as complicated as the TTRPG mechanics can get sometimes, I'm glad I finally discovered them
The concept of it all is blowing my mind
The concept of it all is blowing my mind
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DunningKruger · 61-69, M
TL:DR: D&D is a terrible game for introducing newbies into the hobby. Much better game systems include things like Dungeon World, Ironsworn and the newly released EZD6, which really boils the gaming experience down to a point where anyone can pick it up. And there are lots of other games out there that are better to start with than D&D.
(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but for some reason, I just got into writing a tome on the topic and just couldn't stop. Said tome follows.)
A problem with the hobby is that a significant majority of players are introduced to it through Dungeons & Dragons, the problem being that the rules for D&D are terrible, and have always been terrible. Part of that was because neither Gygax nor Arneson were particularly good game designers, mechanically speaking, even given the context of where they were in the early 1970s.
Original D&D was a basically just a home-brewed expansion for the wargame Chainmail, which itself was not a particularly well-designed game. When D&D came out as an independent game (the "white box edition"), it had all the jankiness that could be stuffed into it. Immediately, players and designers started working to simplify things — except, pretty much, for Gygax, who just kept piling on complications.
The early boxed games were a lot easier to grasp and play, but the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was basically just a bunch of Dragon articles sandwiched into three hardbacks, plus Gygax's ideas about how to make the game "better." Gary was a man with a vision, and that vision was, to put it charitably, expansive.
Unfortunately, many RPGs that followed were inspired by D&D and included its jankiness. Sure, there were elegant, well-designed games like Traveller (still my favorite RPG), but they were few and far between. I mean, D&D was fast becoming a household brand, after all.
The basic D&D boxed sets of the '80s were an attempt to streamline the game, and while there's a lot to be said for that version, it rather lacked some of the janky charm of AD&D 1. AD&D 2 was an attempt to streamline the rules, but managed to mostly just make them more obscure and complicated, just in new ways (THAC0, anyone?). It was, however, well organized, well designed graphically, with lots of great art. (Well, "great.")
It really wasn't until Wizards of the Coast, which had bought of the rights after TSR folded in the '90s, came out with 3rd edition, that D&D really started hitting its stride. The rules were significantly improved and somewhat streamlined. Even so, they were still seriously complex and required a lot of time and effort to master (attacks of opportunity, anyone?).
The much-maligned 4th edition of the late aughties was a significant step backward, as the designers decided that the game needed to play more like MMORPGs, such as World of Warcraft.
Sure, Paizo came out with Pathfinder, which continued the development of the 3.5 engine, but it wasn't really "D&D."
Then 5th edition came out in 2014, and provided what was probably the most streamlined and playable version of D&D yet. And while it is a great game, and has fueled the recent explosion of D&D interest, it has lost a lot of the charm and traditions that made D&D what it was. I mean, things like alignment, central to all previous versions of D&D, are essentially meaningless in 5th.
(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but for some reason, I just got into writing a tome on the topic and just couldn't stop. Said tome follows.)
A problem with the hobby is that a significant majority of players are introduced to it through Dungeons & Dragons, the problem being that the rules for D&D are terrible, and have always been terrible. Part of that was because neither Gygax nor Arneson were particularly good game designers, mechanically speaking, even given the context of where they were in the early 1970s.
Original D&D was a basically just a home-brewed expansion for the wargame Chainmail, which itself was not a particularly well-designed game. When D&D came out as an independent game (the "white box edition"), it had all the jankiness that could be stuffed into it. Immediately, players and designers started working to simplify things — except, pretty much, for Gygax, who just kept piling on complications.
The early boxed games were a lot easier to grasp and play, but the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was basically just a bunch of Dragon articles sandwiched into three hardbacks, plus Gygax's ideas about how to make the game "better." Gary was a man with a vision, and that vision was, to put it charitably, expansive.
Unfortunately, many RPGs that followed were inspired by D&D and included its jankiness. Sure, there were elegant, well-designed games like Traveller (still my favorite RPG), but they were few and far between. I mean, D&D was fast becoming a household brand, after all.
The basic D&D boxed sets of the '80s were an attempt to streamline the game, and while there's a lot to be said for that version, it rather lacked some of the janky charm of AD&D 1. AD&D 2 was an attempt to streamline the rules, but managed to mostly just make them more obscure and complicated, just in new ways (THAC0, anyone?). It was, however, well organized, well designed graphically, with lots of great art. (Well, "great.")
It really wasn't until Wizards of the Coast, which had bought of the rights after TSR folded in the '90s, came out with 3rd edition, that D&D really started hitting its stride. The rules were significantly improved and somewhat streamlined. Even so, they were still seriously complex and required a lot of time and effort to master (attacks of opportunity, anyone?).
The much-maligned 4th edition of the late aughties was a significant step backward, as the designers decided that the game needed to play more like MMORPGs, such as World of Warcraft.
Sure, Paizo came out with Pathfinder, which continued the development of the 3.5 engine, but it wasn't really "D&D."
Then 5th edition came out in 2014, and provided what was probably the most streamlined and playable version of D&D yet. And while it is a great game, and has fueled the recent explosion of D&D interest, it has lost a lot of the charm and traditions that made D&D what it was. I mean, things like alignment, central to all previous versions of D&D, are essentially meaningless in 5th.
