Sorry Folks, I just can't get into 5e

lowkey13 said:

Now, that said, it isn't 1e. I would recommend starting with the PHB, getting rid of multiclassing and feats (at least for the first campaign), getting rid of non-1e races and/or classes to make it more familiar, and adjudicating things in a more familiar way without worrying about it too much. It's very flexible!

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Fortunately, this excellent advice will allow you to retain gnomes AND paladins AND rapiers, because who would want to play without those?

Harzel said:

Fortunately, this excellent advice will allow you to retain gnomes AND paladins AND rapiers, because who would want to play without those?

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In Gnomes and Paladins the RPG instead of smiting evil Gnomish Paladins (must be LG, Humans can't be Paladins), they can smite non Gnomes while using rapiers. All Holy Avengers only come in rapier form.

The only real drawback to not embracing the new edition is it shrinks your available player base. If you are willing to run a game, that's probably not even a factor. If you want to play it is a bit more of a challenge.

I tried WFRP 3e and did not enjoy it because it was so different. It was a fine game, but did not match my tastes. So, I ran a 2e WFRP game and never had trouble finding enough players. Same thing happened with 4e D&D - cool game, with a lot going for it, but just not to my tastes. Again, I never had trouble filling a table with 3.x rules.

I am fortunate that I enjoy 5e. However, with the resources available these days and the diverse player base you can run almost anything and find a game that suits your style.

Good luck!

Zardnaar said:

Multiple games on that list are OSR. Also alot if it is offline. 3 groups I have played with in the last few years 0 online.

Added up the D&D OSR variants are comparable to a few of those not D&D's. Internet is used to find players for OSR it's probably the 1st or 2nd best source to find players. 5E players are the other ones. Run AD&D or B/X at the local University club you get players easily.

Not claiming massive numbers but outside USA other RPGs barely exist.

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Last I'll try to say on this because it's not a debate I'm trying to start.

Anecdotal evidence is just that, basically useless if we want to talk facts. Yes OSR includes many of those various game systems listed. But until someone adds up the actual numbers from those statistics or some other reputable source...
And such a discussion would be better in its own thread.

Nebulous said:

I would love to play Basic D&D. I started with 1e and never had a chance to see the other stuff. I have flipped through the rules Cyclopedia though and I really like it! Could anyone make a short list of the major differences between the RC and 5e?

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Well, something that you can get for free that I put together is the 5e Old School Document. It is a bunch of optional rules that you can combine that makes it so that you can play 5e in the Old School method. That means if you really enjoy OD&D, BECMI, or AD&D then it provides the rules that you can play the old classes with the types of advancements you had back then.

(so, for example, in OD&D the fighter advances quicker in how well they hit other creatures than other classes, BUT one should also know that in OD&D ability score modifiers were normally either -1 or +1 and that's it...which keeps it very similar in how well Fighting Men hit comparatively to the 5e rules).

It retains and uses the 5e ruleset though, so the core ideas and way to do things (Such as combat, leveling up, etc) is very familiar to those who play or started with 5e.

However, if one wants to see what the older editions were all about to a degree, it is a cheap and easy way to do it, and if one likes it, they can play very similarly to the older edition rules.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/180409/5e-Old-School-and-Oriental-Adventures

LordEntrails said:

Last I'll try to say on this because it's not a debate I'm trying to start.

Anecdotal evidence is just that, basically useless if we want to talk facts. Yes OSR includes many of those various game systems listed. But until someone adds up the actual numbers from those statistics or some other reputable source...
And such a discussion would be better in its own thread.

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If you add up the numbers on the roll20 (AD&D, Basic Fantasy, OD&D, L&L, S&W...) you get a total thats pretty high. But sure, I get your point, there are in fact some people playing the warhammer games, and both "SW"s. Which is good.

MPA2000 said:

I've seriously tried, but I cannot get into to anything beyond Basic D&D and AD&D1e. D20 just does nothing for me. Every version that came out, I tried to read the game rules and be part of the interest but the game is so different than Basic/ADD1e that it might as well be an entirely different game altogether.

