25 years ago there were 30 or so compeating game systems, from about 12 publishers. TRS was dominant due to The Dragon mag., but "fire and ice" had Claw Law,there was the Morrow Project, There was a game called Imbicels and Idiots, Travelar, and a shit load from "Steve Jackson Games". In those days i spent 100.00 a month collecting game systems after having played D+D for 40 hrs a week from '76 thru '81 in the days of the paper backbooks, our group was blessed with high tech of microfich for the DM's referance which in our case had most of the Dragon suplements on fich as well. To play something other than D+D ment that everyone need access to rules and tabels and that added up fast. These days paper and dice people play D+D 'cause its the last man standing. if you go online there are 300 or 400 games to chose from.

Probably most of them do. Very few gamers only play one game, even if the game is DnD. I've been in many gamers' houses, and I've never seen one that only had D&D books; even if it's just one Deadlands or Shadowrun book they got from a friend to check out. Even gamers who are die-hard D&D fans usually eventually end up trying other games. They might not like them, and might always end up coming back to DnD, but they try them out. Gamers get tired of the same thing all the time and like to try new things, especially when it comes to fiction genres. After all, you can't really do decent cyberpunk or superhero or Star Trek gaming with DnD--you can used the D20 system, but that's not DnD, it's just a rules set. As far as somehow being 'forced' to play DND because it's the only game in town, that's ridiculous. All you need is one core rulebook for any game you want to try, and three or four friends that you can convince to try a session or two. That's how all games get started. If you are tired of DnD, buy another game book (get one cheap on eBay), convince your friends to make some characters, and play. Works for any game you might want to try, from Wraith to Cyberpunk. At most, you start with a DnD game to meet the local roleplayers; then you headhunt. You feel out your new gaming buddies and see who wants to try some other game. It's easy; trying new games is hard-wired into the average gamer's psyche. If you can't get a non-DnD game going, it's because you just aren't trying.

I have never met a person who played DnD and had never played any of the other games in that genre. I personaly play anything I can get my greedy little hands on, and then incorporate the parts that I like into my own version of the DnD world.

I used to play Marvel Superheroes, and had my character "The Gibbon"... ah youth. Anyways, the RPG's I play now are on Video Game platforms and include the Zelda series, the Final Fantasy series, and pretty much any RPG made by Squaresoft or Enix and now that they merged a few years ago SquareEnix. A few other companies make decent ones, but they don't last very long. I could never really get into AD&D...

From what I've seen, once a dungeon master gets good at running a D&D campaign, he usually branches out to other systems. As a player, I'm game for anything he is willing to run. Just off the top of my head, I've played Palladium (Rifts), Steve Jackson Games (GURPS), and White Wolf (Werewolf).

I play the Elder Scrolls. I've never touched D&D.

Over the years, I've played D&D, Star Trek RPG, Star Wars RPG, Traveller, Paranoia, Call of Cthulu, Indiana Jones, GURPS, and Space:1889 (probably others, too). It really just depended on what we were in the mood to play.

I've played (A)D&D, Rolemaster, Warhammer FRP 2E, HârnMaster, Universe, Riddle of Steel, Burning Wheel, Sorcerer, and a few others I can't remember. So if that's in any way typical, then I'd say a lot of D&D players branch out. :)