Role-Playing is DEAD. And They Killed It. A Rant.

Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @northernexile
The Patreon if you want to buy me a beer or coffee :) - / northernexile
The Discord - / discord

[@GlennM53]

Suddenly, I feel so blessed when doing session 0. I asked my players if anything would be off limits or subjects they'd want avoiding. They looked awkwardly at each other while saying, "No?"

[@dking6021]

The point about "make up your own rules" has always been in any RPG, even just unspoken, any rule with a gamemaster is inherently acknowledging that you cannot have an RPG and have rules for everything

[@redacted5985]

games like Shadowrun used to have an easy workaround which was “if you’re not sure what skill a player’s action would be testing, default to the closest associated skill or respective stat” it wasn’t just “idk lol just make something up”

[@dr3dg352]

@@redacted5985 I enjoy D&D 5e enough, but I saw an increasing trend of sparse rules with maybe an example and then "make it up yourself" based on the example. I love the creative freedom of roleplaying games... but a rulebook should have rules.

[@caspianbchalphy]

exactly. Gygax in 1e and Chainmail mentioned that every table is different and he’s not going to tell people how to run their tables

[@jiggler1-1]

I told my players 'you may die. I will not deliberately try and kill you, but the world is a harsh place, and Npc's are people too. They are just as smart as you, and they don't want to die just as much as you. If you die, I will not give you a get out of jail free card.' On another note, I've got the twilight 2000 system and I like it quite a bit.

[@HipsterCthulhu]

May I just say. I AM a professional actor (I also work behind the camera). I say this because I used to think I didnt like tabletop RPGs. After all, the last thing I want to do in my spare time IS act, let alone perform for a bunch of a theatre kids with the ego of a spoiled 12 year old. Hearing this is really making me think I was "doing it wrong", or at least doing it with the wrong crowd...

[@northernexile]

If you are 'acting' in an RPG sit down game you are indeed doing it wrong. Inhabit your character and make choices that they would make, but speak in your own voice with a little inflection at most and you are spot on. Know your rules, make sure to not hog the limelight, and you're golden.

[@LOREHAMMER40000]

You both couldn't be more wrong. Role playing is about playing a role. It's supposed to be acting. If you're just playing the get stuff kill bad guys, that's pretty shallow shit baby

[@bryanvestal3923]

​@@LOREHAMMER40000I love the shallow stuff baby!

[@hellcat64]

critical role when it boomed was a nightmare as a forever DM in public. watching tourist players spout nonsense that they heard from the show. i dislike the term dice goblin now, i will say the comics and animated show is awesome. but now i just see the other 90% as the wrestling of TRPGs

[@tsukuneaono7252]

My circle of friends are divided into two groups. 1. Open to any system, setting, and limitations 2. Refuse to play anything but 5e, min max all the time and complain about their dm whenever challenged. The 2nd group refuse to play with me because they think I’m a killer dm and don’t like that I run other systems. The 1st group however, always has a blast playing even if the session I run could be better. They even thing the other group of players are crazy because I have little to no deaths because my players are smart and creative. I just had to comment because this video sounds a lot like my one group of friends.

[@mikelavigne1370]

This is why gatekeeping these types of people is a necessity. I’m convinced gatekeeping is actually a good thing at this point.

[@MobbJacket88]

Otherwise you'll just end up like Star Wars

[@richardbradley2335]

Unpainted armies...tantrums and blue hair...the gate has to be more than several inches of cold rolled steel !

[@bootsdrew1145]

@@MobbJacket88I don’t know. The Acolyte is gatekeeping pretty hard. lol

[@MobbJacket88]

@@bootsdrew1145 Are you talking about the Acolyte gatekeeping or the fans against it gatekeeping?

[@bootsdrew1145]

@@MobbJacket88 Yes to both. The fans are attempting to salvage what they can, where Lucas Films is just telling everyone they are toxic because they hate the garbage coming out. By making something written terribly and so politically charged, then telling fans they are the problem is negative gatekeeping.

[@francoisdauzon3107]

It's wild how the people interested in this have shifted to... /this/, from the people who wanted to do it 20-30 years back. It's also wild that they're so concerned about making the scene diverse and inclusive and protected when this used to be, literally, one of the most inclusive scenes ever 20-30 years ago. Completely wild. At the same time, I'd say social media killed it, and not Critical Role or any other group. Without social media, people could get together and be perfectly happy doing it however they wanted. If a group of actors (professional, amateur, good, or bad) want to turn it into an acting heavy thing... that's cool. What's problematic is when that gets exposure, becomes viral, gets less talented people to try and emulate it because #popular, and gets all of the production companies to do an about face on their product because #popular. This is a pretty (big picture) irrelevant topic, but social media and the internet has really changed the world as much as the printing press, in lots of unintended ways, and hasn't necessarily made it better in many of those cases.

