On the Goodness of D20

Friedrich Nietzsche, I believe in Human, All Too Human, distinguishes between two aspects of society. The one, the dimension we traditionally associate with 'society,' includes thing we associate with being a responsible adult: holding down a job, paying taxes, and other activities that make us a good citizens. The other aspect, though, is something quite different. It includes the experimental fringe of society, the places where rules are relaxed and new forms emerge. It is, in a word, counter-culture. Nietzsche clearly favors counter-culture, the fringe populated by his 'free spirits.' Still, he does not demean 'normal' culture. Quite the opposite, he suggests that both aspects are interdependent. The fringe exists onlye where there is a strong 'normal' culture to support, while the 'normal' culture depends upon the experimentalism of the fringe for its adaptability. Nietzsche's concern is largely intellectual--the fringe experiments with new ways of living, many of which are not actually livable or not livable in the current situation. The stable culture retains these experiments, and so can draw upon them when the situation does suit them.

More recently, Chris Anderson coined the notion of a 'long tailed' electronic marketplace. The basic idea is that an electronic marketplace the popular products can provide buyers with access to more arcane products--his example of beginning with a search for Britney Spears leading you to an obscure British ska band in only a few short clicks. The fringe and the mainstream become more closely linked, allowing the fringe to grow along with the mainstream. This is an economic concern, with how a producer can thrive in a market.

D20, as developed by WotC, serves as both an intellectual touchstone and economic access point for the fringe. Its economic success makes it recognizable, so that variations of it are more easily learned and played. In turn, as certain variations become popular, they are re-absorbed into official versions of d20. The publication of Unearthed Arcana, for example, providing d20 players with a plethora of variations, many of which appeared in non-standard products. In turn, the collection of those options made it easier for others to use those variations in new non-standard products. It is a productive cycle.

Ideally, per Nietzsche and Anderson, the fringe is most successful when it is experimenting and not simply duplicating the mainstream. Mere duplication does not get absorbed into the intellectual repertoire of the core, nor does it have much else to offer 'on the market.' It does best when it does differently, when it explores alternative applications of the mechanics, when it applies the rules to a new situation and modifies them accordingly.