Mercurius
Legend
Only read the OP, but it made me think that long-time D&D players - like 10+ years and multiple editions - end up in one of two places: Either:
D&D is sort of like pop music, or whatever music you liked in middle and high school. Lots of folks stay just liking that music, and revisit it and follow the same bands for decades after, only varying their taste slightly as new bands emerge that fit within the general palette they developed in adolescence. But some people grow out of pop music and find other genres of music. Really, we all continue to evolve and expand our taste to some degree, adding layers of new stuff, while still liking (to whatever degree) the old stuff.
As an example, I grew up in the 80s and liked new wave and early "alternative" music like the Cure, New Order, The The, Dead Can Dance, the Smiths, etc for most of high school, with a hint of 60-70s stuff like Pink Floyd and the Doors. In my junior or senior year, I discovered King Crimson and it blew my mind, opening me to prog rock, fusion, jazz, jazz-funk, acid jazz, Indian Classical, world music, flamenco, etc. My first long-term partner in the 90s loved hip-hop and soul, so my tastes expanded again. Then, in the late 90s, I discovered electronic, downtempo, house, etc. I discovered Arvo Part and realize I even like some classical. In recent decades, I've grown to like "electro-emo" and a variety of other music. But I still revisit New Order et al on occasion, and enjoy it - even if it doesn't speak to me like it did when I was 15 or have as large a presence in my musical consumption.
D&D is, for most, home base - what got us into the hobby. But you don't need to stick with it. I know that it is easiest to find players for D&D, but if you have an established group, nudge them to mix things up. Or are if you're in a large enough community, put out a flyer for players. Again, there are lots of great games - some of which you might like a lot better. Or, if you're bold, why not design your own game? You can always revisit D&D - it isn't going anywhere. Just don't be limited to it. I think that's an unfortunate trap a lot of people find themselves in.
- Happy with the game as it is (or with minor house rules) and/or just happy to go along for the ride of whatever edition is extant; or
- Finding oneself in a similar place to the OP - unhappy with the game as it is enough to want something else (other than the rules as written).
- House rule the f out of it until you get it to your liking, and/or
- Play something else (as I'm sure has been mentioned in 60 pages, there are a ton of D&D clones and variants, not to mention non-D&D fantasy games), and/or
- Create your own game.
D&D is sort of like pop music, or whatever music you liked in middle and high school. Lots of folks stay just liking that music, and revisit it and follow the same bands for decades after, only varying their taste slightly as new bands emerge that fit within the general palette they developed in adolescence. But some people grow out of pop music and find other genres of music. Really, we all continue to evolve and expand our taste to some degree, adding layers of new stuff, while still liking (to whatever degree) the old stuff.
As an example, I grew up in the 80s and liked new wave and early "alternative" music like the Cure, New Order, The The, Dead Can Dance, the Smiths, etc for most of high school, with a hint of 60-70s stuff like Pink Floyd and the Doors. In my junior or senior year, I discovered King Crimson and it blew my mind, opening me to prog rock, fusion, jazz, jazz-funk, acid jazz, Indian Classical, world music, flamenco, etc. My first long-term partner in the 90s loved hip-hop and soul, so my tastes expanded again. Then, in the late 90s, I discovered electronic, downtempo, house, etc. I discovered Arvo Part and realize I even like some classical. In recent decades, I've grown to like "electro-emo" and a variety of other music. But I still revisit New Order et al on occasion, and enjoy it - even if it doesn't speak to me like it did when I was 15 or have as large a presence in my musical consumption.
D&D is, for most, home base - what got us into the hobby. But you don't need to stick with it. I know that it is easiest to find players for D&D, but if you have an established group, nudge them to mix things up. Or are if you're in a large enough community, put out a flyer for players. Again, there are lots of great games - some of which you might like a lot better. Or, if you're bold, why not design your own game? You can always revisit D&D - it isn't going anywhere. Just don't be limited to it. I think that's an unfortunate trap a lot of people find themselves in.
