D&D General 6E But A + Thread

[Minigiant]

I've been playing D&D since 1981 and I love 5E.

I played BEC and 1E extensively and loved those too, played 2E quite a bit and thought it was ok, not as good as 1E but still great. Played 3E some, it was ok but a definite downgrade. We tried 4E for one adventure and absolutely hated it and 4E drove us back to 1E swearing off any newer versions. We kept on playing 1E in our group and by 2016 had lots of turnover new players joining, old ones leaving and had some younger players not even born when 1E was published. We saw no point in ever moving to another version and if you asked me in 2015 what I would be playing in 2025 I would have told you 1E AD&D.

We did not participate in the original 5E playtest and we kept playing 1E until around 2016 when some of the younger players suggested trying 5E (they were playing 1E at the time and enjoying it). At their urging, I reluctantly went out and purchased the Phandelver starter set and gave it a try. We loved it, switched immediately to 5E, bought some new books and never looked back.

Additionally, I personally liked 5E so much I actively started looking for additional gaming groups and looking for groups online.

I played every version of D&D since 1981 and played 1E extensively right up until we switched and I think 5E is substantially better than all those other iterations, much better than some of them. I am well versed enough that I could DM a Basic, Expert, 1E or 2E game immediately, right now, with no brush up at all and I have the books to do it. I think I could manage a 3E game with a little study. I would not waste my time with 4E. I "barely pay attention to those old games" because 5E is just a better game in my opinion, both as a player and as a DM. Its just like I barely play Checkers, War or Gin any more, but I play Chess, Hearts and Pinochle quite a bit ... those games are just better and more fun for me, so why play the others?

Never said that there aren't any veterans who converted to 5e who love 5e.

I said that the majority of 5e fans never played another edition before 5e or don't remember much from those previous editions to compare it to. According to WOTC, it's 55%+ new money.

 

[Chaltab]

Never said that there aren't any veterans who converted to 5e who love 5e.

I said that the majority of 5e fans never played another edition before 5e or don't remember much from those previous editions to compare it to. According to WOTC, it's 55%+ new money.

Incidentally, this is one of the reasons I think WOTC should revisit good ideas from 4E more readily in future: the fans that reflexively hate it and all of its trappings are no longer half the customer base. Given the proliferation of great OSR games, they're probably not even a quarter.

 

[mamba]

I'm not suggesting its the defining feature, but if I look around (and I have) at a whole bunch of adventures, modules, whatever, the vast majority are not at the upper end of the level range.

that is true for 5e as well, so it does not seem to be a defining feature of any one edition but to be true for all of them

 

[ECMO3]

1.5 (2E with 1E add ons) are about the best it gets.

See I prefer that swapped. I like 1E with some 2E add ons like the way they did Thief abilities and the magic-user spell system.

 

[Zardnaar]

See I prefer that swapped. I like 1E with some 2E add ons like the way they did Thief abilities and the magic-user spell system.

Fair enough.

I have to play AD&D with modern players. They can grow the 2E Rules easier than 1E.

I've played 1E but never run it. Late to the party (started 1993).

 

[Scribe]

that is true for 5e as well, so it does not seem to be a defining feature of any one edition but to be true for all of them

Right, for a number of reasons.

Either way, I was making no claim that OSR = Low Level.

 

[Minigiant]

Incidentally, this is one of the reasons I think WOTC should revisit good ideas from 4E more readily in future: the fans that reflexively hate it and all of its trappings are no longer half the customer base. Given the proliferation of great OSR games, they're probably not even a quarter.

Too late.
They are now so used to 5e they will become resistant to change.

They aren't new fans anymore.

 

[Faolyn]

I was thinking that earlier.

My homebrew has talent trees. Some are locked eg you cant mix it with another one. They're your "archetype" ones.

I would consider it for 6E if polling indicated people wanted a more complex edition.

I could easily see something like that (feat trees, just to use standard D&D terminology) instead of subclasses. Well, a feat pole, perhaps. With different feats requiring level prereqs.

Then it would require thought about how often one gets feats. Get them often enough and you can pursue more than one such tree at a time. Or you can buy more ribbony-type feats.

 

[Zardnaar]

I could easily see something like that (feat trees, just to use standard D&D terminology) instead of subclasses. Well, a feat pole, perhaps. With different feats requiring level prereqs.

Then it would require thought about how often one gets feats. Get them often enough and you can pursue more than one such tree at a time. Or you can buy more ribbony-type feats.

Well SWSE gave feats and talents.

Feat
Talent
Feat
Talent

Etc.

I would poll for feats and then big or micro if response was yes.

Talent trees or equivalent eg warlock template would consider if archetypes got nuked.

Neither if polling was overwhelming for basic. I suspect feats eould get voted on bit how they're implemented.....

 

[Sacrosanct]

See I prefer that swapped. I like 1E with some 2E add ons like the way they did Thief abilities and the magic-user spell system.

Same. My favorite is 1e with the following 2e rules:
thief skill progression
bard class
THAC0 official
spell schools and priest spheres