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From: Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com>
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Subject: [Screenrant] After 5e, Old-School D&D Now Means The Opposite Of What
 It Used To
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:38:09 +0200
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Source: https://screenrant.com/dnd-2024-old-school-revival-5e-op-ed/

After 5e, Old-School D&D Now Means The Opposite Of What It Used To


By Derek Garcia
Published Mar 1, 2025


For veteran tabletop RPG fans like me, it can be hard to discuss changes 
in Dungeons & Dragons and other games with newer hobbyists, because game 
design concepts that were old have become new again, and newer 
advancements in design are perceived as old. I started playing tabletop 
RPGs with 2e Advanced DnD. The game was a mishmash of different systems 
pretending to be one game, with percentiles used for certain thief 
abilities, a roll high d20-based system for certain checks, roll low for 
others. I happily left 2e DnD behind, but old-school gaming has 
returned, muddying the RPG waters.

The Old School Renaissance (alternately, Revival or Revolution) trend in 
RPGs has been around for a while, and there are many great OSR tabletop 
RPGs that excel in capturing the vibe of DnD from last century, often 
paired with some modern design conventions. Many of these games are 
quality products, and OSR has certainly established itself as a genre, 
rather than a fad, in the hobby. The problem arises when the throwback 
ideals of OSR are treated as the norm for RPGs, or even misinterpreted 
as progress, rather than the nostalgic regressions they are, and DnD 
absolutely should have stayed away from OSR mechanics.
Since 2000, D&D Was About Advancing The Hobby
 From 2e To 3e, and 3e To 4e, D&D Consistently Focused On Improving Itself

When looking at every edition of Dungeons & Dragons prior to 5e, there 
was a clear pattern and trajectory for the game. DnD has long been the 
market leader in most regions among tabletop RPGs, but starting with the 
release of 3.0 DnD in 2000, the game seemed like it also wanted to 
advance game design, and maybe the hobby at large, with each new 
iteration. Third edition DnD was a godsend after the nightmarish design 
of 2e, for me, abandoning nonsense like asymmetrical experience charts 
among classes, and rolled statistics, thanks to the introduction of a 
point buy option.

While some DnD editions were in print longer than others, each revision 
seemed to have a clear goal and mission statement to improve it over its 
predecessor. The 2e DnD game was entirely focused on combat, with no 
consideration for other types of challenges or fantasy storytelling. 
Third edition DnD added a robust skill system, which legitimized social 
skills and other specialties. It pared down a confusing, bloated list of 
saving throws to three intuitive saves, and made tactical grid-based 
combat more rewarding, while aiming for improved game balance. The 3.5 
revision helped smooth out many of 3.0’s rough edges.

Many consider 4e DnD a deeply divisive game, but in truth, it was 
absolutely the ideal design advancement from the 3.5 system. Pathfinder 
continued the legacy of 3.5 in its first system, but contrary to some 
fans’ perceptions, 4e DnD was more financially successful than 
Pathfinder, as well as both 3.0 and 3.5 DnD. Once a large company like 
Hasbro becomes involved, simply being more successful than the 
competition is not enough, however. Instead of continuing to advance and 
improve on DnD’s game design, as 4e did over 3e, the focus shifted to 
“money left on the table,” not quality.

  D&D Should Not Have Chased The OSR Movement's Fans
Competing With The Brilliant OSR Games Already Available Was A Bad Idea

Some saw DnD’s 2024 Player’s Handbook as a new edition, but it operates 
as more of a lateral move to the 2014 5e rules, not a real improvement, 
when taken as a whole. The original 5e rules were a bit worse, in that 
regard, as they represented a calculated step backwards for the game, 
intentionally ignoring much of 4e DnD’s forward momentum in design to 
embrace a throwback mentality. It is evident that this was done to court 
those who skipped 4e DnD for Pathfinder 1e, and those who turned to OSR 
alternatives to DnD. This was a huge mistake.

Every 5e DnD Starter Set is beginner-friendly because the system is 
incredibly simple, the most streamlined edition since certain versions 
of Basic DnD. This is great for onboarding entirely new players to the 
tabletop RPG hobby, but other design choices were clearly aimed at 
luring OSR fans back from their real games of choice. The 5e designers 
knew the “right answer” in many cases and simply chose to ignore it. The 
game could have mandated the use of point buy, and flat Hit Point 
increases with level-ups, instead of rolled hit dice, but it presents 
these solely as options.

Feats are integral to the balance of 5e DnD’s martial characters, but 
the 2014 rules presented Feats as optional, which is one element the 
2024 revision fixed. The decision to make Feats optional was a blatant 
effort to attract OSR fans, along with pushing the notion that magic 
items are entirely at the Dungeon Master’s discretion, and not required 
for party balance, when the game’s design proved otherwise. Discussing 
these changes with newer fans is hard, since the old-school design of 5e 
is a throwback, but because it was published more recently than 4e, many 
perceive it as new.

2024 D&D Is Currently Caught Between Worlds
The Game Wants OSR Fans, Which Holds The System Back From Growth

With all three core books now released, it is clear 2024 DnD is still 
extremely ambiguous, and the major driver of that ambiguity is the 
game’s desire to be all things to all people, instead of aiming to be 
the best game it can be. It is caught between worlds, as it relies 
heavily on design advancements of 4e, like Short Rests, subclasses, and 
bounded accuracy, but still wants to avoid committing to any design 
choices that might frighten off OSR fans, or those who jumped ship for 
Pathfinder’s first edition. Instead, 2024 DnD offloads design decisions 
to the DM.

The OSR movement has its own games that earned their own fanbases. They 
may have been inspired by DnD’s 20th-century entries, but games like 
Shadowdark, Worlds Without Number, and Mörk Borg all have their own 
identity that is well-earned. DnD could have continued to pioneer 
advancing design for the hobby, and its flagship fantasy game, and left 
its legacy to the successors in the OSR. Instead, it wants to have it 
all, leading to a confounding environment where old and new are 
conflated. Dungeons & Dragons has flipped the script on new and old, and 
all TTRPGs suffer for it.