I really tried more so with 5e because I was under the impression that the creators made this so it would interest the Mystara people, but it doesn't. It's like playing football one day and waking up in a place where football is now called soccer and you were expected to jump in and learn the rules.

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Yeah, I feel ya. It took me several years to get on board with the d20 System, and a few more to get on board with 5th Edition. I started playing D&D back in the 80s with the basic "red box" rules, and the math just feels...weird now. Not better, not worse, just different and strange. Every edition since the Basic & Expert Set has felt a bit like a pale imitation at first.

At first. After a few gaming sessions, the newer editions began to grow on me (or grate on me, depending on the edition.) None have the same BECM feel that I grew up with, but each one can be fun and balanced in its own right and after playing a couple of adventures, seeing how the math works, tinkering with the character options and dungeon design tools...well, I'm a fan. It's no BECM, but it scratches the itch.

I don't know if you are looking for suggestions, because it sounds like your mind is pretty well made up on this matter. But in case you ever decide to give 5th Edition D&D another chance, there is one simple thing that you can do to help bring back that "BECM" feel: stop using optional rules.

Multiclassing? This didn't exist in BECM, and it's optional in 5th Edition.
The battle mat? Wasn't necessary in BECM, still not necessary in 5E.
Feats? Didn't exist in BECM, don't have to exist in 5E.
Flanking, buying and selling magic items, inspiration? Not in BECM, all optional in 5E.

You can do other things as well, as others have suggested (limit the number of races and classes available to the players, trim back the number of spells, use 3d6 to roll stats, get rid of cantrips and hit dice healing, etc.) but I recommend starting with just the optional stuff at first. The math will still feel weird, but you will have gone a long way to bringing back some of that classic D&D feel.

And hey? There's nothing wrong with playing the older editions, and I promise you aren't the only person in Indiana who misses those "old school D&D" games of the 80s. I bet if you put out a few feelers at your local game shop, or reach out to your old gaming buddies on social media, you could put together a Classic D&D game night in no time at all. If I ever saw a flyer that read "Players Needed for Isle of Dread Play-thru (Classic Rules)" in my town, I'd be there with bells on and three friends in tow.

Morrus said:

Don’t call people who don’t like the same things you do names, please. If the thread topic doesn’t interest you, please find one that does.

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Hmmmm, please understand I am not attempting to be problematic with this. When I say troll I am referring to the kind of person that comes to forums and well, "trolls", for trouble, comments etc. I felt that was obvious and in review I should have quoted the person I was meaning to comment on. However with all due respect I don't feel I called anyone a name, just referenced a well used term. I am sorry if it came off as name calling. But hey, it is your show and I will follow along as you request.

Cheers

I was introduced to the game with 2nd edition, but boy was I glad to move onto 3rd edition. I have tried a tiny bit of 5th edition, and thought it was okay.

But with the huge hoard of 3rd edition books that I have at home, along with also some Call of Cthulhu, Pathfinder and D20 Modern/Future books, it is unlikely that I'll switch to a new edition. There's just more content for it, and 3rd edition has a level of depth and details that have been deliberately stripped from 5th edition for the sake of accessibility, but which I really like.

MPA2000 said:

I've seriously tried, but I cannot get into to anything beyond Basic D&D and AD&D1e. D20 just does nothing for me. Every version that came out, I tried to read the game rules and be part of the interest but the game is so different than Basic/ADD1e that it might as well be an entirely different game altogether.

I really tried more so with 5e because I was under the impression that the creators made this so it would interest the Mystara people, but it doesn't. It's like playing football one day and waking up in a place where football is now called soccer and you were expected to jump in and learn the rules.

Or maybe it is like being happy with my vinyl records and cassette tapes (ask your grandparents!), and then the music industry decides to only print CD's forcing you to make life changes in how you purchase and listen to music.

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No worries, man. I happen to like 5E, but there are other systems I like, too -- maybe more. Variety is a grand thing.

Since you posted, though, I'm curious why. Were you looking for conversation about the differences? Trying to figure out whether you were "doing it wrong"? Looking for something else?