Anything wrong with just playing D&D?

[Buttercup]

I'm with you John. I've got way too much invested in D&D/d20 to bother with any other system for the forseeable future. Heck, I've got enough D20 material right now to last me a lifetime.

If people want to play with other rule sets, of course they are welcome to. But the games I run and play in will be D20.

 

[Henry]

Throwing in my two kopeks...

The obvious answer is that there's nothing wrong with it, but as your amount of games you've played accumulate, your tastes and those of your group may change, and that's where the other d20 systems, and other games entirely, come in.

Those of us who've played 20+ game systems have either (A) been at this a long time or (B) have enough free time to try these systems out, having run through D&D likely and either tired out of it a short while or jsut plain found it wanting.

Other d20 games have every useful features, in some cases offering solid rules alternatives for "plugging holes" in D&D. For instance, when 3.0 first came out, there were no guidelines for underwater combat - several fans and d20 companies jumped on this idea. There STILL are not a good solid set of chase rules for D&D - chases just aren't a big part of basic play, so you can either wing it, which a lot do, or go to a system like Spycraft and perform the Sincerest Form of Flattery on the game system.

As for transition between d20 systems, let me say that there are people in our group who dislike playing non-d20; to pick up most other d20 games and settings, all you need to know is (1) new skills, (2) new classes and races, (3) new feats, and (4) any new rules that diverge strongly from D&D. THe basic mechanics are there, there's no funkiness to new rules ("to throw an object, take the square root of pi, multiply it by your age differential on Table 3-1, and add the average of your height multiplied by your weight...") Metaphorically speaking, the thing's still a car, and the gearbox/steering column/seatbelts are all in the same place, they're just different manufacturers.

Half of my players are gung-ho about any new system, but the other half are hesitant any time I pull out a non-d20 system, because they feel the learning curve for them is a waste of time, when they could be spending that time gaming.

Steve Jackson of GURPS had the right idea -- he just didn't have the mindshare that D&D has to make GURPS the dominant universal system. (Some would say he didn't have the right ruleset, but that's more a matter of opinion.)

 

[NewJeffCT]

Because I am now 37 with my first child, I only have time to game one night every two weeks. Because of this, I prefer to play D&D exclusively. Do I like other games – yes. In recent years, I have enjoyed sessions of Cthulu and several dark future type games like Cyberpunk and Shadowrun, prior to d20 becoming the RPG industry standard. We even gave Palladium fantasy a go a few years back prior to 3.0. However, we always come back to D&D, even though most of our group is pretty open-minded - we have one guy that is dying to play a Western RPG and a few that like superhero games.

The two fathers in the group (myself and one other guy even older than me) are the ones that prefer D&D. We have both been playing D&D such a long time and are not sure how much longer we can play in the future, so we want to stick with something we know and love.

 

[diaglo]

i'm a D&D fan. i've played, tried, used, experimented, adopted, etc...other games over the years. but...

after i made the transfer from wargaming to roleplaying it just felt right.

i am a D&D fan. i always come back to what i like the most.

i still try other games and systems.

but for me.

Original D&D(1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

 

[Gothmog]

D&D does a good job of portraying a high fantasy setting. However, it doesn't do a very good job of representing other types of settings, simply due to the assumptions and requirements that go along with other genres. If you do decide to branch out and try some different genres, some of the following games are very good.

Darwin's World- Ok, its D20, but its a really solid post-apocalyptic world, based on the d20 Modern ruleset. MUCH better than the new Gamma World. While firearms probably aren't deadly enough, this is without a doubt one of the three best d20 books released this last year.

Call of Cthulhu- if you have any interest in HP Lovecraft's mythos, you owe it to yourself to play this game. I personally MUCH prefer the BRP version of the game to the d20 version. The d20 version feels too much like an action movie rather than the brooding cosmic horror CoC requires. The system is a simple % based system, that actually plays pretty dang well with minimal rule references during play.

Deadlands- I know this game is cheesy, but I love it! If you like the Old West mixed with a bit of fantasy and horror, this is your game. The use of poker cards for initiative and spellcasting are brilliant, and poker chips are used as something similar to fate points. The dice mechanics are a bit different than d20, but are very playable- I've run a Deadlands game once a month for the last two years without any of my d20 players getting confused about the mechanics after the first session. Also check out Savage Worlds by Pinnacle (same people who make Deadlands)- its a simplified version of the Deadlands system, and is specifically made to accomodate ANY genre (fantasy, sci-fi, pulp, horror, etc).

