Other D&D Variant What is your favorite version of D&D offshoot/D20 fantasy today? Tell us why it is the best!

[jdrakeh]

Hyperborea is an idealized, functional, re-imagining of AD&D 1e, complete with a built-in setting that drips pulp adventure. It has honestly excited me more than any other D&D offshoot. As soon as I cracked the cover, I immediately wanted to play it. It's absolutely awesome and doesn't get enough love, in my opinion.

Coming in at a very close second for me is Level Up: Advanced 5e. It makes a lot of changes to the core of D&D 5e, but they're all very good changes. Where things like Tales of the Valiant also make changes to the core of D&D 5e, they aren't particularly changes that I care for (they either go too far or not far enough for me). Level Up does it right.

 

[daddystabz]

I own the 2e for Hyperborea, Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, and the 3e Hyperborea. Al though it is pretty good overall, my players did not enjoy nearly as much as I did. They are not as into the AD&D-type mechanics.

I prefer Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic + for barbaric fantasy/sword & sorcery. It is one of my fave games ever.

 

[TwoSix]

Shadow of the Weird Wizard is easily my favorite. Similar crunch levels to 5e but with so much less friction.

 

[Hex08]

For a long time it was Pathfinder 1E but over the past few years it's Castles & Crusades. It feels like AD&D 1E & 2E but is really simple to run and converting old AD&D adventures on the fly is super easy.

 

[fettpett]

Tales of the Valiant 100%. I'd love to play some of the other games but generally don't have the time, but all my games are moving towards ToV

 

[kronovan]

There's a number I like such as 13th Age, Adv OSE, DCC and I've recently discovering Tales of the Valient and PF2e and are liking both. Out of those if I had to chose 1, it'd be 13th Age. It's like a perfected D&D 4e and with a setting that's detailed enough in lore to create a dozen-or-so Icons, it really sings. I enjoy the more narrative play of using backgrounds instead of skills, which I started to apply to Occupations in DCC, before I put the latter on pause. Played with Midgard World, Glorantha or its default setting of the Dragon Kingdoms, 13 Age is really fun to run and play.

[Edit] Almost forgot, but for more than a decade I've been running games with True20, which is a derivitive of D&D 3e. Albeit it's a significant departure from it and IMO a much improved one. I still occasionaly run it when I have a 3e or PF1e adventure I want to run, but don't want to use the intended system.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I am very curious about the various D&D/D20 fantasy alternatives/derivatives/adjacent games out there that are pretty popular right now. I even own several. I am wondering which is your personal favorite? Convince the rest of us why your favorite is the best!

Examples include:

DC20
Nimble
Draw Steel
Daggerheart
Old School Essentials
Shadowdark
The Cosmere RPG
D&D 5e (2014)
D&D 5e (2025)
Pathfinder 2e
Tales of the Valiant
Level Up A5E
13th. Age 2e
Shadow of the Demon Lord
Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Grimwild
Castles & Crusades
Dragonbane*
Legend in the Mist*

Adding the * games to the list as well, despite them not being D&D or d20 derivative, because they seem like close competitors to these other games, and are in a similar thematic space.

Level Up all the way, though I also enjoy Shadowdark a good deal (mostly for different reasons). I really enjoy A5e's attention to detail and additional subsystems, like the origin system and all the attention put into the exploration pillar. Miles ahead of WotC D&D IMO.

 

[ghenxx]

Mainline D&D is dead to me now. If I need a rules heavy system with an advantage/disadvantage system in combat then I'll use Tales of the Valiant.

If I want something that fits the core fantasy vibe of D&D but with more focus on roleplay than rules I'll use Daggerheart.

DC20, Draw Steel, Levelup 5e, Pathfinder - all too many rules. They went overboard and it slows the game down. They're great games, but just not for me. I'd recommend them for wargamers rather than roleplayers.

Cosmere - I read the book, and I like the concept, but I'd have to play in a game to actually get an opinion on where it sits in the list.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Dungeon Crawl Classics would've been my immediate answer but I'm still trying to figure out their whole biz with the Invincible Overlord crowdfund... DCC is perfect for Sword & Sorcery, but Shadowdark's like its gritter, less funkadelic counterpart.

That about sums up my feelings as well. DCC is Jack Vance's Cugel the Clever and Shadowdark is REH's Red Nails. I dearly loved DCC until the whole CSIO mess and am still sorting through my feelings, while Shadowdark is a strong newcomer.

 

[mamba]

Shadow of the Weird Wizard / Demon Lord when it comes to the wider 5e landscape, Tales of the Valiant when it comes to the ‘clones’