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

[AK81]

I am a pretty big fan of the base mechanics. I love the d20 vs DC, it's easy and fun and Nat 20's feel great, while nat 1's feels like a punch in the gut!

Also I love the tropes. I love the classic archetypes. The noble Paladin in shining armor, the sneaky rogue, and the book smart wizard, and so on.

I also love the monster tropes. And the fight between good and evil. Plus it all reminds me of the fantasy books I read and loved in my teens.

 

[SteveC]

For me, it's why my group wants to play right now. We just finished a Feng Shui game, and one of the GMs wanted to pick up our 5E game, so we're back at it. Before that we played a Daggerheart game. What comes next? Don't know.

We aren't using 5.5E and I expect we won't even touch it until we start a new campaign.

 

[AlViking]

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.

If we say that the 2024 rules changed 20% then 4e changed 80-90%. There was very little traditional D&D left in 4e and most of the things that were left have been broadly adopted by any number of other games. I don't know how many people will switch and don't really care but 4e was a radical change while the 2024 rules are part of an ongoing evolution.

 

[Clint_L]

I will also add that D&D has the brand recognition. Kids will sign up for D&D Club at school. If I change it to Pathfinder Club, I'm going to get a whole different crowd. Or people wondering why we aren't playing D&D.

I will always use the current edition for D&D Club because I feel like it would be a disservice to the kids to do otherwise. The idea is for them to learn enough to start or find their own games, and the current edition is always the most accessible. I encourage them to try other games, and every now and then run a Dread one-shot, but once they have the bug, they inevitably start branching out on their own anyway. The current edition of D&D is the obvious entry point, though.

I had one kid who got into 5e, then went back and found all her dad's AD&D books and started a 1e campaign. I loved it!

 

[Imaro]

One factor I haven't seen mentioned here so I'll mention it is the ease and use of D&D Beyond. I know, at least on this forum, it's cool to predict the doom of the game around these tools but DnDBeyond is a game changer. My players have a much easier time managing and leveling up their characters as opposed to using a stack of books, paper sheets and pencils (not to mention they can do it outside of game time since they need less assistance). I and the other DM enjoy being able to build out encounters using Maps (or the legacy tool if sticking with 2014). We can run and track our encounters from our tablets without opening a single book but Maps and the legacy tool are flexible enough that we decide how much we want to integrate it into our games. As an example I mostly use it for stats/hp tracking and keeping initiative order but we still play around the table with physical dice and physical miniatures/maps. On top of all that, with one DM tier sub I can grant my players access to any books I may own and they don't for a campaign. I wish other ttrpg's we play had something like this.

 

[Mistborn]

For me, it's a matter of sentiment. I go back to D&D every few years. This time the reason is the new rules and the desire to run a campaign from 1 to 20 levels. Then I disappear again for a few years, I want to run Imperium Maledictum, Arkham Horror RPG and Pathfinder for Savage Worlds (Curse of the Crimson Throne).

 

[The Soloist]

If I had only played D&D, I would not have played Star Frontiers, Toons, Traveller, Dragonquest 2e, Call of Cthulhu, GURPS and many more RPGs in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

It's not that hard to learn a new game system. You don't have to get everything right the first session, and your players can and should help you. We learn RPGs together as we play. It's exactly what we did when we first played D&D. No one knew how to play the game.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Tried to get new players for Cyberpunk. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for Shadowdark. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for AD&D. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for Vampire the Masquerade. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for The One Ring. No one applies.

Tried to get new players for D&D 5.5E. 2 messages within a few hours.

That's why.

Also despite the massive bloat, it's easy to learn. Which is why Shadowdark is better. Trims off all that bloat.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I'd rather be playing 1E, 2E, or 3E - but those are editions nobody else around me will run. They're all more familiar with 5E and VTT's, so it's kinda the only game in town if I want to be a player. Wanting to DM the editions I prefer will seemingly now require learning to run a game on a VTT, which for playing 5E I find is a significant barrier to a smooth-running game.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Tried to get new players for Cyberpunk. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for Shadowdark. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for AD&D. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for Vampire the Masquerade. No one applies.
Tried to get new players for The One Ring. No one applies.

Tried to get new players for D&D 5.5E. 2 messages within a few hours.

That's why.

Also despite the massive bloat, it's easy to learn. Which is why Shadowdark is better. Trims off all that bloat.

You running on line? I'll play any of those games.