[@dr3dg352]

As for the inclusivity, I assembled my roleplaying group throughout high school. None of us knew it then, but in our adulthood we learned every member with one exception was some form of LGBT. It's amazing the compassionate space we built for one another without even realizing it at the time. Most of us are still best friends to this day. Also, I hear you on social media. O_O While a lot has improved overall, I wish I could experience the early analog "zine days" of the hobby. The history of tabletop wargames and roleplaying games is one of my favorite fields of study. 💜

[@Daemonik]

My 14yo son found your description of the responses hilarious. None of those people would last 5 mins in the campaigns he plays in, apparently. He found the "red card" especially funny. I don't RPG since the 90s, and if that's the prevailing attitude, I'll stay outside 🤘

[@captainhll9661]

"The world will react to you" hell yeah I'm starting every session with that North, also " pick up the rock's in the forest you never know what critical roll actors will come crawling out". Classic North.

[@unknowfornow35]

the only "safety" tools" that you should need is just.. session zero and rule zero?

[@Gangrel442003]

As someone who has played Vampire the Masquerade since 1994, I have to say this with honesty and candor: FUCK HUNGER DICE!!!

[@TheDave-bn2tx]

This is spot on. When I'm not traveling around the world, ruining 40K games, I play tabletop RPGs. I'm grateful I have solid players to play with. I feel not only critical role but politics has ruined the hobby. I understand why people solo game but it's also really sad.

[@tommys_hobbies]

North, you might like the Greatcoats novels by Sebatien de Castell. It's a fantasy series about an exiled group of royal guards, whose king was overthrown and executed years before. Each Greatcoat was assigned a mission by the king before he was killed and the novels follow three of them. Some of the stories are gut-wrenchingly brutal, but there are moments of humour too.

[@matthiasthulman4058]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to check these books out

[@unknowncomic4107]

Look, the current wave of touchy-feely-fragile-unicorn-types will run their course and will out themselves from the games. They will move on to something else or will completely change the current gaming terrain so that it becomes something completely different. What we know as RPG/TTRPG will come full circle and will return to the rightful stakeholders.

[@silvanusasher446]

I just picked up a couple new rules-light ttrpgs, *Sojourn *Yokai Hunter Society *Whitebox *Shardded And before that i found a od&d retro clone called "Iron Falcon". I would love to bring them into my player group, they are pretty cool and remind me of a setting like in the fantasy story books from the 80's/70's. The gritty dark dungeons of grey stone. The grainy texture of the 70's film. Black, mist-laden trees silhouetted against white clouds. The dungeon synth plodding like pendulous footsteps in a dream. And every once in a while, the brief flash of light glinting off a blade as you clench it in your fist. Ready for whatever monstrosity that might reach out from the corner of your eye.

[@northernexile]

I heartily recommend 'Cairn' :)

[@silvanusasher446]

@@northernexile almost chose that one too, but my impression was that it was a little too "for the kids" , don't really know why

[@rantymcrant-pants9536]

Role-play books have always had a 'do-what-you-want' disclaimer. So I did. I have been running a group for a while (155 sessions so far) I use a loose WoD system, it allows the players to do what they want to an extent instead of rules lawyering their skills. I honestly hate the fumbling over rules and the fudging so many people try to do because of it. I keep it simple, tell me what you want to do and we'll see what the dice have to say about it. We do little in terms of acting, instead summarising what our character is doing. We do it a lot like North said, here is the sandbox and scenario, what do you do. I agree that role-play should challenge you to think deeply about a scenario. A more formal approach to those conversations you might have had; 'what would I do during a zombie outbreak?' Play it out, see what happens. Or at least what the dice thinks happens. Though I think a GM should be asking players what they're not up for or what they themselves don't want to do. My group are not up for a romance simulator or werewolves. I don't know, just discussing what you're doing has been normal for me, no one making a drama or thing out of not wanting to do a save-the-world plot or something.

[@SuperEagle112]

Imagine having unimaginable power. And then not wanting to confront slavers because it’ll hurt someone’s feelings, instead of erasing the slavers from existence in the most excellent and graphic way possible!?!?

[@See_That_Game]

I had a player who was an atheist and he wanted to be an atheist cleric... I had to explain to him that, in my world, magic exists and is provided by the gods. To not believe in the gods is equal to not believing in electricity in our world.

