Thinking about not switching over to the new edition of D&D? Well here’s five reasons not to make the jump!
Edition wars are a heck of a thing. And right now we’re sort of lazily drifting through one. When the dust settles, though, I think it’s likely most people will switch over to the new ruleset. After all, that’s the one that’s going to have the most stuff coming out for it from the parent company. And if there’s one thing people love, it’s stuff. I mean, think about it, how good would purchasing a product feel right now?
But, not everyone will switch over. And there’s plenty of reasons not to switch to the new edition.
Your Campaign is Already Going Steady
D&D campaigns can be delicate things. It’s hard enough juggling scheduling in the age of capitalism demanding most of your time be spent trying to not die and/or starve to death, with little energy for anything else, other than passively consuming content. If you find yourself in a long running D&D campaign, that’s an amazing thing to keep hold of.
You may not want to shake things up by switching to the new ruleset. In which case, you already have everything you need and can just keep going.
Not All of the Books Are Out Yet
This is a huge one. Right now, the only book from the new edition that you can get is the Player’s Handbook. And while, sure, you can absolutely play the game with older books and monsters and such, there’s a weird sort of imbalance. The edition won’t even fully be out until February 2025, at which point all bets are off.
But it’s reason enough to stick with what you have for the time being.
You Don’t Like the Changes
Especially now that the Player’s Handbook is out in the wild, you can judge for yourself whether this ruleset is for you. It may not hit on all the right notes for you. Maybe it changes one of your favorite rules interactions. Maybe it doesn’t fix some things you were hoping it would—in which case yeah, stick with whatever you want to play.
Your Friend Convinced You to Try an Indie Game Instead
There are a million different indie rpgs out there, many of which might give you exactly the kind of experience you’re looking for. Instead of making the switch to 5.5E, you could give something like Shadowdark or Bloodbeam Badlands a try and see if that scratches the itch for you.
You’re Still Playing D&D 3.5
You didn’t make the switch from 3.5 to 4th, or to 5th Edition, and you’re certainly not going to switch now. Just wait, people are going to come around on how flexible and crunchy D&D 3.5 was, and then, when all the fantasy heartbreakers start using your ruleset, you shall laugh from atop your throne. Plus Brennan Lee Mulligan still runs a campaign using this ruleset.
Whether you make the switch or not, happy adventuring!
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