[andolanra]

There are a truly massive number of RPGs out there with a wide variety of open licenses, especially the various Creative Commons licenses. The indie RPG sphere is massive and includes tabletop systems that range from "mild variations on the core D&D formula" to "almost fundamentally alien approaches to doing structured role-playing". D&D has long-standing brand recognition and cultural cachet, but it hasn't been the only player in this space for decades.

[kubb]

Sure, but do any of them have the quality and polish to replace DnD?

[andolanra]

Absolutely and then some! I personally would argue that D&D itself—5E in particular here—is actually a fairly middling tabletop game. It's held back by a lot of historical cruft because even new editions end up being forced to stick to decades-old design decisions for the sake of tradition. A simple example here is the distinction between ability scores and ability modifiers: this is an old D&D-ism and trying to remove it sparks complaints about how it's "not D&D", but it's frankly some unnecessary complexity and other tabletop games lose nothing by dropping scores and just using modifiers.

Apart from the core design, D&D is also pretty middling as a product. Being a DM for D&D is hard—a fair bit harder than running many other tabletop games—and the book are at best a so-so resource: there's a lot of extra prep and careful balance that rests on the DM's shoulders, and doing it right means either falling back part-and-parcel on adventure modules or doing a lot of careful tuning and reading forums and Reddit threads. In an ideal world, the core books would include everything you need to know, but in practice the best DM advice is outside the core books (and sometimes even contradicts the books themselves!) Many other games don't have this problem.

To be clear, I don't think D&D is a bad game, but plenty of other games out there have clearer core designs, better presentations, easier-to-grasp rules, and overall more polish.

[krainboltgreene]

It's kinda wild to watch HN suggest that a tech company can do as well as established tabletop gaming companies as if it's as easy as asking ChatGPT. I suppose considering how beloved Tesla and Theranos were I shouldn't be surprised.

[grumple]

DnD has inconsistent quality and has a ton of rules, but few of them add much value. There's really not much polish either imo. The vast majority of the rulebook get ignored because they don't make the game better and often make it worse. The current generation of players, largely inspired by the rise in acceptance of geeky hobbies, by Critical Role and similar shows, etc, would be better off with a different system entirely. These people play to have fun with friends, to have exciting stories and moments, not to follow the ten thousand rules and baggage dnd has acquired over the years.

Dungeon Masters make or break the game. They do it by storytelling, by presenting challenges and helping players overcome them, by creating a sense of ownership and reward. DnD is not good at teaching people to do those things.

I've played some other systems, and immediately they were easier to play and more fun for the group. You don't need 20 rule books, you need a simple set of rules and a desire to participate in a shared storytelling experience, and that's really it.

[throw_m239339]

> Sure, but do any of them have the quality and polish to replace DnD?

D&D isn't anymore polished than Runequest or Warhammer in the commercial space, or a ton of Creative Common RPG. D&D is just more popular. This isn't polish, this is "corporate".

[mattmanser]

Think your wishful thinking belongs on /r/choosingbeggars :)