I'm almost definite that Stewart wasn't thinking of Sparkle Trolls when he made that statement, but it does kind of some up the situation. So what is a Sparkle Troll. Well I know it refers to tabletop RPG players and that they tend to be the latest generation of 5e players.
I think the term is derived from the idea of "sparkling vampires". When the glitter vampire hit TV screens it was met with derision from "real" vampire fans who picked on the sparkling aspect as their tag. In the same way, new players embracing the weird or furry character races in D&D are getting tagged as Sparkle Trolls.
But there's more to it. This term's non specific nature means that books and material such as the recent "Radiant Citadel" can be termed as "Sparkle Trolls", meaning as-or-of Sparkle Trolls. This brand of Trollism therefore encompasses worlds, adventures, and monsters designed to appeal to the new players.
Sparkle Trollism also covers those that like to play without fear of character death, in adventures where the ultimate power is "friendship", and orcs just aint evil. Its a new generation that appear to be playing the weak-sauce version of D&D rather than games where you might lose three characters in the first half hour. Although focused around 5e, not everything 5e is encompassed by Sparkle Trollism, there is hope (LOL).
So that brings me to the mock-up card from a game that doesn't exist, included in this post. Poor old Shawn had no idea I'd abuse him by putting in this thing. But the card, I guess, represents a battle between the old guard OSR and the "invasion" of Sparkle Trolls into the hobby.
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