> But D&D is wildly popular, and it's much easier to find people who'll play D&D with a heavy emphasis on roleplay,
Yes, to my dismay.
I like classic D&D, dungeon crawling and what people so derisively call "rollplaying". I find amateur theater improv quite tedious and uninteresting
I haven't been able to find other players like me at all for ages. Everyone I meet "Just got into the game because of Critical Role"
I feel quite strongly that my lifelong hobby has been warped away from me. I try hard not to be resentful but it sucks I can't find groups to play with that want the same kind of game I do
I strongly believe that the influence of Critical Role has been detrimental to D&D. So many people believe that the "acting" style (for lack of a better term) is the right way to play, and that others are invalid, because their introduction was from that show. Moreover, a lot of DMs stress out putting pressure on themselves to try to run sessions on par with what these shows have. I wish people would embrace just hanging out with friends and rolling dice more.
I'm right there with you. I want D&D to be the equivalent to a board game night, not amateur improv sessions with a ton of pressure on the DM to deliver an 'experience'
Finding local players is always an issue, but there's tons of folks who prefer the more classic style of D&D. Take a look into Dungeon Crawl Classic and OSR takes on D&D like the Black Hack. Those tend to put dungeon crawling front and center. Finding a group usually involves trawling OSR discords or GMing your own local playgroup, but sometimes you can luck out at your local game store.
Yes, to my dismay.
I like classic D&D, dungeon crawling and what people so derisively call "rollplaying". I find amateur theater improv quite tedious and uninteresting
I haven't been able to find other players like me at all for ages. Everyone I meet "Just got into the game because of Critical Role"
I feel quite strongly that my lifelong hobby has been warped away from me. I try hard not to be resentful but it sucks I can't find groups to play with that want the same kind of game I do