I have a nice 5E collection based around the fantastic Level Up Advanced 5E set of rules from EN World, and I am forever ignoring 2014 and 2024 D&D. I can't stand the drama and associated YouTube noise around that blasted game anymore; every week, new drama and clickbait is feeding off of it.
You get a free "+2 ring of drama protection" with either Level Up or Tales of the Valiant. You are out of that market. I don't worry about "class changes" or "power levels," if something is broken over here, I house rule and fix it. I do not subscribe to the YouTube "What did Wizards do this week?" crowd. I needed to walk away to keep optimistic about gaming.
Unlike many, I don't rely on D&D Beyond for character creation. I cherish the freedom and personal touch of crafting my characters by hand. For Tales of the Valiant, I use Hero Lab. I steer clear of the D&D Beyond system, as I believe the data could be used to train AI, potentially compromising the privacy of our characters. Do you really want your character's backstory used to train AI models?
Also, 90% of the third-party books I use for characters do not exist on the D&D Beyond system. If I am stuck in that service, it is a waste of money, and I will never get to use it. I know you can input user data, but ...why?
What often turns me away from 5E are these unconventional old-school games. OSE, DCC, Shadowdark, C&C, and others offer a similar experience to 5E - and in some cases, even better. If I'm in the mood for a classic 'dungeon crawl,' any old-school games deliver it faster, with less complexity, and without the extensive knowledge required by 5E. They offer a new world of discovery and exploration.
Some of them sacrifice the 5E complexity and wisely put it in areas that deliver more fun per page, like the DCC spell system. This balance and efficiency in game design keep me engaged and satisfied.
Others boil the game down to the "essential concepts" and rebuild every aspect of the game for a "table experience" like Shadowdark.
5E has far too many rules. The character sheets are too complicated. Too many "fiddly bits" to a character do not matter unless a specific situation happens. If something happens "once every few sessions," - it is not worth making special rules for it or keeping it on a character sheet.
Sometimes, I like the depth 5E, so I have Level Up (and Tales) and my older books. I don't need to pay $200 for a new set; this works amazingly well to "get my money's worth" from my 5E gaming investment.
But if I do not want that fiddly, complicated depth, much of which is suspect in terms of "work to fun" effort, I will go gonzo old-school any day of the week. DCC does more in terms of "dangerous magic" and "gonzo heroism" than 5E ever could dream of doing, and 5E is not modular enough to support a system like that. When you get a flavor of 5E, it is like buying a video game console, and some things are just too hard to play on the system.
If I want to play 5E and save time sorting through choices and building a character, I will either play Shadowdark or Tales of the Valiant. But even ToV, with Hero Lab, is woefully short of options, and I miss all my 3rd party book content. Online character builders just "ain't it."
OSE, DCC, C&C, or any other "pre-5E" game works amazingly well for anything else. Do I want a "special character ability?" Talk to the referee! Adopt a disadvantage for that power so it balances out. This is old-school gaming; you can throw any temporary or permanent change, remarkable power, or condition on a character anytime!
Did your character touch an ancient statue and gain a once-per-day Charm power?
It is there!
You don't need a rule for that!
Did you rule a character gets a +1 permanent STR adjustment for knocking down an evil temple by rolling a natural 20 on pushing a giant stone pillar down?
Done!
I just ruled it!
Wow, this game is fantastic! It lets you do what you want!
You do not need to worry about 'character validation' in old-school games; it does not exist. You can do this in 5E (and Shadowdark), but I feel too many feel "legal characters" should be the only ones played. Many frown upon doing this sort of "freeform character design" and updating a character during play.
If I want a free-form play and do not want complicated characters, 5E falls flat for me. There are times when "I just don't have the time or mental energy" to do a full session of 5E, and it does not really matter.
That is when I ask, "Do I really need all this stuff?"
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