I found some interested in playing D&D as a group, so I fell back into it. Initially, I wanted to keep my Level Up A5E books and a small subset of those, and keep the rest of my D&D books in storage. This group wanted to play D&D, and any amount of redefinition would have ruined the moment.
I love A5E but can't call it D&D and confuse people.
I am sticking with 2014, though. Some in my group have 2014 books, and the economy isn't letting them upgrade or buy new books. Asking people to buy books will kill interest. Asking people to buy 2024 books will kill interest for others.
How do I feel about the entire A+B character creation method with background and species? I am fine with this method in other games; in those games, it goes A+B+C and even more. Mechanical benefits for backgrounds are a bitter pill to swallow, and while those are fine in other games, they aren't D&D. There are intelligent farmers just as there are strong city folk; you are deflecting the old "racial essentialism" argument and putting that into "social essentialism" and it is just as dumb.
D&D is supposed to be easy: race plus class and go.
Let players come up with their own backgrounds.
And they don't have mechanical benefits.
Besides, Tasha's 2014 book cleared the whole issue up and let you put bonuses where you wanted them. If you are just going to argue, let people say where the bonuses go and be done with it. I am fine with the A+B+C systems in ToV and Level Up; those are "boutique D&D" and get a free pass. Basic D&D is supposed to be easier and more straightforward, just like the older games, and race + class is all I want players considering.
Otherwise, all fighters come from these subsets of backgrounds, and all wizards are in that set. We are back to square one. ToV did its best by putting the "extra points" into ability score creation and removing them from the A+B+C choices, which I prefer. The simpler system lets the A+B+C choices focus on options, not mechanical benefits.
ToV wins this round. Sorry, 2014 and 2024 D&D, and even A5E. Give players more points to generate characters, and stop adding them later.
Another +1 for D&D is the ease of creating characters. Finding a free character creation tool in Level Up A5E or even Tales of the Valiant is nearly impossible. Especially one with character storage and a good web UI. Kobold Press and Level Up cancelling ToV Roll20 support hurts. I want character designers, importers, and a free and open system for character creation support.
And Wizards is far too stingy on their books. I want my PDFs. Not having them sucks. I feel a step removed from the game. With ToV and Level Up? I have my PDFs. It is 2025, and forcing people onto gated websites or physical copies to read a book is unthinkable.
Another loss for 2014 and 2024 D&D. No PDFs? It is 2025, stop acting like it is 2008.
So, 2014 D&D is for my group. I would like to swap out 2014 D&D for Tales of the Valiant, and people in my group could own PDFs. ToV and D&D are interchangeable, and I would like to standardize the core rules and classes on a modern, sane set of options (that isn't 2024). The ToV classes are better designed than the 2014 ones by a long shot, and are more fun to play.
Monks are fixed. Rangers are fixed, and the mystic mark feature is solid (and combine that with Ranged Weapon Mastery's bonus action). Rogues feel like rogues. Every choice is good without all the exploits. There are fewer headaches and house rules here. They are not overpowered and feel like they have the "dry and realistic" 2014 power levels.
The classes in ToV are better than the D&D 2024 ones.
There are fewer subclasses in ToV (for now, they have new ones in The Old Margreve and the Dungeon Builder books, and are working on more) than in 2024 D&D, but they are higher-quality choices than quantity. They are working on more, so we can give Kobold Press time. You can port old ones in, too, since compatibility is very high.
The only honest criticism is that casters seem favored over martials. That is an easy problem; be more generous with magic items for your martial classes and give them parity through loot. Also, consider using the Expanded Special Melee Attacks rules in the GMG (page 73) and the Parry and Defensive Combat rules (page 77), and the game allows stunts like this to replace the need for 2024's weapon masteries and tracking special weapon properties. The parry reaction is a nice rule that expands ToV's action economy.
ToV has weapon options, plus the rules from the ToV GMG feel better than 2024's weapon mastery system, where a few classes have the "learn them" in a slot system and "unlearn them" on a long rest. In ToV? Everyone gets them with being proficient in the weapon; they don't use slots, nobody needs to track them on a character sheet, and they are just "there to use." Plus, the GMG's extra combat rules add more options.
Will it break the game if a wizard wants to use their quarterstaff to bash something in an emergency? No. This is a fun option and should be opened up to everyone. Wizards aren't in melee enough for this really to affect the game, and having it as a tool is a net plus to "fun at the table."
D&D 2024 is, in many ways, overdesigned. All these tracked resources did not need to be added to the character sheet. 2024's weapon mastery is a mistake.
Tales of the Valiant got it right.
ToV also gives you more options regarding ability score improvements and feats; you always get at least a point when you choose a feat. There are no dead levels in ToV, either. ToV is the best of the "modern 5E systems" at this point, and it leads D&D 2024 by a mile in design, function, and usability. If I play with others, ToV would be my ideal choice since I am not posting pages of house rules for 2014, the power levels are the same as 2014, and every choice just works out of the box.
Magic item crafting? ToV also offers that as a downtime activity. I love these YouTube channels acting like crafting magic items is some new thing that D&D 2024 invented. Oh, and we have a price list for magic items, too. No automatic bastions, which is a plus, but Kobold Press has books on running kingdoms, so the subject is well-covered.
We have more wins for ToV, which is managing to be a complete and well-thought-out design. Kobold Press listened to playtest feedback, and it did not disappear into the nether like a marketing campaign.
ToV is also far better regarding access to the base rules. I can point everyone to the Black Flag SRD, which has the game's rules for free. People can own PDFs. Most legacy 2014 books and player options are compatible. Yes, the art is a little cartoony, but there is a charm to that. The rules are why I play.
If you are one of these people, like me, defending 2014 as the better version of D&D, and will never buy into 2024, you need to give ToV another look.
ToV is better designed than 2024 D&D, is easier to learn, more open, is a modern game, and retains the charm of D&D 2014.
For my home games and solo play? I will play Level Up A5E. This system just clicks for me and provides the depth and options I like in a hybrid 5E and old-school game. If I want "overdesigned for good reason and great effect," I will play Level Up.
But if I am stuck with 2014 5E?
I am looking at ToV, the fixed version of 2014, for which I don't need to maintain a list of house rules and patches.