One thing I really miss -- and this is 3 year old Nostalgia, not 30 -- is playing a regular game in person. I run games on cons a couple times a year, which is fun and cool, but I want my weekly in person game back. Unfortunately, for my local group at least, the move online due to covid has been permananet.
Can You Go Home Again? +
MarkB
Legend
I had the reverse experience. The move online was temporary, but for a few reasons I wasn't able to go back to in-person gaming, and had to drop out of our local gaming club as a result.
Wolfpack48
Adventurer
Question: has anyone tried forming a new group with players just getting into the hobby? I'm wondering if running a game with folks in junior/high school/college might be a lot of fun. I know my friend is running a game for his kids, but not sure it's the same as folks who are jumping in with enthusiasm.
Mark Hope
Adventurer
My current group here in the UAE was formed from 3 veterans who go back to the early 80s and 3 people who had played like one session of 5e and wanted to know more. They all took to it with immense enthusiasm - it was great to see players new to the hobby discover things that seem like old hat to us veterans. Seeing their first reaction to drow, for example, was just wonderful, or the first time they fought a beholder or travelled the planes or any number of other things. Highly recommend it.
RoughCoronet0
Dragon Lover
I don’t think one can truly go home, so to speak. But I do think occasional visits down the nostalgic path of memory lane can be enjoyable and even beneficial from time to time, in moderation and with the right mindset.
There are certain old games I’ll replay, shows I’ll rewatch, books I’ll reread, and places I’ll revisit. I do this both to reminisce on the past when these things were new and those first fond memories were formed, as well as to experience those things with fresh eyes and new perspective. Redoing these activities will never be the same as when I first indulged in them, but they can still be pleasant to re-experience, especially when I can gain new insight and appreciation for things I enjoyed but didn’t fully understand as a child or younger adult.
That said, I have found “chasing the dragon” to be unhelpful and even occasionally harmful, indulging so strongly in nostalgia that you can’t enjoy the present, or using that nostalgia to cope with unresolved trauma (something I have dealt with on more then one occasion both personally and through second hand experience). So I allow certain things to stay in the past. I have the fond memories, but I don’t need to relive them.
As far as TTRPGs are concerned though, I feel like it’s a bit more complicated due to having other people involved who may be just as important, and sometimes even more important, to those fond memories and experiences as the game itself.
There are certain old games I’ll replay, shows I’ll rewatch, books I’ll reread, and places I’ll revisit. I do this both to reminisce on the past when these things were new and those first fond memories were formed, as well as to experience those things with fresh eyes and new perspective. Redoing these activities will never be the same as when I first indulged in them, but they can still be pleasant to re-experience, especially when I can gain new insight and appreciation for things I enjoyed but didn’t fully understand as a child or younger adult.
That said, I have found “chasing the dragon” to be unhelpful and even occasionally harmful, indulging so strongly in nostalgia that you can’t enjoy the present, or using that nostalgia to cope with unresolved trauma (something I have dealt with on more then one occasion both personally and through second hand experience). So I allow certain things to stay in the past. I have the fond memories, but I don’t need to relive them.
As far as TTRPGs are concerned though, I feel like it’s a bit more complicated due to having other people involved who may be just as important, and sometimes even more important, to those fond memories and experiences as the game itself.
Yes and no.
I mean you can't really recreate a "memory". Even if you had a holodeck or even could travel back in time.....it just would not be the same.
And you can't, of course, "reset your brain to an earlier restore point". Everyday of your life you are a "new" you...that is the sum of your life to that point, plus what you are doing now. You now, are not the you of any point in your past.
BUT, can you "Go Back" and play an old game to get a very similar, but new and different, feeling: YES.
It does help if your in the same mind set of the time, and if you have radically changed your views over the years you might be unwilling or unable to "go back".
I run a LOT of Old RPGs. And it's very common with older gamers that they don't want to give up the "new ways". Oddly, they will change their mind 100% for each new editions rules, but won't ever want to go back. When 6E comes out with a new rule twist....the "medium rest that gives a character +100 hit points" lots of gamers will stand firm on that new rule must always be used to play D&D. But tell them "no short or long rests" like in 2E and they won't want to play that game, will want to add in 5E house rules or simply won't have fun.
