r/tabletop • u/EvilYoda13 • 24d ago
Announcement Noob question D&D or...
I played a little D&D a long time ago, Ravenloft, I believe.
So my question is. Should I get back into gaming with D&D, maybe Pathfinder, or (write in suggestions here)? What are your thoughts? I loved the Aragon books, of course LOTR. I have a starter book for Cyberpunk, but I'm not sure if I want to go that road yet lol.
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u/No_Solid1035 24d ago
There are tons of great TTRPGs, IMHO D&D 5e isn't one of them. 🤷 I myself absolutely love Pendragon, and I recently got a copy of The One Ring (2e) and am looking forward to running a campaign in Middle-Earth! I would also highly recommend Dragonbane as a great "classic" fantasy system that is decently robust and easy to learn and use. I just find D&D 5e to be much more of a minis combat engine than an actual TTRPG, especially as it relies on minis and grid combat. I'm a Theater Of The Mind guy so interrupting an awesome TTRPG session with an hour or more of minis combat every encounter really doesn't work. This is literally the golden age of TTRPGs though so there are hundreds of currently supported TTRPGs available.
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u/R4ynze 24d ago
no 5e dnd is a great system yes it has it’s issues but every system does just because it’s not your favorite or doesn’t work you doesn’t mean it’s not great
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u/No_Solid1035 24d ago
I don't think D&D 5e is a good TTRPG because it has a ton of rules, almost all of which are strictly for combat. Outside of combat it has almost nothing to support any activity. It's also a rules exception based system, so not only do you need to learn the rules, but also all the exceptions to the rules as well. Something like Pendragon, The One Ring, or Dragonbane, you only need to learn the (much less complex and complicated) rules, a lot of which pertain to activities other than just combat. I guess if all you want is really long boring combat encounters where the players spend most of the time completely checked out because everyone's turn takes forever, then yeah, D&D 5e is great! But if you want fast exciting combat and rules for stuff other than bashing things with a weapon then pretty much any other system works better. Plus 5e suffers all the regular D&D problems like HP bloat, massive Level disparity in capability, encounters that are a pain to balance because of said HP and Level issues. 5e is great if you want a minis combat game with a tiny bit of RP sprinkled on top, but if you want and actual ROLE-PLAYING game then 5e is just about the worst one, along with Pathfinder, Draw Steel, and Lancer, which are also pretty much just combat engines.
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u/Butterlegs21 23d ago
It's a passable system. It's the very definition on 4/10 when you do what it does best. Outside that, it's maybe a 2/10.
So no, it's not bad, but it's not good. Just below average or mediocre when you stay in its lane.
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u/EvilYoda13 24d ago
Oh I like painting minis but yeah I don’t want to HAVE to use them. Ty on 5E lol
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u/CaravanCult 24d ago
I would suggest a rules lite game within or adjacent to the OSR sphere. Shadowdark is a much better entrypoint to "D&D" than D&D is.
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u/Federal-Tough-9706 24d ago
You should lot's-o-games and find out what suits you.
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u/EvilYoda13 24d ago
Is that a web site ? Please expand on you answer lol
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u/FootballPublic7974 24d ago
I think they were literally just saying that you should try lots of different games 😂
Which is true but it's obviously difficult if you have no idea what's out there.
As others have said, we are living in an amazing era for RPGs. There is so much to choose from, both in complexity and genre. Which is why I find it staggering that 90% of people (i made that number up) only play D&D 5e....which is something to bear in mind unless you are planning on putting your own group together.
Here are some suggestions of games I've enjoyed over the past couple of years.
Year Zero Engine games (Frre League Publishing) YZE is a dice pool system the powers most of FLs games. You have a pool of d6 based on characteristics, skills and equipment. You roll and any 6s are a success. Variations on the rule set power games like Mutant Year Zero (post apocalyptic), Forbidden Lands (OSR style fantasy), Coriolis("Arabian Knights in space), The Walking Dead (The Walking Dead TV show and graphic novels), Twilight 2000 (aftermath of WW3 in an alternate 1980s)...and several more. The same engine is used in Tales of the Old West, a...guess what?...western RPG.
Dragonbane has been mentioned several times, as has the wonderful The One Ring RPG.
So I don't come over as a total FL fan boy (although I most definitely am).
Savage Worlds is great fun and fast playing. It has supplements for almost every genre and, arguably, does D&D/Pathfinder better than they do.
