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lowkey13
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Flexor the Mighty!
18/100 Strength!
Been playing D&D since the Elmore cover Red Box in the early 80's. I like the D&D ism's and the feel though I haven't stuck with every edition. BECMI>1e>2e>1e>3e>C&C>3.5>OSR clone>5e
AaronOfBarbaria
Adventurer
I voted that I came from OSR/1e/2e, since the last versions of D&D that I felt good running and wasn't just doing it because I had players that requested it of me were 2e, BECM, and the Swords & Wizardry and Adventurer, Conquerer, King retro-clones.
I play 5e for some pretty simple reasons: I can get out of it what I got out of 2e or BECM as a DM (I can just sit down at the table with zero prep, and run a campaign with full confidence that it will be enjoyable), and my players can get the feel they like from the game without having to deal with the elements of TSR-era D&D that they dislike (namely racial class and level restrictions and super-harsh special effects like level drain)
D&D isn't the only game we play, though. It is the only one that is focused on pseudo-historical fantasy that we play for more than a one-off here and there (since we love Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, so long as we don't try use that for a campaign).
I play 5e for some pretty simple reasons: I can get out of it what I got out of 2e or BECM as a DM (I can just sit down at the table with zero prep, and run a campaign with full confidence that it will be enjoyable), and my players can get the feel they like from the game without having to deal with the elements of TSR-era D&D that they dislike (namely racial class and level restrictions and super-harsh special effects like level drain)
D&D isn't the only game we play, though. It is the only one that is focused on pseudo-historical fantasy that we play for more than a one-off here and there (since we love Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, so long as we don't try use that for a campaign).
Agamon
Adventurer
The system I "came from" is tough to nail down. Literally, it was ACKS (or OSR in the poll), as that was the D&D-style system I was running before I started my 5e game. But I did play 4e and PF (not a lot, but they were played in the time after 5e was first announced).
As for why 5e, I agree with the OP. It hits the sweet spot of the old school games I played in the 80's and the progress made in games mechanics since then.
As for why 5e, I agree with the OP. It hits the sweet spot of the old school games I played in the 80's and the progress made in games mechanics since then.
I've played since AD&D 2nd edition first came out, and probably still think that's the most fun to play. I did play 3/3.5, but felt like the some of the charm was lost. It was more effective in ways, and obviously designed with better conversion for computer games with the way it handled math. But between the futile attempt at trying to overly balance the system and the *very* spotty situation with 3rd party material quality, it didn't really stand out to me as all that great. Pathfinder was more of the same.
One thing that's also worth noting, for my perspective anyway, is the shift in community that happened during 3/3.5. Back in the TSR days, there wasn't really a huge push for people to try and min/max the system too much because it just wasn't meant to be "balanced" like that. Furthermore, coming up with options for min/maxing or even just character ideas, was largely the result of normal socializing with your close friends and maybe some guys at the gaming store. Everyone probably heard of someone who knew a guy that knew a guy running around with a -10AC Holy Avenger Paladin who supposedly rolled all 18's or something, but those were as good as urban legends.
When WotC took over, the internet was really starting to explode. So not only did you have a system ripe for exploiting rules and feats and items and class combinations, but you had a massive stage to disseminate that information. And it's gotten better/worse ever sense.
I feel kind of sorry for people that want to get into the game, and start looking up "character builds" like it's an MMO or Skyrim. I understand that's where they are coming from, but so much complaining really stems from things like totally min/maxed characters setting the bar for class balance in a vacuum. Like my party has a ranger who's doing good damage. We don't really track and compare totals or anything, so I can't say he's on top or bottom or wherever, but he's happy with the character and feels like the theme is really cool and he has an important role in the party and story. Same thing with really everyone else, to be honest. But on the weekends where we get a new player or someone hanging out who normally plays adventure league or runs with hobby shop games, the dynamics of the group really change for the worse. It's like this sudden focus on efficiency above everything else, including roleplay.
