roguerouge said:
I'm asking for advice from people who have rejected an edition of dungeons and dragons before.
Circa 1990 I didn't think I'd ever play D&D or AD&D again. I thought the games were hopelessly obsolete, & AD&D2e had removed more of the coolness than it had updated the game.
Sometime in the middle-1990s, I played a AD&D2e game on a lark. It was a blast! I found myself enjoying it so much more than all the "modern" games I had been playing. But further understanding would have to wait...
When 3e came out, I saw an awful lot of what I would've done if I had been given the task of updating D&D. (Something I'd given a fair amount of thought to.)
Over time, though, I became dissatisfied with it. Didn't quite know why. I re-examined the games I'd played during my anything-but-(A)D&D days. I investigated a lot of games that I'd never played before.
And I've never been a "one system" gamer. I found games that I enjoy.
I started reading some of the old stories by Gygax, Kuntz, Mornard, & others. I found that they made me want to game more than anything in a long time had. From Gygax, I saw a pointer to Dragonsfoot. I was fascinated. I had to find out why these people would still play the hopelessly obsolete AD&D.
This led me back to the D&D I started with: Basic/Expert D&D c. 1981. I'd always had a lot of respect for it. (My thoughts of creating an updated D&D always included stealing liberally from it.) I realized that was a game I wanted to play more than 3e and more than 1e.
I've also gained an appreciation of the original three little booklets.
Unlike before, I'm no longer one to think that I'll never play a system again. 3e isn't at the top of my games of choice, though. So, I didn't bother to update to 3.5.
I figure I'll buy a 4e PHB. I read a lot of things about it that I like. I read a lot of things about it that give me pause. As soon as someone in my group offers to run it, I'll break out the dice. I doubt I'll bother trying to run it myself, though. Too many other games I want to run, & I'd personally rather run classic D&D or original D&D instead.
What was your experience with that choice? Did you feel like you handled it well? Did it have particular positive or negative impacts on your gaming? Was it liberating? Did you feel left behind? Did you feel old?
I think my attitude of (A)D&D being obsolete was misguided. Maybe I missed out on some fun because of it, but the other games were fun too. I wouldn't trade those experiences, & I'm glad that I've never stuck too much with a single system. I think I'm a better player and GM because of that.
I don't really regret leaving 3.0/3.5 behind to the extent I have. No negative consequence. And I enjoyed the B/X campaign I ran recently more than the 3e campaigns I'd run. I didn't feel left behind or old because of it.
I didn't do so well when I played one session of a high-level 3.5 campaign recently. I just didn't know the system--core or expansions--well enough compared to the other players. But, I didn't mind too much. I don't really
want to master that stuff, so I just did my best and enjoyed myself.
When I rediscovered B/X D&D, there was a moment when I almost said, "I wish I'd never bothered with AD&D." But then I realized that wasn't true. I had loads of fun with AD&D, & I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything, even if it isn't now my preferred edition of D&D either.
Well, that's my too-long, rambling story. For whatever it's worth.
Even when I'm playing and/or running D&D though, I'll still be using other systems as well.
