Games Inspired by 4e D&D (+)

[Wofano Wotanto]

Yes, I preferred GW7e to 4E generally because of that.

It also has zero sense of gravitas, which is something GW had been needing for a very long time. There's no way to explain the gonzo post-apocalypse of any edition of TSR GW (and I played and ran them all) with a straight face, so the "lean back and enjoy the lunacy" approach of 7e was an enormous breathe of fresh air. It's the TTRPG equivalent of MST3K's "it's just a show, you should really just relax" philosophy.

If only they hadn't gone with collectable cards...but even then Hasbro's greed was showing.

 

[Blue]

It’s like the chocolate and peanut butter of not D&D 5E.

Conceptually, I think 5e isn't too far from 13th Age. They both took what was before, paid homage to earlier editions, and streamlined it a lot. 5e introduced upcasting which 13th Age had. (Though the original was from back in the d20 Wheel of Time RPG.)

They didn't go the same routes everywhere - 13th Age was more narrative, and went with freeform Rituals for most out-of-combat casting vs. 5e's just stayed with discrete spells on the list. But some places are remarkably similar considering the parallel creation. 13th Age kept the 4e idea that some features or spells could be at-will or encounter recharge just as 5e's spun them slightly to be at-will and short rest.

Conceptually, 5e echos a lot of what 13th Age came out with the year before, even if the mechanics of implementing those differ. 13th Age 2nd ed (coming out August unless you already have the KS PDFs) splits farther from 5e 2024, such as fixing the adventuring day length issue even better, though of course 5e never had the narrative add-ons like One Unique Thing so that remains a difference.