D&D 5E Gah! So complex! What's an 'old school' gamer to do ??

[HawaiiSteveO]

Thanks - will check those referrals out for sure . I've got 'Troll Trouble' from dmsguild lined up for our next session . Really liked reading it and think it's a good fit .
I dont mind some complexity but these 256 page sandbox styled things are not for me , lesson learned I guess !

 

[MrHotter]

It is a lot. What I'm doing is giving it a quick lookover to get the general idea of the adventure and then I'm going to just stay a step ahead of the players. I'm going to go over the next town or next adventure area and give it a good read, make some notes on monsters and NPCs. If I mess up and forget an NPC or forget some lore I make a note of that too. My mess ups become part of the story.

I keep a master cheat sheet in the front of my book that lists NPCs by town and gives a quick description. I always forget names and I don't want to flip around a book when the players ask me about me something.

 

[Gnarl45]

Thanks - will check those referrals out for sure . I've got 'Troll Trouble' from dmsguild lined up for our next session . Really liked reading it and think it's a good fit .
I dont mind some complexity but these 256 page sandbox styled things are not for me , lesson learned I guess !

Out of curiosity, is it the size of the module that's overwhelming or the type of adventure?

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

Format is a big part of it . Nice to have section at start of each chapter 'Why PCs Are here' etc ��

For example - PCS likely to escort Ireena to Vallaki from Barovia but then get mixed up in all the options open in Vallaki . So much to choose from! If I want to steer them in one particular direction (which to me is fine) you could call that rail roading...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If you're using PDFs from the DM's Guild, definitely check out Goodman Games, classic TSR/WotC adventures, Frog God/Necromancer Games, etc. at DriveThruRPG.com/RPGNow.com (no idea why they don't consolidate those URLs finally). There's adventures you remember and a ton of stuff that scratches the same itch available.

In fact, there's no more old school style stuff (abbreviated as OSR for "Old School Renaissance" or "Old School Revival") each year than when TSR was at its height.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

Thanks ! I think I was getting OSR mixed up with OGL

Still not sure what RAW is , probably too small simple for me ..!

I played Pathfinder a bit last year and found 2 adventures that I REALLY like that shouldn't be too difficult to convert .

Pathfinder is way more complex rules wise IMO although they have some great adventures, 5e is way less complex rules wise but has complex adventures