And it is possible...for some people...to not "like" something in the old rules, but they can still accept it. Though this seems to be a bit rare.
Though there are people like myself that still play with a LOT of 2E style and even some ported in rules....an unfair game, an unbalanced game, character death, lots of magical downsides and so on even when we play a game by the 5E rules. And, if you already play by most of the style, then there is little to go back to....other then the rules.
And a lot of people do get 'stuck' in a style...and it's not really about "edition", though it does stick to them. A lot of players of 5E are slow and steady, as they think or feel that is how they should play the game. And they will resist any change. However, put them in a 2E game....and maybe by the second hour they will embrace a radical new game play style....Having their character Leaping off a cliff to attack a dragon in mid air while screaming "have at thee foul dragon!". The same player who a week ago in a 5E game was saying "um, ok, my character attacks one of the kobolds, um, I guess".
Though, I have found getting new players....not only people who have never played 5E....but more so have never played any RPG can work out wonderfully.
I mean you can't really recreate a "memory". Even if you had a holodeck or even could travel back in time.....it just would not be the same.
And you can't, of course, "reset your brain to an earlier restore point". Everyday of your life you are a "new" you...that is the sum of your life to that point, plus what you are doing now. You now, are not the you of any point in your past.
BUT, can you "Go Back" and play an old game to get a very similar, but new and different, feeling: YES.
It does help if your in the same mind set of the time, and if you have radically changed your views over the years you might be unwilling or unable to "go back".
I run a LOT of Old RPGs. And it's very common with older gamers that they don't want to give up the "new ways". Oddly, they will change their mind 100% for each new editions rules, but won't ever want to go back. When 6E comes out with a new rule twist....the "medium rest that gives a character +100 hit points" lots of gamers will stand firm on that new rule must always be used to play D&D. But tell them "no short or long rests" like in 2E and they won't want to play that game, will want to add in 5E house rules or simply won't have fun.
And it is possible...for some people...to not "like" something in the old rules, but they can still accept it. Though this seems to be a bit rare.
Though there are people like myself that still play with a LOT of 2E style and even some ported in rules....an unfair game, an unbalanced game, character death, lots of magical downsides and so on even when we play a game by the 5E rules. And, if you already play by most of the style, then there is little to go back to....other then the rules.
And a lot of people do get 'stuck' in a style...and it's not really about "edition", though it does stick to them. A lot of players of 5E are slow and steady, as they think or feel that is how they should play the game. And they will resist any change. However, put them in a 2E game....and maybe by the second hour they will embrace a radical new game play style....Having their character Leaping off a cliff to attack a dragon in mid air while screaming "have at thee foul dragon!". The same player who a week ago in a 5E game was saying "um, ok, my character attacks one of the kobolds, um, I guess".
Though, I have found getting new players....not only people who have never played 5E....but more so have never played any RPG can work out wonderfully.
Wolfpack48
Adventurer
Do you have a local FLGS you can post for new players to play in-person? Also, try meetup.com and specifically advertise for an in-person game. I am betting there's others who prefer not to play online. Grab pizza somewhere with folks who want to try and discuss what you want to do for the game.
EDIT: Whoops meant to reply to Reynard.
mamba
Legend
I would not want to go back to 1e / 2e, I rather revisit the same themes in a newer game, the rules were not that important to begin with.
I think it also helps to play with new players for who the experience is fresh, rather than a repeat of something they already know. I can still enjoy a book on a second or third read, but it will never be the same experience as the first one, it being someone’s first experience, even if it is not yours, helps bringing that back
I think it also helps to play with new players for who the experience is fresh, rather than a repeat of something they already know. I can still enjoy a book on a second or third read, but it will never be the same experience as the first one, it being someone’s first experience, even if it is not yours, helps bringing that back
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
I learned to play D&D during the mid-to-late 1980s, with the BECM boxed sets and the Rules Cyclopedia). My buddies in middle school (and later, high school) would meet up a few times a week to play D&D at my house, and we forged lifelong bonds over The Isle of Dread, The Keep on the Borderlands, and the Master of the Desert Nomads trilogy. We lost touch after graduation, when we all shuffled off to different colleges and military bases, and reconnected decades later over the Internet during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We discovered that the whole gaming group is still around, just spread out in different time zones. One of my players set up a Zoom call to get everyone together for a reunion, and during that call someone (I don't remember who) suggested we could set up a game and play over the internet. I volunteered to DM again, we decided on a date/time, and I sent everyone the link to a game that I had set up in Roll20.
