Did they improve DM support? Make CR actually work? Is combat more dynamic and faster-paced? Is character creation still a pain in the ass? Did they flesh out non-combat? Do player abilities still tend to solve problems by just turning off parts of the game? Is there a clear vision for what this even is?
I’m not an expert but:
No
No
No (though it is faster than 3.x or 4th, mostly because you don’t have any options)
At least there are options now. Still nothing significant past character creation, of course
No
Probably. Either that or hitting it with an axe
Yeah it’s a love letter to second ed, with bits of third mixed in to keep angry internet nerds who never played anything else happy
I don’t think 5th is the worst edition of d&d (controversially I think that’s 3.x), but it is the most nothing edition. The best editions are of course 13th Age and Pathfinder 2e
If you’re interested in the history of the hobby, it’s important, and there are good bits in there, but… yeah. It’s extremely messy, sometimes outright broken, and sexist even by the standards of its time and context.
I love 3e, but it was the first edition I played. If you look at it and think, “No, absolutely not,” I can’t argue with you. :P It’s a mess, but it’s in my trash pile.
Oh yeah, I hear ya. 2e was my first DND (though not my first RPG, that was Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1e), and I never want to play it again but Planescape still holds a special place in my heart! Fortunately, though, now we can have our nostalgia while playing mechanically better games instead!
Oh yeah, the thing I appreciate most about 2e were the campaign settings. 3e was also pretty great in that regard, but without quite the variety.
To take the rose-tinted glasses off for a bit… yeah, I would rather play mechanically better games. I might dip into 2e or 3e for a short adventure, but if I want to do a campaign, I’d look elsewhere. There are systems that do old-school D&D better, modern D&D better, and other things entirely. Speaking of Planescape, I was thinking of running something like Blades in the Dark, set in Sigil.
I can see BitD working well. I considered a 13th Age game, replacing then icons with then Factions, but never did it. We tend to play in homebrew settings anyway, nowadays
I’m not an expert but:
I don’t think 5th is the worst edition of d&d (controversially I think that’s 3.x), but it is the most nothing edition. The best editions are of course 13th Age and Pathfinder 2e
“A love letter to 2e” actually sounds a lot better than anything else I’ve heard about the revision. :P
Also, I have a soft spot for 3.x, but my potentially controversial opinion is that 1e is the worse edition by far.
1e ad&d is the only version I’ve not played (though I’ve only played basic a couple of times), so you could well be right!
If you’re interested in the history of the hobby, it’s important, and there are good bits in there, but… yeah. It’s extremely messy, sometimes outright broken, and sexist even by the standards of its time and context.
I love 3e, but it was the first edition I played. If you look at it and think, “No, absolutely not,” I can’t argue with you. :P It’s a mess, but it’s in my trash pile.
Oh yeah, I hear ya. 2e was my first DND (though not my first RPG, that was Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1e), and I never want to play it again but Planescape still holds a special place in my heart! Fortunately, though, now we can have our nostalgia while playing mechanically better games instead!
Oh yeah, the thing I appreciate most about 2e were the campaign settings. 3e was also pretty great in that regard, but without quite the variety.
To take the rose-tinted glasses off for a bit… yeah, I would rather play mechanically better games. I might dip into 2e or 3e for a short adventure, but if I want to do a campaign, I’d look elsewhere. There are systems that do old-school D&D better, modern D&D better, and other things entirely. Speaking of Planescape, I was thinking of running something like Blades in the Dark, set in Sigil.
I can see BitD working well. I considered a 13th Age game, replacing then icons with then Factions, but never did it. We tend to play in homebrew settings anyway, nowadays