So although I currently play 5e, and will continue to do so for a quite a while (it's a fun system), I do very much feel like the best years have long passed because of how the community has and communication has shifted the focus *away* from the roleplaying aspect.
One thing that's also worth noting, for my perspective anyway, is the shift in community that happened during 3/3.5. Back in the TSR days, there wasn't really a huge push for people to try and min/max the system too much because it just wasn't meant to be "balanced" like that. Furthermore, coming up with options for min/maxing or even just character ideas, was largely the result of normal socializing with your close friends and maybe some guys at the gaming store. Everyone probably heard of someone who knew a guy that knew a guy running around with a -10AC Holy Avenger Paladin who supposedly rolled all 18's or something, but those were as good as urban legends.
When WotC took over, the internet was really starting to explode. So not only did you have a system ripe for exploiting rules and feats and items and class combinations, but you had a massive stage to disseminate that information. And it's gotten better/worse ever sense.
I feel kind of sorry for people that want to get into the game, and start looking up "character builds" like it's an MMO or Skyrim. I understand that's where they are coming from, but so much complaining really stems from things like totally min/maxed characters setting the bar for class balance in a vacuum. Like my party has a ranger who's doing good damage. We don't really track and compare totals or anything, so I can't say he's on top or bottom or wherever, but he's happy with the character and feels like the theme is really cool and he has an important role in the party and story. Same thing with really everyone else, to be honest. But on the weekends where we get a new player or someone hanging out who normally plays adventure league or runs with hobby shop games, the dynamics of the group really change for the worse. It's like this sudden focus on efficiency above everything else, including roleplay.
So although I currently play 5e, and will continue to do so for a quite a while (it's a fun system), I do very much feel like the best years have long passed because of how the community has and communication has shifted the focus *away* from the roleplaying aspect.
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lowkey13
Guest
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TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
All of the above?
Started with 2nd, moved to 3e, then 3.5. Played lots of 4e and PF with different groups, now have moved onto 5e. Several other TTRPGs in there, as well as a few MMOs. In general, I tend to play what's popular with my group. Although 4e is my favorite, with 5e and PF slightly less so, I take a certain amount of pride in being able to look at any game and see what I need to do to make that game enjoyable. (An ability that has become much more finely honed thanks to discussions in this forum, I might add.)
Started with 2nd, moved to 3e, then 3.5. Played lots of 4e and PF with different groups, now have moved onto 5e. Several other TTRPGs in there, as well as a few MMOs. In general, I tend to play what's popular with my group. Although 4e is my favorite, with 5e and PF slightly less so, I take a certain amount of pride in being able to look at any game and see what I need to do to make that game enjoyable. (An ability that has become much more finely honed thanks to discussions in this forum, I might add.)
Like Flexor, I've been playing since the red box BECMI days. I've probably read or tinkered with a majority of the systems that came out in the 80's and 90's -- though that may be an exaggeration, depending on how you count minor/fringe RPGs I may not have heard of -- so depending on how you count, I either came from "BECMI D&D" or "everywhere". I dropped out after 3.5/Pathfinder just as 4e came out -- not so much because of any problem with 4e, but I went back to law school and didn't have the time or the social network to permit me to play D&D.
Fast forwarding a few years: last year I realized I was in a relatively stable position geographically and career-wise, and started putting out feelers among my gamer friends to see who would be interested in playing D&D. This was just prior to the release of 5e, so I figured I'd wait and start up the new game using 5e. I picked 5e mostly because it was new, but also because of name recognition -- lots of people recognize Pathfinder and D&D, but outside of gamer circles, fewer people know what you're talking about if you mention 13th Age or Aberrant.
Fast forwarding a few years: last year I realized I was in a relatively stable position geographically and career-wise, and started putting out feelers among my gamer friends to see who would be interested in playing D&D. This was just prior to the release of 5e, so I figured I'd wait and start up the new game using 5e. I picked 5e mostly because it was new, but also because of name recognition -- lots of people recognize Pathfinder and D&D, but outside of gamer circles, fewer people know what you're talking about if you mention 13th Age or Aberrant.
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