D&D 5E Why do you play 5e? What game did you come from?

[Artifact]

So it's sort of a two-parter (tied into the poll question). Why do you play 5e? And what system did you come from?

I enjoy following the lore of D&D, from game to game, from system to system even.

I enjoy seeing how some things stay the same while others are re-imagined or clarified. Such as the Simbul (from Forgotten Realms) being revealed as a sorcerer (in 3e). Or, that names like Vecna are recognizable as D&D (no matter what setting I might be playing). That sorta thing.

One reason I play 5e is to 'stay in the loop' (as it were), so I don't miss out on anything.

I started with BECM, then on to 2e, 3e, 4e, and 5e. I have little to no XP with 1e or Original D&D.

Oh, and for me, 4e is sorta like Ultimate Comics vs. regular Marvel Universe . 'Re-imagined' vs. 'traditional' D&D. I still play both 4e and 5e, for different reasons.

 

[OB1]

Spiritually, I'd say I'm from 2e though I started with 1e for a year or two. I still have my old books and would definitely play in a 2e game that someone else was DMing. Played 3.5 for about a year and then took an extended rest from the game.

I got interested in D&D again thanks to the excellent Critical Hit podcast from Major Spoilers (which is a 4e game that unfortunately didn't switch over to 5e) but it was the Next Playtest that got me playing and DMing again and at 40 years old I now find myself as hooked as I was in 1989.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Talmek]

I started with 3e, moved to 3.5, spent some time with Pathfinder, played in a couple of campaigns in 4e, and now I'm here. While there are a number of systems outside D&D that I would like to play more regularly (Trail of Cthulu, 13th Age) it's really the easiest system to find new players. Since I prefer my games to be face to face, that really limits the systems I play to the most popular. Right now...that's 5e.

 

[RadioKen]

I didn't vote because I haven't so much migrated to 5e as annexed it to my D&D empire. I play 5e about once a month, but I'm playing and running 4e more frequently, and I have a White Box OD&D dungeon waiting in the wings for a willing group and a time slot. (The most-likely for both is a group just starting a short nWoD Mage campaign, but we've also got an OVA game on deck there, and I'm not sure the players really want a logistics-centric dungeon crawl).

So why am I playing 5e? I want to give it a chance. I've run a few sessions with different groups, wasn't repelled by the system, and now I get to experience it from the other side of the screen. Time will tell whether it becomes a regular game for me or just another core set in the collection.

 

[Tony Vargas]

This poll could have done with being multiple choice. I've played each ed of D&D from 1980 Basic Set (not the famed Red Box), to both eds of AD&D, to 3.0 and 3.5, to 4e and Essentials, to 5e. /And/ I've been heavily into other games including Hero System and Storyteller, among many others. So the first 4 answers all sound right to me...

Why do you play 5e?

I run 5e because I want to support D&D, the game that brought me into the hobby, and that is still the poster-boy for the entire industry. I love the game, and want it to do well.

As a player, I'm more likely to play 3.5 (MC/Fighter or Sorcerer concept build) or 4e (prettymuch anything that's not a striker), or 1e (or 1e Gamma World!) for nostalgia - or something other than D&D (13th Age, Hero, FATE, oWoD Storyteller if I can find it, &c) for variety.

 

[shadowmane]

I started in good ole 1E in 1992. I never played as a teenager, when I would have really enjoyed it to the max. I was introduced to it in college. However, WEG Star Wars and FASA Star Trek captured the bulk of my time between college and about 2001 when I got married. When my youngest son turned 5, I wanted to introduce him and his two older brothers to roleplaying, so I looked around and settled on Basic Fantasy RPG by Chris Gonnerman. It was simple and easy to DM, so I didn't have to learn a lot of extra stuff. I joined the playtest for 5E, but never really actually got to playtest it. Finally, I found a buddy who owns a collectables store who hosted a game every Thursday night. I found out they were playing the new D&D, so I've been playing since then. That was last October.

So I guess my progression would be 1E ---> OSR ---> 5E

As of yet, I haven't introduced the boys to 5E yet.

 

[Onussen]

I started as a kid with the Holme's blue book ( in 1978) which is its own sort of D&D. Then the OD&D for about 6 months until the AD&D Player's Handbook released. Then my group went all in to AD&D, although we had to mix and match for a while until the DMG game out. Stopped playing in the mid-90's, but started again last year with 5e. It's been much fun. Interesting to note how the game has evolved/changed.

 

[Celtavian]

I play 5E because the of the simplicity of the rule set. That's the only reason. If I was younger with more energy and time, I doubt 5E would hold my interest for long.

I still prefer 3/5/Pathfinder as a game. It's far too complex, bloated, and hard to run at the moment. I wish the Pathfinder team would take a page out of the D&D book and simplify their game with a new edition. I'd probably go back to Pathfinder if they did. 5E is missing a lot of stuff I like. I'm finding 5E to be a game that is running out of steam as far as my interest goes. Everything is so simple that best strategies seem to rinse-repeat strategy. 5E is not a very interesting game mechanically.

I'm still buying Pathfinder adventures. I find the adventures WotC is producing so far to be boring and uninspired. I'm hoping Out of the Abyss is better than the last two.

 

[Pandamonium87]

2e -> 3e -> 3.5e -> PFRPG -> 5e

I tried 4e for a short period of time, but I didn't like it, so I switched to Pathfinder. After the Advanced Player's Guide I knew that the number of splatbooks would turn the game into a new 3.5 situation so as soon as 5th edition came out I quickly switched to that and now I am a very happy GM/Player. 5th Edition rules allow me to build my adventures without having to spend 2 hours on understanding combat stats. The rules are simpler and the sessions run smoothly.