If you are reading this, then you are probably aware of the mismanagement of the Dungeons and Dragons brand by Wizards of the Coast (and by extension, Hasbro). There isn’t going to be a lot of going over what happened but I do need to set the stage for this article by stating that everything discussed here is because of that horrible mismanagement.
Role playing game fans all know that Dungeons and Dragons started the whole industry, for all intents and purposes. We all also know that Wizards of the Coast has done some pretty heinous things with their stewardship of the intellectual property, too, which has led to many organizing boycotts of certain aspects of the IP or other such organized protests.
I argue that the only way to effectively protest is to not play.
DnD is arguably the most popular RPG in the world. I would argue that there are other games that would be well within that conversation at this point, but for the purposes of this article we’re just going to stop at DnD being the top. Since they are the number one in the world, there is a responsibility to maintain a certain level of understanding towards the fanbase regarding how they treat the IP in general.
Wizards of the Coast have failed in that stewardship at almost every turn.
When boycotts of products or services are organized, there is always an understanding that some will not participate. Having 100% participation in a boycott would be phenomenal in sending a message but there are always some who think they have no chance at affecting change, believe their part will be too small to make a difference, or just don’t care enough to participate to make things better. Wizards of the Coast want to make as much money as possible at the expense of the consumer, regardless of the quality of the product and that is why boycott talk started appearing. As soon as the small capitulation of Wizards giving in to the OGL controversy and making them walk back a terrible decision, most of that protest talk stopped. It shouldn’t have, though.
Protesting Properly
The last time I played Dungeons and Dragons was in 1996 in Okinawa, Japan with some friends in the Navy about three months before I detached from Naval service. I wasn’t pleased with the situation way back then but the only game I could get anyone to organize to play was DnD, so I joined their game. My participation ended about 3 sessions in, when the group and I made the mutual decision to part ways. The DM ran the game like a payroll department and I couldn’t have hated it more than I did, so I stopped playing.
I haven’t even looked at a DnD book since.
There are innumerable game companies that took the OGL license and built games off of what DnD originally established, which personally boggles my mind. Why would you build an entire role playing game off of someone else’s work? There are far more companies, however, that went out and built brand new systems and created so many more new ways to role play that the “crunch heavy” DnD looks cumbersome by comparison. I personally branched out along with these new companies and left DnD behind, expanding my RPG experiences 100-fold while others I asked to play with me often sat in their DnD rut and refused to leave.
All the while complaining about the same problems.
On this website, I have been trying to build a place for people to come and role play. Just like websites like the Glass Cannon Network, Happy Jacks RPG Network, and other places that host actual plays, I would love to host a variety of actual play podcasts done in a style that is befitting a professional gameplay style. The one game that I won’t participate in, nor allow on this website in an actual play, is DnD… at least until the stewardship of the IP changes hands to a much better steward.
I am against participating in Dungeons in Dragons, personally. I am also against participating in Dungeons and Dragons for others who have the same problems I do, as well. Their arguments usually end up being “but I’m not buying any new books” or “I’m pirating anything new I need.” That doesn’t send a message to Wizards of the Coast, though, because you are still participating in their intellectual property.
You and your normal game group get together to play DnD, even though all of you hate Wizards of the Coast. One of your friends brings along their girlfriend to lurk for the night because she’s curious about how the game is played. The game is played and the girlfriend loves what is going on and is into joining the group for the future. She doesn’t understand the hate for Wizards (she doesn’t even know who Wizards are) and goes out and buys her own copy of the DnD core book.
Protest failed.
Not only has your group produced a new follower of a game that has problematic stewardship, not only has that new follower purchased the products that are overpriced and ruining the brand, and not only has that group gotten someone new excited about their favorite game without the proper context surrounding the property but now she’s going to tell others about this and get more new followers into the hobby.
I do not play DnD. I do not purchase their books. I do not encourage others to play. I do not encourage others to pirate their books. I do not encourage others to encourage others to do anything I would not do. I do this because I want to affect change. I do this because not doing it is being a “rebel without a cause,” meaning I would be complaining about something that I actively participate in. If you like to box but you don’t like getting punched in the face, yet you still box, then you have no right to complain. Nothing is going to change that way.
If you want to make change, you have to do something different.
What Else You Can Do
If I’m not playing DnD, what else is there?
This is the one question I get after my argument that makes me the most angry. What else is there? Are you joking?
Without leaving the fantasy genre, I can name FantasyAGE, Pathfinder, GURPs, and Savage Worlds. If we expand to other genres we can expand to FATE, Genesys, and Burning Wheel. How about specific IP games like the Expanse RPG, Doctor Who RPG, Alien RPG, Dragon AGE, or the Marvel Universe RPG? There’s different genres like Legend of the Five Rings, Vampire the Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu, Blades in the Dark, and Traveler. These are just the games that I could think of off of the top of my head!
So, if I say to stand up and stop playing DnD and you respond by asking what else is there? It’s time to read a book because you’ve been living in a bubble. There are so many different systems out there to try, ones that are worlds easier than DnD to learn, ones that range from fantasy all the way through futuristic space operas, and ones that tell stories in entirely unique ways from DnD… so why would you want to limit yourself to only playing one system?
I do not play DnD. I do not purchase their books. I do not encourage others to play or purchase their books. I have taken a stand and now you understand what that actually means.
DJ
