If you were to go away from 5e, what would you go to?

[Skylivedk]

I've only played DnD for more than a decade. What else do you rank highly and why?

[Man_Over_Game]

I've only played DnD for more than a decade. What else do you rank highly and why?

The new pathfinder seems really cool. One aspect I particularly like is that spells and abilities have better effects the more you focus on them. So if you spend just a standard action for a heal, it heals one person, but if you also throw in your movement, it heals all allies nearby. It has a lot of versatility built in.


4E is also fun, if you just care about being a badass. Great as a board game.

[8wGremlin]

Through the breach by Wyrd games

Excellent setting, excellent system. A lot of fun to run and to play. Cool card deck mechanics

[Skylivedk]

The new pathfinder seems really cool. One aspect I particularly like is that spells and abilities have better effects the more you focus on them. So if you spend just a standard action for a heal, it heals one person, but if you also throw in your movement, it heals all allies nearby. It has a lot of versatility built in.


4E is also fun, if you just care about being a badass. Great as a board game.

Thank you. I played the old pathfinder instead of 4e. Didn't even know there was a new one. I considered Kryx' houserules as a 5.5e. Is the new pathfinder somewhere in between 3e and 5e?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Hmm... there's only, like, a bajillion systems out there. A few major examples...

• Mutants and Masterminds 3e-- a d20 superhero game with a custom power creation system; once it clicks, it's probably the most flexible character builder out there (that doesn't get really light, at least). My personal favorite.
• Fate Core-- If you liked 5e's traits and bonds system, this is where they stole it from. Only Fate makes those narrative labels a key part of the mechanics, meaning that you can actually have two characters with similar skillsets in the same group that still feel distinct. Just a really fun, flexible system overall.
• Exalted 3e-- A bronze age wuxia fantasy epic setting where you play newly-returned demigods out to shape the world. A really cool setting, a really distinct atmosphere, and the 3rd edition rules are really fun. (2e is huge and sprawling and a mechanical nightmare).
• Deadlands (Savage Worlds edition)-- An awesome weird west setting, powered by the strong and fast Savage World engine, with lots of setting content out there.
• Shadowrun-- Two words: cyberpunk D&D. That's... pretty much it, though it's not a d20 system. I've not played, but it's pretty popular.
• Traveler (Mongoose Edition)-- Firefly, the RPG, basically. Assemble a motley crew and fly through sketchy systems, trading and pirating.

What kind of stuff do you like in D&D, and what do you dislike?

[Skylivedk]

Hmm... there's only, like, a bajillion systems out there. A few major examples...

• Mutants and Masterminds 3e-- a d20 superhero game with a custom power creation system; once it clicks, it's probably the most flexible character builder out there (that doesn't get really light, at least). My personal favorite.
• Fate Core-- If you liked 5e's traits and bonds system, this is where they stole it from. Only Fate makes those narrative labels a key part of the mechanics, meaning that you can actually have two characters with similar skillsets in the same group that still feel distinct. Just a really fun, flexible system overall.
• Exalted 3e-- A bronze age wuxia fantasy epic setting where you play newly-returned demigods out to shape the world. A really cool setting, a really distinct atmosphere, and the 3rd edition rules are really fun. (2e is huge and sprawling and a mechanical nightmare).
• Deadlands (Savage Worlds edition)-- An awesome weird west setting, powered by the strong and fast Savage World engine, with lots of setting content out there.
• Shadowrun-- Two words: cyberpunk D&D. That's... pretty much it, though it's not a d20 system. I've not played, but it's pretty popular.
• Traveler (Mongoose Edition)-- Firefly, the RPG, basically. Assemble a motley crew and fly through sketchy systems, trading and pirating.

What kind of stuff do you like in D&D, and what do you dislike?

How's the Savage Worlds system to play? I enjoy the narratives and the impro acting a lot. I'm too much of a math and stats nerd not to geek out over mechanics (and notice when they're bad), but I enjoy the moments where they matter little the most. I like good mechanics because they allow me to not stretch my suspension of disbelief too much

[Matrix_Walker]

I would play whatever people are playing... DnD 5e is way down on the list when I think of the best gaming systems, but it's what people play at my local game store.

