D&D 5E is dying. It's enormous, and it will take a long while, but with Daggerheart videos already garnering tens of thousands of views on YouTube, I can see which way the wind is blowing. I put the old Aftermath game box up here, since that is how things feel in the 5E world. We are sifting through the ruins, discarding spoiled food, storing the outdated books, and rebuilding a sustainable community.
Draw Steel (MCDM RPG) is about to release very soon. This will be another nail in the 5E coffin. This is a 4.6 million dollar Kickstarter that is lying dormant and will drop huge, like a hammer.
Daggerheart is rising quickly. I wonder if this will be a fad game or if it will have traction and drive add-on sales. If Critical Role switches the rules to their own game for campaign four of their TV show, that will cement this game as the narrative champion. I hope they do, and I hope the narrative gamers flock here and build a strong home around the game.
There needs to be a separation between the narrative gaming crowd and the traditional D&D enthusiasts. This will benefit both communities.
D&D 2024 did not land that well. While I know some who have bought in and have the books, the content on YouTube isn't getting any traction, and most are still holding out with D&D 2014. They stopped caring about "new stuff from Wizards," which is a scary development.
If Critical Role pushes this game hard, it will be the next D&D. If they let fear and Hasbro money rule their hearts, it will end up like their other games. My advice to them is not to play nice and consider the name of the game when dealing with competitors.
Shadowdark perseveres! This pulled in all players who felt "D&D should be a board game," where the game's adventures were smaller in scope, the game played like a Monopoly game, and dungeon crawling was tight, timed, and tense. This is not narrative play, but more tactical, where teamwork against a ticking clock is a must, and you are constantly battling the darkness encroaching from around you. Shadowdark's Kickstarter projects are still exceeding expectations, and the third-party community is strong.
Shadowdark will always be around. This will outlast 5E.
Tales of the Valiant is still a low-key competitor and is in the position Paizo was with Pathfinder 2 before the OGL crisis. The moment Wizards drops the ball again, or announces an incompatible 6E early, ToV will see a massive influx of dissatisfied, but still 5E loyal, players. Until then, they need to survive the hype of other games coming out (Daggerheart took a lot of steam from the Player's Guide 2 launch), but they are playing a long game here.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this is what I am doing with ToV. I have stored half of my old 5E books, pared down my collection, and I am just focused on the best-of-the-best, plus my Kobold Press books. Players Guide 2, plus my three core ToV books, will be the heart of my game.
That said, 5E is still the weakest of the games here, especially in my collection.
As much as I love Open 5E and this game, the days of 5E are numbered. The soft launch of D&D 2024 pushes up the next edition from ten years to about three.
ACKS II is taking off as a strong alternative. I saw a video reviewing the game hit nearly 2,000 views in a day. That does not happen for a niche game. The new version is glorious, leather-bound, and boasts some of the finest art and presentation in the gaming industry. Please do not ignore this game; it's like an event movie for some, and not something you want to miss.
The treatment of the "fall of Rome" mixed with classic Greek and Bronze Age antiquity will be a model that the next 10 years of gaming shall try to copy, but never attain. The Treasure Book has finished its campaign, and we are awaiting word of the next project to drop for this incredible "event movie" of a game.
While I love ACKS and appreciate its quality, I wonder if I will ever have time for it. This is my "white whale" game, and like Moby Dick, one I will be dreaming of having time to play, but never truly getting there.
Castles & Crusades is also picking up tons of players. This is becoming the "walk away game" for many 5E groups that want an original edition experience without all the complexity. C&C just stripped the OGL and SRD from their games, and it is a fantastic transformation.
My ToV library needs to downsize to compete with C&C. If this is filled with shelves of junk books, it will not survive alongside that game. C&C is just that good. A tight, focused, well-written game will destroy a junk-filled 5E library every time.
But still, the ease and quality of C&C will destroy a well-curated 5E collection every time.
These last three games are my best solo-play games, since each one of them offers something different.
Another game that is killing it with its Kickstarter projects is Dragonbane, which is about to finish its expansion book campaign strongly. Like C&C, this has become a "walk away" game for many, and they have left 5E to play this. Even solo play is strongly supported here, and it is an excellent game. Dragonbane is close to being put back on my game table, especially the solo play options.
The best part about solo play here is that the game has the solo-play rules written into it. The monsters use randomized tables to attack. Every one of Free League's games takes solo play into account, if they can. From Twilight: 2000 to The Walking Dead, they are great solo-gaming sets.
Dungeon Crawl Classics is my D&D 3.5E and Pathfinder 1e replacement game. It's an easy enough game that I can play on the side, and the fun factor is very high considering the time invested. They received some criticism for dropping the ball on messaging a recent crowdfunding campaign, but they made things right. Some of the criticism went way beyond what was warranted, and I have dropped supporting the games linked to the anger and hate directed against them. The negativity drives people away from an already weak hobby, and we don't need any more of it.
DCC is such a fantastic collection of art, vibe, and experience. This has the Pathfinder 1e "extreme feeling" that I miss, where things are incredible, the fights are deadly, and characters can be over the top. Every class brings fun to the table. The game isn't trying to be a reflection of modern society; instead, it aims to replicate the fun feelings of the past, when the game first began.
I often compare this game to a classic rock tribute band, but a great one that can consistently deliver a stellar performance every night. This is a pitch-perfect game when it comes to the old-school feeling.
Replacing the mess of "needs a computer" Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5E games was a target of mine to reduce the software I need to play these games. If I can run a character sheet by hand and get 80% of the experience of the original, it is a good game. We are in an era where we need to rent access to our game's character creation tools, and buy the data packages, and it sucks. All of 5E is like this, no matter where you go, from D&D to A5E, to ToV.
It's all a massive scam to fleece players in the tabletop gaming industry. If I can't run it by hand, it is going in the can.
What DCC offers is the classic 3.5E play, plus many random crit and spell result charts. This creates a chaotic mix of gaming that I was always looking for with Pathfinder 1e, but had to buy a few dozen books to find, and software to somewhat support the concept. In DCC? It is all included with the core rules, works, and is designed for fun.
The one exception I will ever give a game for the "by hand rule" is GURPS. They offer two excellent character creation tools: one is a one-time purchase, and the other is free, with additional support through Patreon. They are significantly cheaper than 5E tools. Still, I can run GURPS by hand if I need to; it is not that hard.
GURPS is a game I find endless enjoyment in, designing characters, powers, and running solo games. If I had to keep only one game on this list, every other one would have to go, and I would keep GURPS. If I were allowed two, it would be DCC as well.
GURPS is everything, every game, any game, and it can do anything.