Here we are yet again.

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

It’s been a bit of a chaotic week here both in my personal life and in the TTRPG community. Allow me to recap a little of what’s going on in the hobby in bullet point fashion:

  • The Combat Wheelchair debate rages on as the Old Grognards of the hobby clash with a more modern, progressive, primarily Dungeons & Dragons 5E audience. After a little research I discovered this battle has quietly waged on and off for over three years.

    The crux of the argument isn’t even over a miniature or game statistic. It’s whether or not such a thing would even exist in a fantasy game. The other point that comes up often is whether or not wheelchair users are welcome at the table. Obviously the crowd that doesn’t approve of the use of in game wheelchairs makes the real-life wheelchair users uncomfortable.

    I’ll talk more in detail about the combat wheelchair and its inclusion elsewhere. Again, be kind to one another. If someone wants their character to be in a wheelchair- please let them.
  • Wizards of the Coast is removing certain words from Magic: the Gathering Cards. The OGs have started spitting venom over this because I think many of us believe D&D is probably next. It’s another case of “those darn woke kids at WotC are ruining the hobby.” Guys, they’re not even talking about D&D yet.
  • Some strange argument is persisting from the Safety Tools debate about how much experience someone has before they should give gamemastering advice. Again, some of this heat was improperly directed at some 5E Content Creators who have only been playing/running the game for only a few years. What’s wrong with saying, “In my experience, ‘Y’ works better than ‘Z?’”

    I like to mention that I’ve been around for 40 out of nearly 50 years of D&D. Do I know everything? Heck no! Am I willing to learn from just about everyone? Definitely. Take what works and let the rest go with love and light.
  • Planescape for 5E is coming. Why this late in the edition? No one can be sure. Will it be as good as the 2E AD&D version? Doubtful. The YouTube shills beg to differ, but they already have their gratis copies from WotC in hand.
  • Penguin Random House LLC announced dropping D&D products from their distribution. Some OGs think this is the death knell of WotC print products. This is just a move by WotC to get more people into their walled garden of D&D Beyond and their own distribution network. It’s driven purely by corporate profits and little else.
Thank you for letting me borrow these words of wisdom, Noora!

One only has to wonder what kind of controversy Wizards of the Coast will stir up to get attention for Planescape. I mean, every other release this year has been accompanied by some major slap in the face to fans. What’s next?

The discussion of Old Grognards continued on social media.

I still disagree.

While I’m not WotC’s number one fan, I still love D&D. It seems like any time D&D is mentioned anywhere, someone chimes in with a ton of negativity. Why? What good does it do?

Yes, I think WotC has mismanaged D&D a lot over the last couple of years. I happen to think their entire D&D “Team” needs to go from Kyle Brink on down. They have little to no respect for the community, the fans, or anyone who regularly supports their product. Seems rather counterproductive to me, but hey- I’m just an old white guy with a blog.

I still wonder if we should start a movement like #BringDnDBack or #MakeDnDFunAgain. I’m open to suggestions on the name. I think D&D is a great game. Wizards of the Coast has a lot of issues, and they’re the elephant in the room for the whole industry. We really can’t avoid WotC no matter how hard we try.

Part of the Old School Renaissance crowd takes hating on WotC to a whole new level, though. Here’s a group of “old white dudes sitting around in a basement” who probably haven’t bought a D&D book since before 1999. The same crowd is calling WotC “leftist” or “woke” every chance they get. If 3E is too “woke” then 5E must make conservative OSR heads want to explode. (Generally, that’s how it goes.)

Here’s where I differ from the “woke-is-broke” OSR crowd: I’ll still buy an official D&D 5E book. (AFTER they prove they can get their act together.) My reasoning stems from the OGL Debacle of 2023 and not some overwhelming loyalty to Gygax and Arneson. I’m a D&D fan and a gamer first and foremost. WotC can really go kick rocks for all I care currently.

Yes, I’m one of those OSR types who comes out to say “Not me” every now and then.

I’ll own that the OSR are not all the terrible part of the #TTRPGCommunity. I’ll own that plenty of “old white guys” probably should abandon the hobby, but not all of us. I’m not going anywhere. Sorry, not sorry. I don’t think I go on this rant every other week, but there are some OSR guys and products that are pretty outstanding.

Then there is the OSR/#BrOSR guys especially on YouTube who probably should step away from the mic. Not naming any names, but they’re easily identifiable by their harsh and awful takes on the issues I mentioned in the bullet points above. They’re the ones who are easy to spot (and report for) making racist, misogynistic, ableist, and -phobic comments in almost every video. I don’t have to trot these chuds out as a bad example because they do a wonderful job of embarrassing themselves every time they open their mouths and something hateful falls out.

