10 Simple Reasons to Play a Game Other Than D&D 5e

I often say that I vehemently dislike D&D 5e, but that's not entirely true. Mostly I've moved on. There are specific design choices in 5e that conflict with the kind of TTRPG experience that I seek and enjoy. This post attempts to explain those differences.

1. Advantage / Disadvantage

Advantage and Disadvantage is unintuitive. A normal d20 produces a flat distribution where every +/- 1 is worth a +/- 5%. Disadvantage produces a curve distribution where success changes in a non-linear way. The result is that dis/advantage does not have a consistent numerical value. Sometimes feels like a +/-4, sometimes like a +/-5.

Here's where the mechanic really loses me. Rolling a natural 20 with disadvantage becomes a 0.25% or 1 in 400 chance. Meanwhile, rolling a natural 1 with disadvantage becomes a 9.75% or a 39 in 400 chance. I think this spoils the excitement of d20 system where you always have a 5% chance to roll a nat 20 and succeed.

If your design goal is simplicity while preserving the spirit of the d20 system, a straightforward change to the DC or a flat modifier like in Index Card RPG (ICRPG) is easy to understand without spoiling natural 1s and natural 20s. This is why I prefer fixed modifiers rather than advantage and disadvantage.

2. The Catalog

D&D 5e is the culmination of 40 years of D&D. They came up with a lot of bloat in those 40 years, and a lot of it made it into D&D 5e as standard content. I call this the catalog, and it means the list of fantasy races and sub-races, character classes and sub-classes, backgrounds, feats, and spells. There is a lot of stuff for players to choose. All of these player options are expected to be available whenever they receive an invite to join your game. Taking any of these player options away for any reason, such as making a more coherent or cohesive game, presenting a different genre or subgenre, pursing a different setting, etc., is perceived as nerfing or restricting players. They tend to dislike it.

The catalog is a kitchen-sink. It is all the toys in the toy-box. You don't have to play with all the toys, but existence of options creates expectations of availability. Restricting some of the toys can allow you to curate the kind of game you want to play. You can play a slightly different game or a very different game. If you just want to play with just the army men, there are 5e players who want to add power rangers and sailor moon. They will never be content to just play with the army men. You are stuck playing the kitchen-sink version of the game.

I wrote more about restrictions here: 5e House Rules - High Immersion, High Discipline, GM Curated Style of 5e. I also wrote about why human-centric settings better preserve the tone of your game here: Human‑Centric Fantasy Settings: Why Monster PCs Break Tone. I also wrote about how class designs in D&D 5e are a mess here: How to Fix Modern Class Design. 

3. Alignments

I'm not sure alignments ever made sense, and I don't think E. Gary Gygax ever really did a good job explaining it. By the time we get to D&D 5e, most players view Alignment as a personality type. It's not, but that's not what I don't like about alignment in D&D 5e. There are no built-in restrictions on player character alignment, so inevitably you have one player who chooses one of the butt hole alignments. This leads to a group of players that are less cohesive, less cooperative, and maybe even a little adversarial. I've never liked player vs player conflict, and I never found it fun. Any rule that passively encourages or permits it needs to go.

I wrote about what alignments are very simply here: D&D Alignments - How to Use Them! Read this and tell me I'm wrong about what alignments are. 

4. Player Skill vs. Character Skill

I don't like rolling for everything. It's not fun to roll dice and fail. I want the things I say or do in-character to have their own merit and be worthy of success or failure by the logic of the fiction or setting. I can show you where in the 5e DMG (2014 version) that it says the DM can decide to not use the dice except for in combat. It's page 236 of the DMG, under the section The Role of the Dice.

Quote: "One approach is to use the dice as rarely as possible. Some DMs use them only during combat and determine success or failure as they like in other situations."

That's rules as written, and that line says that the literal written word of the rules is not Rules As Intended (RAI). 

