When the Wii U was failing, the top guys at Nintendo took a pay cut so their employees didn't have to. The love of money is the root of all evil.

What a great video and overall message about Hasbro and your journey this year with it. Here’s to an indie and 3rd party RPG explosion in 2024!

Gosh that Keith Baker thing is heartbreaking because Eberron is my favorite setting.

For me, Habro's handling of D&D is analogous to staying married for the kids.

Amazing to hear about how great you're doing, Jorphdan. If you are covering non-D&D settings, I would once again like to recommend the amazing City of 7 Seraphs setting for Pathfinder.

The highlights of the year: - D&D movie set in the Forgotten Realms and written by D&D fans (who worked on the film for 4 years) - Multi-award winning D&D computer/video game created by fans (who worked on the project for 6 years) - D&D adjacent RPGs (Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, MCDM RPG, etc.), created by D&D fans that just love the RPG hobby and community. So essentially the good things of the year did not come directly from Hasbro/WOTC.

This is great Jorphdan, thank you. I concur, D&D transcends a single manufacturer now.

I'm actually excited for your Boned RPG. "Wait, I can't see. Are we boned!?" "Yeah. We're boned."

My home table switched from D&D to Dungeon Crawl Classics this year too, and we are SO HAPPY. It's so much fun, and I think that your amazing videos are part of how we fell in love with DCC. Spellcasting, Mighty Deeds, Weird Dice - it's incredible and makes me feel like I used to when gaming, just laughs and crazy adventures.

17:10 That's awesome. Sailors on the Starless Sea was the module that made me fall in love with DCC.

Really enjoyed the video, Jordan! So sorry to hear about the house troubles earlier this year and glad things are starting to look up. I've really enjoyed playing DCC with ya and look forward to more in the future

There are and always have been alternatives to D&D. I gave up AD&D for Tunnels and Trolls and Runequest back in the 80s. Today I play DCC and Shadowdark. Boned sounds pretty cool. I'm looking forward to your coverage of DCC and other games.

Freaking love Planegea. I'm proud to say i was one of the first backers and chatted with the writer on twitter when they were first putting stuff out for it :D

I love the story about your nephew just making up his own stuff. Hell yeah. That's what it's about. Third party settings sounds like a great topic to cover next year.

Thank you so very much for your presence on the internet. I have been so engaged and entertained by your content for more than just 2023. Your perspective and insight is so valuable and interesting I could listen to it for hours. I appreciate you and your time. Thank you so much!

I really appreciate @jorphdan not pandering to the WotC/D&D brand! I feel for many YT/Twitch creators who built their channels around D&D™️ and had to pivot ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

2 weeks ago, I posted this on a different video but that broached the same topics: It's so complicated to have a desire to enjoy the hobby you love and also send a message to the corporation in charge of it. They're not stewards of it, however. That might be the developers of a project themselves. And yet - they're parts of the whole, no? I love DnD, I don't like Hasbro. But I play DnD at my table, and they cannot stop me. Publicity is still needed to have an impact, however. And not just for our pastimes, but for the things that impact our lives directly. We cannot remain passive.

I'd love it if you'd do some content related to Shadowdark. The physical Shadowdark books were just sent out to Kickstarter backers this past week, so I think a lot of people are eager for supplemental content right now as they dive into the books.

Boned! sounds a bit like a fantasy setting but with some Paranoia mixed - great idea! Also, thanks for being a resolute, realistic, and ultimately optimistic voice in the hobby. On to 2024!

Great video Jorphdan! Couldn't agree with your points more. Your videos were a HUGE part of me getting started as a dm 3 years ago. I have REALLY been sticking with third party content over the last year. I dont know if you could or would want to look through and do videos on settings from things like Grim Hollow, Heliana's Guide, Ryokos guide, Tanares etc. but they are huge and have great content!

The first time I ever heard (actually read) the term, "enshitification," was on a Cory Doctrow blog post. Now it haunts me--the word and the concept--because it see it everywhere.

