D&D General It's really weird loving D&D and not loving the current rules.

[Warpiglet-7]

Over the last 10 years I have just kind of soured on 5e. I think it is a perfectly serviceable D&D game, but I just don't think there's actually a lot of "there" there. But here's the thing: Spelljammer coming out, the movie, Dragonlance, these things all tickle my D&D love and I WANT to engage D&D on its own, current terms and... just don't.

Listen. I get it. The world moves on. My GenX butt needs to get out of the way. Intellectually, I understand that. But emotionally, I just want my love for D&D "stuff" to match my love for the D&D game again.

I feel for you. My group played 1e through the 90s. We did not like changes 2e made and scoffed at some.

I could not resist the novelty of a half orc Paladin and we dabbled in 3e for a few years. 3.5 was not on our agenda. Seemed not enough reason to buy new books.

4e? I bought in and we played. Once.

5e reinvigorated our old group. But my point is this:

I have been out of step with “new” for much of my DND career. The key is to let it ride and just don’t worry about being current. Right now look at all the retro clones! To say nothing of active 3e/pathfinder groups…

Hang in there and just realize that what you like is no less legitimate than it ever was. Old stuff is just as good if you can find a group.

I am possibly again heading into stasis. I am guessing 5.5 is not really going to be for me…so may soon be joining you. And it’s ok.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I feel for you. My group played 1e through the 90s. We did not like changes 2e made and scoffed at some.

I could not resist the novelty of a half orc Paladin and we dabbled in 3e for a few years. 3.5 was not on our agenda. Seemed not enough reason to buy new books.

4e? I bought in and we played. Once.

5e reinvigorated our old group. But my point is this:

I have been out of step with “new” for much of my DND career. The key is to let it ride and just don’t worry about being current. Right now look at all the retro clones! To say nothing of active 3e/pathfinder groups…

Hang in there and just realize that what you like is no less legitimate than it ever was. Old stuff is just as good if you can find a group.

I am possibly again heading into stasis. I am guessing 5.5 is not really going to be for me…so may soon be joining you. And it’s ok.

lucky you to have the luxury of past editions to fall back on.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I propose a Retro Game Night challenge.

To everyone commenting in this thread: I challenge you to schedule a one-shot with your regular gaming group sometime in the month of August. Just for one night, where you dust off your favorite older edition of D&D and play a single game. You can use pregen characters or roll up new ones, you can use a published adventure or write your own, you can play for a single session or several.

Then report back here. Post all of your observations in this thread: tell us about all of the things that you missed, tell us about the things that worked better in the older edition (or didn't work as well), tell us what your friends thought of it, and so on. I'm very curious which editions everyone would choose, and how well our favorites have 'aged.'

Who's with me?

A couple months ago we did just that. We played BECMI which I had relatively little experience with—by my pals has really liked. I bought all of it in pdf save immortals.

It was interesting!

My 8 year old loved it. We all took two characters and it was a blood bath. By the end of the module we slew a group of ogres and tricked a whole hobgoblin camp into leaving. We let one ogre run free and alert these allies of our presence but came to the camp from another angle. The 8 year old’s surviving character, a dwarf, was dubbed “Ogre slayer” for dropping their leader before more of us died.

But that does not answer the question .

It was a split decision. We were a little “high” with the smoothness. Combats take seconds. Really really fast.

However…I missed the layers and options of 5e. I liked the story and art but missed the crunch.

Our usual DM got to play and wanted more. The kiddo with little frame of reference was digging on it. The DM of BECMI is super nostalgic and was not against playing again.

I would too but it would be really hard to do so in lieu of 5e.

I also got some OSRIC stuff together due my nostalgia for 1e. Barring a deeper campaign with a fair number of magic items, I think I would still look back to 5e.

If we had a modern Greyhawk…ah, to dream.

But I really started looking at the Saltmarsh compilation…loving the Greyhawk stuff and classic traditional adventure feel with 5e options

Edited for spelling/typos

 

[Cruentus]

That’s why I am using Old School Essentials with the Advanced Fantasy rules. They add in some of the Ad&d crunch, but the ‘advanced’ classes aren’t better than the originals, and they optionally split out separate races, offer martials weapon expertise, etc. So you can add in some crunch, but it still plays like Basic, is balanced around Basic, and has the same speed and smoothness. At least, that has been my experience.

 

[Mind of tempest]

That’s why I am using Old School Essentials with the Advanced Fantasy rules. They add in some of the Ad&d crunch, but the ‘advanced’ classes aren’t better than the originals, and they optionally split out separate races, offer martials weapon expertise, etc. So you can add in some crunch, but it still plays like Basic, is balanced around Basic, and has the same speed and smoothness. At least, that has been my experience.

they do not make osr psionics that are not mad to my knowledge and people are too squishy it seems pointless.
how do you build races for it anyway?

 

[jmartkdr2]

I propose a Retro Game Night challenge.

To everyone commenting in this thread: I challenge you to schedule a one-shot with your regular gaming group sometime in the month of August. Just for one night, where you dust off your favorite older edition of D&D and play a single game. You can use pregen characters or roll up new ones, you can use a published adventure or write your own, you can play for a single session or several.

Then report back here. Post all of your observations in this thread: tell us about all of the things that you missed, tell us about the things that worked better in the older edition (or didn't work as well), tell us what your friends thought of it, and so on. I'm very curious which editions everyone would choose, and how well our favorites have 'aged.'

Who's with me?

The only retro game I have books for is 3e, or Vampire: the Masquerade if that counts.

If I still owned a red box, I’d run that.

 

[Hex08]

Over the last 10 years I have just kind of soured on 5e. I think it is a perfectly serviceable D&D game, but I just don't think there's actually a lot of "there" there. But here's the thing: Spelljammer coming out, the movie, Dragonlance, these things all tickle my D&D love and I WANT to engage D&D on its own, current terms and... just don't.

Listen. I get it. The world moves on. My GenX butt needs to get out of the way. Intellectually, I understand that. But emotionally, I just want my love for D&D "stuff" to match my love for the D&D game again.

As a fellow member of Gen X I feel you. I stopped feeling the D&D love with 4E. I played 3.x/Pathfinder until I got burnt out, right about when Pathfinder 2E came out (even then I still play Pathfinder 1E, I just don't DM anymore). I've never played 4E and played only in one session of 5E. I still love the game as it was, especially my memories the 2E years where my favorite campaigns were played. I am looking forward to the D&D movie. I still feel like I get my D&D/fantasy RPG "fix" from other games; Castles & Crusades and Savage Worlds especially.

 

[Jack Daniel]

they do not make osr psionics that are not mad to my knowledge and people are too squishy it seems pointless.
how do you build races for it anyway?

The Basic Psionics Handbook is excellent, and quite an improvement on all versions of 2e psionics IMHO, as it completely eliminates power checks as a mechanic. (If by "mad" you mean "multiple-ability dependent," the PX1 version of the psionicist uses only Int and Wis as prime requisites.)

I incorporated it completely into my own campaign rules, with some small tweaks to make monks a bit more viable.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The Basic Psionics Handbook is excellent, and quite an improvement on all versions of 2e psionics IMHO, as it completely eliminates power checks as a mechanic. (If by "mad" you mean "multiple-ability dependent," the PX1 version of the psionicist uses only Int and Wis as prime requisites.)

I incorporated it completely into my own campaign rules, with some small tweaks to make monks a bit more viable.

well that would work from its pure description but I would then have to find a group and convince them on psionics, both are individually a challenge, both hard.

 

[timbannock]

Planar Compass volume 1 has an awesome psionic system for OSE AKA BX.