[Joe the Rat]

I do go away from D&D for things D&D doesn't do well.

Savage Worlds is my recommended Generic system. There's some learning to make all the fiddly bits work, but actual play is straightforward.

But when I look for something in the D&D vein, I go with Dungeon Crawl Classics. A retro-shift from the srd era, it takes you back to basic and sets you up with a big bowl of whatever Erol Otus was smoking when he painted. Has a reputation for being gonzo and brutal, each of which is about half deserved. I think it's got one of the best approaches to making Warrior types awesome, but it takes some creativity on the player's part to make those Deeds shine.

[Teaguethebean]

I would want to run pathfinder second edition but I would love to play more world of darkness games as a player

[Laserlight]

EABA
HERO/Champions
Runequest/HeroQuest
Probably L5R

I'd join Exalted or Call of Cthulhu for the setting, although I am not sold on the rules. (edit: have not seen Exalted 3e yet)

I don't particularly like DnD--it's not bad, but it isn't great. The reason I play it is, it's easy to find players.

[CantigThimble]

Shadowrun - Fantasy Cyberpunk Heists FTW. The rules are absolute hell, good luck getting an entire group to learn them. The setting is also very complex but is really fantastic and highly integrated into gameplay.

Earthdawn - It's like D&D, if D&D was designed from the ground up to be integrated with its setting and the whole 'Adventurers going into dungeons to fight monsters and get loot' thing was just something that made absolutely perfect sense because of how the world was set up. Seriously, it's super refreshing to be able to say "He's a third circle swordmaster" and have that make sense in character instead of needing to dodge around and try to describe a fighter's skill without mentioning his level. And there is a setting wide justification for buried, trap filled dungeons filled with monsters and magical treasure to show up everywhere.

Dungeon Crawl Classics - Those guys made an RPG. And it's fantastic. It's roughly like AD&D with streamlining and numerous random generation systems that work remarkably well. The character creation system involves each player creating 3-4 100% randomly generated peasants and sending the wole mob of 15-20 into a dungeon. 50-80% casualties are expected, the survivors reach 1st level and pick a class. Magic is also redone from the ground up to work based on skill checks and the game has a whole host of systems for long term consequences for what goes on in the game so almost everything you do feels potentially dangerous and meaningful. (One thing that really bugs me in 5e is that every time you take a long rest, every consequence of previous fights goes away.) It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it.

[R.Shackleford]

I've only played DnD for more than a decade. What else do you rank highly and why?

4e, 13th Age, Numenera (I personally love the world), Diablo 3, and Mutants and Masterminds.

Diablo 3 isn't a tabletop game, but it's a great game to have fun with the same kind of people. 3e really does feel like the tabletop version of Diablo.

4e/13th Age because you get to be awesome, no matter what class race you pick.

Numenera because awesome world, interesting character designs, and cool mechanics.

M&M because it's just downright cool.

[8wGremlin]

https://www.wyrd-games.net/through-the-breach/

It's so good I had to mention it twice!

[Knaight]

I've only played DnD for more than a decade. What else do you rank highly and why?

I have "gone away" from D&D - but it's worth understanding here that the whole concept of having a game you play is pretty rare outside of D&D, and instead people tend to have whole collections used for different purposes, which can include reincorporating D&D as part of that collection once the novelty has partially recovered. So, notables I personally like, mostly restricted to games people can generally transition into smoothly (which usually means traditional games, though there are exceptions):

Fudge: Inasmuch as I have a main game, this is it. If moving away from D&D one of the games you'll want to add to your repertoire is a good generic system that lets you do any setting in any genre, and while there's a lot of options Fudge is my personal favorite. Even by the standards of generic systems it's open, it's a fairly traditional game without being overly crunchy, and it ends up in that sweet spot right between GURPS and Fate, probably because it's descended from GURPS (it was written by a GURPS author as a GURPS alternative to avoid the things he disliked about GURPS) and ancestral to Fate (which started out as a Fudge hack).