Wow, what a journey, i like your videos by the way, just started from the beginning, the timing feels ideal, nit long not short, and feels light and interesting, thanks you

I am super jazzed for this year dude. A change in direction is just what I needed at least, and I hope its what others are looking for as well. My interest in d and d has fallen off a cliff and I've been doing a ton of exploration in the space already so having someone talk lore about these near places would be great.

I love Keith Baker content, bought all of it on DMs Guild

Awesome and hopeful video. Your enthusiasm is absolutely infectious. Happy new year, and thank you

Love all the things! Keep at it friend. Thanks for everything you do.

Do it cover Planegea, i love this setting so much. If we do enough coverage maybe the creators will do more content.

The idea of having a month dedicated to a different thing sounds awesome! I hope the next year found y'all in the company of good people and good games.

I loved hearing about your nephew's game, and your Modular D6 system sounds exciting. I feel it's also important to mention that Hasbro absolutely used the Pinkerton's to intimidate a M:tG KZfaqr. Take care in the New Year. Cheers!

Hasbro:tabletop games:: Warner Bros. Discovery : media production/distribution

22:40 I will remind you that back in the day TSR just kept on releasing new settings to the point where it bankrupted them. 😅

Thank you very much for all of your information over all the years that I have watched your Channel. Your channel has been a lot of fun and I love the pH because I am a Philip with a altered pH . Thank you for making all of my games so much fun and giving me tips for my players.

Since the spring I decided to no longer buy any WOTC products. I still buy a lot TTRPG things but I make sure they are all independent creators. I'm glad to see that you are doing your own thing and I'm here to support it! Another really cool system in the works is the DC20 system by the Dungeon Coach, it's a simple and intuitive system that I think you might enjoy. Excited to see what you have in store for us in 2024.

Your nephew gives me hope for future nerds! "We've got this!" Happy New Year

great video, Jorphdan!

Glad your house is back on shape !

Thanks, I really love your content and the wisdom of your view on things D&D.

Great way to bring in the new year!

Would love to see that Dark Sun stuff of yours. I'd certainly watch your videos telling about Athas and its history, and possibly some of its narrative. I love the way on how you tell this stuff and we don't have much official material on Dark Sun since 4e. Since Hasbro/WotC are cowards that don't want to tackle these subjects (Climate crisis, Mad wizard kings, corruption, those at the top rise to let those below them to fall etc). while on a player side it feels rough and edgy, for a DM, it allows to explore themes not often present in campaigns. I'd certainly watch and comment on those. Happy to see you keep making content. Have you thought of making long readout format videos? interpreting adventure paths and reading them in a video could be nice. Thanks for still being there.

I havent watched more than 20 seconds yet. I just wanted to comment on the cool new (new to me) logo roll. I've been watching your videos for at least a couple of years. You have always done the "ph is silent" thing. Now your new logo doubles down on that in a pretty clever way. Shshshsh...

It’s a great year Jordan. Because all the people who got fired now will work at companies who appreciate and respect them much like the lady who left kobold press worked at Wotc then left back to kobold press.

Your authenticity shines through in this video. I appreciate the thoughtful takes and covering these RPGs.

Oh, is that The Weird from Monte Cook Games in the background?? Love Cypher system! lol Looking at your shelf is one of the fun parts of your latest videos.I think I see some sort of Paizo box there too!

I totally get how you feel. Forgotten Realms is such a fascinating setting with a lot of real world history behind it, and it feels like such a let down when you see the way Hasbro and Wizards have been treating aspects of it like a new coat of paint they can just slap onto a book without putting any actual work into its mechanics like they did with spelljammer. I've been trying to take the aspects of D&D I love and rework them into my own ttrpg, but IDK if I'll ever actually finish it so long as I'm working on it on my own, I'm too ambitious for my own good lol

Definitely disappointed and dismayed with Hasbro/WotC after this year. Glad you made this video. The two ttrpg settings I’m most excited about that (ideally) should be coming out next year are Dolmenwood and Eem. Would love to see videos about either of those.