In 5e, everyone seems to think you have to resolve everything with dice. I've played with multiple GMs. They want you rolling for everything. It's ridiculous, it discourages players putting in any kind of effort, and it slows the game down. What I'm subtly referring to is a concept called player-skill-forward which I wrote about here: Player Skill vs Character Skill - Managing Expectations. I also wrote a Primer for No Speech Mechanics in TTRPGs and How to do Speech in TTRPGs (without dice!) which requires a player-skill-forward playstyle.

5. Hard to DM

I would argue that this game is harder to DM for than other games. When running Index Card RPG (ICRPG), I could easily keep all my notes to one or two pages and comfortably improv. Prep was a breeze for ICRPG too, and it didn't take a lot of my time.

Also reference: The DM Shortage - Why 5e Doesn't Have Enough, Cognitive Load for GMs, and The Authority of the GM / DM.

Adventures, Not Campaigns.

6. Hit Points in 5e Suck

In GURPS, the rules of the game are intended to model real world physics. There are pros and cons to this, but in attempting to model real world physics, the game is intending to describe objective reality. A GURPS human has 10 HP by default, and there is an upward limit on how much HP a GURPS human can have. 18 is a lot of HP for a GURPS character. This makes damage proportional, objective, concrete, and intuitive. You know if you do 6 points of damage that you've done a lot of damage no matter what scope or scale you're playing.

There are also rules for recovering lost HP that are intended to model real healing and recovery. It makes the in-game world easy to understand. Anything that makes the game easier to understand makes playing the game faster, even if you need to handwave five or ten in-game days to recover after a fight.

Meanwhile, in D&D 5e, everything is a damage sponge, and so combats go on and on and on. Within the narrative, you can stab someone with a spear, and then they can nap it off, which is absurd and immersion-breaking. Tension is difficult to have in a game like 5e, and combat is a slog. It's suits a cinematic style action game but with cartoonish rules.

I wrote about this here: Scaling Problems in TTRPGs - An Argument for Small Numbers. 

7. Combat Is Boring

Combat is boring and I'm tired or politely accepting it; But if it's not boring, it's because the GM went and threw some bonkers-high CR monsters at us. Part of the reason why D&D combat is boring is because of HP which I just commented on. The other reason why D&D 5e combat is boring is because it's just too slow.

I would first suggest simplifying turns. Every player gets only one thing they can do on their turn, and they can move up to their normal movement as part of their action. Say what you do, say how, roll your dice.

I wrote a few blog posts about why the game is slow and how to speed it up:

Why TTRPG Combat Feels Slow (How to Fix!) and

House Rules for Faster, More Immersive Games and 

Flow State to Speed Up TTRPG Combat - Game Design & Managing Expectations

8. Fantasy Ruined Monsters

There are two kinds of monsters: horror monsters, and monsters as exotic people. I think all monsters work best as horror monsters and were probably intended to be horror monsters until twentieth century children's books softened them. Somehow, modern fantasy has inherited the softer version of monsters, and you won't often find the horror monsters in D&D 5e. They're just exotic kinds of people now. I don't like it.

Almost everything gets humanized except maybe zombies and aberrations.

I wrote a few things on this: Monsters in Fiction, Modernity Ruined Monsters, and 

Seven Rules for Monsters in TTRPGs - Your Fun is Wrong.

9. Setting

The setting by default makes room for everything in the catalog I addressed above in item 2. This necessarily means the setting must include things that don't feel like they belong. That means the setting lacks cohesion and a feeling like it makes sense. 

Fantasy doesn't mean anything goes; I don't need a realistic setting, but I do need a setting that feels like it makes sense. The default assumptions about a game influence its tone.

I wrote a few things how elements of the setting conflict with each other here: Human‑Centric Fantasy Settings: Why Monster PCs Break Tone and 

The Problem with the Fantasy Monk.

