D&D 5E Are you going to buy 5e?

[Redbadge]

No, since the playtest ended, what they've been showing and talking about is further and further away from the kind of game I like. At this point I'm writing it off.

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that, based on the common complaints I've encountered across the various rpg forums, I can't tell whether you are more likely to prefer 4e, 3e/Pathfinder, or OSRIC-style, given that I can't recall any specific posts about 5e from you (I often don't remember individual poster comments except for the most prolific ones).

Often, I could tell someone's general preference in terms of gameplay style (vis-a-vis old school vs. modern, narrativist vs. simulationist, etc.) when they indicated that they preferred 4e or 3e or AD&D, etc. More and more, I find that this is just not possible with 5e. At my FLGS, I've encountered regulars who say, "I'm buying 5e now that they're going back to the D&D I'm more familiar with" and other regulars who say, "I'm getting 5e because it is a natural evolution of 4e, keeping the easy to DM/adjucate feeling while increasing play speed."

I'm going to say that this is a good thing.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I'll look at the books when they are out and then choose. They'll have to knock my socks off to cause a purchase though

 

[pickin_grinnin]

I'll look at the books when they are out and then choose. They'll have to knock my socks off to cause a purchase though

Yep, that's pretty much where I'm at, too.

I have found that (in my area) it's hard to put together a group of gamers who can show up with any sort of consistency and want to play something other than high fantasy. Pathfinder rules the roost, so I finally ended up buying into that just to be able to DM and/or play, even though I'm tired of high fantasy and don't care for the rigidity of Pathfinder (and 3.x before that). I will admit that there are a lot of good third-party support products for Pathfinder, particularly when it comes to new classes. I'm not a fan of classes in general, so all the interesting alternative ones out there makes it more bearable.

If 5e ends up becoming really popular around here, I might switch to it, assuming that I like the system more. Otherwise, I'm sticking with Pathfinder, and holding out for the day when I can find people to play some of the more interesting (to me) games out there.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

More and more, I think it was a mistake to omit CharGen rules in the box. Basic D&D free PDF download sounds alright, but I think WotC dropped the ball on not including them. Would much prefer a shorter adventure module and added more rules for CharGen.

That's what turned me off to it. For me, chargen is just as important as combat rules. Then again, I'm not a beginner player, so I'm probably not their target audience for that product.

 

[sheadunne]

Waiting on the PDFs. No PDFs, no buying.

 

[evileeyore]

Waiting on the PDFs. No PDFs, no buying.

I kinda disagree.

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the feel of paper in my hands, the bitter sweet despair as your books become more and more dinged up through use.

It's kinda a thing all on it's own to pull out an old rpg book and see where you colored in the black and white line art oh so long ago, or to reread the notes you stuck in the margins, to wonder about what that indecipherable note was.

Sigh.

 

[TerraDave]

would be interesting to compare this to some of the earlier poles.

(and yes, obviously)

 

[sheadunne]

I kinda disagree.

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the feel of paper in my hands, the bitter sweet despair as your books become more and more dinged up through use.

It's kinda a thing all on it's own to pull out an old rpg book and see where you colored in the black and white line art oh so long ago, or to reread the notes you stuck in the margins, to wonder about what that indecipherable note was.

Sigh.

Some people are like that but I've gotten rid of my books long ago and have no wish to start purchasing paper anymore. I'm not particularly anxious to play 5e either, so I don't mind waiting if it takes them a while to put them out (assuming they do, which they may not, aside from the basic, in which case it'll save me money for other games).

 

[the Jester]

Yes, I'm buying.

I'm torn about pre-ordering or not. I want to save a bunch of money on this stuff, but on the other hand, I know that, if my local game store gets it early, I'm willing to pay full price to get it faster.

OTOH my gf told me today not to preorder "any books" from Amazon, since my birthday is coming up.

 

[Henry]

I like Mike Mearls and crew, and I appreciate the effort they've put into making a D&D that is closer to what their audience has said they want, so, yes of course I'm buying at least the PHB. I want them to succeed. If i like what I see and have the ability to convince others, then I'll buy more.