[@alexwilliams9831]

I pray to science! Holy Symbol: Doritos

[@redacted5985]

his runic sigils would just be drawings of fedoras

[@tomfox810]

I used to play a lot of Vampire and Cyberpunk back in the 90s . We had a lot of fun especially the girls were loving it, and yes they lived as they played, dark and goths (i was the opposite but I got along with them super fine and I was the only Toreador in the group along with another chick and a Media in Cyberpunk) and I went several times with them to dark disco clubs where they used to hang as well (to put it into perspective there were girls with white contact lenses and you can imagine the overall outfits). Back then the game was appropriate to the culture of groups that were hanging around (and music and everything else pop culture had a big impact on trends), now it's just a melting pot of uninteresting non culture nonsense. We were super inclusive, but we also gatekept bad actors...kids nowadays have NO idea what being inclusive really means. We used RPGs as a mean for mental health and analysis , no matter the situation in play during sessions, triggering wasn't a concept, facing even potentially uneasy situations made people reason and have introspections. They embraced every challenge eager to face it and overcome it even if that meant behaving against your own morality to be "in character"(especially true for Vampire the Masquerade). I loved every single moment of those times.

[@robertevans3173]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. Sometimes you have to build the group of players you want. And that takes a lot of effort and games. Setting the expectations well in advance helps.

[@veilofdarkness000]

I love that you made this video as it makes me feel better I'm not the only one who has had these thoughts. I can't really talk about them with my ttrpg friends as they've assimilated into the leftist aura that is around DND and roleplaying right now. I wish I got into ttrpgs before 5e. I've since given it up in favor for Indy RPGs like Mörk Borg.

[@buffyk4]

Well said mate. I used to be a big fan of Critical Role, but I soon saw the perceived power and influence go to the cast's heads after the first season, with all their self-indulgent nonsense, political or otherwise.

[@noblegalifreyan4551]

I think what grinds my gears about the modern D&D and to an extent the RPG seen is that everything feels like a goddamn meme. People are playing for the highlights rather than the overall experience. DMs are basically the whipping boy that has to make the whole experience fun for the players lest you get treated as the fun police when a player wants to do something that is impossible or will get them killed.

[@smoore6461]

I think if you look at Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. who, etc. A part of it comes down to a SOFT generation of cry bullies who basically lack any real imagination because EVERYTHING has to relate or reflect modern-day, real-life weakness and pearl clutching.

[@DanteTCW]

I have to say I feel "blessed" I currently play with three groups, one is a on-against off again online game, the other two are full of Horror fans, any rpg, any genre with horror fans is just the greatest!

[@alucardwesker6807]

I am reminded at the beginning of a phrase I once heard. "You are responsible for your own triggers." I think thats very important as you cannot depend on others tip toeing around you. A session zero also helps mitigate this problem. The DM lays out exactly what he expects to happen and the players can then levy their own expectations. That will weed out friction easily.

[@Azrael.87]

Oh my days! I got 5 mins into the video and I'm already shaking my head for humanity, these people are soo soft I don't know how they will survive in real life.

[@dernordwind8728]

So sad, domesticated pathetic eternal children is what they are

[@zacharygoguen5126]

When i started my campaign in 2017, i let them all know at the start "This will be a dark fantasy setting, it will get uncomfortable at times, and it will touch on dark subject matter." And now in 2024 I have 6 devoted players who are itching for each next session. Probably helps we don't get to play much which makes every session an event, but we get along well and the narrative is still strong. I use 5e flaws and all, and tell a story that has concequences for their actions and a gritty story. At least, I'd like to think so 😅

[@Ekaidseaky]

Every time a red card type player has came to one of my tables. They are always the first to leave or get kicked.

[@bigkahuna1510]

Man I've just started watching today, been binging ya at work and I have today I love your content. This video especially convinced me to subscribe. I couldn't agree more. Thankfully I've only heard about cringe like this second hand thanks to only doing roleplay games with good friends. My recent favorite is Imperium Maledictum, and from what I can tell it is free of all this tripe.

[@Empty_Elegy]

To be fair I kinda get giving some pregame resources to cover subject matter that people don't wanna deal with. It's something that could easily be covered by a quick pregame conversation of course but if you get a bunch of nerds together who might not have the best social skills, it might not be something they're exactly wanting to discuss on their own. I'm on the spectrum myself and much prefer people to be direct about basically everything in general. For some people it's easier to just tick a box on some paper than it is to bring it up in conversation, for example if someone went through some messed up stuff as a kid or what have you, I get not wanting to talk about that. The real problem is when it gets brought to the attention of the masses. The general populace is full of idiots and it gets blown way out of proportion. I will agree that stuff like critical role's popularity has kinda brought this out more because it reaches the average person. It's almost like the inverse of back in the 80s where DnD was the devil and destroying the youth or whatever, it had some mainstream attention from idiots who don't know any better about the tabletop hobby in general.

[@DarkKnightCuron]

LIKES FOR THE LIKE GOD; COMMENTS FOR THE COMMENT THRONE!

