D&D 5E (2024) If D&D 2024 Had Been Radically Different, Would You Have Stuck With 5E

[mamba]

It really is a weird one.

“If the designers had telepathy and tailor made the game specifically for you and all your preferences to the letter to perfectly match your tastes, would you play it?”

The only real answer is:

“Yes, of course.”

yes, but that was not the question asked...

assume that whatever the innovations were, they were at least palatable to you.

is a far cry from 'perfectly match your tastes'

 

[Zardnaar]

It of course depends. Our customized version of D&D is the ideal game for us and the most fun we have had playing D&D ever. Now if the game changed to be more like our game, then we might "adopt" it. However, if it would make the game more difficult to play the way we want, then no we would not play it.

Innovation means nothing if I don't like the way it "plays."

I dont think most would like my ideal D&D.

Im not sure i have an ideal D&D.

It would draw heavily on 5E, 2E and B/X. Pick a direction go from there.

 

[TwoSix]

Yep. Which also seems to render the question moot. Anyone wanting that novelty can already get it by looking at any one of the thousands of other RPGs. If something innovative but close to D&D is your jam, the OSR/NSR scenes have you well and truly covered. To say nothing of the mountain of not-quite-5E-clones.

Sure, but none of those games are also the next D&D. That lineage matters to a lot of players.

It is admittedly a difficult hypothetical to answer because there are so many variables. How well does the new game correspond to your preferences? What is the community response and overall adoption rate of the new edition?

 

[darjr]

It would have to be more like Shadowdark or Mork Borg for me. Eventually I'd check it out, maybe. I dunno. It's an interesting question. Partly cause you left open what kind of game. I don't imagine they'd go in that direction, but if they did? Maybe.

Edit to add I did buy the core books. Even on DDB. I also got the borderlands box and the Dragon Delves.

 

[FrogReaver]

What I could see being confusing is the combination of “significant change” and “to your liking.” If you’re someone who already thinks 5e is basically prefect, that combination of things doesn’t compute

Yep. And also…

Would I switch if I thought it’d be just the core set and nothing else. Probably not.

Would I switch if I liked it but any portion of my group hated it. Probably not.

Would I switch if it came out too soon after the previous edition. Probably not.

I might absolutely love the rules and still not switch. Most of these factors weigh more heavily on me than whether I like the rules better.

For me It’s really more, is there a game I like the rules of that my friends also like, that I can find games in, that more material will come out for. Etc.

 

[billd91]

I don’t know, I feel like if you assume the changes would have been in line with your tastes… even if you think 5e is a nearly perfect game, the premise is that it changed to become even more perfect by your personal standards. So, seems like a no brainer. “Would I like a game that’s closer to my personal ideal? Yes, obviously.”

But it's not just me involved in the decision. That game may be even more attuned to my preferences than 5e, but that might not be the case for my players. And 5e is close enough to my preferences that I'm willing to forego an edition even closer to my preferences if my players prefer 5e.
So it's not at all a no-brainer.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I was going to stick with 5E with 2024 no matter what and I was glad to see the updating that ended up on the product. I’ve been a forever DM in D&D-only since the mid-80s. (Not counting our Battletech and Car Wars side time in the 90s).

But I got the $10 Delian Tomb because I loved MCDMs work with 5E products just to give it a scan, and asked my group if they’d be willing to go through the tutorial walk through.

I’m embarrassed to say it was like a veil being lifted seeing another ttrpg focus really on all the fun things we liked in D& and making them really fun. So we have at least temporarily put aside D&D 5E only because we’re having so much more fun with Draw Steel turn by turn in combat. Maybe we’ll grow tired of it fast or we’ll uncover the warts that we just can’t unsee.

We’ll likely be back to 2024 at some point, which is why I’m not saying I’ve left. I’m going to obsessively try something similar until I’m exhausted/bored. I honestly cannot see how 5E could have implemented anything like the Victories/Heroic Resources/Recoveries/Respite virtuous cycle though.

 

[overgeeked]

Sure, but none of those games are also the next D&D. That lineage matters to a lot of players.

Sure. I am not one of them.

It is admittedly a difficult hypothetical to answer because there are so many variables. How well does the new game correspond to your preferences? What is the community response and overall adoption rate of the new edition?

To me, the two italicized questions are all that matter. I have shelves filled with games that me and maybe a dozen other people world wide are interested in playing. I don’t need any more RPG books that will only ever collect dust.

 

[Corinnguard]

I am currently staying with 5e because my group is just wrapping up its' Tyranny of Dragons adventure. We've been playing this adventure for almost three years now. We've just started thinking of trying out something other than D&D. This morning, I chatted with my DM about us trying out RPGs such as Shadowrun, Fate or Aberrant. My group will be talking more about what non-RPG they want to try out after we complete Tyranny of Dragons.

Btw, it's not because of 2024 D&D. It has more to do with WoTC atm.

 

[Charlaquin]

But it's not just me involved in the decision. That game may be even more attuned to my preferences than 5e, but that might not be the case for my players. And 5e is close enough to my preferences that I'm willing to forego an edition even closer to if my preferences my players prefer 5e.
So it's not at all a no-brainer.

Yeah, good point about your players’ preferences.