#good run it into the ground and break up this hegemony with your rampant greed plz

[sailorsunspot]

I think it's just time for me to admit that actually, in the like 8+ years I've spent playing ttrpgs, I've only had a few truly fun experiences playing DnD 5e.

to be fair to dnd, it was always going to be a lift to keep me around as generic fantasy and high fantasy is NOT compelling or interesting to me in the slightest, so what I think is a main draw of some folks is something i have at best tolerated. But like setting and genre aside, it plays like two separate games - the social part and the combat part, and GUESS WHICH ONE IS IMPORTANT. (I understand that this is DM specific, but also! Argue that the mechanics of the game teach people how to play/DMs how to DM, so at best this is a "the source material severely encourages this" rather than "the game is only about this"),

I hate the combat in dnd. it so often feels repetitive and anti-creative, and I find myself wishing we could just fast forward through the fuckin' 12+ rounds of combat so the baddie can be dead or i can die and be released from this unengaging hellhole. pure spellcasters suck in combat - the bullshit limitation of "only one spell can be cast per round" is so fuckin' lame, spellcasters already dont get the 2+ attack rounds that melee classes get, and already have a resource that they have to expend to literally do anything, why is it a problem if they want to use a cantrip or double up on a spell in the few occasions where they have a bonus actionable spell that is actually applicable.

also all of the charm spells fucking suck ass- why even have them in the first place if the punishment for using them is "you get this minor benefit for an hour but 5 minutes later your target know that you specifically charmed them and will hate you forever".

and the social game is not much better - i cannot count how many times i start games excited to try something different and new and how EVERY ARC/ADVENTURE inevitably ends in "a big fight happens" and it…feels so inevitable that it's like, why do we even bother pretending like there's an alternative to being a murder hobo? why even try anything but running headfirst into the fray and killing everything in sight?

anyway this is a long rant to essentially say that I for one welcome the implosion of wizards of the coast and cannot wait to hasten its demise - and that I think I'm officially done playing dnd. If you like TTRPGs and find that you don't wholeheartedly enjoy the combat (because I do understand that for some people, that is the draw, different strokes for different folks and all), i encourage you to try different systems cause you might find you enjoy them way, way more! I've enjoyed my experience with less crunchy, more story-driven games SIGNIFICANTLY more than I ever have with dnd. I've particularly loved the powered by the apocalypse games, but there are so many other systems out there that could fit your specific niche! obviously i've been on my monsterhearts 2 kick, but I also had loads of fun playing Tales from the Loop, Blades in the Dark, and Trophy Dark. So yeah, try something new man! You might find that it better fits what you love