Quote from: Ratman_tf;1080149Yeah. I love 2nd ed, but I'm not going to defend the weird cosplay art stuff. Does anyone know the name of the artist who did that stuff?

About the Cover. The three characters on the cover were based on TSR staffer David Wise, a model that might have been named Kim, and TSR staffer Steve Beck. From https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17380/DLR3-Unsung-Heroes-2e?it=1

The preview reveals Cover Art: Robh Ruppel


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robh_Ruppel has more info and calls him a "horror genius".

Quote from: Snowman0147;1079233Can anyone even imagine a post D&D tabletop rpg hobby?

That's my life right now. I have a 4e D&D campaign on the horizon, that's it as far as D&D goes. My groups play other games.

Quote from: hituro;1079611

• The vast majority of RPGs are now produced through Kickstarters that leave little, if any, stock for stores
• The era of the supplement bloat promoted by the the original OGL are over, the trend is now for fewer (but more expensive) books in a game line
• Many more people are playing D&D than they were, and so the 'vital lines' for a store have been compressed down to a smaller number

That reminds me of a time I was getting my oil changed so I walked into the next door game-store. I asked, "do you have any Savage Worlds book?" (the answer was probably going to be no since it's so niche, but if they manage to have even 1 of the hundreds of products, I would have just bought it). They of course did not have any and the proprietor said, "Anything you are interested in, I can order online." to which my thought is, "Well so can I."

You can buy any niche RPG product you want online and RPGs are one of the few mediums where convenience of a physical store is almost irrelevant. Games take awhile to plan so you rarely need an RPG "right now!"

That being said, I do not think the era of supplement bloat is over. My favorite RPG system has dozens of successful kickstarters every year. My purchase rate isn't as high as the content creation, which is great for me as a consumer who tends to play with people that do not want to branch out from more than one game.

Quote from: S'mon;1080061Yes. Another one that particularly bugs me (but without the sex appeal), from 1994:

(image omitted)

This 'Milwaukee Ren Faire' stuff seems specific to Forgotten Realms in the 1990s, TSR used very different art direction for their other settings. I'm not keen on some of the other art too, eg not a big fan of the Planescape art, but it doesn't have the creepy 'uncanny valley'-esque vibe of this stuff.

I agree about that art - but I also think that the influences go further than just these examples. D&D has never been very medieval, but rather reflects more modern assumptions and values.

This is noticeable for me most in how they portray economics - usually with an array of stores in town, and goods and services bought off the shelf from a price list. D&D town modules tend to remind me more of midwestern strip malls than medieval communities.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;1080149Yeah. I love 2nd ed, but I'm not going to defend the weird cosplay art stuff. Does anyone know the name of the artist who did that stuff?

Robh Ruppel. A really good artist who eventually seems to have transitioned away from using live models which is a shame as hes top notch. Someone else thought so too as hes moved on to illustrating stuff for movies apparently. Seems to do backgrounds and cityscape art more often.

He also did the cover art for one of the Ravenloft books.

Quote from: Omega;1080265Robh Ruppel. A really good artist who eventually seems to have transitioned away from using live models which is a shame as hes top notch. Someone else thought so too as hes moved on to illustrating stuff for movies apparently. Seems to do backgrounds and cityscape art more often.

He also did the cover art for one of the Ravenloft books.

  Several--Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts, Van Richten's Guide to the Created, the revised Campaign Setting (or "Red Box"), and others, IIRC.

Quote from: jhkim;1079267Tons of people produce RPGs for free - some even with pretty amazing production values. RPGs would unquestionably continue to be produced, though the number and variety would be reduced. The great thing about tabletop RPGs - compared to video games - is that it's easily do-it-yourself (DIY).

That's actually the reason it would die. And it's the reason computer games became a multi-bllion dollar industry. Buy-in level. To make computer games, you actually need to be talented, have a hard skill called "programming".

Tabletop RPGs are LCD (Lowest Common Denominator, you degenerate addict). Even cooking requires more skill past the absolute basics to be able to do anything worthwhile, tasty and impressive. So this whole line of thinking: it's come from people with a unrealistic view of what this hobby is and who don't really care if the hobby dies so long as they get theirs.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1079297It's Jonestown 2: Electric Boogaloo just waiting to happen.

Jesus, that's dark. Please tell me you actually, truly understand what you are saying there.

Quote from: Motorskills;1079496According to Pundit, you aren't rolling dice on a table, you aren't part of this hobby. It's fucking dumb.

It's called code. Pundit's just being mostly what you stated below with a kernal of realness behind it.

Quote from: Motorskills;1079496Pundit is just pissed that people are walking past his paleo-cave and having fun in a whole spectrum that none of us envisioned a few years ago.

Ahahahaha...

Quote from: Motorskills;1079496Oh and here's seven million more reasons why he is full of shit.

I wish them the best of success. Mercer has earned it.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1079528The LARP fandom are people who play LARPs. Unlike fucktards trying to make believe "video watchers = RPGers", the LARP "community" is really clear that LARPers LARP and by LARPing you are a LARPer. Not fucking rocket science.

