D&D 5E My Players Didn't Like 5e :( Help Me Get Them Into It!!

[BrockBallingdark]

Don't force your players into anything, that's happened to me for years. I would get into a new system and try to get my main group to get out of Pathfinder (as I don't want to play it anymore for several reasons).

I just told my group, once we are done with the Pathfinder adventure I'm DMing, I'm not playing Pathfinder ever again. If they want to play another system, let me know. If I force 5e on one of the guys in my group, he'll hate 5e just because of 3.5 & 4th edition.

Luckily I have a once a month Saturday group that loves 5e and we enjoy that, I'll just wait for my weekly Friday night group to decide what to do once I'm done DMing Pathfinder.

I love 5e, it's not perfect but it's the best D&D version for my play-style.

 

[Sacrosanct]

OP: Your player(s)--whoever wrote that diatribe--sound insufferable. They seem to dislike 5E because it's not Pathfinder, and like Pathfinder for all the reasons that so many others have moved away from it. To put it another way, they sound unnecessarily cynical.

For me the big red flag was the personal attacks on the 5e team. The accusations of being incompetent and lazy. If you've got someone saying that about a game? Don't waste your breath trying to get them to like it.

But what I haven't seen so far as far as advice goes is this. Many people have told you to stick with PF because that's what they want. What do you want? That's the real question here. If you really like 5e over PF (or whatever edition they like more), then you should be able to play that. Either find a group that does play it, or try to find compromise with your group.

"We'll play PF as our main, but I'd like to do some one-offs in 5e."

Now, if they want to stick with PF and not play 5e but want you to DM all the time, then I call shenanigans on that. If I don't want to DM PF but the rest of the group wants to play it, then I'd tell them someone else has to DM and I'll be fine playing it. DMing is a lot of work, and as a player, you shouldn't force someone to DM a game they don't want that you happen to like. If you want to play PF, then DM your own game if no one else wants to.

 

[aramis erak]

Add me to the chorus of "They gave it a shot, they don't like it, send them back to the pathfinder they want"...

 

[Taronkov]

Not reading through all 4 pages of comments so excuse me if this was brought up but the background issue he has is very easily fixed. Page 125 of the Players Handbook under the heading "Customizing a Background", it tells you very clearly how to create your own using the information there. It's not even presented as an optional rule, simply do it. If you can't find a feature that matches your desired background, then you go to the DM to work something out for your concept. Heck even the characteristics are under the heading "Suggested Characteristics" to be used as inspiration if you don't like them.

 

[Mavkatzer]

I don't agree with the prevailing theory here that you need to cater to this party. Ask Insufferable-Stream-Of-Consciouness-Rant-Man if he wants to DM. If not, and you're thrilled with 5E, find a group to run 5E with. I'm all for compromising with my party, but when someone communicates with you through a rant like that, compromise is clearly already off the table. In this case, based on the info we have, I'd say the best move, far and away, is to ask yourself what YOU want to do, and act accordingly.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, you're not going to change the mind of whoever wrote that piece. I don't think there's any value in trying. They don't like 5E, and they like (clearly, from their points) Pathfinder. I'd just play Pathfinder.

One of my groups pretty much refused to try 5E after a couple of very early playtest sessions. I ended up having to find a new group. Now I play both!

 

[SteveC]

I think I'm going to echo what others have said: it's not about persuading your group to like 5E, but rather either modifying the game to do what they want or finding another game that does it.

When 5E was announced, there was a lot of talk about it being a unifying edition, where there would be modules to accommodate different play styles. That's something that didn't really happen, and WotC has said they're not going to produce player/rules supplements at all, so you're unlikely to get much official help.

There will be some sort of license eventually and we will be seeing third party support (heck, there's En5ider already for that) so I suspect there will eventually be some support for the game your players are looking for.

...but that doesn't help you out now, unfortunately. If you don't have the time or inclination to keep expanding on what they're looking for (it seems you've started on it with item creation, so bravo ... and share you should look at the game they want to play. If that's Pathfinder, then there you go.

I always believe that the key to having a successful game is communication of what people want and expect out of it. Sometimes that means you end up not running ... if the group wants something you don't want to run, well ... better let someone else put on the Viking Hat.

Still, kind of a mess, sorry to hear about it.

 

[DaveDash]

Your players first impressions are almost exactly the same as mine when I first read 5e.

Then I played it, and found it was way more fun than pathfinder.

There's still things I hate about it (rulings not rules), but you should all at least give it a try.

5e has actually ruined 4e and 3e/pf for me now. I cannot play them.

 

[Psikerlord#]

From my reading of the OP's post, the group require lots of complex rules, lots more spelt out feats/character options, and as little DM adjudication as possible.

That is the opposite of 5e. I dont think this group is going to come around. OP might be better off finding others to play 5e with.

 

[Inchoroi]

I could go in here with a bunch of suggested fixes but...I don't think it'll help. At all. Whoever wrote that piece has a hate-on for 5e, and I've seen the likes on trolls on different boards, so he/she won't go for anything but their pet game, which sounds like Pathfinder. It seems like everyone in the thread agrees with that, too, so there's your advice.

If you're tired of DMing Pathfinder, step aside and ask someone else to DM.

Personally, I refuse to DM anything as complicated as 3.5, Pathfinder, or 4e anymore; too bloody time-consuming to use, and I like being able to rule on different rules when they don't make sense--and my players know that, so they aren't afraid to put themselves on a limb and do something interesting. One thing that I do notice is that, if a DM has a good rules mastery of 5e, there's a lot they can do within the rules, it just takes some creative application rather than out-right rulings.

Also, I don't have a clue what the OP's quote's gripe is about Inspiration...I love the mechanic. It's simple and easy. It allows me to reward role-play, which is the point entirely, at least, in my opinion, anyway.