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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vaslov" data-source="post: 8564594" data-attributes="member: 37953">Last year I wrapped up a SotDL campaign.  The group i play with rotates DMs with at least 3 different campaigns going on.  Generally ever 4-5 weeks we swap campaigns.   The other two GMs are generally running 5e games during this time.   I have no desire to run a 5e game so I am always pulling the table into a new direction to try out different systems.  Some of them work for our table.  Some don't. SotDL worked for the table.  Things I like about it.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The rules are 5e adjacent enough that everyone was able to pick up the system super fast.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Initiative.  Players go first.  Monster stats anticipate this.  No rolls for initiative.  Just jump in and start the fight.  I dislike waiting for initiative rolls and discussions around who wins ties.  Get me to the combat!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The modular character class system allowed everyone to tailor their character on the fly as they level.   So much for flexible than 5e.  All of the characters were effective within their area of expertise.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I generally kept it theater of the mind as I'm a lazy dm, but for a couple of the big battles I did break out mini's that we use for D&D.  Game worked well in either mode.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">After about 5 or 6 games I had a good feel for the monster builds and could easily customize them w/o even needing to crack the bestiary.  I typically just read it for inspiration pulling interesting powers out as needed.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The random magic item table was great.  There were a few duds, but for the most part some interesting items came out, some of which ended up being character defining.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As a GM I found SotDL very simple to run and prepare for, which is key for me.  I do not find that the case for 5e after the first few levels.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I used modules for the first two adventures.  After that I found SotDL straight forward enough I built out my own sandbox from there.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Anecdotally, the players asked me to run the game as an Evil Player campaign.  The first few games characters were on the high speed train to corruptionville.  Surprisingly most of them started acting all heroic once they saw how corrupt the world was despite their attempts to be the bad guys.  Was a fun way to play in the setting.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Taking inspiration from Bloodborne as the characters gained insanity points they started to see corruption in the world others could not.   The higher the insanity the more they got clues.  This gave the players incentive to keep some insanity instead of trying to purge it on first contact.</li> </ul>The game I ran was in the default setting.  After finishing the campaign I would suggest it would be super easy to use the same system for just about any fantasy or steampunk setting.   Drop the horror and sanity checks and a few of the schools of magic and you have the basic D&D like chassis.  I will agree with vince's comment that there are some juvenile aspects to both the setting, magic and a some of the random tables.   Easy enough to purge those from your game if so desired by the table IMO.  Just like with D&D if not running steampunk drop the Warforged like ancestry, guns and bombs.  Done.My overall opinion, if you want a lighter D&D rules feeling that is easier to GM it is worth the investment.</blockquote>

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