Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
I have issues with 5E. Of the somewhat limited amount I've played it was definitely... not challenging. The DM of one campaign even admitted at one point that he was throwing stuff at us that was WILDLY beyond what our characters were supposed to be able to handle and we weren't even breathing hard at the end of it. We DID, strangely, end up with a TPK encounter because there was an effect (charm of some kind IIRC) that hit everyone and NOBODY made a save, but I think that was a complete freak of odds and probably couldn't be replicated if we tried. But a set of rules that gets to the point where the DM is just blowing the lid off the safety caps and the PC's aren't breaking a sweat, and that happens in TWO different campaigns, sure suggest to me that 5E is not what I want out of D&D. I mean I don't HATE it. In fact, despite the noted concerns I have enjoyed playing it. But from day 1 that it came down the road it has also failed to really get me interested and excited to run IT, as opposed to some other edition or even a different game entirely.
And NO, I don't want to go tweaking it a dozen ways from Sunday. I've done that with other editions and I have come to greatly dislike it. I spent many years house ruling 1E until it was just right - but then I have to hand players 60 pages of house rules so that they know what the hell the rules they're playing under really are. The PH became largely a paperweight and I myself keep forgetting how I decided to change things because I'd changed so much, and changed it again, and then again, and then changed a bunch of other stuff trying to improve things. And it DID improve, but it was freakin' exhausting and STILL had problems I wanted to solve that I simply had to ignore anyway.
It took me a couple of years to REALLY learn 3E to the point where I felt I understood it and where I needed to make changes to THAT system. And decided that the amount of work THAT was taking wasn't ultimately worth it either. 5E I've never run as a DM and still don't really want to because my experience with it as a player leaves something to be desired and I feel like it would be the same cycle of a heavy period of in-depth analysis of what it REALLY was about it that I liked or dislike, and then another period of TOO MANY CHANGES.
I don't want to change 5E to be more like 1E. If I wanted 1E I'd f'n PLAY 1E. And if 5E itself wants so bad to be more like 1E - wtf isn't it more like 1E? But I'm feeling like I don't even want to play 1E anymore because it has too many issues that need fixing. I sure as hell don't want to play 5E if it's just going to be one big supplement after the other coming along and changing rules and classes and unbalancing things just when I'm starting to get a grip on how to make it really work well. As a DM, I NEED STABILITY in the rules.
The most interesting concept regarding D&D rules I've seen in the last decade has been E6 for 3E. I still haven't managed to get a game of that going but I'm pretty dang sure it'll be the next campaign I run. I think I can run that - with MINIMAL changes not just out of the box but in keeping it going forward - and be content that the bulk of my concerns have been met. I sure hope so, because otherwise I may be waiting for 6E...
And NO, I don't want to go tweaking it a dozen ways from Sunday. I've done that with other editions and I have come to greatly dislike it. I spent many years house ruling 1E until it was just right - but then I have to hand players 60 pages of house rules so that they know what the hell the rules they're playing under really are. The PH became largely a paperweight and I myself keep forgetting how I decided to change things because I'd changed so much, and changed it again, and then again, and then changed a bunch of other stuff trying to improve things. And it DID improve, but it was freakin' exhausting and STILL had problems I wanted to solve that I simply had to ignore anyway.
It took me a couple of years to REALLY learn 3E to the point where I felt I understood it and where I needed to make changes to THAT system. And decided that the amount of work THAT was taking wasn't ultimately worth it either. 5E I've never run as a DM and still don't really want to because my experience with it as a player leaves something to be desired and I feel like it would be the same cycle of a heavy period of in-depth analysis of what it REALLY was about it that I liked or dislike, and then another period of TOO MANY CHANGES.
I don't want to change 5E to be more like 1E. If I wanted 1E I'd f'n PLAY 1E. And if 5E itself wants so bad to be more like 1E - wtf isn't it more like 1E? But I'm feeling like I don't even want to play 1E anymore because it has too many issues that need fixing. I sure as hell don't want to play 5E if it's just going to be one big supplement after the other coming along and changing rules and classes and unbalancing things just when I'm starting to get a grip on how to make it really work well. As a DM, I NEED STABILITY in the rules.
The most interesting concept regarding D&D rules I've seen in the last decade has been E6 for 3E. I still haven't managed to get a game of that going but I'm pretty dang sure it'll be the next campaign I run. I think I can run that - with MINIMAL changes not just out of the box but in keeping it going forward - and be content that the bulk of my concerns have been met. I sure hope so, because otherwise I may be waiting for 6E...