Why is it that RPG tournaments no longer happen...

Why is it that RPG tournaments no longer happen? Events where groups play roleplayan games with the explicit goal of outperforming other groups playing the same game? They used to be a pretty big and mainstream way to play RPGs (a lot of the original D&D modules are modified versions of tournament modules), and for some reason they just completely vanished. What went wrong? Don't people want to win at D&D anymore?

>Don't people want to win at D&D anymore?

Nah. Interest has mostly shifted to story.

TSR died and with it the modules model of business. Also , though I'm surprised it hasn't popped back up with OSR. I suppose you'd need people to actually live nearby for that sort of thing to work out though.

Modules are still a huge business, but it's all super modules.

I played in a tournament during the year 4e was announced at Gen Con. Was an alternate for the finals, but didn't show for the last round because it was too early and our hotel was too far out.

Have the tournaments really ended though?

Most people realised the idea of "competitive roleplaying" was stupid

The evolution in sophistication of roleplaying videogames made tournament tabletop defunct.

Play heroclix, you might enjoy it more than DnD competitive, it's meant to be as such.

>Why is it that RPG tournaments no longer happen?
Because everyone realized just how ridiculous and stupid the whole idea was.

>Don't people want to win at D&D anymore?
I want to win at D&D, user but, i just don't know how! PLEASE TEACH ME!

There's only one real way I've found to win at D&D.

Find other players who you get along well with and who have open schedules. Also, learn how to GM. Doesn't matter if you're the GM for the regular game or not because eventually something is gonna happen and you won't be able to find a game unless you set that shit up yourself.

Because that sounds like literally the most autistic thing (You) could possibly do.

There's no way to define a concrete goal or winning condition for make believe stories which place substance over structure.

Take a game like chess or checkers, now look at a game like FATAL.

Until there is structure, parity, and a common widespread system for tournament play there will never be a legitimate RPG tournaments.

The concept says to me...
Speed running a module.

Which doesn't sound that great anyway.

The closest to this I think I'd ever actually wanna do is have a campaign be about an tournament that all the PCs enter. Probably for some martial arts/shounen anime style game.

That fucking arc was so great.

It's a shame that the series kinda took a downswing afterwards.

Surely even speedrunning a module will be variable, because there will be differences in DM interpretation, every possible situation can't be covered 100% with the rules.

The "epic" modules in the Adventuring League (or w/e) for 5e are explicitly designed for massive, 100+ people running the same module at once. I'd imagine this only works at a con. Check out /5eg/ and look at the Mega, they're still releasing modules for massive multiplay.

It can when anything that isn't covered in the rules is automatically considered illegal.

Well shit, you may as well just play a computer game then. If you're removing that from an RPG what possible appeal do you have left?

Bragging rights

That style of game only really exists at conventions, so if you don't convention hop you aren't really going to see them in the wild.

I think that's what really killed competitive RPGs, along with a bunch of other trends. Video game combat will always be superior, far faster than even the lightest system while still able to have more depth than all but a few tabletop games. Contrary to what grogs love to claim, people nowadays play P&P to get something they can't get with vidya. That's why the current trends in system design are mostly towards lighter rulesets and a focus on story and character

Hardly:

This seems far more plausible.

If the roleplaying is unimportant, and it's just the competitive aspect (or tactical aspect) you're looking for, games like Necromunda and Mordheim and MMORPGs and games like Fire Emblem and FFT and Banner Saga all do it better.

If you don't need the roleplaying part, you can generally get a better game from vidya.

Unless you have a thing for collectible handpainted minis, then mordheim or frostgrave or the like.

>>/OSR/
That is how you play D&D with the explicit ability to win or lose. It's a thing. Just because you haven't played that kind of D&D doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

What makes this kind of gameplay through D&D better than this kind of gameplay through vidya (MMOs or SRPGs) or something like frostgrave?

Because I think the reason is it got outcompeted by a type of medium better suited to the gameplay style.

>There's no way to define a concrete goal or winning condition for make believe stories which place substance over structure.

You're such a dumb fuck it's actually unreal.

"Defeat the evil lich."
"Reclaim the legendary sword."
"Clear the dungeon of monsters."
"Find proof of the Vizier's machinations."

Literally just design a scenario around this shit and make a bullet-point list of minor goals to accomplish that will let you accomplish the greater goal, and award points based on how many goals are achieved, alongside minutia such as total party HP, or spells used, or whatever other little variables that would imply skill by accomplishing more goals with less resources.