[@Spiketicon]

Acting is literally playing a role. It is roleplaying. The way CR do it and the lengths they go to may not be your preference (and fair enough, I wouldn't go that far either), but to say they're somehow 'doing it wrong' is something I can't get behind. Every group is different and will have different expectations for a game. A lot of this safety tools stuff is resolved by simply having a clear and open conversation with prospective players about what kind of game you all want to play. If that's not compatible with everyone, the GM puts in all the work and has final say on how much they are willing to compromise their vision, so they can politely tell somebody that the game may not be for them. For somebody who spends so much time in this video complaining about people being dramatic, you're being a bit dramatic 😂

[@c.g.262]

The RPG convention I go to once a year asks all of the GMs what they safety controls are.

[@casbalt7763]

Respectfully disagree on 2 points Mr. North. The people in critical roll are professional actors (i do not disagree that they have had a bad impact on the tabletop landscape though.) and even in the older versions of dnd there were statements encouraging making up house rules for yourself. At the same time that red card thing at the beginning of the video was incredibly cringe and i cant believe thats a thing people are doing now.

[@dernordwind8728]

You always need at least two for bullshit like that to fly, fucking sad

[@climid]

I don't love critical role but I do think Matt mercer has some good DM skills and without him, the game wouldn't have worked out.

[@intergalacticimperialist9670]

Never watched critical role or any of that stuff, always thought it looked lame. That being said I do like to do voices for my characters, it helps distinguish between my in and out of character conversations as a player, and help identify important NPCs when I DM, helping to identy them as foreigner to the local setting or of a different social class etc. I play exclusively with my friends, many of whom can't do as many voices as I can. My own vocal range has shrunk in recent years due to sessions getting further apart and life stuff preventing autistic rehearsal of funny accents. I don't think the voices are the problem really, maybe symptomatic of it, but I'm about as far away from the goobers youve described as possible, I just like delineating my characters from myself at the table, My Sami inspired shamanic druid reading the entrails of captured foes wouldn't have had the same effect in my normal Philadelphia accent lol.

[@matthiasthulman4058]

If you're still looking for people to play, let me know. I've pretty much dropped out of role-playing games altogether because the community is flooded with X Card type folks. Even online. Good video, I'm going through your channel now. Hoping to see that Black Coats video if it's available

[@dylansmall9699]

When it comes to safety tools in my games it’s basically here are the exits and where the extra firearms are located in the case of home invasion.

[@twitchew]

"come in and play a collaborative game with everyone and have fun together". - thanks for crystalizing the experience and why i really like the hobby.

[@Mega-G-Star]

That’s why there has been a GM/DM shortage for years.

[@newenglandpatriot4069]

Probably safer to solo play.

[@PlusTrack-yg4ym]

27:45 is exactly why brian of tarth was my favorite character in GoT lol

[@MechbossBoogie]

With its rise in popularity it was really only a matter of time before these sorts of people showed up. Oh, you want to run a grimdark story? Sure, I'll play. But you have to get rid of the grimdark aspects and make sure it's a safe space for me to play, because I can't handle those sorts of things. Personally, I rather enjoy devices like the X card. But that's because I had actual children playing in my game previously. So, it works for that. But grown ass adults? Get that out of here.

[@uriahedwards]

I got my start in the hobby through Critical Role. I glommed onto the story and enjoyed it like an audiobook. I was ecstatic to get my first taste of D&D. Aaaaand I was disappointed in the outcome. It was nothing like the show! I was expecting funny voices and narration, but I got none of that. I got gritty combat and deadly consequences. Each session I would walk away having had fun, but not like I did watching CR. Then something happened. I realized that Critical Role *was a show* and nothing more. I was putting expectations on a medium that it wasn’t meant to fulfill. While I got so caught up in the accent I was using and how I described my characters emotions, thoughts, and actions, everyone else was focused on *actually playing the game*. Safe to say, returning to the game with no expectations of amateur grade acting skills netted a much more satisfying result. While I can’t deny CR getting my foot in the door, I had to unlearn a lot of nonsense to really enjoy the game.

[@monkeyfoo999]

Good points. People forget settings can be and should be different. They forget internal consistency matters. You can have your forgotten realms but you can also have your darksuns. There are some pionts i would love to get a deeper talk on and if this game you plan on running was online it would nice to play in a game like how i run, cause i do forget what area your in. Regardless sounds fun and hope ye get a good group.

[@caspianbchalphy]

Two things I want to say myself. 1) While I’ve heard the people on Critical Role are absolutely lovely people (I’m not doubting that) and they are talented voice actors/actresses (I’ve lined their work in the games and anime they voice in) it cannot be denied that for better or worse they have had a massive impact on TTRPGs as a whole and especially Dungeons & Dragons. I have no doubt that they are fans of the game (especially Mercer since he’s so knowledgeable and played Warhammer Fantasy in the past since he’s mentioned he has a Skaven army) The fanbase they have cultivated they’ve brought from the games and anime side of things of Tumblr. These are the people who’d rather knit a goblin than fight one. it’s these people to bring down the settings and games and want D&D to be a lifestyle brand instead of a tabletop RPG. These are the people I see celebrate GW moves in AoS and 40K to be more inclusive (whether said inclusions fit into the lore or not). I want 40K and The Old World to remain dark science fiction and dark fantasy, but I’m worried these people want to change that. In regards to the “disregard the rules in the book/make up your own thing” that has been apart of the hobby since the first edition of D&D. I’m sure Gygax knew that gaming groups already had their own house rules for their wargames that went against pre-written rules in supplements and he didn’t want to change that and tell people how to run their own tables. There in lies the difference. He did stand by the rules in general and he had a better reason why he’d say that. Granted it was kinda more of an unwritten rule that didn’t need to be there but still I’d say it’s different than what else have today when people say it.

