The Case for Tales of the Valiant

Tales of the Valiant is still a go-to game for me.

But why? I have the fantastic Level Up Advanced 5E?

When I don't want the lengthy (but wonderfully in-depth) character creation of Level Up A5E, I have ToV as my "drop-in" 5E replacement. ToV means you can turn your back on 2024 D&D and walk away. You won't be using D&D Beyond, but who cares? If you do character sheets by hand, character creation in ToV is more straightforward, streamlined, and faster than 2024 D&D.

Frankly, doing sheets by hand helps me learn and appreciate the game more.

With ToV, there's no need to consult an incomplete 5E SRD to incorporate a third-party book or play something like BattleZoo and enjoy it. Porting subclasses is a breeze, and most require no additional work - you simply take them. Any other book that delves into character options or subclasses fits seamlessly into the game.

It is as close as possible to a 5E-like core book, with no added flash or extra rules. The rules are so close that they are interchangeable with the SRD. The classes are different, improved, and solid, like fixed 2014 versions of those classes designed to play well.

Like early Pathfinder 1e, the game did not need to change much to do its job; that game was essentially D&D 3.5 repackaged. This is repackaged, drama-free, 5E.

While Level Up has the depth and options I crave, ToV is the accessible version of 5E. It works with my third-party books and is not changing. The fact that it isn't that different is its strength; you don't need to learn much here to play. The look and feel of the game is slightly newer, but it nods to the classic styles. It doesn't look silly or too modern, and have Concord-style art in there to distract you and take you out of the world.

I don't want the modern world.

I want the world I make to be the one that I imagine.

You also get a clean start, and you don't have to port in 10 years of legacy 5E books - just your third-party books that you love. I am not sorting through endless options on a website. I can play with the core books and have fun. The game is less about optimization and min-maxing and more about the adventure. More about the characters. More about the story.

This is why I like OSR games; there aren't many rules to get between you and the story. Granted, this is a 5E framework, but there are far fewer rules and options to worry about here than in 2024 D&D or Level Up. I love Level Up, but when I want "SRD 5E" - ToV is my game.

My mind is free.

I have a core set of books again with a unified set of rules.