Livestreams like CR/podcasts that have blown up huge have knocked the gates wide open because -SHOCK AND SURPRISE- they’ve done much to demystify and give an easy entry point to tabletop RPGs for tons of folks who previously had gross gatekeeping assholes souring them on a hobby.
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Prior to recently, tabletop RPGs always operated on something of a master/apprentice system. Someone’s older sibling/cousin/friend/uncle/whatever taught them how to play or gave them their old materials, etc. It always had that arcane initiate tradition surrounding it.
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And many folks who play now still have bad early experiences where maybe they played with a group of established kids who pushed them aside because they were “too young” or other such nonsense. It happened all the time. But the internet and “actual play” shows wiped that away.
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Now nobody has to feel like they’re afraid to ask someone to explain D&D to them. They don’t need to rely on some grognard at a weird smelling game store to steep them in arcane mysteries and allow them entry into this world.
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Or take a random chance on buying a game and trying to puzzle it out yourself while not knowing if you’re even going to find someone to play with when/if you DO figure it out. Because things like Roll20 exist and you can find people all over the world who fit your gaming tastes.
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Podcasts, live-streamed shows and online virtual tabletops have allowed tabletop RPGs and D&D in specific to grow and expand because even the most shy among us can ease into it by watching “professionals” show us how the game is played without judgment or mockery.
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And those things? Generally are played and run by people Ian and crew paint as Johnny-come-lately usurpers and pretenders. Spoilers: we were always here. Most of us have been here longer than you have. And I’ll be damned if regressive knuckledraggers are going to push me away.
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Anyway, rant over. Sorry. I’m just sick to death of these goons’ delusions that they’re somehow in charge of geeky hobbies - games, comics, tabletop. As much as I would love to see them gone, I’m fine with them existing so long as they don’t hurt anyone. But that doesn’t happen.
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Thank you for this thread
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It’s just an issue that sticks in my craw because I’ve been in this hobby for most of my life and the disingenuousness of these arguments chafe me. Speaking as someone who was bullied for being a geek, I’m GLAD that geeky hobbies aren’t just a hidden niche anymore.
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Having a huge influx of new people will only do good things for the hobby - because those people will be inspired and go off to make new things themselves. And they’ll teach new people. And they won’t be gatekeepers about it either.
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It's the "Pathfinder" bit that makes it.
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Agreed, though I’m not gonna hate on anyone who enjoys PF. I’m just personally 100% over the math crunch that made 3e a slog.
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Pathfinder has its place. It's the fact that he thinks it's the most up to date version of D&D that slays me.
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Also, as if PF isn’t infested with those filthy SJWs he hates so much... oh wait.
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this is especially hilarious to me, since it seems like every gay person I know is either a long time DnD fan or recently fell in love with it (thanks to things like Adventure Zone or Critical Role, both of which I think would blow Ian's tiny mind)
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Yup! I didn’t wanna call them out too much by name but CR and TAZ have both brought s ton of queer and queer adjacent folks into the fold and that’s fucking awesome. I would take 100 enthusiastic newbies at my table over 1 bitter gatekeeping troglodyte.
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too bad about the harassers they brought on board and whitewashed
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