D&D 5E Best D&D 5e alternate ruleset?

[Arilyn]

Is Shadowdark completely built for dungeon crawls, or can you do outdoor adventuring all types of fantasy with it?

We've been doing a lot of outdoor stuff with Shadowdark. Works great. There is also a pulp mode if you want more epic heroes.

 

[Emerikol]

Castles & Crusades

I'm not a 5e player. I didn't start it. I was just curious what they were doing with the game. I would recommend C&C for those wanting a more old school vibe with good streamlined rules.

 

[Arilyn]

We backed the latest C&C edition. Been curious about it for years.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I've been involved in the playtest (and kickstarter) of the 13th Age 2nd edition and I've been impressed. I quite liked the 1st edition, and this reworks any problem points like the natural die results or icon relationship dice, as well as brings in the maturity and it's own voice that later products like 13th Age Glorantha and the two Bestiaries demonstrated.

It's also math-neutral allowing all of the 1st edition products like Eyes of the Stone Thief or those Bestiaries I mentioned to be used without changes, so it's coming out with a lot of support already existing.

It also since 1st edition directly addresses some of the issues I have with 5e, such as balance between classes affected by the length of the adventuring day, and definitely high level adventuring.

The next campaign I run will be in 13th Age 2nd edition.

Sounds nice.

 

[Zaukrie]

Nimble 5e is on backerkit right now and looks interesting..... potentially.

 

[The Soloist]

In 2019, I left D&D 5e behind. I replaced it with Fantasy AGE, which just got a 2e release in 2023. It's my system of choice when I want heroic battles with stunts. It is easy to get into if you've played D&D but it's not a clone. Armour reduces damage, it uses spell points, and mages can cast spells in armour if they pay the point penalty. It has skills, talents, specializations, levels and experience points.

The other game I chose is Dragonbane. A skill-based system with an almost horizontal progression and the lethal feel of D&D low-levels (1-3).

13 Age and Castle & Crusades didn't work for me. 13 Age has 4e DNA, C&C pretends to be AD&D and the levelling math is off.

 

[Blue]

13 Age and Castle & Crusades didn't work for me. 13 Age has 4e DNA, C&C pretends to be AD&D and the levelling math is off.

13th Age felt like it took some of the best parts of 4e - Bloodied (now Staggered) and it triggering things, Healing Surges (now Recoveries) that how much they healed scaled to the type of HPs you had and were triggered by healing spells, the concept (though with different execution) of balancing the classes against each other over a "full-heal-up" while leaving behind some of the parts that didn't work for me like the proliferation of so many conditions on foes. It doesn't have the A/E/D/U-in-lockstep format that upset many players coming from earlier editions, but does have powers with different recharge speeds.

Reusing some of the good concepts that 4e had isn't a sin, don't dismiss 13th Age just because it has lifted good ideas from multiple editions of D&D, including one that they were willing to try out ideas outside the comfortable sacred cows of D&D.

 

[Arilyn]

I appreciate the classes in 13th Age being specifically designed. I love the fact that averages of stats are used for defenses. You really don't want to dump any stat in 13th Age. And the one unique thing is brilliant. Also love the freeform use of backgrounds as skills. The way a background is written not only defines what potential skills you have, but the vibe of the character.

 

[SteveC]

Just want to throw FateForge into the mix. You can pick it up as a Pay What You Want and it looks amazing. And it definitely is 5E.

 

[Quickleaf]

After the WotC fiascos, many companies decided to develop their own in-house alternative D&D 5e rulesets that are based on the skeleton of D&D 5e. I recently picked up Tales of the Valiant by Kobold Press, formerly known as Project Black Flag, but haven't gotten to read it yet.

I am curious what alternative 5e rulesets have my fellow gamers looked at out there and/or ran or played and what ones you think are best. I am also going to include a few OSR adjacent rulesets that interest me as viable alternatives to D&D 5e to get your thoughts as well.

Tales of the Valiant
Level Up: Advanced 5th. Edition
Nimble
13th. Age 2e
Cubicle 7 D20 (C7D20)
Pathfinder 2e

Dragonbane

Castles & Crusades
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Hyperborea 3e
Worlds Without Number
Old School Essentials

I was already slowly transitioning away from WotC 5e, but the fiascos certainly hastened it. Mostly I’ve been exploring OSR adjacent games like Beyond the Wall, OSE, Freebooters on the Frontier (PbtA-ish), OSRIC (1st edition)… I also played PF2e. I will run a Dungeon Crawl Classics one-shot this year & will be playing in a Dolmenwood game ( OSE with tweaks).

Mainly I’ve been looking at stuff where combat isn’t “The Greater of Equals” eating lots of pages and lots of game time & other interesting pillars of play I’d like to delve into aren’t reduced to a simple die roll.

What I liked from the games above…

Beyond the Wall — Superb connective tissue between PC-PC, PC-scenario, scenario-scenario, PC-village thanks to the playbook and scenario pack design.

OSE — Very fast combat (almost too simple for “what buttons can I smash” players) and clear concise procedures in other parts of game…though it doesn’t solve the “drag” potential in hex crawls… hoping Dolmenwood’s flavor, depth, and approach improve this!

Freebooters on the Frontier (playtest) — FotF benefits from the universality of the PbtA system but grounds it with greaaaat procedures that are like a smaller version of the Kevin Crawford (Worlds Without Number) level of procedural detail.

OSRIC / 1e — There are some hidden gems of non-combat rules both within OSRIC and in 1st Ed that didn’t make the transition… escape/evasion and chases are pretty cool, so is the siege and jousting stuff… i liked the modular plug-and-play rules modules.

PF2e — Very sleek 4e style game, I liked the clarity of the 3-action economy and the sort of swashbuckling feel you can get with movement in the game. However I’m moving away from added complexity in combat - swimming against the current of modern D&D - so it’s not my cuppa.