[@theunknownreturns]

We didn't gate keep well enough. The woke mind virus destroys all that it touches. Our games were horror stories where the players were the greatest threat to each other. I've dropped out of groups that won't let you be evil, or group conflict. Even one where I was told what class to play, what I had to do and how to defer to the more senior members.

[@DarkPretender205]

I like rping different games for different reasons, I play with some of my previous neighbors, its systemless (no dice etc) super hero roleplay, we are very "Fluffy" roleplayers where we play our characters, but we have all agreed on the kind of roleplay we do for this game, we play our characters emotions and we do the drama emotions, because we are a bunch of barely adults that decided to be heroes, with everything that entails, its fun, but it definitely requires you to be able to "Act" in cases, we don't do any voices though, but its very heavy on the roleplay, rather than the roll-play, other times I just enjoy sitting down and playing D&D... I like playing different games for different reasons :)

[@tatoferret3167]

Run a game of FATAL. That'll weed out anyone with any sensitivities. (Character creation took 4+ hours when a few of us gave it a go. I'd write a hobby nightmare on that aspect alone if I hadn't scrubbed it from memory.)

[@AAhmou]

Run a game ? A character creation session is more than enough. I cannot even conceive trying to streamline the damn thing for newcomers.

[@davidfromkyushu6870]

North says he's never gonna let you down, but will he never give you up? Or run around and desert you?

[@morrettigames5153]

Imagine being so soft and weak to need a safety control for a make believe story. This cancer is everywhere, games, movies and society. Trigger warnings for imaginary worlds, it’s just sad.

[@darklord884]

"Gonna be a chill video." Title: *ROLE-PLAYING IS DEAD AND THEY KILLED IT!* I can agree that people expecting too much from games due to only having seen Critical Role is cringe, but that mostly affects people new to the hobby, people who don't know better, people who haven't got enough experience to limit their expectations to realistic standards. To say CR "RUINED THE HOBBY" because of this is quite simply ridiculous if you ask me. Beyond that, I can understand that some games and players go overboard with safety tools, but to scoff at the mere existence of them is ludicrous, for the very simple example of horror games. As in sure, you wouldn't want to take out killing from a grimdark game or remove the monsters essential to it, but you also wouldn't necessarily want to throw arachnid enemies at a buddy who has arachnophobia IRL. Might ruin the game a bit if instead of experiencing the fun kind of menace and fear, one of the players faints or starts having a panic attack under the table. You had a pretty bad run with those applicants if all of them were exactly as you describe, but they are not exemplary of the whole RPG community. Worst case scenario, you got unlucky and met some bad eggs. Also, the things ranted at in this video are not at all the new craze you claim they are. Safety tools have been around for years, but the idea of "talking to your players to see if there are any topics someone wouldn't like to see" has existed for at least two decades. And please, the "Golden Rule" of "If you don't like anything as a GM, it is your right to not use it or homebrew something else" has been around at the VERY LEAST since Vampire: The Masquerade Revised, which goes back to the 90s. The whole video reeks of this idea of "You're having fun wrong." I get not being a fan of safety tools and looser RPG systems, but to define that "this is not roleplaying" and then list off the very same thing of "embodying their characters" is just plain silly to me. Instead of complaining about this, I'd suggest doing what I have been. Find people actually interested in RPGs. Find people who are open to learn and are willing to understand what you tell them. People who won't call you a bad GM if you don't know about X-cards. But maybe to achieve this, I'd also suggest a bit more openness on your part. You can't expect them to listen after openly scoffing at their preferences, that'll just make them hostile even if you ARE in the right. Instead, maybe tell them that you can't remove certain aspects of the game because they are essential, but ask if they have any topics they really don't want to see or experience and try to find a compromise. Not kowtow to every complaint for sure, but you know, maybe not throw oh I don't know, rape scenes at someone if they are uncomfortable with those scenes just because "it's ridiculous to remove stuff from grimdark games!" Not every game is F.A.T.A.L., you CAN play V:tM for example without guts and sinew on every corner. Trying to go for compromise never hurt anyone. I know because this method helped me lots of times with both old and new systems. This is just the advice of someone who doesn't see the situation nearly as bleak as you do my friend. Cheers! Hope you find great games and great parties!