Thanks Jorphdan.

Really good video. Positive way to close out the year. 😊

Talking about your nephew playing D&D reminded me of when I got my start with the original red and blue box sets playing with my friends.

Game rec for your kid: Little Monster Detectives is a TTRPG for kids starting at age 3. My son became a gamer with this when he was three years old. My daughter ran her first game in this system, when she was 7.

Sleep sounds good.

This is awesome. You are awesome.

Would LOVE your review of Planegea!

I love your videos! Happy new year!.

My current 5e Ptolus campaign is 2 years old (PCS are lvl 14). Itss really cool in that they've never left the city, and don't feel constricted at all. About 1/2 of the scenario has been from the book and half is from my own imagination. PLenty of lore to lean on, but I didn't feel stuck by it

I agree wholeheartedly, WotC releases are only based on nostalgia and existing lore from decades ago. Even the lore from 4e was much more exciting and bringing new ideas to the table. Just like movies these days, these are all safe, bland and marketable for casual audiences but no passion or excitement. In my opinion, they need a lore expert (like you!) or lore overseers in their division to pump up the quality and connectivity of their releases. There's no reason we cannot invent more new races, monsters, classes or big events that will be considered classics in the future. New lore would also fit with their 2024 revised core books, but Hasbro is probably too afraid to be controversial (blame 4e lore) or to take risks and deviate too much from the existing brand. Well to be fair, if they would have such people they sadly would have been laid off...

I’m talking 2024 off from D&D. It’s for a lot of reasons, (including vanilla fantasy burnout so I won’t be going to any of the D&D alternatives), but Hasbro’s behavior this year is definitely one of them.

You see one can make a 36 min video a 18 minute video by speeding it up, and then have it play normally muted in the background to make youtube think "he rewatching it, push more". Thanks for the vid

I really don't care about CEO theoretical pay (stock nonsense). If the company was overstaffed, or there were company culture problems that could only be solved by layoffs, fine. It's the fact they issued a dividend roughly equal to the salary of those being cut. They have the cash, those cuts could have come in April. Or just been dealt with via hiring freeze and attrition. It's irresponsible and needless bad press after tons of already needless bad press. Fire these folks already.

I am so sorry for the home construction issues…I’d lose my mind.

5e, as much as I prefer to run it, still comes off as a table top equivalent of Skyrim. Wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle. It’s particularly sad that none of the content beyond say the strahd book has any serious meat too it. Loads of supplements came out for 5e. But much like Skyrim very little of it is memorable.

I think 2023 was a great year for DnD! There was the movie and so many friends of mine I could explain the hobby to with it. All the politics are drama but no actual consequence. We're still loving playing for 3 years now in our campaigm with some 5.5 playtest chars. Also I discovered MCDM and it made our game just better in every way (me beimg the DM). Also I think I don't have to further elaborate on Baldur's Gate III.

2024 is definitely gunna be a year of recovery

Speaking of Dark Sun... have you seen an Old-School Essentials compatible work-up of it floating around online? Pretty solid stuff! Ran a few games and it was pretty fun! Have a happy new year!

Well, from my understanding, the leadership at WotC is no better than the leadership at Hasbro, so thinking that WotC would be great if Hasbro left them alone might not be correct. I also don't think that making a new setting is something WotC is incapable of. They have changed a lot about the FR, so they might just find it easier to start over. Besides, they can use AI to write new settings for them now. I don't really think the firing of all these people is a coincidence, especially after making deals with that one AI company.

Ooh, I'd really like to hear lore on Dark Sun. I have a friend converting the setting to the Savage Worlds system, but I know next to nothing about the lore.

Burning Wheel by Luke Crane is always a GREAT alt system imho! Great video, ty.

I wanna hang out with Jorphdan ❤

Hey, just wanted to say you're cool, and th aka for all the instructional stuff over the years.

