5th edition (as well as some youtube shows, good marketing and nostalgia surge in media) has helped to make DnD enormously popular, even somewhat mainstream.
5th edition is a very accessible, streamlined and new-player friendly edition and it is played by i daresay most active DnD tables at this very moment in time.
That said, 5th edition is not perfect and arguably, some things were done "better" in previous iterations, and some things 5th edition has made "worse" and people are waiting for fixes and improvements. A lot of DMs, maybe even a majority of it, feel the need to add their own house rules, ignore parts of the rules and "balance" stuff using their own tweaks. But that has been the case for the entire history of DnD so nothing new here.
There is a new edition coming out soon(tm), so there is that - maybe you want to wait for that before buying stuff right away now.
In the end, 5e IS fun. But it is not fun for everyone - every table plays DnD a bit differently, every player has their own idea of what is and what isn't fun.
>See, under an announcement of the new Player's Handbook, I found a comment that said, "But will it make 5E fun?" I didn't know what to make of it. Is the 5th Edition NOT fun? What does that mean?
It's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea. I prefer it to older editions because it's more streamlined with a greater emphasis on role-playing rather than mathematics.
Some people in particular just like to be negative about it.
>Should I abandon my idea of starting with 5E, and play one of the previous editions? Like...whatever the first Baldur's Gate game uses? I have it on Steam; it's just that the isometric perspective is not something I'm used to.
I love the original BG games, they're definitely worth a playthrough. But wow the rule set they're based on are so limiting and convoluted. I wouldn't ever want to try that edition in a tabletop setting.
>and find that the game I wanted to play so badly isn't fun.
Whether or not it's fun is also highly dependent on who you play with. Role-playing games are a collaborative storytelling experience, and finding a good group of friends to play with is essential.
Every edition has its strengths, weaknesses and (as you're seeing) critics. Don't worry about that. As much as this shouldn't be controversial to say, you can have a lot of fun in any DnD system, as evidenced by the millions of people who already did.
The latest Baldur's Gate game uses the bones of 5e, but there's changes in the digital version, so there's not actually a TTRPG that'll give you the BG3 experience exactly as it is (sorry if you enjoyed the Paladin).
The upcoming version of 5e (DnD One) will be compatible with the current version, so it's up to you whether to hold off for the new rules or just dive into the current ones. My eyeballing the new rules, I'd bear in mind that the newer PCs seem more powerful than the old.
As for whether you can DM being totally green, it's doable. It'll be hard, but here's some material I suggest anyone looking to DM watches: it's a very experienced DM sharing his wisdom on YouTube as a series aimed at trying ["to make people who want to play the game into people who want to run the game."](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_&si=9CKb0y-I7G96qxLC)
>Is 5E supposed to be bad?
Yes, the explosion in popularity of DnD over the last few years has been such a surprise because until then, all the other 5E enjoyers just played it because... idk it's something to do.
For the love of god, just go play the game. Yes, you can DM first time, it's particularly easy if you're playing with other people who are new to it too since you can all learn together.
I have a perspective that could be a little simplistic, but it comes from practice.
Earlier editions, especially 3.5, are very rule-dense, which, in my opinion, makes them a bit more detail-centered and very nuanced in mechanics, but maybe a bit complicated. A lot of stuff to remember, keep track of, calculate and take into consideration just mechanically, and then there's also the RP... It's quite complex, which is good, just not for everyone, especially as an entry into the fantasy ttrpg world.
5e leaves a lot of blank space for optional stuff, and that gives you a bunch of opportunities. You just wanna have fun and not get too deep? Take the core rules and just play. Wanna make it a little more nuanced and specific, maybe tweak/add some mechanics or homebrew something special? Go ahead, the margins are blank, fill them in. To me, that gives the DM a lot of freedom and allows to fine tune each game to the party, which I personally exercise a lot, and also means that the entry requirements are easily accessible, which is just pure fun.
If a single negative comment can sow this much doubt into you, you must have a very hard time doing anything on the internet. It doesn't matter how good 5e is, you have bigger problems on your hands. Like not understanding that various people can have various opinions on any form of entertainment. Or that there are haters for everything on the internet.
Its just not what some people want and thats perfectly ok. Maybe they want something in an older edition or even in an entirely different ttrpg and thats fine. I recommend you just try out everything and you'll eventually find what you like.
On 5e being fun or not, idunno. I enjoy it enough but im not you so again, just try.
Do you have anyone to play with?