[@oblivionfan345Tony]

Look at Kingdom Come Deliverance, Warhorse got slandered and called racist because there was no black people and no women in positions of power in the game. The second one is one of the few games I'm looking forward to because I'm almost certain it will be free of DIE garbage.

[@Sarados1980]

I wouldn't say that critical role killed RPGs, but they definetly changed the expectation of the masses regarding TTRPGs. I can understand that some people have problems with specific topics. But I don't need a "red card" for it, just speak up if this topic comes up (learn to stand up for yourself) and we can move on. Or even take it as a chance to confront yourself with this topic and learn to deal/cope with it (yes TTRPG can also have a therapeutic use). One thing which triggers me really hard with the "new generation of TTRPG players" is the "unkillable character" - No, character can die and probably will! The world will react to your characters actions (and rolls) and if this lead to his/her death, so be it. Character death, especially unexpected ones can lead to great story points and character development. I normally play only with good friends of mine and we don't really have this issues, but when I DM for a new group I make this things clear from the start and if someone is not fine with it, they are free to leave the table. And yes rules are important and should be robust, but on the other hand it's not wrong to adapt the rules to your groups playstyle if you realize that some rules are not working for your group. I play TTRPG for most of my live and we always had houserules, even if we didn't called it them this at the beginning (e.g. dropping the Matrix rules in SR 2.0, allowing Level up HP rerolls in DSA 3 (& now DnD5) or dropping movement AoO in D&D5 now, to allow for a more dynamic combat). And I really like your comment to the end regarding the "left agenda" (even if I consider myself being left^^), unless you play in a utopian setting, races should be different, people should react different to different stuff and your "task" as a player is to "deal with it and react to it, like your character would do". Roleplaying is about playing another person and react based like they would, not like "you with a sword" would!

[@Linkolnverse]

"Tells you to make your own rules" *Next sentence* "Tells you when and how to play" Talk about whiplash my dude.

[@deimoskaischylos]

Also, apparently roleplaying is good, but you also should NOT roleplay otherwise you’re just an…actor? Wild.

[@thepoliticalgunnut8018]

Found the tourists.

[@deimoskaischylos]

@@thepoliticalgunnut8018 Found the lame comment. Psst. It’s yours. Yours is the lame comment.

[@thepoliticalgunnut8018]

@@deimoskaischylos sounds like projection on your part.

[@deimoskaischylos]

@@thepoliticalgunnut8018 Sounds like insecurity on your part. You added nothing of substance, didn’t even have the courage to criticize the comment, and are now even lacking proper comebacks. Do better.

[@snookiefrye]

Hey North, for this kinda stuff, check out "Ryoko's guide to the Kaiju Realms." It's a pretty good mix of dark and care-free, and you get to kill Godzilla look-alikes. Shit's awesome.

[@bootsdrew1145]

When you try to sell/make a product for everyone, you lose all identity. It’s one of the simple premises of Bruce Almighty and the South Park Christmas episode. If you change everything for everyone you end up with a beige, boring setting.

[@boycottwarhammer6016]

Me working on my dark fantasy regency era grab bag setting (skirting grimdark horror brothers grimm etc original I know) being modern counterculture is great!

[@dylansmith592]

Ive only ever played dnd with relatives n friends for these reasons. None of my groups, except maybe 1 dude, would ever desire to even put on a voice for their character. The more horrifying the scenario, the more fun we have because we cant seem to take it seriously anyway

[@logangant7732]

Theater kids have gentrified nerd spaces

[@thornback82]

I am not a role-player but for me the problem was obvious. It was not that role-playing is dying but you posted your game in a woke family friendly lgbtqi+ all are welcome gaming store. I do not believe normal white British non-gay gamer men would have any triggers or problems playing a game.

[@nonya9120]

Started back in the 70s. Yep, the kids these days can be frustrating, it really is a different play style nothing more or less. Honestly more rules were always optional. I just wish more of the kittens could grasp flanking....

[@Kharmazov]

So they are basically confusing TTRPG with a bad chamber LARP.

[@atrex1991]

So I hard a 5e conversion of Dark Sun for a group... session 0 I had 2 people drop out because the topic of slavery was triggering. Session 2 I had a player quit cus he was caught casting magic and was imprisoned for it. He didn't even give them a chance to brake him out of jail granted not a single other player was willing to try and break him out (he annoyed several of the other players) but it was an option.

[@SirFailsalot91]

I honestly couldn't get through one Critical Role episode, I never understood why watching someone else playing a TTRPG would be more fun than actually doing it yourself.

[@Ralndrath]

Yeah, a lot of people have got into pen and paper role-playing by watching Critical Role and think that it's going to be just like that despite them making it for an audience. It's like people who watch a lot of porn and thinking sex is like that in real life.