Hollow Earth Expedition: HEX is my preferred game for ridiculous pulp action, including the various pulp- genres. It does larger than life characters well, and it also has mechanics that feel like larger than life characters, whether it's the tactile feel of throwing a fistfull of dice or the thorough minimization of accounting. Classic pulp in particular is well supported, as the equipment list and statted people/creatures nest into it so well, from rifles to zeppelins, nazi occultists to warriors from hidden tribes to pterodactyls.

Chronica Feudalis: Chronica Feudalis has three main things going for it. One is that it's just a fun read, written as if it was a found document in a medieval monastery written by monks, a tone that sounds a little cheesy but just works, especially given the way most RPGs tend a little close to the textbook side of the line. Then there's the other two: It's a genuinely medieval game, historical instead of fantasy, without getting bogged down, and it's built around four conflict subsystems only one of which is combat. Chases, subterfuge (stealth and counter stealth), and parley all get just as much attention as combat does, including solid representation of tools in all four.

Warbirds: I picked up Warbirds because I wanted a good system for dogfighting pilots, for essentially any game that features them. I got that; I'm happy with the system - but I also got a really fun setting. Basically it's a dieselpunk Caribbean set on floating islands around the eye of what is heavily implied to be a gas giant, where the floating islands are the actual Caribbean, ripped out of the Earth and transported far away. It's a fairly unique basis for a setting, the research is thorough, and the famous mercenary pilots navigating fame and combat missions (the PCs) are tied into it well.

Unknown Armies: I haven't played this yet, but the setting is probably the single most interesting urban fantasy/occult setting I've ever seen by a long shot, and the mechanics both look solid and have Greg Stolze's name on them, which as far as I'm concerned is all I need. The core concept is proactive characters trying to change the world in occult horror, while the setting deliberately pushes back as hard as possible on the whole "eldritch aliens to which humans are but a speck thing", the gods of the settings are human archetypes incarnate (e.g. The Soldier, The Mother, The Knight-Protector, The Tortured Artist, etc.), occupied by humans that best fit them, and the various supernatural beings are generally in that mold.

Nemesis: This is another Greg Stolze horror game, with a more conventional implied setting. It's also probably the easiest way in to a particular family of games, the One Roll Engine titles. The short version is that they use a kind of weird dice pool system where you look for matches, designed to pack more information into results, the long version is that this mechanic serves as the core of a lot of very interesting design, with subtle nuances that feel intuitive after you've seen them and are easy to remember.

Reign: Reign is the fantasy implementation of the One Roll Engine, and it's got a pretty decent setting. It also has rules for statting out organizations, organizational conflicts, merging and splitting organizations, etc. That's why I got it; it's beautiful for political campaigns and the organizational conflict rules take what happens at the character side into account so well.

Microscope: This is the weird one on my list, included mostly because a surprising number of D&D groups use it to make D&D settings, so clearly it's approachable. This is likely a testament to being well written, because the core loop is pretty unique. It's a GMless game about timeline building, where players take turns adding stuff to a time line within certain constraints, focusing upon particulars then shifting, widening the timeline by filling in gaps between a known beginning and end and digging into detail. Every so often you'll drill down into scenes, where everyone grabs a character and does in character roleplaying for a while. Note that using this to generate D&D settings is a massive waste of the game; it works best with minimal restrictions and an existing corpus of elements is exactly not that.

Everyone is John: John is a minimally competent man with voices in his head. You play the voices - everyone is a voice, and the mechanics are mostly about determining which voice is in control at any given time, with a minimal section for John attempting to do things, where "doing things" is something he's just generally bad at. On top of that it's a competitive game - every time John does your goal, you get points, the player with the most points "wins", though it's never really taken that seriously. The more outlandish the goal, the more points it is worth.

Warrior, Rogue, and Mage: WR&M is a lighter, faster, D&D. It's basically replaced D&D for me, and it's up there in terms of more primary games, albeit with some pretty big gaps between it and the games above. The way it works is that you have three attributes, Warrior, Rogue, and Mage, plus some skills and derived stats based on them, and it provides just enough structure for a very beer and pretzels fantasy dungeon crawl sort of game.