Kyle Brink said people like me couldn't leave the hobby fast enough. When it comes to purchasing WotC products in 2023 and beyond, I found those terms acceptable. The many 5e books I previously purchased now sit in boxes in the garage, feeding silverfish. They will never again be displayed on my gaming shelves.

I'll still play D&D with my group. We are enjoying our fun without buying anything new. We might try PF2E or Call of Cthulhu or Candela Obscura once a campaign finishes. Glad I met my fantastic friends through this game especially since we play digitally. We play to have fun just like your nephew. We use what we have and enjoy ourselves just venturing forth. Wouldn't mind seeing videos on PF, Blades in the Dark, Numenera or other fantasy style games. Either way I'm here for the lore.

i'd say is a mixed bag, cuz to be fair we did get some good things

I love the story of your nephew.

At the start of 2023, I made a decision to not buy any WotC/D&D products. I play in an ongoing D&D game and kept DMing an existing campaign. This year I have even moved away from Fantasy TTRPG's. I'm sure Pathfinder is okay. I've moved towards Cyberpunk, Traveller and older versions of Shadowrun (SR). SR 6e is not a playable game in my opinion. I refuse to buy any game system that requires special dice for that system. Learnt that after buying Fallout RPG. Problem I do find is that there are many, particularly new RPG players, that only want to play D&D. After you learn a few different systems. It's not to hard to learn another new mechanic. D&D players don't seem to be interested in learning other systems.

DARKSUN month sounds awesome 🎉

for 2023 I started making my own ttrpg

That's interesting. West End Games had a good system base.

Jorphdan, I noticed you have a playlist on D&D deities however, I was unable to find much mention or lore on Zarus, God of Humanity. Will you make a video on this 3.5 god?

One day in the far, bright, hopeful future, we're going to look back on this time in which megacorps own everything and only 12% of the population gets paid enough and we're gonna go "My God, what the hell were we thinking?"

Anybody wanna go in with me on buying the rights for the original 80s D&D tv show so I can make an updated version of the kids all grown up and still trapped in the realms 40 years later? Like, I’m think a more grimdark version? Maybe make that work and then buy more of the properties so Joe manginello can make his dragonlance series or movie?

I love DnD, I am hating Hasbro. Because of all their crap I didn't even buy the Dragonlance, and I loved that series. I didn't even bother with the new books.

Lots to unpack with your video but it can be summed up with "you're right." I've never been a 1 game GM but pre-December 2022 the majority of my games in the last few years were D&D 5e. Now, not a single penny goes to Hasbro. They've introduced corporate backstabbing on a level that is on par with the in-game shinnanigans of Paranoia, which, while being a great game, you wouldnt want to live in Alpha Complex.

i don't like long campaigns either but I found that episodic games are the best. 2, 3 or 4 session and that adventure/mission is done and on to the next.

I've taken to wearing an eye-patch for all my Hasbro content because I love D&D but I *reallly* don't care for that company. ETA - Not saying that's the best path.. but I'd rather spend my money on community creative ks's and patreon than giving a giant company more money.

Great, if humbling, recap 👌 Bigby's and the Pinkertons were what packed up WotC/Hasbro for me. Of all the cluck-ups this year, both of these events showed a unique disrespect to their fans. How that "art" got past so many eyes is still genuinely baffling when compared to the executive bonuses, and the firing of 1/5 of their staff, which was planned far earlier in the year.

For me, the big turning point was Spelljammer. Even before Spelljammer’s release, I felt like the quality was declining and it had been a while since I was really wowed by any release. But Spelljammer was just plain bad. After that, I was done with spending a bunch of money on new releases that I would get little or no use out of.

'Tolv' is the word for twelve in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.

I really love shadow dark

I've been playing D&D 42 years and I love "the game" but I do think this year has soured me on the game a bit. We play OSE now and we ignore whatever happens over there. It's a bummer but here we are. Love your stuff on DCC. Keep trucking buddy.