This is called "staying on-code". TTRPGers don't do this. Most every other hobby does this. You're either onit or you're not onit. People will cry and rant about this and call it "gatekeeping" -- it's not, it's code. Try raving at the bouncer at a club about how you deserve to get in even when you don't meet the dress code -- see how far that gets you. That's all it is.

Quote from: Stegosaurus;1079544You are sadly right about the increase in mass suicide that's coming in the next decade. [...] This has me fearing for my own future.

What in the actual fuck is wrong with people on here?

Quote from: PrometheanVigil;1080291Jesus, that's dark. Please tell me you actually, truly understand what you are saying there.

I actually, truly understand what I am saying there.

US Millennials (especially SJWs) + 10 years = mass suicide epidemic. The culture of perpetual victimhood with its steady diet of social media and anti-depressants will reach its obvious conclusion as the mass of the generation hits "mid-life"(aka, divorce, insolent teenagers, stagnant careers, and world that didn't live up to its hype).

As a purely secular generation, there is no "god" or "afterlife" to deter them, and MSM's worship of Only Youth isn't going to change. When Millennials aren't the MSM's 24/7 darling anymore, you'll see real despondent darkness spread across their social media.  

Millennials conform like lemmings and when one lemming pops off the cliff, its sky dive lessons for the conga line. And let's not forget AOC has promised the world ends in 12 years...

Quote from: Spinachcat;1080384I actually, truly understand what I am saying there.

US Millennials (especially SJWs) + 10 years = mass suicide epidemic. The culture of perpetual victimhood with its steady diet of social media and anti-depressants will reach its obvious conclusion as the mass of the generation hits "mid-life"(aka, divorce, insolent teenagers, stagnant careers, and world that didn't live up to its hype).

As a purely secular generation, there is no "god" or "afterlife" to deter them, and MSM's worship of Only Youth isn't going to change. When Millennials aren't the MSM's 24/7 darling anymore, you'll see real despondent darkness spread across their social media.  

Millennials conform like lemmings and when one lemming pops off the cliff, its sky dive lessons for the conga line. And let's not forget AOC has promised the world ends in 12 years...

Greetings!

I don't know why I have this disturbing thought that AOC must be crazy hot in bed. Those evil, buggy eyes, the horse teeth, the maniacal laughter. The strumpet giggling and head-toss. Yeah, I'd bet good money she's gotta be mind-blowing for certain!:) LOL!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Spinachcat;1080384I actually, truly understand what I am saying there.

US Millennials (especially SJWs) + 10 years = mass suicide epidemic. The culture of perpetual victimhood with its steady diet of social media and anti-depressants will reach its obvious conclusion as the mass of the generation hits "mid-life"(aka, divorce, insolent teenagers, stagnant careers, and world that didn't live up to its hype).

As a purely secular generation, there is no "god" or "afterlife" to deter them, and MSM's worship of Only Youth isn't going to change. When Millennials aren't the MSM's 24/7 darling anymore, you'll see real despondent darkness spread across their social media.  

Millennials conform like lemmings and when one lemming pops off the cliff, its sky dive lessons for the conga line. And let's not forget AOC has promised the world ends in 12 years...

Millennials are already in their stagnant careers.

Spinachcat:

No. Apparently you don't understand what Jonestown was.

It was one of the biggest mass murders in modern history. As most of its population were either force fed poison. Or just plain shot. The suicide part of the equasion was a minority of that population. The rest were just straight up killed outright.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;1080394Spinachcat:

No. Apparently you don't understand what Jonestown was.

It was one of the biggest mass murders in modern history. As most of its population were either force fed poison. Or just plain shot. The suicide part of the equasion was a minority of that population. The rest were just straight up killed outright.

Marxism always leads to death.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;1080394Spinachcat:

No. Apparently you don't understand what Jonestown was.

It was one of the biggest mass murders in modern history. As most of its population were either force fed poison. Or just plain shot. The suicide part of the equasion was a minority of that population. The rest were just straight up killed outright.

Given that his original post was pretty snarky, I imagine he was using the reference more in the 'trope/pop culture' sense rather than worrying about the approx 50/50 murder/suicide accuracy.  Kind of like someone using the Kool-Aid trope that comes from the same incident.

Quote from: PrometheanVigil;1080291What in the actual fuck is wrong with people on here?

I'm not cheering it on. The looming mass suicide epidemic is scary. So scary, you don't even have to wait a decade. Take a look at the suicide statistics right now. You can also add in the overdoses.

Quote from: moonsweeper;1080403Given that his original post was pretty snarky, I imagine he was using the reference more in the 'trope/pop culture' sense rather than worrying about the approx 50/50 murder/suicide accuracy.  Kind of like someone using the Kool-Aid trope that comes from the same incident.

Those Tropes are unacceptable and offensive in civilized society. It's active belittlement of the one of most significant religious based mass murders of the age.

There are people around who survived it. People around whose lives were directly impacted by it. And those "tropes" come from the same twisted mentality of people who would joke about Jews getting thrown in the gas chambers. Absolutely unacceptable.