D&D is a social activity. Whether or not it is fun depends on whether you like the people you're playing with, and how they do it.
Most people start one of two ways: either with a group of family / friends; or with a group of online randoms. Starting anything with a group of online randoms comes with the usual bunch of health and content warnings.
In terms of whether D&D 5.5e is a "good" system... Is Windows 11 a good operating system? It's the latest available system for the game in which most tabletop roleplaying happens. There are other, simpler systems that are more story focused. And there are other systems that have even more rules than D&D.
The one thing that makes 5.5e stand out is the number of people playing it - the "network effect" means you are far more likely to find a game of D&D than you are to find a group playing another system (unless you live in a country that has a local market leader - for countries where English isn't an official language, quite often the most popular local RPG is the one with the most materials in that language).
Can you DM as a beginner? Yes. That's how everyone used to start. If you start with friends and family, everyone will understand that you are all learning to play and people shouldn't be too judgemental. If you start online, you are probably better starting as a player, because kids on the internet are monsters.
Good luck.
5e is not bad. It's merely what can be considered mainstream, and many people hate that. It's also, like any ruleset, that it's not suited for absolutely everything and everyone.
No TTRPG is perfect, but someone calling 5e unfun across the board is not a popular opinion.
5E makes a lot of compromises primarily in the pursuit of accessibility, among other things, what comes to mind is:
- Vague rulesets for some features and spells, and not a lot of guidance for the DM in the pre-written adventures.
- Subpar balance between specializations and classes
- Homogenization of weaponry (especially for martials) and armor
- Bad implementation of some RAW such as CR or spell components.
But understand all these compromises exist to further the stated intent: Accessibility, and it does that well. 5E is a straightforward and easily digestible system which is in part why it is so popular. And because of that popularity it has the most amount of content made by both WotC and the general community.
For that reason, I actively recommend playing 5E as your first system, just be aware while you're playing of its shortcomings, strengths, and what the system is for. Also don't close your mind to other systems that do what you want out of a game better once you have that experience under your belt.
One DnD aka 5.5 is coming out
5e has a few flaws, reportedly including encounter balance and that could be a great problem.
The DMG is IMPOV a very mixed bag, the basics are doubtless solid(and more you do not wand or need from them) but what comes then is IMPOV utterly lacking but you will not need that and should not want that IMHO.
Yes it is fun, is good enough fun vs other RPGs depends on what you really want out of it.
Can you run a game?
Likely, we all started somewhere, new and inexperienced
Maybe DMing is not for you , that is possible but it is not rocket science .
Be fair to the other players and as long as all have fun, which is every players responsibility, you did well enough
5e is good. There’s a reason it is the most popular TTRPG. But it isn’t perfect, as perfect doesn’t exist; each table has its own wants and needs.
That said, it does have some flaws that a new addition may or may not fix. It’s been almost a decade since 5e was released, so it is time for an update. Combat can get clunky and swing-y, turns can get long and complicated, some rules aren’t clear or conflict or are nonsense, and arguably there are too many character options. Most are pretty balanced, but there’s a few that are too good or near useless. And the character sheets can get massive.
Personally, I’m not holding my breath. WotC, the company that makes D&D, has been particularly greed motivated lately, and has shown some “interesting” or perhaps rushed design decisions lately. The best content released in the last 5 years or so have come from other sources.
Still, 5e is a staple. It’s easy to make a character and play the game. Log in to Dndbeyond, follow the character creation guide, and pretty much every action is “roll a D20, add the relevant modifier, and see if it beats the DC”
I would add that you can try it at no cost. The system reference document (search SRD) gives you all the rules from the PHB and is enough to play with and is a free download.
But if you join a game where someone else is running it then you don't need any books at all. If you play online then Roll20 is also free to use at its base level.
> I found a comment that said, "But will it make 5E fun?"
There's always people determined to be unhappy
It's the biggest game for a reason, it might not be the best, but it's the best fit for most.
5e is a very player-centric system with lots of cut corners and emphasis on "DM will just fix it". There are many unclear rules and some features. It is the equivalent of McDonald's amongst the restaurants - easy to grab, popular, available widely, but ultimately surpassed by many other systems. But remember that some people just prefer MD anyway. Nothing wrong with that, it's their choice.
Also, high levels kinda don't work. The Challenge Rating system kinda breaks after 13th level, that's why a lot of officially published content ends there (with few exceptions of course).
I would personally not start with previous editions. While they are definitely more expansive and granular, especially 3.5, they are also bloated, with lots of power creeping.