I do agree with Noora, though. The OSR does suffer from negative public relations. I feel the best way to fix it is by attempting to be a good example. I don’t think it needs to be trumpeted, however. If our benevolence is noted, I’m grateful. If not, I know my heart is still in the right place regardless and I’m always open to criticism. What anyone does with criticism is up to them.

The OSR is not the only part of the hobby with angry malcontents roaming around.

Borrowed from X (Twitter.)

Going back to the Noora’s quotes, I think the OSR might be the most obvious source of bad actors in the hobby. However, the OSR is not the only problem. Other TTRPG enthusiasts, designers, writers, and even Actual Play personalities are just as guilty of being rotten turds as anyone in the OSR. The main difference is they hide it better.

There’s plenty of gatekeeping going on in the hobby right now. It’s not just the old guys in the OSR making people feel unwelcome. I’ve had a number of social media encounters with a specific Pathfinder/D&D 5E writer who has accused me of all kinds of nastiness. Sadly, he’s just wrong.

How do I know? I see what the same commenter has done on other posts. X (Twitter) is really good at tracking everyone’s likes and replies. Surprise! I read those, too.

I’ve seen this very mainstream “Content Creator” attack other OSR and TTRPG personalities who really didn’t deserve it. I also suspect this same guy is creating alt accounts just to post comments in order to make people look bad so his main can swoop in and play social media warrior. I can’t prove anything, though.

The gatekeeping by the oldest members of the TTRPG community extends to companies, too. Without naming anyone specifically, I can honestly say I’ve been shut out by various companies. I don’t begrudge anyone for not wanting me based on my being an “old white dude.” I am a touch bitter when the only way to get noticed by a larger company is being told to put out a ton of indie product and pray that someday if I work really, really hard maybe I can get a freelance gig with one of these clowns. Then again, if I establish my own company, do I really need these jokers?

It also makes me ill when I see one of my trans friends getting told what I said above while the door gets slammed in her face over and over. She has a ton of indie credits under her belt and is still getting shot down. I’m not terribly proud of any industry that has such humble origins and still treats relative newcomers like trash.

I’ve also seen any number of YouTube Content Creators criticizing the “Old Neckbeards” and disrespecting “old white dudes” just to get clicks. Yeah, there are a good number of trolls out there. Many of their obnoxious comments are never even seen by the public. (Ah, the joys of the Delete button.) If you think the OGs going after these younger gamers is bad, you should see the way some of us OGs are treated.

I make my share of mistakes on social media and here on my blog.

I’ll own my sh🦆t, though. If I screw up, I’ll go any length possible to make it right. I try to be flexible, even considerate. Compassion and understanding are part of my spiritual ways. (Spiritual =/= Religious.)

I am capable of seeing things through a different lens and changing my opinion. It’s not impossible. I know a lot of hard-🦆ss conservatives who will never change their minds about anything. I’m only one representative of the OSR. (That’s if I can even claim membership in the OSR.) We’re not all alike.

We need to ALL think about the image of the TTRPG hobby and community right now.

There is going to be a massive influx of players over the next two to five years with Baldur’s Gate 3, the next iteration of D&D, the 50th anniversary of D&D, all of the new 5E/OGL competitors, and yes, Critical Role brining people into the hobby for the first time (or maybe again.) We have to present a positive front for new players. These folx aren’t going to care about OSR vs 5E. They don’t care about the “woke values” at WotC or anywhere else in the hobby. They’re just going to want to play D&D.

Think about it. If you just want to play D&D, are you really going to care what WotC did in 2023? Are new D&D players really going to even care that there’s an OSR? Nope. They just want to play D&D.

I’m talking primarily about D&D because it’s the biggest, hottest, most publicized brand in the TTRPG industry. Mainstream media isn’t mentioning Champions or Monster of the Week. Reporters/commentators know they can mention “Dungeons & Dragons” and people will understand basically what they’re talking about. Love WotC or hate them, they have the world’s most recognizable TTRPG.

Now, do we want to present a positive front or the other kind? Do we want a warm, kind, welcoming community or the gatekeeping, bickering, nasty one? Let’s get our heads together and figure out how to use D&D as a springboard into other TTRPGs. We don’t need WotC. We just need D&D.

The absolutely best thing we can do as a TTRPG community is to show our welcoming, understanding, compassionate side to new players and GMs. The constant bickering and baring of whole arses to the public is not doing us any good. We’ve simply got to do better. Not just the OSR. Not just the community outside of the OSR- but ALL of us. WE have to be the change we want to see.

One last thing. IF I ever have a $1-2 Million Kickstarter, I hereby promise to take on as many new writers, artists, and editors as I can afford to help with the project and my company. I think that really should be the main goal for every TTRPG company who can afford to do it. Call me whatever you like, I want to share in the prosperity wherever we go and whatever we do.

Thanks for being here. I really do care about you all. I appreciate you. See you tomorrow.