I grew up most of my life being absolutely 3.5e obsessed, having never enjoyed AD&D's mechanics or Fourth Edition's lack of storytelling support, and having never been 'sucked in' into Pathfinder enough to play more than half a dozen games in it. However, while 3.5e still has a special place in my heart as my first love, I recognize that 5e is much more mechanically elegant and simple, and I run it exclusively nowadays. It suits my needs better as a more storytelling-focused game than its predecessors, with fast combat, balanced gameplay, a lot of flexibility and being extremely easy to run.
I'd say if you are a 3.x fan like I was, giving 5e a shot would be a good idea. Pathfinder is also an option, depending on your tastes: if you prefer crunchy and gamey systems with lot of modifiers to make you feel like a boss, Pathfinder might be best for you; if you like more storytelling and dramatic-focused games with elegant, simple mechanics, 5e might just be what you're looking for. They're both excellent games that cater to two slightly different kinds of players, and I am glad both exist simultaneously.
In addition to the Pathfinder link provided above, you can access free 5e content here. It is a small slice of the most important rules and a few classes, backgrounds and spells that function as a "demo" of the game, while being also all you need to play/run it.
I'd say if you are a 3.x fan like I was, giving 5e a shot would be a good idea. Pathfinder is also an option, depending on your tastes: if you prefer crunchy and gamey systems with lot of modifiers to make you feel like a boss, Pathfinder might be best for you; if you like more storytelling and dramatic-focused games with elegant, simple mechanics, 5e might just be what you're looking for. They're both excellent games that cater to two slightly different kinds of players, and I am glad both exist simultaneously.
In addition to the Pathfinder link provided above, you can access free 5e content here. It is a small slice of the most important rules and a few classes, backgrounds and spells that function as a "demo" of the game, while being also all you need to play/run it.
I've heard Pathfinder/3.5 defined as the Advanced Squad Leader of RPGs, or in computer game terms, it would probably be the Dwarf Fortress. Like Star pointed out, it's mega crunchy, to the point that it's earned the name "Mathfinder" in some circles. Pathfinder is a dream come true for rules nerds and combat lovers, but I often find myself wondering if a war game would be a better fit.
My philosophy of (tabletop) game design is that you're creating an experience, and that rules are what you use to ensure that the experience can be replicated. With roleplay, the experience I'm looking for is mutual storytelling, so I want the mechanics to either compliment (Microscope, FATE, Dungeon World, WoD), or minimally intrude on(5e, Savage Worlds) the overall feel.
I'm also hard on D&D and Pathfinder because they're the two 800-pound gorillas of the RPG world, and (until 5e) have probably been some of the worst ways to introduce new players to the concept. A lot of potential players from casual gaming backgrounds take one look at the dense source material (seriously, who needs 3 massive books to play a game of make believe?) and run for the hills.
D&D pretty much sired the genre as it's known today, but I think it also has a lot to answer for.
My philosophy of (tabletop) game design is that you're creating an experience, and that rules are what you use to ensure that the experience can be replicated. With roleplay, the experience I'm looking for is mutual storytelling, so I want the mechanics to either compliment (Microscope, FATE, Dungeon World, WoD), or minimally intrude on(5e, Savage Worlds) the overall feel.
I'm also hard on D&D and Pathfinder because they're the two 800-pound gorillas of the RPG world, and (until 5e) have probably been some of the worst ways to introduce new players to the concept. A lot of potential players from casual gaming backgrounds take one look at the dense source material (seriously, who needs 3 massive books to play a game of make believe?) and run for the hills.
D&D pretty much sired the genre as it's known today, but I think it also has a lot to answer for.
I run a 5th Ed D&D group as the DM and I play in another group as Bathe Spellborne a level 10 Sorcerer, he's a boss but before he was said boss he was an RPR character.
Yes, there are quite a few! I have played AD&D, 3.5, Pathfinder (3.75 D&D), and 5th edition. Though I do agree with Bloopit, they are not games I would use to introduce others to tabletop gaming. Even the simplest class has countless concepts and options. It can easily overwhelm those new to tabletop gaming, and I have seen what happens when the DM is repeated asked questions about the game. They become angry, going so far as to say "Did you even read the book?". The truth is that no one of that group has read the entire book, and certainly not the DM.
From what I know of the systems, 3.5 has the most options, Pathfinder -is- very much Mathfinder, 4th edition is easy to have others join in with the hook of a combat game with little roleplay elements, and 5th edition is a very attractive system to both new and old players.
Outside of the Dungeons and Dragons, I find Warhammer Fantasy and Iron Claw to be my favorites, as they are flavorful, thematic, and they are easy systems to create characters for.
From what I know of the systems, 3.5 has the most options, Pathfinder -is- very much Mathfinder, 4th edition is easy to have others join in with the hook of a combat game with little roleplay elements, and 5th edition is a very attractive system to both new and old players.
Outside of the Dungeons and Dragons, I find Warhammer Fantasy and Iron Claw to be my favorites, as they are flavorful, thematic, and they are easy systems to create characters for.
Lets see.. I have played DnD 3.5, pathfinder, 4.0, Also a home-brew gundam based on the 3.5, a narutod20 based bit more on the 3.5, but uses mechanics from modern, aside from dnd, I also played table top games using the white wolf system and also got to experience the Marvel mechanics and even did a touch of the rifts. I digress, I've like the idea of doing another dnd but right now I'm trying to shake a level seven cruse or at lest not feel like I am before I start another DnD game.