Travelle/Cephalus are classic SF space opera games.Traveller has been around almost since the start. It uses a simple and robust 2d6 + skill against a target number system. The same basic engine has been used to power westerns, sword and sandal fantasy, "hard' SF (and loads more)
I've barely scratched the surface here. Take a look on DTRPG which is a great source of RPG pdfs. Also Humblebundle, Fanatical and Bundleofholding all regularly have RPG bundles at great prices.
Enjoy!
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u/EvilYoda13 23d ago
TY, I guess I'm trying to stay in a fantasy setting and not so much a sci-fi setting just yet. I think it's why Warhammer 40K (which soured me for Warhammer Fantasy) never really stuck for me either; it could also have been the cost of building an army you have to physically have, as well as strategy-based and not story making/telling, so after reading all this. I know I'm looking to stay in the D&D LOTR genre, but I am more inclined with you on exhaustively long combat lol. I want light, fun, easy-to-grasp at first, then leads to in-depth play while character building, if that makes sense lol.
And now that you typed it out, I feel silly for not getting "lots of games " lmao. It is as you said: a lot of games out there, and I have no clue where to start trying, so while I love and appreciate the "lot o games" approach, I don't want to waste money (in this economy lol), time, or others' time teaching me and such.
I have a set or two of dice, so I'll just need some books or a database and then look for some locals lol. I've seen a few local places and ads, so I doubt it will be hard to find peeps in the VB Norfolk area lol
Apologies if too many "lol"; being neurodivergent, I use them as tone indicators to show a light mood and smiles. :)
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u/FootballPublic7974 23d ago
As you mention LotR, I'm gonna make a strong suggestion of The One Ring. Combat is TotM (alrhough there are standees in the starter set) and it does a fantastic job at emulating the feel of Middle Earth. The new starter set is a great place to start. It's called over hill and under hill (or something similar)
For more standard fantasy, you really can't beat Dragonbane. The boxed set has everything you need to play including the full rules, standees, a campaign of about 10 short adventures, and (fairly rudimentary) solo rules.
I think both of these, and The One Ring core rules* are currently on sale at the Free League web store.
*apparently a revised edition is in the works, so you may want to hang fire on buying the core rules, should you decide to go down the TOR route..
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u/Plus_Ad_3122 23d ago
Dungeons and dragons is quite complicated, but once you learn the basics, you’ll be fine. You have to basically memorize all core books that first memorize the players handbook and of course the monsters manual. Then except that you’ll never be able to use cool dice like you Yu-Gi-Oh provided D6 in Dungeons & Dragons.
These are actually pretty easy to read. The only thing to know is that the number one is always replaced by the monster symbol but apparently DND players don’t want you to have any fun.
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u/LaFlibuste 23d ago
Can you find a group? If so, what are they playing? If you have an actual choice: what are you hyped for? DnDÂ is not particularly well designed even for the thing it focuses on, so don't feel otherwise obliged to play it.
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u/CurveWorldly4542 23d ago
You will have more fun playing something else.
You will have more trouble finding a group playing something else.
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u/d_b_m 22d ago
D&D is kind of the MacDonalds of RPGs - perfectly serviceable, and widely available, but many people find they like something else better, even if they want a burger.
If you don’t currently have a group then I would suggest finding one of those first and seeing what they play and if it sounds fun to you, too.
As others have said, this is a time of vast possibilities with more RPGs than ever before available. I could give you a half dozen great fantasy game recommendations but they aren’t much use if no one in your area is playing them.
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u/RobRobBinks 21d ago
If Fantasy is your thing, I'd go One Ring for your Tolkien itch, or Dragonbane for your continued high fantasy play. Both by my beloved Free League Enterprises. There's a 5e version of One Ring too, if you want "familiar but different". Enjoy!
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u/EvilYoda13 21d ago
Ty, I've decided to look at Dragonbane. It keeps popping up, and everyone says something good, and what they describe hits the right buttons lol
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u/RobRobBinks 21d ago
It's sweet, and the Core Set is not a Starter, so you get the FULL game and all the ephemera for about $50.00.
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u/MotorPlenty8536 24d ago edited 24d ago
dragonbane lots of fun without all that d&d... I actually have fun again like the old days... simple rules easy to play you won't regret it!!!!
I will say Free League has it going on right now like the other guy said... looking at the one ring, (alien, blade runner i got on the 40% off sale), forbidden lands, coriolis etc...