Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > Roleplaying in General

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-15-2018, 05:57 AM   #21
dcarson
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

The opinion of the group I play in was 4th edition wasn't D&D it was an attempt to simulate a MMORPG. Fifth edition was D&D and we'd play if someone wanted to run it but we prefer 3.5 for D&D. We like more skills and more difference in the characters.
dcarson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 07:18 AM   #22
Andrew Hackard
Munchkin Line Editor
 
Andrew Hackard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dcarson View Post
The opinion of the group I play in was 4th edition wasn't D&D it was an attempt to simulate a MMORPG. Fifth edition was D&D and we'd play if someone wanted to run it but we prefer 3.5 for D&D. We like more skills and more difference in the characters.
This is getting very close to a "my game is better" discussion that I would prefer to avoid. People have Strong Feelings about RPGs and we can talk about what we like without also putting down what we don't.

D&D Fourth Edition was indeed Dungeons & Dragons. Look at the cover.
__________________
Andrew Hackard, Munchkin Line Editor
If you have a question that isn't getting answered, we have a thread for that.

Let people like what they like. Don't be a gamer hater.

#PlayMunchkin on social media: Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || YouTube
Follow us on Kickstarter: Steve Jackson Games and Warehouse 23
Andrew Hackard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 07:50 AM   #23
DouglasCole
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
 
DouglasCole's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom H. View Post
I think my ideal system would be some hybrid of D&D 5th Ed. and GURPS.I recently delved more into 5th Edition until I hit a big snag: your character automatically heals all lost HP damage after any long rest.


Now it does appear that Douglas Cole has mended the trivialization of injury in 5th Edition with enhancements added to his compatible and recent Dragon Heresy RPG. Vigor becomes the cliche HP supply, while the separate Wound mechanic adds more gravity.

I haven't played it yet, but Dragon Heresy does appear to creatively put back the grit and tactics into 5th Edition.
Addressing the "your mom kisses you and makes you all better" departure from immersive believability was one of the design goals - thanks for pointing it out!
__________________
My blog:Gaming Ballistic, LLC
My Store: Gaming Ballistic on Shopify
My Patreon: Gaming Ballistic on Patreon
DouglasCole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 08:53 AM   #24
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom H. View Post
I recently delved more into 5th Edition until I hit a big snag: your character automatically heals all lost HP damage after any long rest.
In my experience the bit where you can recover half your Hit Dice after a short rest is more commonly used.

Both actually boil down to "The party recovers relatively quickly when the DM permits". The DM can prevent you from getting either length of rest any time he feels like it. Usually he doesn't as the HP mechanic leads to a "The party stops doing stuff until it gets its' HP back." condition and it is usually in the DM's interest to have the game go on.

The short rest/long rest thing does seem to do away with the "Mandatory Cleric" party role or even the "Mandatoroy Cleric Equivalent" role. That's where you swap out a Fighter and a Cleric for a Paladin and a Druid or something similar.

I do know one gamer of long experience who doesn't liek 5e Clerics after he played one in our Ravenloft game.
__________________
Fred Brackin
Fred Brackin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 09:07 AM   #25
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
In my experience the bit where you can recover half your Hit Dice after a short rest is more commonly used.

Both actually boil down to "The party recovers relatively quickly when the DM permits". The DM can prevent you from getting either length of rest any time he feels like it. Usually, he doesn't as the HP mechanic leads to a "The party stops doing stuff until it gets its' HP back." condition and it is usually in the DM's interest to have the game go on.

The short rest/long rest thing does seem to do away with the "Mandatory Cleric" party role or even the "Mandatory Cleric Equivalent" role. That's where you swap out a Fighter and a Cleric for a Paladin and a Druid or something similar.

I do know one gamer of long experience who doesn't like 5e Clerics after he played one in our Ravenloft game.
If the GM wants the party to heal quickly in any game it happens. It's nice to have a simple mechanic for this.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 12:03 PM   #26
thastygliax
 
thastygliax's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lexington, KY
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

I've been playing D&D since B/X and AD&D (1e), and have played at least a little bit of 1E through 5E. I've played 4E the least because, while it had some interesting innovations, and (as Tom H said) scored high on presentation, it didn't feel enough like previous editions for my taste (so it's the only edition I never DMed). So I stuck with 3.5 for a full decade until my group decided to try Pathfinder, and that's been our default system since.

