D&D 5E Which 5e Should I Propose to My Group? [Updated]

[Micah Sweet]

Yeah, and no problem. For me, Shadowdark is the objectively correct level.

@Remathilis point remains however, LU is a more complex 5e.

And if they had just said that, and not claimed that it was like Pathfinder, I would have had no reason to comment.

 

[Scribe]

Why is the go-to crunchy game Pathfinder?

Because its the most known/exposed system that is current, and more complex than 5e? I doubt its nefarious, Pathfinder (especially 1) is awesome.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Because its the most known/exposed system that is current, and more complex than 5e? I doubt its nefarious, Pathfinder (especially 1) is awesome.

1 was allright (I liked 3e well enough), but 2 feels like they decided to make a different game.

 

[Scribe]

1 was allright (I liked 3e well enough), but 2 feels like they decided to make a different game.

It certainly is, I tried to like it a few times, didnt stick.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, and no problem. For me, Shadowdark is the objectively correct level.

@Remathilis point remains however, LU is a more complex 5e.

Which was basically my point.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Update:
We went with Level Up: Advanced 5E, with the option for players to use 2014 if they were more comfortable with that - or if the options weren't available in LU (such as many of the Eberron-specific options).
The campaign lasted about 3 months before it ended with an unceremonious TPK. I had high hopes, but alas, it was not meant to be.

Here are some issues we had, specific to Level Up.

1. I was the only person who owned the books, so no one really got familiar with how their abilities worked (despite my having shared the online tools with them.)
2. The massive book was difficult to navigate and just ... handle. One of the players repeatedly dropped my copy. (Multiple times a session.) [On the plus side, it's only a little scuffed - whereas a WotC book would be disintegrated.]
3. It's not really "compatible" as I understand compatibility to be. Trying to go from different versions of D&D (2014, Level Up, Flee Mortals, and OAR's converted B/X adventures) was just a mess.
4. If you're going to run B/X converted adventures, you better use characters designed to be thrown away. There's way too much time sink required to make characters in Level Up.

Can you describe the TPK for us?
Like:
What was the party composition?
What enemies were used?
What happened in the battle to tip the balance towards TPK?

Thanks!