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When people advocate for playing non-DnD RPGs, we are honestly mostly advocating for a healthier industry. One where more people and companies thrive and we don't just centralise the whole thing in a single shitty toy company. It mostly isn't about the game.
We want an industry where more writers or designers can make ends meet without having to give in and write for 5e because that's where the money is. Where we don't have to pay WotC for the privilege of making ends meet. We're not asking for yachts here.
We're asking for a market where the small press output of someone who can barely afford a print run isn't only compared to the economies of scale a giant global firm can afford.
We're asking for a hobby where the words RPG don't mean one single thing in most people's minds. Where people who don't like that one thing can be included.
A business model where your FLGS is more than just an outlet for the products of two companies (Asmodee/WotC) and can study afloat without them.
A community where we can talk about games plural and want to play other things without pushback as if we're weird or unreasonable.
That's why we get frustrated or angry. You can *play* whatever you like, but supporting the crappy state of the industry is something we can't get behind.
It isn't about being cool or elitist, or being a dickhead to you. It's about making RPGs a better field to work and play in. I'm supportive of your right to play what you want, but I'm not supportive of your choice to reinforce a poisonous hegemony.
(obviously if you're in the group of people I referred to earlier who have to write for 5e to make ends meet, you do you)
The 'but I like playing D&D' answer. I get it. I've had wonderful times playing D&D with my friends. Now, I play other games deliberately, to support what I want the industry to be like. I can get the same play experience or better, and achieve something else too.
Oh, and yes it is my agenda to make money from games. That's entirely the point. Wanting a 5 billion dollar company to make a bit less so I can do what I love is not evil or dastardly.
My stuff is here, and Itch is home to a wealth of deserving stuff. https://sealedlibrary.itch.io/
My stuff is here, and Itch is home to a wealth of deserving stuff. https://sealedlibrary.itch.io/
