DM Howard
Explorer
I am in my late twenties and started with one of the last D&D: Adventure Game (Fast Play) boxed sets printed under the TSR Anniversary logo. My wife and I are not in the best of financial situations due to college debt and she is currently pursuing her MBA whilst we both work full time and rent her parents' old house for a pittance. We both want children which has led me to start shedding a large number of hobbies that either took up too much of my time or engendered addictive behavior in me, thus I no longer player video games (or PC games) and I have stopped miniature wargaming and playing Magic: The Gathering. The purpose is two-fold, as I want to stop spending so much money (not that I spend loads, but every bit counts) and I want to have a hobby that I don't mind "setting down" because I need to concentrate on my future children.
I've been in a bit of an RPG funk lately, and that might be putting the issue lightly. I've gone from being super interested in RPGs, to not giving a darn, to everything in between in the space of a week and back again. I wasn't "feeling" 5th Edition, I don't think it has enough options, both for DMs and Players and I think that the game is like an eclectic bard that isn't that great at anything because he spread his skill points out too much. I've taken a look at numerous RPGs including W.O.I.N., Hackmaster 5E, Swords & Wizardry, Castles & Crusades, GURPS, Savage Worlds, AGE, Basic Fantasy, AD&D 1E, and more, but none of them are scratching that "itch" for me. I don't really enjoy Pathfinder because I don't enjoy the art, and I understand how crazy that sounds, but visual presentation is important to me and helps fuel my hobby.
Fast forward to last night and I had a random epiphany. I realized that I was subconsciously comparing all these different games to Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and I had been looking in all the wrong places for the game that suits me best. I cracked out my old core books last night and immediately all the "hobby anxiety" (for lack of a better description) went away and I had (re)discovered the game that works for me. Despite the flaws in D&D 3.5, and the D20 OGL glut that accompanies it, I still believe that it has the best set of rules for me, and I had that feeling like I had come home.
I'm curious to hear if anyone else has had an experience like this with D&D 3.5, or any other game for that matter?
I've been in a bit of an RPG funk lately, and that might be putting the issue lightly. I've gone from being super interested in RPGs, to not giving a darn, to everything in between in the space of a week and back again. I wasn't "feeling" 5th Edition, I don't think it has enough options, both for DMs and Players and I think that the game is like an eclectic bard that isn't that great at anything because he spread his skill points out too much. I've taken a look at numerous RPGs including W.O.I.N., Hackmaster 5E, Swords & Wizardry, Castles & Crusades, GURPS, Savage Worlds, AGE, Basic Fantasy, AD&D 1E, and more, but none of them are scratching that "itch" for me. I don't really enjoy Pathfinder because I don't enjoy the art, and I understand how crazy that sounds, but visual presentation is important to me and helps fuel my hobby.
Fast forward to last night and I had a random epiphany. I realized that I was subconsciously comparing all these different games to Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and I had been looking in all the wrong places for the game that suits me best. I cracked out my old core books last night and immediately all the "hobby anxiety" (for lack of a better description) went away and I had (re)discovered the game that works for me. Despite the flaws in D&D 3.5, and the D20 OGL glut that accompanies it, I still believe that it has the best set of rules for me, and I had that feeling like I had come home.
I'm curious to hear if anyone else has had an experience like this with D&D 3.5, or any other game for that matter?