A few weeks later, and the day had come. We all logged on, grabbed some pints, and played the first four hours of "Rahasia" over VTT. It was clunky and slow and frustrating for the first 30 minutes, but soon enough we found our rhythm again and settled back into our old banter. D was the same cocky Elf he always was. K was the same reckless, aggro Dwarf. N was the ever-patient Cleric, trying to apply bandages and bickering with A, who was always trying to backstab and never could pull it off.
It was a blast. We played into the night, long after the agreed-upon stop time for the gaming session, and decided to make it a regular thing. And so now, 3 years later, we still meet online (first Saturday of every month) for a gaming session. Sometimes not everyone can make it to the virtual table, but that was true when we were kids at an actual table--we didn't let it stop us then, and we don't let it stop us now. I'm taking their characters through The Isle of Dread again, and they're about to enter the ruined temple on Taboo Island. The nervous chittering over email is a delight for this old DM's eyes.
So my advice? GO FOR IT. You have nothing to lose.
We discovered that the whole gaming group is still around, just spread out in different time zones. One of my players set up a Zoom call to get everyone together for a reunion, and during that call someone (I don't remember who) suggested we could set up a game and play over the internet. I volunteered to DM again, we decided on a date/time, and I sent everyone the link to a game that I had set up in Roll20.
A few weeks later, and the day had come. We all logged on, grabbed some pints, and played the first four hours of "Rahasia" over VTT. It was clunky and slow and frustrating for the first 30 minutes, but soon enough we found our rhythm again and settled back into our old banter. D was the same cocky Elf he always was. K was the same reckless, aggro Dwarf. N was the ever-patient Cleric, trying to apply bandages and bickering with A, who was always trying to backstab and never could pull it off.
It was a blast. We played into the night, long after the agreed-upon stop time for the gaming session, and decided to make it a regular thing. And so now, 3 years later, we still meet online (first Saturday of every month) for a gaming session. Sometimes not everyone can make it to the virtual table, but that was true when we were kids at an actual table--we didn't let it stop us then, and we don't let it stop us now. I'm taking their characters through The Isle of Dread again, and they're about to enter the ruined temple on Taboo Island. The nervous chittering over email is a delight for this old DM's eyes.
So my advice? GO FOR IT. You have nothing to lose.
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R_J_K75
Legend
No, I don't think so, at least speaking for myself. As you say, you aren't the same person now as you were then, and neither am I. I know for myself there are things I enjoyed doing in the past that do not appeal to me as much as they used to, whether that's playing RPGs, going to concerts, having a BBQ and drinks with friends, going out to bars and shooting pool, etc. Not that I don't still do those things but it's just more infrequent. As I get older, I found other interests and realized that there is no sense living in the past, and the only way to truly grow is to move forward.
I played mainly D&D in the 80s through 2005 that's when I consider the time that I had my best games and look back on them more fondly than any others. I ran various other RPGs In the 2010's after a period of not playing for a while. These campaigns didn't last too long, weren't very memorable and were more just a way to kill time rather than being as fun as in years prior. I didn't run a 5E game until June of 2015 when I could find a couple players and this didn't last but a few games. Then I got a regular 5E group together with players coming and going from 2016 until late Feb/early march of this year, which recently broke up. During this time, we also played Modern AGE, & Shadow Dark briefly as well. Don't get me wrong they were fun at times but not as good as they could have been at others. A few months back we did a few sessions of AD&D 2E, and I can definitely say the experience was a pale comparison to our glory days, and I'd suspect you may have the same the outcome. A lot of why I lost a lot of interest in playing stemmed from that I found prepping and scheduling games more of a chore than fun as people have families, jobs, & other commitments. So, it was a lot different than when we played marathon sessions in the 90s multiple times per week, which is what I found so fun, and impossible to recapture now. Within the last year or two it was pretty difficult to get our group to figure out a time and day to play which ended up being once every few weeks.
I'm not trying to sound like a downer, but I think that change is just a natural part of getting older.
