TRPG General Chat

I'm feeling old. How does Patreon work for most creators? I've found a couple of creators whose maps I'm loving, so I've signed up for their monthly patreon. But it seems like if I was the bad sort, I could go in, download all, and then stop following.

On the other hand, I'm miffed because I don't do that, and they just released non-patreon content to DMsGuild and I'm like, WTF. I'm paying you monthly for stuff!

@NautArch often they offer enough perks like so much material a month or early access or access to streams that non patrons don't get

1:08 PM

@NautArch Depends on their business model, but usually downloading everything, unsubscribing and resubscribing when there is enough new content is expected. Some creators will offer limited sets which are only available for some set time period for people who are subscribed at that time.

@ThomasMarkov Nah, that is part of their job. If the aggrieved feels that way, that would be the appropriate channel.

M__

@KorvinStarmast what I'm thinking is that some of popular the games, particularly Magic the Gathering, its not RPG - but is popular in some RPG circles - can sell for huge money. Someone I know should know where this trading takes place and I'm guessing it's similar for RPG books. I don't play "Magic" BTW, I just never got it.

@Akixkisu Ugh, I'd rather pay my monthlies and take what I need when I need it, but thenI get miffed when they offer more content i have to pay for.

@NautArch Same, but I also support a podcast that offers all its content without barriers and feel good about it. It just feels iffy whenever you feel entitled to content because you are already paying for monthly content generation.

A neat solution that some business models use are discount codes etc.

@Akixkisu yeah, that's where I'm at. I just don't feel like scrubbing through all content to get it all. That also feels iffy.

I support a novelist who writes weekly chapters, and eventually they hire an editor before publication of the next novel. Depending on subscription length, you receive a discount on the (digital) novel.

That might be my favourite model.

@NautArch But usually you can interact with them, talk to them if you are unhappy about something and maybe discuss something with them that makes you feel better about supporting them in that way.

1:25 PM

@Akixkisu I did just ask them about some missing content, so I'll start with that :)

@NautArch Yeah, if you approach them kindly and talk about your feelings, you tend to get good results — the humanisation works :D

2:39 PM

@Akixkisu That's just crazy talk!

2:50 PM

@M__ Let me point out one thing that rolemaster never did but which brought a huge boost to D&D: D&D hit the toy shelves of Toy R Us and was decoupled from the sales in gaming stores. In 1998 Baldur's Gate was released and made D&D something that other nerds wanted. The 80s and 90s were why D&D got big, by simply leaving the traditional "wargaming shops"

@M__ D&D 5e has about as much to do with Rolemaster as Rolemaster with Pendragon. They are all RPGs, but backgrounds and mechanics can not be transferred from one to another. D&D 5e has retained very little hard rule material from the old days.

3:28 PM

enworld.org/threads/when-d-d-was-a-toy.665560

3:47 PM

In the early 80s, D&D was in the toy stores, there was a Saturday morning cartoon, there were toys and everything..

@Trish Did you see the new movie?

@NautArch nah. i am not a cinema person.

@Trish That's fair :)

They did a little easter egg with the cartoon characters

but really, asking why Rolemaster is not more popular requires understanding why D&D actually got the market width it has in the first place: it went for kids in the early 80s, right before the Satan Craze, then returned all the stronger together with Magic the Gathering in the 90s.

As an outlier: World of Darkness got its fame by tagging towards the Goths (Vampire, Wraith) and nature activists (Werewolf)... and was in general not going for the youngsters. It also ran on the whole "Urban fantasy" that was emerging around 1990

4:26 PM

@Trish Satanic panic. Got an interesting three page letter from a well intentioned aunt trying to save my soul. Those were the days...

@GcL actually, met me pranme that as a question for the stack....

4:41 PM

@GcL Thankully, my parents didn't have any issues with my D&D playing, If anything, there was a RPG wargame I played that they were less enthused. Because guns and whatnot.

@Trish Apparently, "emo" is now slang for a "goth karen"

@Trish There were some ~~great~~ vampire shows in the 90's. Cheerleader vampire hunter, vampire cop, and vampire clans in a city come to mind.

I admit that for me vampire cop>cheerleader vampire hunter

Kindred! That was the one I liked, but basically got cancelled right away.

@NautArch I concur. The vampire cop one was better than Buffy.

M__

Thanks for your insight. I agree *DnD5e* is mainstream and *Rolemaster* never was once mainstream. I also know what a good job *DnD5e* was said to have done in upgrading the system. So 100% agreed. I (and *Rolemaster*) am/was behind the times - but I know what happened. I have played <<*DnD5e* (let's just say "early"), *Rolemaster* (and GM'd), and others (and GM'd). For me it's all RPG (just my opinion).
**Toy R Us** I can ask about that. I've no doubt it has a lot to do with it. I've an RPG buddy who use to be a manager there. I think the company went under? Anyway, my buddy did not much l…

@Trish Back in the day, you were limited to the number of rangers in a group because ---lore-- they were OP. Decent saves, access to healing, better hit dice, multiple attacks.... three rangers, a wizard, and a cadre of henchmen with 10' poles was the way to roll. Sure many henchmen would die, and the wizard would become insanely rich because the rangers weren't allowed to keep much money, but that's a sacrifice we we're all willing to make.

4:55 PM

@M__ Looking at the Wiki page, it looks like RM 2nd Edition was when I was playing - but I'd not heard of much beyond D&D.

@GcL I also liked Angel.

@NautArch My housemates and I watched all six? seasons of that. Thought we'd hate it, but it was unexpectedly entertaining, and a nice break from studying.

I was more a Sabrina and Sailor Moon fan XD

@GcL Still better than Buffy

Grad school pleasure (reruns)

@NautArch I don't think I saw more than a half dozen Buffy episodes.

@Trish There was a Tom Hanks movie that pretty much sums up the fears of outraged moms and evangelicals of the time. It was a crap movie which also matches up pretty well.

@GcL I tried it and just couldn't get into it.

That's also when I watched all of Deep Space 9 - which turned out better than I thought.

5:19 PM

@NautArch Yeah. I recall being skeptical because it was star trek without a ship, but "it worked for babylon 5" so gave it a go. Also liked it a lot.

Thomas Markov

7:30 PM

Voting buttons on meta are no longer terrible

So that’s cool

KorvinStarmast

7:45 PM

@Trish yes, good point on that.

@M__ Toys R Us going under happened in the 21st century, I am thinking about a decade ago? I got the impression that they lost out during the Amazon/Internet sales thing. But it might have simply been bad management.