State of the Planes: August 2024

Interesting times is the best way to describe the last year or so for me. When WotC pulled their OGL crap early last year I spent a lot of time looking at an alternative to DnD for my group and my customers and it was all kind of for nought.

My group is entrenched in 5E which has caused some issues for us...well me in the ensuing months. Most of the players are roughly 15 years younger and some of them either a) love 5E or b) have no interest in trying other games. 

Me? I love RPGs and own a T-O-N!

Things have gotten to the point I've spent a lot of time thinking if this group, that I've been with for at least 8 years, might not be the best fit any longer. At times its really been hard on my Anxiety and its also made me think about taking another sabbatical. What has been the most difficult is that we have always had one-shots on off-nights for the DM and two players don't have any interest in them any longer even though one of them used to play numerous systems with me 2-3 nights a week. It has reminded me of my first group and that wasn't a great association for me. It's easy to say "no gaming is better than bad gaming" but it can be real scary sometimes to contemplate that and it makes me a little sad that I feel that way.

However, in the midst of all of this, I find myself both impressed with how WotC has marketed 5.5 and even kind of excited to see it in action. Not real sure what that means but we'll see.

We had a pretty successful DnD Camp for tweens in July and we are trying to work out how to continue that for those younger players once school starts. I'm not sure that I fully agree 5E, in full, is a great RPG to teach new players but I'm downplaying skills and feats and using Ability Checks for most things. The kid's imagination is so refreshing and the experience, which includes my youngest in her first game, has been really rewarding.

That has led me to I contemplate if I should start a new group for players looking to try out 5.5 and so I find myself brainstorming DnD campaigns and contemplating what is best for me and my store. The jury is still out and I have a few weeks before 5.5's launch on September 3rd.

As far as finding a suitable replacement for DnD to sell in stores Savage Worlds...specifically Deadlands was the most successful option. We mostly just saw reduced DnD sales over the same time frame and I probably should've have pushed myself to learn and teach Pathfinder 2E but I really don't want that much crunch in the RPGs I run these days.

Lots to think about as a fan and merchant of RPGs at the moment and I'm kicking the can down the road since I can. 

It's weird thinking about leaving a group and forming a new one, but I've done it before and will probably do it again. The time playing these games is supposed to be fun for me and them or why are we doing it, right?

I have played around with Matt Collville's RPG and it's intriguing with its lack of To Hit rolls. That mechanic is growing on me. I've also backed Nimble 5E which removes the attack roll as well, but I need to see more of that game. I'm pretty disappointed in Kobold's Tales of the Valiant though, I'd hoped it would have been a bit more divergent but it is what it is.

Nostalgia has me looking at Champions/HERO System too. I have a second Wednesday group but we mostly just chat and laugh. I think that might be what bothers me about the Friday group, we used to be like that and now we aren't.

It will work out. I think I'm more mature now and can walk away if it's for the best instead of burning bridges, which I've done more times than I care to mention.

Hopefully, I'll get back to posting...well more than just here and there. This blog was born out of the OSR and the timing of the DnD Next playtest so maybe 5.5 will help me get it back on track?

Be well.