Alot of crpgs "popularity" stems from Taleworld absurd odd choice of not hosting that many good servers to play native on, that are somewhat lawless/not admined properly. The grind/xp/loom side of crpg is something a large part just play along with, only kids really like these mechanisms IMO. It preys on the same rewardmechanisms as WoW,mafiawars and the like. Crpg has good servers, admined, and an active and fun community, clans, and a somewhat consistent playersbase, making it personal since you play with and against the same players often. If taleworld would have had some sense, they would have put up many high capasity server in NA EU ASIA with various settings, and handed out ingame adminpower to some of the most dedicated players. Maybe they will make some adjustment to the game and platform in the upcoming new version.. who knows..
Not meant as critisism of crpg and all the good people involved making it. More a frustration over Taleworlds lack of common sense.