[@lupusprimealpha6198]

(When it comes to finding games and players) I have the same problem as a player (roll20 specially) where i go looking for a D&D game in my timezone on a good day only to find listings who HAVE to specify they are LGBTQRCT+ ‘friendly’. Which i quickly learned mean LGBTQ+ material is forced into the world and game (and you as a player!). I learned to not even accept listentings og GMs who has these in their bio because they arent herr to play D&D. They are there to shallow out the setting and push their agenda/sexuality on you. The straight white man who just wants normal people and normal GM. Unfortunetly 80% of my listings have these people in it… finding normal people with normal interests just wanting to play a Dnd fantasy game the way it was made and intended without their modern day politics, is as hard as finding WoTCs officially legal wolf race… However this is mostly just a problem encountered in D&D since other games are not mainstream and infected with the… virus.

[@riolufan2249]

I wish I could get people to sit down for Call of Cthulhu. My group plays dnd and it devolves into pseudo war/power gaming with "number go up" mentality, which gets annoying when I wanna immerse myself in a world and Role play. Call of Cthulhu's rules look really fun for playing role play than a videogame. My game group complains about it being boring tho

[@jeagerblackpaw2922]

Mutant Chronicles film did the tension, but respect, between warriors on formerly opposite sides of a war now united to fight a greater evil pretty well....

[@Draconic_Savant]

On the topic of race in fantasy, what irks me the most is the sacrifice of believable worldbuilding for the sake of inclusion at all cost. I've observed how in every major modern fantasy IP, that every people, in every territory, reflects the entire human gene pool of our world. And it is done with not a lick of context. In The Rings of Power as a prominent example, it is never explained where Black dwarves & elves come from, how they are culturally different from those who are not, and why they're just living amongst them with nobody raising a brow. They are simply waved off as an inherent part of the peoples they are presented in, as if always having been there, as if being a mere genetic flaw one has the chance to get when born. That there is no Black dwarven society from which these people migrated, two White dwarves simply had a child one day & it was magically Black for no rhyme nor reason. I hate it. Its an insult to the world the writers are handed, its lazy worldbuilding, and it completely ignores the nuance and history of why OUR civilization is so diverse today. These people want as much diversity as possible in their settings, but do not want to do the groundwork to earn it. They do not want territory, culture, customs, heraldry, language nor attire to be exclusive to any one ethnic group in a setting, because exclusivity is seen as a fucking sin to these people. If your setting features stand-ins for Germanic, Nordic, and Persian civilizations, all three of those better well have every race on earth represented, otherwise you're a bigot & nobody will dare publish your book. Its creative bankruptcy at best, political extorsion at worst. Its in RPGs, its in novels, its in videogames, and its in television & cinema. And I'm so absolutely tired of it. At this point, I'd rather indulge a setting with no diversity at all, even if my race isn't the one its about. Give me "homogenous fantasy China" over " racially diverse fantasy Europe" any day of the week. A setting is only as strong as its limitations, but all I've seen as of late are worlds that strive to have none at all, supported by a market that demands everyone else conforms to that pursuit. And this doesn't just apply to race, but sex/gender, orientation, disabilities and religion as well.

[@joeythegoth]

Should have had a no nonsense tolerated on the poster, But this is a good thing from those emails you now who you don't want to play with

[@manofaction1807]

The Power of JUMP IN THE SEA!!!

[@KinaQuinquina]

"Look at what happened to Vampire the Masquerade." Werewolf the Apocalypse 5th edition is worse. Modern players wouldn't survive session one of the Giovanni Chronicles. Not to mention the Tzimisce clanbook.

[@trevaul]

What was the recommendation that was made in the video? Something JP roleplaying series?

[@ergonamix9977]

It's the Rollplay series from the itmejp channel.

[@trevaul]

@@ergonamix9977 thank you 🙏🏼

[@user-ix6kc3zv8m]

Happy 4th of July

[@xenofett7008]

Nobody that I host RPGs for has blue hair or complains, so we are good.

[@chris.awilliams7138]

Do I hate CR for acting while roll-playing (the first half of the video)? No, because they're doing it to entertain, it's like hating an stand-up comedian for making-up stories which didn't happen to them. CR is most popular because acting is the way to make entertainment (I know you don't like it but most people don't want to watch actual Role-Playing anymore than they want to watch people eat when they're hungry). The worst thing that CR (and Stranger Things) did was bringing the idiots you describe in the second part of the video into the hobby. They should not ahve been welcomed in, they should have been gate-kept out because they don't want to be there. You've talked on why you should gate-keep people-out so I won't repeat what fans of your channel have already heard.

[@BloodRaven744]

I try to play as an Astartes in discord homebrew dnd campaigns, and even though I apply all kinds of nerfs, checks and balances for the character to be interesting, they say how it’s not possible despite my efforts. I hate tourists

[@oblivionfan345Tony]

Have you ever considered doing another Black Coats or DnD game with viewers? It may be beyond the scope because I imagine it would take auditions and stuff which would take a massive amount of time before even getting set up.