Ars Magica- Hands down the best magic system in any RPG, and this game is a work of art that is sorely underrepresented in the gaming community. In fact, a lot of the 3E mechanics and conventions were lifted right out of Ars Magics because Jonathan Tweet was also a designer for Ars Magica. Its a bit lower-powered than D&D, but definitely worthwhile to play.

GURPS- for all its number-crunching and complexity, GURPS is a really solid system that is more realistic than D&D/d20. I played in a GURPS fantasy game for years, and its a much grittier feel than D&D. While the system is daunting at first, its really no more complex than d20, it just uses a different set of conventions.

 

[ruleslawyer]

To chime in: Nothing wrong with that at all. Many of us don't have the time to learn another game system, and even if we did, we wouldn't easily be able to get all of our friends to learn the new system. An advantage of D&D for me is that my entire gaming group learned how to play over 15 years ago, when we were high schoolers; it'd really be impossible to learn a new system now. True, 3e is sufficiently different that SOME learning is necessary, but there's a comfort level there that a different system entirely would not provide.

 

[Numion]

Call of Cthulhu- if you have any interest in HP Lovecraft's mythos, you owe it to yourself to play this game. I personally MUCH prefer the BRP version of the game to the d20 version. The d20 version feels too much like an action movie rather than the brooding cosmic horror CoC requires. The system is a simple % based system, that actually plays pretty dang well with minimal rule references during play.

I'd have to disagree. BTW, both versions are based on a fantasy rpg system. BRP is based on an archaic one (RuneQuest), and it shows. The system is klunky, whereas the modified d20 system used in Cthulhu d20 is actually quite smooth. (No AoO's, more of a skill-based approach, for example).

Rest is up to the GM. I've got both systems, and d20 is just better in both production values and the system, IMHO. The modernish colour art in d20 has thrown some purists off (and probably what prompted Gothmogs action movie comment - the rules don't have cinematic parts), but I thought it was welcome - it made the book look and feel like a complete product instead of just another cheap RPG book.

 

[billd91]

I admit it. I only play D&D. I have tried other RPGs, usually for just a session or two. But I always have good back to D&D. I have played all the editions except the white box version (and Hackmaster), and a few mixed versions. But always D&D.
<snip>

I might end up playing a d20 game like Traveller d20 (though I'd prefer Star Frontiers d20 or something else 'high science fiction myself'). REAlly, d20 is still in it\s infancy and I just haven't had the time.

<snip>
And also, what am I missing by not trying out non-d20 RPGs? I've never seen what.

There's nothing wrong with prefering one game over all others. I would still suggest giving some others a try, particularly the non-d20 version of Call of Cthulhu. The d20 version is OK, but I think the original is generally better for that type of genre and atmosphere.

I am a bit surprised you'd be interested in Star Frontiers over Traveller d20 as "hard science fiction". If you're under the impression that Star Frontiers is more hard sci fi than Traveller, I'm stunned. Among the sci fi RPGs, Traveller is the most grounded in sci fi realism that I'm aware of. You really should give it a try. There are some ways that it's a bit clunky as a d20 game (armor rules and lethal damage are a bit overly complex). I think I actually prefer it in its Megatraveller incarnation. In that version, it was all 2d6 and no other dice.

 

[Psion]

Well, according to some, just liking D&D makes you a small minded simpleton. Because you are missing all of the other allegedly better games out there.

 

[johnsemlak]

I am a bit surprised you'd be interested in Star Frontiers over Traveller d20 as "hard science fiction". If you're under the impression that Star Frontiers is more hard sci fi than Traveller, I'm stunned. Among the sci fi RPGs, Traveller is the most grounded in sci fi realism that I'm aware of. You really should give it a try. There are some ways that it's a bit clunky as a d20 game (armor rules and lethal damage are a bit overly complex). I think I actually prefer it in its Megatraveller incarnation. In that version, it was all 2d6 and no other dice.

Considering that Traveller was originally produced by GDW in my hometown, I actually feel quite guilty that I never played it. It's been recommended several times, just never happened. Someone gave me the Star Frontiers set when I was little, on the other hand, and I got a taste of that game, but didn't get far with it. What I meant by 'high science fiction' is scifi that involves very advanced future technology as in Star Trek and so forth, and my understanding is the Traveller world is a bit 'lower tech'.