Diana, Warrior Princess: Imagine the world 1000 years ago, and realize how thin your knowledge really is. Now, imagine the world 1000 years ago as depicted by lazy TV writers who don't do much research, and just really think about how terrible their depiction is. Now, imagine the modern world as understood by lazy TV writers who don't do much research 1000 years. That's Diana: Warrior Princess, a game set in the modern day, deliberately misinterpreted. There's an entire section on how to understand history poorly and apply that to contemporary times, and there's also example after example of that being done. For instance there's L. Ron Hubble, a con artist who sold NASA a telescope so bad it had to be fixed with glasses. There's a vehicle list which includes both steam boats and space shuttles, both treated much the way one might treat cars. It's hilarious, and a lot of fun.

Qin, the Warring States: At present Qin is my preferred rules heavy wuxia game. It's well researched, it does some cool things with the structure, and while I mostly just raid it for ideas I would still recommend it.

Fudge, Nemesis, and WR&M are all free games, though Fudge does have optional commercial content on top of that.

[Sahe]

Masks: You play teenage superheroes. A Powered by the Apocalypse system with a heavy focus on narrative drawing strongly on cartoons like Teen Titans. It's fun, it's very very different from DnD focusing heavily on interteam drama, what it means to be a teenage hero in a world with established Heroes.

Shadowrun: The rules are...complicated. It is perfect for Heist games, the world is absolutely incredible and one of my favorite settings because it combines trashy cyberpunk with fantasy in a cool way. This is also an especially great setting if you wanna play in a real world outside of the US. While the "standard" setting is kinda the US. It has an incredibly rich and complex setting for other locations like Europe. (I also wanna recommend the Shadowrun Computer games by Harebrain Schemes at this point, especially Dragonfall and Hong Kong).

[Sigreid]

There are so many great games that it's impossible to give you a useful answer. Do you have an idea what kind of game you would like to play? Fantasy, space fantasy, pulp fiction, science fiction, Multi-dimensional tyranny, Lovecraftian?

[RedMage125]

It would depend on if I were going away as a player or a DM.

As a DM, 4th edition. That edition was super easy on the DM.

As a player, I am most familiar with 3.5e, but I got into Pathfinder a little.

PF 2e intrigues me, this thread is the first actual mechanics news I've heard about it.

[Eragon123]

I really like the Dragon Age RPG. Even if it is structurally similar. There is an elegance to a 3d6 system. And I like how some of the classes are hugely imbalanced based on lore. (Though I had 3 mages in one of my games each went down a different path and each ended up being really good. The fourth character, the knight loved his character. The only one who struggled was the rogue... I made changes to since then)

[Avonar]

I adore 13th Age, the system is so heavily built around PC-focused campaigns which is always my favourite.

[R.Shackleford]

I adore 13th Age, the system is so heavily built around PC-focused campaigns which is always my favourite.

http://www.13thagesrd.com/

I love that a couple of the designers were from WotC and honestly this looks closer to what 4e or 5e should have been than 4e. I love 4e, but there are a few design issues that I would have been all "yo, what the hell are you thinking". Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet took what they worked on with 3e and 4e and helped make something really cool :).

Some things that I think can help 5e games...

Icons, Relationships, Backgrounds, OUT (One Unique Thing): 5e is getting close to this already, but still has a little way to go.

Distances: Engaged, near by, and far away is a beautiful way to remove the battle map but not go completely "theater of mind". Throw some minis on a table and use this feature to show distances instead of using nitty gritty numbahs.

Ability Score Flexibility: Your race gives you a choice in ability score bonuses (could be better tho :p) and then your class gives you a choice of ability score bonuses... Love this so much more than the D&D system. Now I prefer a flat bonus you get to choose... But 13th age is a step in a better direction.

Features: Everyone get's cool things! Even the simple characters! The fighter has a great mechanic that I would love to see expanded.

