D&D (2024) Why are you still playing D&D?

[EzekielRaiden]

Convenience, pure and simple. Well, that and having joined a group that chooses to play it. I would not depart that group even if I did find a new group playing 4e, unless I really, really couldn't justify the time spent on that group, because the offer to join it was very kind, and the people in it have been nothing but respectful and supportive.

 

[AlViking]

Then please explain 4e to me. I don't recall everyone adopting that and abandoning the previous edition.

4e was a significantly different game in approach in style than what came before it or what has come after. With every other edition it was a slow evolution of the rules along with attempts to clean up the system along with clarifying the rules. While the effectiveness of that varied the core structures were familiar. With 4E they kept a lot of the cosmetics the same but rewrote fundamental portions of the game. It wasn't necessarily a bad game but it didn't feel like the same game. The 2024 version feels like the same game with some cleanup and modifications like every other version change.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

At a certain point I'm pretty sure it will switch over. There's no reason to rush into a new edition but as people wrap up new campaigns and more importantly as newbies join we'll likely see a shift. I'm not surprised if there was no rush to embrace the new even if we did because the rules needed a bit of cleanup but in the long run there's not a lot of reason to stick to the old for a lot of people.

This is part of why I say I don't believe 5.5e has anything more than about 6, maaaaybe 7 years in it.

Some of it is just "why should I bother". Some of it is "I don't like the changes."

But I think the biggest thing is that 5.5e is mostly, but not entirely, "more of the same" while calling attention to parts of "the same" that maybe didn't work as well as people had hoped. Its existence means the honeymoon has mostly worn off, and the fact that it's the same but different but the same means people will be thinking about the differences and also asking, "Well...what would I do differently?"

Between that and just...the system being old at that point, 15+ years is a LONG time for a system, any system, especially one with the, let's say "particular" things 5e contains. 1e->2e managed to make a mostly-the-same system last for a whopping 25 years, and much of that was simply because the internet didn't exist. In our modern, hyperconnected age, I don't think a single edition of D&D will ever last more than 15 years in most cases, and 20 years at absolute maximum. That's enough time for a new generation of designers, a new generation of fans, and both of those wanting change.

 

[AlViking]

I enjoy the game, the stories we tell, the characters and the settings I've established. The rules work well enough for what we want out of play so I see no reason to go with a different system. If I wanted to do space fantasy or modern fantasy I'd consider changing but I'm not there yet.

 

[TheSword]

Then please explain 4e to me. I don't recall everyone adopting that and abandoning the previous edition.

New players did start 4e in droves by all accounts. But it was too radical for its time and Paizo was also offering a living system, full of new products, adventurers and great support so they lost the existing players.

5.0 isn’t going to receive support from WoTC any more, it’s 2024 all the way.

 

[payn]

This is part of why I say I don't believe 5.5e has anything more than about 6, maaaaybe 7 years in it.

Some of it is just "why should I bother". Some of it is "I don't like the changes."

But I think the biggest thing is that 5.5e is mostly, but not entirely, "more of the same" while calling attention to parts of "the same" that maybe didn't work as well as people had hoped. Its existence means the honeymoon has mostly worn off, and the fact that it's the same but different but the same means people will be thinking about the differences and also asking, "Well...what would I do differently?"

Between that and just...the system being old at that point, 15+ years is a LONG time for a system, any system, especially one with the, let's say "particular" things 5e contains. 1e->2e managed to make a mostly-the-same system last for a whopping 25 years, and much of that was simply because the internet didn't exist. In our modern, hyperconnected age, I don't think a single edition of D&D will ever last more than 15 years in most cases, and 20 years at absolute maximum. That's enough time for a new generation of designers, a new generation of fans, and both of those wanting change.

Im waiting on the VTT to see its impact. I think the wheel might be broken and we get an edition that lasts 20+ years with occasional refresh. There are a few things WotC needs to figure out with adventures and settings too, but I think they might get it.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Im waiting on the VTT to see its impact. I think the wheel might be broken and we get an edition that lasts 20+ years with occasional refresh. There are a few things WotC needs to figure out with adventures and settings too, but I think they might get it.

I've heard "evergreen" three times in the past 15 years. All three times were false. I don't expect this pattern to change any time soon.

I'll believe it when (...if) we get to, say, January 2032 without any meaningful sign of playtest stuff.

 

[payn]

I've heard "evergreen" three times in the past 15 years. All three times were false. I don't expect this pattern to change any time soon.

I'll believe it when (...if) we get to, say, January 2032 without any meaningful sign of playtest stuff.

Just another hurdle. I remember too, when 5E was destined for failure in 2 years tops and would mothball the entire brand.

 

[Professor Murder]

I went with "familiarity and convenience" but honestly the answer is too nuanced for any of the choices to work, especially with only being allowed to choose two.
To put it bluntly: DnD is a good system, in that it is able to do what I want it to at the table. Are there better ones? Sure, in specific ways. But there is no perfect system, either platonically or for me specifically. DnD gets enough right that forsaking it for another to run the games that I use it for would be a large investment of labour on my part for at best a marginal improvement.

 

[Micah Sweet]

4e was a significantly different game in approach in style than what came before it or what has come after. With every other edition it was a slow evolution of the rules along with attempts to clean up the system along with clarifying the rules. While the effectiveness of that varied the core structures were familiar. With 4E they kept a lot of the cosmetics the same but rewrote fundamental portions of the game. It wasn't necessarily a bad game but it didn't feel like the same game. The 2024 version feels like the same game with some cleanup and modifications like every other version change.

YMMV. Rhere are definitely folks for whom 5.5's changes make it feel like a different game, even if the rules are quite similar. It all depends on what matters to you and how much.