I have played and run 5E--though not nearly as much as I would like--and I enjoy it a great deal. Its simplicity is its real strength. It's easy to learn, feels a great deal like 2E in tone and play, and has just enough of the variety of options that 3E had to keep character creation and advancement interesting but not burdensome.

I'm torn to say whether I like Pathfinder or 5E better. PF appeals to my desire to tinker and to closely define many little details, and I know it far better. I'm using it for my current home game because that campaign was originally conceived for 3.5, so PF remains the best way to express certain core parts of the setting without massive rewriting. I'm also heavily involved in Pathfinder Society organized play. But PF can frequently be labor-(or at least choice-)intensive when it comes to character creation and GM prep, so I honestly can't say how much I'll want to run another long-term campaign with it after we finish this one. (I'm aiming for us to reach 20th level and at least a few mythic tiers by the end, so the answer very well could be, "Please, *anything* else!" ;-) )

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get more familiar with 5E by running canned adventures for my wife and kids. I'm seriously considering using 5E for my next foray into Green Ronin's Freeport setting--enough so that I've been writing about combining the two on and off on my blog for the past couple years. But it's going to be quite a while before I can commit to running any new full-time game.
__________________
Tim Emrick / my blog: Studded Plate / my gaming site: Thastygliax's Vault
thastygliax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 12:29 PM   #27
Joe
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
If the GM wants the party to heal quickly in any game it happens. It's nice to have a simple mechanic for this.
True. Though I've found this particular mechanic quite limiting narrative-wise, in that if I don't want the characters to heal quickly, for whatever reason, I can't allow much time to pass in the narrative, since then it becomes really hard to justify saying "no, you didn't get a chance to take a long rest". It means that I end up having to tell stories at a very particular pace - a pace that seems a bit cartoonishly frenetic at times.

Not a huge complaint - I like the new edition very much; I find it fun to run and fun to play, as longa you're willing to play in a certain style. (Of course I'd still prefer GURPS any day of the week, but that's another conversation....)
__________________
My (ahem... hugely entertaining... ahem) GURPS blog: The Collaborative Gamer
Joe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 01:00 PM   #28
GM Joe
 
GM Joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Chicagoland
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

I've run B/X and AD&D 1e quite a lot, 2e some, a little bit of 3.5e, and 5e is a nice modernization that brings the game in line with the current hobby and with mainstream non-RPGer expectations.

It is definitely D&D in style and substance, and it is a nice game to teach newbies.

In other words, it's great at being our hobby's gateway drug, for which I am grateful.

It is the indispensible RPG, and the hobby suffered when previous versions weren't as well suited to D&D's role.

All that said, I'll join the chorus and say it borrows a lot of the best from the past while still being a modern interpretation of the game.

I'd say it's the easiest to learn since the Basic D&D line died, the most AD&Dish since AD&D 2e, and the most modern since 3.5e. How's that? :)
__________________
GMing Since 1982.

Last edited by GM Joe; 11-15-2018 at 01:06 PM.
GM Joe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 01:55 PM   #29
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe View Post
True. Though I've found this particular mechanic quite limiting narrative-wise, in that if I don't want the characters to heal quickly, for whatever reason, I can't allow much time to pass in the narrative, since then it becomes really hard to justify saying "no, you didn't get a chance to take a long rest".
Even in first edition, a party with a cleric is unlikely to spend more than a couple of days to reach full health. In third edition, wand of CLW spam means full health after every encounter is the norm and what matters is spell recovery, not hit point recovery. Really, if you want lasting injuries in any edition of D&D, you have to prohibit resting.
__________________
My GURPS site and Blog.
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2018, 02:09 PM   #30
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: How does 5e D&D compare to the others?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
Even in first edition, a party with a cleric is unlikely to spend more than a couple of days to reach full health. In third edition, wand of CLW spam means full health after every encounter is the norm and what matters is spell recovery, not hit point recovery. Really, if you want lasting injuries in any edition of D&D, you have to prohibit resting.
Pretty much my view on the last point. Although I might find problems to keep the PCs busy. Once I simply had a tribe of Native Americans form the Amazon simply keep chasing the PCs all the time the PCs were on tribal land.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:39 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.