[@northernexile]

It is a huge undertaking. The last time we did Blackcoats the channel was about a quarter of the size it is now, one day though I'd love to, I've toyed with the idea for years.

[@RipVanWinkleXX]

I do believe in the change any rule you don't like in roleplaying. Yes it's less then a game, but it should be more interactive story then 100% rules. Otherwise it's just a board game. L But I prefer BECMI DnD and you had to make rules for certain actions. But the base rules (other than THAC0) were easy to understand to get you though the story that was being created by everyone in the game.

[@shawnvaljean9260]

It must be truly exhausting to be this angry all the time. Dont get me wrong, i think that alot of the things that you brought up are ridiculous as well. But i cant imagine being nearly this upset about it.

[@stefank188]

The race thing reminds me of Morgan Freeman in Robin Hood when the kid is asking him why he is black.

[@thorstenmarquardt7274]

These people being allowed online is what ruined the internet. Attention seeking Karens ruin everything.

[@dave4deputyZX]

"Amateur dramatics" jesus dont be such a curmeludgeon 😄 The few times I've role-played, some people did their character's voice or accent, and some people didn't. Let people play as they like. I'm with you on the "red lines" issue though, that is silly.

[@Rd0Lg]

I think you trying to define what is roleplay is strange. You talk to people or have a session zero to establish expectations. I think since you're finding so many people that disagree with how to play RPGs, you're in the minority on what is "real" RPGs. They can co-exist, and this video feels mostly like you venting your frustrations about your preference for RPGs being unpopular.

[@bryanvestal3923]

His version of RPG is not unpopular tho. I have been role-playing since the 80's and no group I've witnessed has been overly dramatic or like critical role. Case in point even when Vin diesel was on . He was very dry and mechanical. Which is how most people approach role-playing.

[@Rd0Lg]

@@bryanvestal3923 Okay...? I mean, in that case it's just two groups of people who don't get along. He's complaining that not everyone plays RPGs the way he wants if that's the case and he can find people to play with that are likeminded.

[@TrapDullahan]

I had group kick me out cause of Artificer hate thank to critical roll. Mind you this was beofre i started doing anything crazy

[@Doodle1776]

What's funny about the failed Candella game is that the same terrible creator for that is the designer for Daggerheart

[@roguedm6523]

You've correctly identified the problem but the way you convey the way things 'should be'' makes no sense. I think your ideas haven't been articulated well in this video other than pointing out Critical Role is amateur dramatics. Keep up the content though. Love your work North.

[@crogartofstonehammer8935]

So, I was a new DM with D&D 5th edition, but I read a bunch of Forgotten Realms books growing up. I hand picked my players out of people I got along well with. I've watched the rot infect the hobby in real time and sold off my books. I agree that Critical Role and most other TTRPG podcasts are just a bunch of wannabe celebrities. Sure, CR is a bunch of 'famous' voice actors, but they can't really play for shit. I can only hope things will go back when the avant-dork phase of society ends

[@smoore6461]

100% do whatever you want, love whoever you want, live however you choose. LEAVE children alone! I think you are spot on Northern!! WOTC has devastated rpg gaming.

[@bryanvestal3923]

Critical role sucks and that's definitely not traditional role-playing

[@greywanderer5935]

Lol I checked out critical role and it was absolutely cringeworthy, thought it was just me as I’m not into role playing.

[@Daemonik]

Same. Watched about 10 minutes, fast forwarded, watched another 10 mins, never touched it again. But I've been out of RPG for decades, so put it down to that at the time.

[@drmwatson15]

its not just role playing, its everything. People are too damn soft these days. One of my staff has been fucking around since i got promoted over him, I finally blew my lid and he immediately went to my manager. OFC the 3 months of verbal complaints i've been making against him doesn't count, only the fact I called him fucking lazy.

[@JH-ci7gu]

Sounds like Critical Role is the Sweet Baby Inc of the rpg world. A woke parasite

[@azrael1045]

I tried watching critical role once and couldn't do it

[@darkroom0716]

Idk if you address it later (I'm at 8:34 ) but CR isn't solely responsible. But on this "utopian setting" shit I experienced the same thing when I looked into the mech TTRPG Lancer. Its the same damn thing. Total utopian setting with propoganda about modern progressive politics littered throughout. Sort of made me ask "well whats the fucking conflict then?"

[@mustakrakishthelaketroll596]

Someone in this comment section asks how these kinds of people survive in the real world. Not only do they survive, but they thrive. "How?" , you ask? Cry bullying and playing the victim.

[@michaelmaddox2536]

Your best video of all time

[@HeavyMetalwarGaming3970]

100% North!!