I think a better comparison is Star Wars Saga. SW Saga was fundamentally a 3e-based game (though more akin to d20 Modern than D&D), but it served as a test bed for some of the concepts that later showed up in 4e (mainly every offensive thing being an attack roll instead of a save, and broad level-based skill competence with training giving a bonus on top). Similarly, Starfinder is primarliy PF1-based, but a few concepts that also show up in PF2 show up there.
Systems You Left after One Bad Experience
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I think a better comparison is Star Wars Saga. SW Saga was fundamentally a 3e-based game (though more akin to d20 Modern than D&D), but it served as a test bed for some of the concepts that later showed up in 4e (mainly every offensive thing being an attack roll instead of a save, and broad level-based skill competence with training giving a bonus on top). Similarly, Starfinder is primarliy PF1-based, but a few concepts that also show up in PF2 show up there.
On the main topic of the thread, I can't recall any games we've nixed after a single session. Either we've been able to winnow them out before even playing, or we've played at least a few sessions of it.
We abandoned Starfinder after playing The Reach of Empire, the first part of Against the Aeon Throne. That could have been the adventure design though, combined with bad luck (at the end of the adventure, the PCs were defeated by an equal-tier ship with crew better suited to space combat, and we didn't think it worth to make new characters for the next part). But I got a strong feeling of Starfinder having the same problem as Pathfinder - sure, you can make any character you want, but you really need to min-max in order to be even vaguely competent.
We abandoned Starfinder after playing The Reach of Empire, the first part of Against the Aeon Throne. That could have been the adventure design though, combined with bad luck (at the end of the adventure, the PCs were defeated by an equal-tier ship with crew better suited to space combat, and we didn't think it worth to make new characters for the next part). But I got a strong feeling of Starfinder having the same problem as Pathfinder - sure, you can make any character you want, but you really need to min-max in order to be even vaguely competent.
4e comes pretty close. I can't recall if my main gaming group abandoned it after one or two sessions, but it was pretty quick. A while later some of us made another attempt, thinking it might work better if we start a few levels in, but no.
I think there might be a good game in there, but you can't play it like traditional dungeoneering D&D. You kind of need to treat each fight as a spectacle, and that drags things out and gets tired after a while.
I think there might be a good game in there, but you can't play it like traditional dungeoneering D&D. You kind of need to treat each fight as a spectacle, and that drags things out and gets tired after a while.
The Black Ferret
Explorer
Palladium's Ninja's and Superspies. Didn't last hardly past character creation. It took all night and my dedicated martial artist had a character sheet 3 pages long from all the styles and moves. I don't want to read a book when referencing my character.
CapnZapp
Legend
That's a strange criticism.
Assuming you don't merely mean "I disagree" but like the faux-objective sheen of pseudo-lawyerly talk better, and actually ask for reasonable context, what kind of evidence do you want?
Aldarc
Legend
You are asserting a general opinion of preference as if it were an objective fact of the system. Even if I agree that it were broken (not saying either way), I would not use language that strong for such an opinion.
Jacob Lewis
Ye Olde GM
I am hesitant to say 5e D&D because I made several attempts to let it grow on me. But the fact is my first session playing in the Adventurers League sealed it for me. It wasn't the DM, however; he was a friend of mine and handled it well for what he was given. It was most of the players who showed up like it was a chore they had to do in order to get rewarded. They selected characters from a rotating stable of sheets with no names (i.e. "Barbarian 4", "Cleric 2", etc.). And despite early comments from the group being fans of Critical Role, almost everyone was reluctant to participate in any activity or play that didn't involve a roll that would lead to dealing damage to someone. FYI, the adventure was largely centered around a puzzle/riddle dungeon. The first time a creature appeared and offered a riddle, half the party charged and forced a combat.
It was then I decided that 5e (and public play in general) was not so appealing to me. What I had with 4e was no longer there, and it didn't seem it would be coming back.
It was then I decided that 5e (and public play in general) was not so appealing to me. What I had with 4e was no longer there, and it didn't seem it would be coming back.
ART!
Deluxe Unhuman
If it helps, I had a similar reaction to D&D 5E early on, but my group recently finished a much-loved 2 year-long weekly 5E game, so sometimes these things come back around.
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