've got enough RPGs living in my head rent-free that I might be able to give you some cool shit to try out.

As I cannot read Spanish/Portuguese. I need to know about Cat Hacker.
Edit: but think of your mental health :)
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Eh, while that's technically true, the boost from D&D's popularity was mostly a thing, like, 10-20 years ago, back then the OGL was first slapped together and WotC was a very different company. Like, for reference, the original OGL (aka the one they tried to sneakily "update") was written at around the same time that Nemesis/Prophecy/Invasion came out. And the fundamental goal was that no one would pull another Roberta Williams and torpedo the hobby's shared cultural legacy. Did it lead to a big upsurge in the hobby? Kinda, yeah — it lead to a shitton of terrible d20 games, and the existence of Paizo as we currently know it. But the trick they tried to pull is essentially the D&D equivalent of Magic30 — it's the current owners of the company pissing goodwill that was built up 20 years ago for short-sighted gain.
I completely agree with your conclusion (they are pissing away a 20 year build-up of goodwill for short-sighted gains), but I think you underestimate the OGL's impact on D&D's current success. Paizo's products surged in popularity after 4e was published under a separate license (it didn't use the OGL), and they published Pathfinder under the OGL as the spiritual successor to D&D 3.5. When D&D 5e was released under the OGL, WotC reclaimed many of the "lost" souls that didn't want to try out 4e. 5e is by far the most popular ttrpg out there, and player numbers are higher than ever, and a big part of that is the fact that 5e returned to the OGL, making it attractive for many third party publishers and content creators to create 5e stuff. Paizo's market share has dropped considerably since 5e came out, but I'm seeing a lot of "how to switch from D&D to PF2" video's popping up recently, so I reckon they are about to be on the up and up again.

The important thing is that I hope you have a damn good time in your next game.
Aw, thanks :) I have no doubt I will, I think D&D as a system is very neat, but not by any means irreplacable ;) Anyway, I guess, I'll find out in a couple of months when the current campaign finishes :D
 
As I cannot read Spanish/Portuguese. I need to know about Cat Hacker.
Edit: but think of your mental health :)

Cat Hacker is from a Spanish game called Exo 3464. It's a charming monster built on a 2d10+1d10 system (you roll 2d10 under a target number, and the third die is your degree of success — sometimes the game calls for a more normal 3d10 roll, though, so be ready for that).

You want to create a character? Alright, just find your alien species (they're scattered throughout the book, though there is a handy chart that lists their stats), find their stat codes, and use them to interpret the 3d10 roll for each of your stats on a simple, 22-column table. Remember, each positive perk you pick will be balanced out by a randomly determined negative flaw — don't worry, you can spend character creation resources to get a bonus on that roll! It is possible to roll up a character with a very high Psi stat... and a flaw that makes it impossible for you to do anything with said Psi stat.

There are six different ways to interpret your 2d10+1d10 damage roll — one of which is only used for flechettes. The important part, though, is that all of them tell you exactly where on the body each attack hit... because of course the game has hit locations (which each kinda-sorta have their own HP pool — I'd have to have the game in front of me to tell you exactly how it works). Why wouldn't it have hit locations? Heck, the game system is literally named after the silhouette they use to indicate the hit locations, so you know it's important!

Is it any wonder why Cat Hacker looks so grim? Not even the quiet strength of a Business Furry hacking the Gibson is enough to overcome pure jank.

...

As for why I have it... I grew up in Spain. When I was in college (long after I moved to the US), I decided to poke around the Spanish RPG scene a bit, and I discovered Exo, which is apparently a fondly regarded local RPG over there. It's a very 90s RPG, which is why it makes perfect sense that the copy that I own is from the 2nd edition, which was published in 2013.

The import fees were damn expensive, and none of the people I game with speak Spanish well enough to play it with me... but damn it if I don't love it for its jank 90s vibe.

EDIT: Hell, if I have a moment later this week, I might just try to build a character (maybe Cat Hacker?) to showcase how... interesting... the design decisions are here.
 
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VibeBox

Contributor
i just recovered this ancient email because Steam is silly beyond belief, and upon doing so noticed that it's still attached to the email address i registered for you back in the day.
i figured i'd stop by and ask if you want the.riptide.lab@gmail.com
and also say hi.

i became obsessed with Vintage Rotisserie Drafts, which thoroughly supplanted my interest in Cube. now i'm pretty much done with mtg.

hope you've all been well!

-OP of this thread
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
i just recovered this ancient email because Steam is silly beyond belief, and upon doing so noticed that it's still attached to the email address i registered for you back in the day.
i figured i'd stop by and ask if you want the.riptide.lab@gmail.com
and also say hi.

i became obsessed with Vintage Rotisserie Drafts, which thoroughly supplanted my interest in Cube. now i'm pretty much done with mtg.

hope you've all been well!

-OP of this thread
We're good on email addresses, but welcome back! Long time no see!
 
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