D&D (2024) TBT: The 5E Transition in Retrospect

[Reynard]

Out of pure nostalgia I was digging through old EN World posts of mine -- it sadly only goes back to 2008; I was really hoping to see my earliest days here -- and came across this post.

Looking at so many threads about what should and should not be a part of 5E, it occurs to me that if the stated goal is to make 5E a common point of reference for D&D players of all stripes, then a lot these ideas getting tossed out there (and some of them are very cool) are missing the point. To meet the stated goal, 5E needs to look a lot like a paired down 3E, or even a Castles and Crusades. You need to be able to open a book from any edition and minus flipping ACs and maybe fiating saves from one category (poison) to another (fortitude), be able to run with it.

I think a lot of people are looking for a 5E that looks even less like D&D than 4E, a "what if D&D was invented today" approach, and while that might very well create a great game, it won't achieve the stated goal of 5E as a central hub of D&D play. Frankly, if 5E is too "innovative" it will be a failure -- old version gamers, including 4E players, will just stick to their preferred edition.

For D&D, tradition and nostalgia matter. It isn't just a Fantasy RPG, it is D&D, and if the debates surrounding 4E's launch and the subsequent fragmenting of the base and flight to Pathfinder and retro-clones shows us anything, it is that D&D is something particular, even if it's hard to articulate and the edges get fuzzy sometimes. But more importantly, mechanically speaking if it is going to be "compatible" it needs to preserve and even resurrect some sacred cows.

It got me thinking about how we are feeling and posting about 5E, and I thought a fun Throw Back Thursday thread might be for folks to dig up some of their own posts from when 5E was first announced, or when details were coming out, or during the playtest, and talk about them in retrospect.

No edition warring, just nostalgia.

 

[delericho]

I don't have any posts to point to, but I do remember being extremely skeptical about their suggestions of unifying the fanbase, having people "playing different editions at the same table" (that's a rough summary, not a quote - and certainly not a promise!), and so on. I downloaded most or all of the playtests, but never actually tried any of them.

I do remember being extremely impressed with Basic when it first released, and then the Starter Set - and much less the PHB.

 

[Reynard]

I downloaded most or all of the playtests, but never actually tried any of them.

Me too. I think i was running 2 PF games at the point and frankly couldn't be bothered.

 

[billd91]

Depends. It would have to scratch my D&D itch better than PF does and I don't see that as particularly likely given the way 4e went. I just don't see them ditching enough of the 4e design to make it worth my while.

From a poll thread titled "Do you want/are you ready for a D&D 5th edition?".
I was a bit skeptical at the time, as you can see, but I'm happy to say that 5e very much DID scratch my D&D itch better than any previous edition.

 

[billd91]

Me too. I think i was running 2 PF games at the point and frankly couldn't be bothered.

I did get started with some of the early play test material and it very much won me over. I ran it with the group that had moved back to 3.5e after playing 4e for a while and we were all pleased with how fast it moved through combats.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I remember when the news dropped that 5e was coming, I closed down my 4e campaign and ran a 1e campaign until the 5e books came out.

I was skeptical but cautiously optimistic at the time. I had gotten so tired of running 4e by the end, and figured if 5e couldn't bring me back, I'd just keep running 1e or some other retroclone. What gave me hope was a series of blog posts about running a Downton Abbey campaign using D&D Next:

downton and dragons: backgrounds

Last weekend, I ran a D&D game for a big group: nine players plus myself. As it happened, an oddly large percentage of the players were in graduate school, so I took the only course open to me:…

blogofholding.com

Not only did it give me a better idea of what to expect, but it showed me just how flexible the new system could be. Then, at Gen Con 2014, my first Gen Con, I went to a seminar on 5e, a "make a 5e character" session, and a short two-hour gaming session. After that, I was an entire convert.

 

[CrashFiend82]

Around the time the Next Playtest was announced I went through a major life transition, moved, started a new job, and helped take care of a sick parent. I dropped from D&D completely partially from burnout on 4e & PF/3.5e. I got fed up reading internet guides to build competent characters.

I saw an article online about the free rules and got intrigued enough to download and read. Ended up buying the PHB on day of release (it was hard to find without a preorder) thinking I may never get to play it. A few weeks later had a coworker invite me to a game and played and DMed since teaching both to a bunch of kids. I am excited to be part of this Playtest and excited to read any and all posts in this thread.

 

[Vael]

I remember DMing a session or two of DnD Next, and keeping an eye on the system, but not really playing a lot of it. Our group had all kinda transitioned to MTG and Boardgames for our gaming sessions, so the gap between 4e and 5e was a fallow period of TTRPGs.