Your pain is valid, you are the “Forgotten Realms” guy along with people like AJ. And an evil company owns it. I’m sure you’ve seen the Questing Beast video “D&D doesn’t need WOTC anymore (and never did)” but let me take Ben Milton’s idea a bit further for you specifically: *Zack Snyder* the Forgotten Realms. Tons of indie titles already do this. White Star does it with Star Wars and pulp sci fi. Planar Compass rocks it with Spelljammer. You should work with indie artists to make the “Schmorgotten Schmealms” or “Totally not the Forgotten Realms” TM. That won’t make the pain go away but it’s worth it to liberate the cool epic High fantasy kitchen sink from the evil corp. I know you love DCC etc, and I love those videos but as a viewer I actually feel similar to what you describe when I see your lore videos I used to love. I share that icky feeling with you. I’m ready to get away from the evil corp. it’s a folk hobby we don’t need them

If they didn’t run the business like a business, the printing errors would be the least of their problems. They wouldn’t have a product to put out.

Thoughts on pf2e and would you ever do some Golarion lore videos

This IS the darkest timeline.

Funny enough 20:30 - one would assume that good will makes money, but I guess Hasbro is allergic...

I absolutely side with the community about the layoffs at Wizards of the Coast. That was very not cool. Wizards is their highest grossing branch at Hasbro. Why are you rewarding them for that with layoffs? I don't understand and it is upsetting. That said, I don't understand why the community thinks that Wizards should bankroll Paizo. Paizo is their largest competitor and even surpassed Wizards in sales of RPGs for a while. The attorneys who have commented on the OGL have said most of it was perfectly reasonable. I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I just don't get it.

Dark Sun :)

Honestly, it feels like most art forms period... Not just D&D and Roleplaying... It's just really hard to have those things owned by for-profit stock-held companies.. Yeah, you can end up getting some amazing works as a side effect of having all that extra money(Baldur's Gate 3 and The Movie)... But in general, their loyalty begins and ends with their stockholders. And you know what I don't even blame them for that... The laws ensure that companies who are publically traded have no choice but to attempt to wring the money dry from every IP they own. It really seems that if you are doing an artistic endeavour allowing a big company like Hasbro to pull the strings is a mistake... That you really want to remain a private company, no matter what. Even when a company has an amazing reputation. Blizzard for example used to be amazing but now look at it after it merged with Activision. I get it, you want your thing to be successful, but pursuing profits over everything else just can't be the goal when you are doing something creative. Honestly with D&D i'm glad a lot of the old books still exist, I personally see their more recent handling of Ravenloft, Spelljammer, and Planescape as just really sad. It's super sad to hear about Keith Baker not being able to work on the thing he loves... Eberron is great and deserves more love. Honestly I've never breathed a sigh of relief louder when whoever it was asked about Dark Sun and they basically said no we aren't doing that anytime soon. I tend to stick with Pathfinder 1E currently, though I've dipped into other systems on occasion. I have a bunch of 5E books gathering dust because I'm just not a huge fan of how corporate it all seems. I'm looking foward to Crooked Moon coming out next year but that's the closest to actual D&D i'm interested in.

Im so sad that the excellent work of the game designers and really fun adventures and produ8cts that have come out have been entirely overshadowed by the bungling of cynical predatory Csuite types. But still, can't crack an omelette without making a few eggs, and I've never seen people more enthusiastic to try out new systems and expand their horizons. I love D&D, and the game is still my home in the TTRPG space, but we can only benefit from a broader community that'll force WotC to chase our dollars instead of relying on us to pay them for more content no matter the shitty stuff they pull. And on that note I hope all the staff that were fired find even more awesome projects to work on and make some good dosh. I hope this is a Pathfinder moment

Eberron would have been the perfect setting for D&D 5e. WoTC dropped the ball when they decided to use (15% of) The Forgotten Realms instead.

It feels like WotC is fighting for its life with all its limbs tied.

4:15 it was closer to 2000 people (it was 800 initially and then 1100 right before Christmas). Fuck Hasbro, and I would say fuck WotC but it’s clear that has been a weekend at Bernie’s situation since basically 1999