Spoiler

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Defensive Fighting
Flexible melee attack

Triggering Roll: Natural 16+; if you fight with a shield, also any natural even roll

Effect: Gain a +2 bonus to AC until the end of your next turn.

Feats: I'm over 5e feats. I prefer a 3e/4e/13 style of feats where they help you build a unique character. Yeah it takes more effort to make a game like this, but damn, the 5e PHB got old real fast when relying on fluff to distinguish characters.

Also, when I take a feat, I don't want it to be a waste of a slot underwhelming. I may be asking for too much... But take Linguist in 5e versus 13th Age.

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Linguist

Adventurer Tier: This feat allows you to speak enough arcana, dwarven, elven, gnomish, gnoll, goblin, orcish, and other standard humanoid languages to comprehend enough of what most other humanoids are saying or screaming during battle. You are not fluent in all these languages, no one will mistake you for a native speaker, and your vocabulary is adventurer-centric (heavy on words connected to danger rather than philosophy or emotions).

You can also read enough to get by in all these languages.

Champion Tier: You can speak, read, and write all the humanoid languages fluently. Stranger languages are no problem for you either. If someone is speaking it, you can figure it out.

Not only does this make you way more useful, but it upgrades based on your level without needing to take another feat or use some other feature.

I love a lot of things from 5e, but 13th Age has some things that I would absolutely love to see 6e incorporate in some way even if its the philosophy behind them.

Oh and those who think battles take to long in any addition of D&D... You could always try the Escalation Die. Back a couple years ago I helped play test 5e with the Escalation Dice and it was a lot of fun.

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Escalation Die

The escalation die represents a bonus to attacks as the fight goes on.

At the start of the second round, the GM sets the escalation die at 1. Each PC gains a bonus to attack rolls equal to the current value on the escalation die. Each round, the escalation die advances by +1, to a maximum of +6.

Monsters and NPCs do not add the escalation die bonus to their attacks

If the GM judges that the characters are avoiding conflict rather than bringing the fight to the bad guys, the escalation die doesn’t advance. If combat virtually ceases, the escalation die resets to 0.

We changed a couple things, anyone could reset the escalation die and grant themselves advantage on their attack or saving throw once the die reached +3 or higher.

[mephnick]

Fantasy:

Dungeon World: It's what people think D&D is before they play D&D and get passed a 400 page rule book
Dungeon Crawl Classics: Others have said enough about this.
Pendragon: A classic system where everyone is an Arthurian knight. The game forces you to play your character how you design them.
Symbaroum: A dark fantasy system. Amazing artwork and atmosphere.

Space/Other:

Stars Without Number: Great to run as a DM. Worldbuilding and Faction Turns are basically a mini-game for the DM.
The Sprawl: A much better Shadowrun system than Shadowrun, but lighter.
Traveller: The crunchy space sim RPG.
Apocalypse World: The original PbtA game. Social conflict in situations that get steadily worse and worse.
Dogs in the Vineyard: Dogmatic Inquisitors in a western setting with a cool "poker-ish" betting system.


These are all the wonderous games you can explore instead of shoving your political intrigue, space opera crap into a dungeon crawl, resource attrition fantasy game.

[Pex]

Pathfinder

The original not the new play test.

[Kane0]

Most likely Battletech.

But if i had to keep the fantasy feel probably Savage Worlds, unless i went off and frankensteined my own game together.

[Speely]

Lots of hood suggestions already, so I am gonna take a hard left.

Victoriana is excellent. Very fleshed-out setting (steampunky,) and easy rules that don't get in the way. Sort of demands that the players invest in the setting, though, so it's not as fast-and-loose as D&D. Think Dragon Heist on steroids. This is the "harder" suggestion, not because of mechanics, but because the setting itself demands more of the players.

Another REALLY refreshing game for people used to only one thing: Tales From the Loop. This is extremely rules-light and narrative-based, but it does a great job of making normal kid things seem monumental in importance and is ripe for fun RP. I am personally finding it to be a refreshing break from the D&D meta. It's basically Stranger Things, the Game, with easy, fast rules. Also, everyone loves the 80s.