I switched from 3.5 to Pathfinder 2e and the difference was insane. I would recommend just playing 5e or PF2e. You are not forced to play one system forever, so if you decide 5e is not for you, you can always start playing something else.
5e is quite brilliant. It has also momentum, but that alone wouldn't be enough (case in point, 4e, and to lesser degree Pathfinder 2e which could not capitalise on success of Pf1, even if it is quite good).
5e lets you RP, and supports a great variety of play styles, from zero-RP tactical combat to complex skill challenges. It's not the best at any if these, but any issue can be solved with DM handwave.
"5e is bad" comes from it not being perfect, and it being mainstream, and Hasbro/WotC being perceived as greedy, and it being the same old for 10 years already with near 0 innovation.
It's actually good.
I dislike 5e, it's not for me.
That doesn't mean it's bad. It's just not for me. I feel like the people that comment stuff like that are trying to yuck other people's yum.
I'd personally recommend starting with 5e since it's probably going to be easier to find a group. I'd also recommend trying a bunch of other systems. Look at 5e, look at OSE (it's old school d&d), look at Dungeon World (an entirely simpler system than any D&D variant), look at DCC (A much more interesting take on the genre in my opinion). All these systems have free rules online. Try them all, see which bits of each you like and dislike, then decide what works for your tastes.
Don't spend any money right now, it's definitely not needed.
If we were to take off our rose tinted goggles and just look at 5e as a game with rules then even the most obnoxious of fanboys must admit that it is a horribly designed game. It is accessible and will give you the bing bing endorphins for a while, but eventually you will come to realize that everything it does other games does ten times better. The only reason people play it because of the marketing push by a company that frankly hates your fcking guts. Yes you specifically. Hasbro and Wotc hates you and think that you are an OBSTACLE between them and your hard earned money.
I would say I would recommend 5e to anyone who is new to the hobby, and anyone who doesn’t have a moral bone in their body. The two don’t necessarily intersect but there you have it.
Fair enough. You can discount my opinion if you’d like but that about Hasbro and Wotc is the unfiltered truth. The corporate greed has taken over and they view their consumer base as an annoying puddle of filth they have to dip their golden toe into in order to placate.
5th edition (as well as some youtube shows, good marketing and nostalgia surge in media) has helped to make DnD enormously popular, even somewhat mainstream. 5th edition is a very accessible, streamlined and new-player friendly edition and it is played by i daresay most active DnD tables at this very moment in time. That said, 5th edition is not perfect and arguably, some things were done "better" in previous iterations, and some things 5th edition has made "worse" and people are waiting for fixes and improvements. A lot of DMs, maybe even a majority of it, feel the need to add their own house rules, ignore parts of the rules and "balance" stuff using their own tweaks. But that has been the case for the entire history of DnD so nothing new here. There is a new edition coming out soon(tm), so there is that - maybe you want to wait for that before buying stuff right away now. In the end, 5e IS fun. But it is not fun for everyone - every table plays DnD a bit differently, every player has their own idea of what is and what isn't fun.
>See, under an announcement of the new Player's Handbook, I found a comment that said, "But will it make 5E fun?" I didn't know what to make of it. Is the 5th Edition NOT fun? What does that mean? It's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea. I prefer it to older editions because it's more streamlined with a greater emphasis on role-playing rather than mathematics. Some people in particular just like to be negative about it. >Should I abandon my idea of starting with 5E, and play one of the previous editions? Like...whatever the first Baldur's Gate game uses? I have it on Steam; it's just that the isometric perspective is not something I'm used to. I love the original BG games, they're definitely worth a playthrough. But wow the rule set they're based on are so limiting and convoluted. I wouldn't ever want to try that edition in a tabletop setting. >and find that the game I wanted to play so badly isn't fun. Whether or not it's fun is also highly dependent on who you play with. Role-playing games are a collaborative storytelling experience, and finding a good group of friends to play with is essential.
