WotC did some shady shit before, too. Certainly right improve since the acquisition though.

Either way, the money grab is why I didn't get back into MtG recently.

I considered sticking my toe in and was told "oh yeah, just buy a $90 commander precon and hop right in."

Yeah, no thanks.

People have been complaining about WotC's executive meddling in D&D and MTG for as long as I can remember, since before the 1999 Hasbro purchase. D&D 3e, mostly written after WotC acquired TSR but published shortly after Hasbro acquired WotC, was panned so badly that they dropped 3.5 just a couple years later. And 4e (including the first OGL fiasco) happened when Hasbro didn't care about WotC because they were all-in on the Michael Bay Transformers movie. In fact, up until Stranger Things and Critical Role, Hasbro seems to have considered WotC the "Magic: The Gathering Money Printer" and done most of their meddling on that side of the house.

From what I’ve read WOTC has been a bad employer for a long time.

WotC+D&D is like ~30-40% of Hasbro. The only other brand they have that's worth a similar amount is (ironically enough lmao) Monopoly.

I mean, sure, but it's like pulling the WotC mask off a Scooby Doo villain.

How much do we actually know about what Crawford is like outside of the WotC machine? He might be perfectly competent but held back by executive mismanagement.

I don't need to remember it. I'm in the middle of replaying Baldur's Gate 1. But that was more of a complicated math formula to derive something that we can do much more simply. The hope and fear thing not only reminds me of that scam curriculum in Donnie Darko, it also doesn't feel like an interesting tactical layer; it does the opposite by interfering with initiative in a way that I'm not a fan of.

I just searched for updates on the matter and found a Lemmy post with a youtube video.

https://ttrpg.network/post/20689101

I too, am curious. I could totally be on board with this comment, or I could totally not be on board with this comment. I do agree with the latter sentiment. There are some very creative and well thought-out systems out there.

The commodification and the desire for mass appeal are the top-level issues I have. I feel uncomfortable when I see the modern D&D branding on stuff in "normal" stores. It takes away the community and puts Hasbro in the central role, rather than the network of GMs who should be the majority influence. If I wanted a hobby with a company in charge, I would play Warhammer.

Now, on the community side, my biggest issue is with things I see as derived from CR. The lack of respect for simple theatre of the mind is a direct issue with the way I've always run and played since I left D&D. The tolerance and even acceptance of paid DMing also pisses me off in ways that make it very hard for me to remain civil.

Those are the big ones. There's also the fact that D&D doesn't seem to have the offramps it had since AD&D1 (and which admittedly went downhill when the Forge went out of the spotlight).