[R.Shackleford]

Pathfinder

The original not the new play test.

They have some ok adventures but I would rather introduce people to "tier 3" or "e6" 3.5 D&D than pathfinder any day of the week.

[ImproperJustice]

Top Pick:

Stars Without Number: the few times I have played or run it, the stories become so rich. Faction turns and world building tools create such a breathing active universe that is loads of fun.

Savage Worlds: Rifts, Thrilling Tales, and Super Heroes. So many fun settings.

Mutants and Masterminds 1e: Old School, easy to run.

Micro RPGs: All out of Bubblegum, Everyone is John, and the Tearable RPG are all fun single night distractions.

[Mellack]

If you are leaving D&D, I would suggest a totally different genre. My picks would be either Mutants & Masterminds or Torg Eternity.

[Skylivedk]

A big thank you to all of you. From what I've had recommended, my interest was sparked by:

Dragon Age (didn't know it was a ttrpg. Loved the first computer game!)

Mutants and masterminds: I've been a marvel fan since forever. Also loved the Worm novels (if you haven't read them, do! They're online and fantastic).

Savage worlds.

As to what I'm looking for:
I enjoy good lore and tactical depth. Preferably without unnecessary complexity. I like 5e more than 3x/pathfinder and Divinity 2 more than Pillars of Eternity.

I enjoy balance across levels and builds. I dislike the legacy of DnD of having martials outpaced.

I'd like to try something less swingy than d20. 3d6 in dragon age sounds tempting. Also perhaps less: I take twenty arrows to the chest and walk it off.

I'd like a system where out of combat plays a bigger role. Where intrigues and alliances are more encouraged by the mechanics.

[Knaight]

A big thank you to all of you. From what I've had recommended, my interest was sparked by:

Dragon Age (didn't know it was a ttrpg. Loved the first computer game!)

Mutants and masterminds: I've been a marvel fan since forever. Also loved the Worm novels (if you haven't read them, do! They're online and fantastic).

Savage worlds.

Dragon Age was actually a computer game first; the ttrpg was made to fit it. It's got some cool ideas in it, and if you like the setting and want to play an RPG in it it's not bad. The "generic fantasy" broadening of it isn't much broader though. M&M is also solid, and Savage Worlds fits what you're looking for pretty well, and is definitely a good system.

As to what I'm looking for:
I enjoy good lore and tactical depth. Preferably without unnecessary complexity. I like 5e more than 3x/pathfinder and Divinity 2 more than Pillars of Eternity.

I enjoy balance across levels and builds. I dislike the legacy of DnD of having martials outpaced.

I'd like to try something less swingy than d20. 3d6 in dragon age sounds tempting. Also perhaps less: I take twenty arrows to the chest and walk it off.

I'd like a system where out of combat plays a bigger role. Where intrigues and alliances are more encouraged by the mechanics.

Going through these:
1) This is a meaningful parameter, but one easily filled. D&D is on the complicated side of games, and while there are far more complicated ones (Phoenix Command) the space of less complex but still possessed of tactical depth is pretty common.

2) Levels are actually pretty rare in tabletop RPGs. D&D isn't the only class and level system by any stretch of the imagination, but they're very much in the minority. As for balance, while it's not guaranteed it's generally a safe assumption that D&D levels of balance will be met or exceeded. Usually exceeded

3) Less swingy die mechanics and more grounded characters are similarly ubiquitous. Again, there are exceptions, particularly to D&D as normally played as opposed to how D&D operates at extreme optimization levels, but you generally have to seek them out.

4) D&D is an extremely combat focused game, to the point where almost everything else will be more focused on out of combat activity. That said intrigue and alliances specifically is a bit narrower.

If you're still thinking of doing fantasy, give Reign a shot. It meets all four of these, apart from not using levels.

[ZorroGames]

I've only played DnD for more than a decade. What else do you rank highly and why?

I would increase my miniature war games time. None of the other FRPG/SFRPG products interest me.

Jaded from the 1970s I expect.

War gaming (historical, Fantasy, VSF, Science Fiction,) has never lost my interest.