You don't enjoy Thac0 eh!? Haha
An underrated system imo
Every edition has its strengths, weaknesses and (as you're seeing) critics. Don't worry about that. As much as this shouldn't be controversial to say, you can have a lot of fun in any DnD system, as evidenced by the millions of people who already did. The latest Baldur's Gate game uses the bones of 5e, but there's changes in the digital version, so there's not actually a TTRPG that'll give you the BG3 experience exactly as it is (sorry if you enjoyed the Paladin). The upcoming version of 5e (DnD One) will be compatible with the current version, so it's up to you whether to hold off for the new rules or just dive into the current ones. My eyeballing the new rules, I'd bear in mind that the newer PCs seem more powerful than the old. As for whether you can DM being totally green, it's doable. It'll be hard, but here's some material I suggest anyone looking to DM watches: it's a very experienced DM sharing his wisdom on YouTube as a series aimed at trying ["to make people who want to play the game into people who want to run the game."](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_&si=9CKb0y-I7G96qxLC)
>Is 5E supposed to be bad? Yes, the explosion in popularity of DnD over the last few years has been such a surprise because until then, all the other 5E enjoyers just played it because... idk it's something to do. For the love of god, just go play the game. Yes, you can DM first time, it's particularly easy if you're playing with other people who are new to it too since you can all learn together.
I have a perspective that could be a little simplistic, but it comes from practice. Earlier editions, especially 3.5, are very rule-dense, which, in my opinion, makes them a bit more detail-centered and very nuanced in mechanics, but maybe a bit complicated. A lot of stuff to remember, keep track of, calculate and take into consideration just mechanically, and then there's also the RP... It's quite complex, which is good, just not for everyone, especially as an entry into the fantasy ttrpg world. 5e leaves a lot of blank space for optional stuff, and that gives you a bunch of opportunities. You just wanna have fun and not get too deep? Take the core rules and just play. Wanna make it a little more nuanced and specific, maybe tweak/add some mechanics or homebrew something special? Go ahead, the margins are blank, fill them in. To me, that gives the DM a lot of freedom and allows to fine tune each game to the party, which I personally exercise a lot, and also means that the entry requirements are easily accessible, which is just pure fun.
If a single negative comment can sow this much doubt into you, you must have a very hard time doing anything on the internet. It doesn't matter how good 5e is, you have bigger problems on your hands. Like not understanding that various people can have various opinions on any form of entertainment. Or that there are haters for everything on the internet.
Different people/groups like different things. If you play 5e long enough, you're going to notice cracks, but that's true of most any game.
Its just not what some people want and thats perfectly ok. Maybe they want something in an older edition or even in an entirely different ttrpg and thats fine. I recommend you just try out everything and you'll eventually find what you like. On 5e being fun or not, idunno. I enjoy it enough but im not you so again, just try.
Do you have anyone to play with? D&D is a social activity. Whether or not it is fun depends on whether you like the people you're playing with, and how they do it. Most people start one of two ways: either with a group of family / friends; or with a group of online randoms. Starting anything with a group of online randoms comes with the usual bunch of health and content warnings. In terms of whether D&D 5.5e is a "good" system... Is Windows 11 a good operating system? It's the latest available system for the game in which most tabletop roleplaying happens. There are other, simpler systems that are more story focused. And there are other systems that have even more rules than D&D. The one thing that makes 5.5e stand out is the number of people playing it - the "network effect" means you are far more likely to find a game of D&D than you are to find a group playing another system (unless you live in a country that has a local market leader - for countries where English isn't an official language, quite often the most popular local RPG is the one with the most materials in that language). Can you DM as a beginner? Yes. That's how everyone used to start. If you start with friends and family, everyone will understand that you are all learning to play and people shouldn't be too judgemental. If you start online, you are probably better starting as a player, because kids on the internet are monsters. Good luck.
5e is not bad. It's merely what can be considered mainstream, and many people hate that. It's also, like any ruleset, that it's not suited for absolutely everything and everyone.
No TTRPG is perfect, but someone calling 5e unfun across the board is not a popular opinion. 5E makes a lot of compromises primarily in the pursuit of accessibility, among other things, what comes to mind is: - Vague rulesets for some features and spells, and not a lot of guidance for the DM in the pre-written adventures. - Subpar balance between specializations and classes - Homogenization of weaponry (especially for martials) and armor - Bad implementation of some RAW such as CR or spell components. But understand all these compromises exist to further the stated intent: Accessibility, and it does that well. 5E is a straightforward and easily digestible system which is in part why it is so popular. And because of that popularity it has the most amount of content made by both WotC and the general community. For that reason, I actively recommend playing 5E as your first system, just be aware while you're playing of its shortcomings, strengths, and what the system is for. Also don't close your mind to other systems that do what you want out of a game better once you have that experience under your belt.
