D&D General Would You Play High Level (12-15);Wiith Pre Generated Characters? Mostly 5.0/5.5 but theoretically any edition.

[Smarmot]

You could perhaps get your desired result by putting these restrictions on character generation:
1) No Multiclassing
2) PHB only
3) DM assigns items

 

[haakon1]

Do you might find that 1 in ten player being generous) who will do something else. You need to find another two or 3. And hope not D&D they won't to play is what the others want to play.

I’m involved with 4 groups (2 as DM, 2 as a player).

3 of the groups play D&D 3.5e, the last 5e 2024 (switched from 2014 on Saturday).

Maybe the difference is in how players are recruited? I’ll tell how my groups were recruited.

Group 1 (I’m the DM, on email, going since 1998): 2 players I worked with (last of the 1998 originals, now married to each other), 1 player I gamed with in college who heard about the game and asked to join at our 15th college reunion (2006), 2 people I met playing 5e in GenCon Online (2020) and asked (they are also a married couple). Players and I live in 4 different states. Everyone has played multiple editions and likes 3.5e (for itself or as close to AD&D).

Group 2 (I’m the DM, spun off on email in 2025 from the 1998 campaign): 1 player who was my wife’s college friend and is now my Xbox and chatting about baseball everyday friend, 1 player who is his best friend from college, 1 player who I met when his wife was my coworker and who played in an earlier campaign I ran in 3.5e, 1 player who was my coworker when we became friends, 1 player who is my sister-in-law. Players and I live in 4 different states. Only one has played a different edition, only two have had DM’s other me. Unless we count BG3, which all of them have played - one is often confused when things aren’t like BG3.

Group 3 (my niece is DM, on Zoom): her parents, brother, my wife and I, and the same sister-in-law from campaign #2. Her dad and I have played everything from AD&D on, she has played 3.5e & 5e, while the others have only has me of my niece as DM and only 3.5e. Everyone but her mom and my wife has played BG3. We live in 2 states (3 metro areas).

Group 4 (Ron is the DM, 5e on Discord, with Roll 20 + D&D Beyond): 1 player he went to high school with, me who was recruited by classified at work in 2001 (Ron taught me 3e & 4e), another player from my job who joined before I did, and 2 guys I don’t know except in gaming. We live in 2 states (where Ron was born and returned to, and where he was in 2001) and we’ve all played multiple editions. Ron’s game is currently Star Wars themed Ravenloft. Did I expect that? No. Do I complain? Also no.

It's easier to form a D&D group hope they're reliable then see if they want to do something else occasionally.

I haven’t formed a non-D&D group since about 1994. But non-current editions? I was only using the current one from 2001-2007.

Said books are often similar in price to a meal for 2 a drink or two and dessert.

I have a stash of enough 3.5e PHB’s to go around for live play.

For Ron’s 5e game, we use D&D Beyond. I haven’t bought 2024 physical books.

 

[the Jester]

As a one-shot or limited run, sure.

For a regular long term campaign, I'd probably decline- I want to make my own character. I am fine with the DM giving me whatever equipment, though.

 

[haakon1]

Because telling a group of 5-6 people who all show up with shiny new 5e books "Actually, we're going to play this game X, which you've never heard of" is a social challenge. Certainly one I've failed in the past.

Maybe tell them you’re playing X before, and give them the books or SRD in session 0?

You know what’s really odd to me, though? With all the talk of “5e is the only thing I can realistically get a group to play” (fair enough, I suppose - if it’s true for you, it’s true for you, though it’s a bit if self-fulfilling prophecy), why are there 4 Daggerheart threads going? I don’t even know what is, but apparently it’s popular to talk about. I’m guessing like everything else, it won’t take much market share from 5e?

 

[Zardnaar]

Maybe tell them you’re playing X before, and give them the books or SRD in session 0?

You know what’s really odd to me, though? With all the talk of “5e is the only thing I can realistically get a group to play” (fair enough, I suppose - if it’s true for you, it’s true for you, though it’s a bit if self-fulfilling prophecy), why are there 4 Daggerheart threads going? I don’t even know what is, but apparently it’s popular to talk about. I’m guessing like everything else, it won’t take much market share from 5e?

4 daggerheart threads is essentially irrelevant. ENworlds also not remotely representative of the real world either.

Sunk costs are another thing. Our group has 4 5.5 phb. They're note going to go and buy 3 books of som rpg they've never heard of.

 

[Koloth]

Yes. Have done it. Fairly common back when there wasn't the big assortment of modules, adventures and such. If someone spent the money to buy a module that needed Level X characters and offered to run with pregens, we played. If we had fun with the characters, we kept them around for later use.