My thoughts on D&D 5 and the "Consultant Controversy"

Recently I have been giving this whole 5e thing a thorough introspective look. I've previously come out and said that I won't be buying it. For the same reasons many are, I didn't want to buy it because of the two names that are always getting brought up (and summarily giving them both more exposure. Way to go internet!) when people say they aren't buying them.

My reasons had nothing to do with any apparent homo/transphobia, sexism or whatever else everyone on the bandwagon is accusing them of. I don't care what either of them think about anything really, I don't find their opinions worth consideration. I just find them both to be abhorrent human beings. (No doubt some people feel the same about me, I can accept that).

I know many in my circles enjoy their "work" and that's cool, but (at least for me) "contributing to the scene" as much as they do doesn't make up for the self aggrandizing "I'm never wrong" attitude they display all the time, usually at the expense of others they disagree with. I don't enjoy being called Swine because I enjoy a different style of gaming than they do and I find it laughable to be asked to apologize for my opinions on matters to someone who only wants that apology to make himself look better, not because they are "right".

Anyway, to be honest, this isn't a post about them really. I just wanted to say I've had a change of heart, sort of. 

I have other avenues I could use if I wanted to play in a classical fantasy game, right now I'm using FATE to run my Eclipse Phase games and the last couple of sessions +Kevin Nugent has been using FATE (Freeport) to run a Fantasy game (Set as a Simulspace game inside our EP campaign). I could use Dungeon World as well because damn that game looks bad ass. I could buy any number of OSR products and I still have a bunch of Pathfinder stuff I can use. 

But those games are not D&D.

I grew up on D&D and I'm sure most of us have. I've played almost every edition (except 4th) and form of the game since the boxed sets, I've spent countless hours making maps and dungeons and characters. I've been a part of creating entire worlds and destroying them as well. I've made some good friends with it, and I've made a few enemies as well. Like it or not D&D is a part of who I am today. 

Up until recently I haven't had a group to play with, I'm too much of an anti social weirdo to go out and meet people. All that has changed though. Through work I've found a really good group of folks that I both get along with personally and who like games and I am happy with that. The thing is though, at least three of the five of us have many years of experience with D&D and a couple of us have never played it at all, but really want to. 

With that in mind, I've decided to go ahead and buy the starter set, or possibly wait and buy the core books when they are finally released. In either case however I have found the perfect utility to use to avoid having to see their names in my books when I open them.