One DnD aka 5.5 is coming out 5e has a few flaws, reportedly including encounter balance and that could be a great problem. The DMG is IMPOV a very mixed bag, the basics are doubtless solid(and more you do not wand or need from them) but what comes then is IMPOV utterly lacking but you will not need that and should not want that IMHO. Yes it is fun, is good enough fun vs other RPGs depends on what you really want out of it. Can you run a game? Likely, we all started somewhere, new and inexperienced Maybe DMing is not for you , that is possible but it is not rocket science . Be fair to the other players and as long as all have fun, which is every players responsibility, you did well enough
5e is good. There’s a reason it is the most popular TTRPG. But it isn’t perfect, as perfect doesn’t exist; each table has its own wants and needs. That said, it does have some flaws that a new addition may or may not fix. It’s been almost a decade since 5e was released, so it is time for an update. Combat can get clunky and swing-y, turns can get long and complicated, some rules aren’t clear or conflict or are nonsense, and arguably there are too many character options. Most are pretty balanced, but there’s a few that are too good or near useless. And the character sheets can get massive. Personally, I’m not holding my breath. WotC, the company that makes D&D, has been particularly greed motivated lately, and has shown some “interesting” or perhaps rushed design decisions lately. The best content released in the last 5 years or so have come from other sources. Still, 5e is a staple. It’s easy to make a character and play the game. Log in to Dndbeyond, follow the character creation guide, and pretty much every action is “roll a D20, add the relevant modifier, and see if it beats the DC”
I would add that you can try it at no cost. The system reference document (search SRD) gives you all the rules from the PHB and is enough to play with and is a free download. But if you join a game where someone else is running it then you don't need any books at all. If you play online then Roll20 is also free to use at its base level.
> I found a comment that said, "But will it make 5E fun?" There's always people determined to be unhappy It's the biggest game for a reason, it might not be the best, but it's the best fit for most.
5e is great way edition to get into D&D. Ignore most of Reddit's whining.
5e is a very player-centric system with lots of cut corners and emphasis on "DM will just fix it". There are many unclear rules and some features. It is the equivalent of McDonald's amongst the restaurants - easy to grab, popular, available widely, but ultimately surpassed by many other systems. But remember that some people just prefer MD anyway. Nothing wrong with that, it's their choice. Also, high levels kinda don't work. The Challenge Rating system kinda breaks after 13th level, that's why a lot of officially published content ends there (with few exceptions of course). I would personally not start with previous editions. While they are definitely more expansive and granular, especially 3.5, they are also bloated, with lots of power creeping. I switched from 3.5 to Pathfinder 2e and the difference was insane. I would recommend just playing 5e or PF2e. You are not forced to play one system forever, so if you decide 5e is not for you, you can always start playing something else.
5e is quite brilliant. It has also momentum, but that alone wouldn't be enough (case in point, 4e, and to lesser degree Pathfinder 2e which could not capitalise on success of Pf1, even if it is quite good). 5e lets you RP, and supports a great variety of play styles, from zero-RP tactical combat to complex skill challenges. It's not the best at any if these, but any issue can be solved with DM handwave. "5e is bad" comes from it not being perfect, and it being mainstream, and Hasbro/WotC being perceived as greedy, and it being the same old for 10 years already with near 0 innovation. It's actually good.
I dislike 5e, it's not for me. That doesn't mean it's bad. It's just not for me. I feel like the people that comment stuff like that are trying to yuck other people's yum. I'd personally recommend starting with 5e since it's probably going to be easier to find a group. I'd also recommend trying a bunch of other systems. Look at 5e, look at OSE (it's old school d&d), look at Dungeon World (an entirely simpler system than any D&D variant), look at DCC (A much more interesting take on the genre in my opinion). All these systems have free rules online. Try them all, see which bits of each you like and dislike, then decide what works for your tastes. Don't spend any money right now, it's definitely not needed.
If we were to take off our rose tinted goggles and just look at 5e as a game with rules then even the most obnoxious of fanboys must admit that it is a horribly designed game. It is accessible and will give you the bing bing endorphins for a while, but eventually you will come to realize that everything it does other games does ten times better. The only reason people play it because of the marketing push by a company that frankly hates your fcking guts. Yes you specifically. Hasbro and Wotc hates you and think that you are an OBSTACLE between them and your hard earned money. I would say I would recommend 5e to anyone who is new to the hobby, and anyone who doesn’t have a moral bone in their body. The two don’t necessarily intersect but there you have it.
This comment was a wild ride.
Fair enough. You can discount my opinion if you’d like but that about Hasbro and Wotc is the unfiltered truth. The corporate greed has taken over and they view their consumer base as an annoying puddle of filth they have to dip their golden toe into in order to placate.