10. Tone

I have been hinting at it, but I haven't said so explicitly. The tone of 5e games is cartoonish. It's hard to take seriously. When normal people watch you play your modern 5e game, you all look goofy. You're playing a game where paladins, a class described as a "devout warrior" and "standing against forces of evil", can use a divine smite on a bugbear, where a divine smite is literally named divine and is described as dealing radiant damage, meanwhile a bugbear is described as a goblinoid which is described as mischievous. It sounds like a misuse of divinity and I think by the giggles and cackles from the other players, they agree.

Tone means the mood or atmosphere, or, how the audience / participants should feel. How are we supposed to feel?

• You get stabbed. You take a nap and you're all better.
• Characters can take a lot of damage and keep going, and they seem to do so without regard for their safety.
• Monsters aren't monsters, they're just misunderstood people.
• Elves are just humans with pointy ears. Fish people, mushroom people, and fire people can just live in the same village.

At the end of the day, D&D 5e feels silly.

Conclusion

Every gamer wants to play D&D 5e and are reluctant to find another game. Therefore, if you want to play any other TTRPG, you'll have no one to play it with. This frustrates me because I don't want to play D&D 5e. There's a lot of games out there and I want to encourage everyone to find one other game they like. Just one! Here's a short list of free alternative games and games like D&D: How to Play D&D for Free.

Also reference this blog post from 2024: 5 Things I don't like about D&D 5e

If you're looking for a suggestion to get your players to try another game, read this: How to Convert 5e Players: The World Within a World Strategy.

Your Fantasy Names are Bad - Grounded Worlds Need Grounded Names

When I need a name, I pull one from the Bible. I do this whether I'm writing fiction, GMing, or creating a player character. Here's why.

Bible names are ancient. These are 2,000+ year old names. I know Christians don't like it when you call their religion a mythology, but let's agree to disagree. If you're of the belief that the Bible is describing myth, then these names are actual Earth mythology. This is the deep Earth lore. How cool is that? These names evoke myth without spectacle.

They're grounded. They are real names, not fake names. Grounded worlds should have grounded names. You might call them plain Jane, boring, or vanilla. You might have some other derogatory way to describe them. I rather approach these names like the Doctor from Doctor Who. He meets someone with a really plain or old-fashioned sounding name, and it makes him smile real wide, then he compliments it three times. 

They're recognizable. Bible names are universal. If your culture doesn't have any Bible names, you might have variants or you might have names that are inspired by or derived from Bible names; or vice versa. Maybe the Bible names are inspired by or derived from the names in your culture. For example, here's a table of 5 common bible names in 10 different languages.

English	Spanish	Portuguese	French	German	Italian	Russian	Arabic	Hebrew	Greek
Mary	María	Maria	Marie	Maria	Maria	Мария (Mariya)	مريم (Maryam)	מרים (Miryam)	Μαρία (Maria)
Joseph	José	José	Joseph	Josef	Giuseppe	Иосиф (Iosif)	يوسف (Yusuf)	יוסף (Yosef)	Ιωσήφ (Iosíf)
David	David	David	David	David	Davide	Давид (David)	داود (Dāwūd)	דוד (David)	Δαβίδ (Davíd)
Sarah	Sara	Sara	Sarah	Sarah	Sara	Сара (Sara)	سارة (Sārah)	שרה (Sarah)	Σάρα (Sára)
John	Juan	João	Jean	Johann / Johannes	Giovanni	Иоанн (Ioann)	يوحنا (Yūḥannā)	יוחנן (Yochanan)	Ιωάννης (Ioánnis)

They're cultural touchstones. This means a widely recognized symbol or reference point within a culture that carries or evokes shared meaning, value, or stories. Bible names have sacred meanings to a lot of people. People who have these names are named after characters from stories that inspired friends and family, or because the character embody values or virtues that the parent believes are important. When you name your kid a Biblical name, you're not just saying "I think this is a pretty name", you're saying, "I want my kid to have / spread this meaning / value / virtue".

They carry emotional weight. Cultural touchstones aside, sometimes you name your kids after Uncle John or Aunt Ruth because they were a beloved member of your family. Most people with Bible names actually have two names; a first name and a middle name. This tradition comes from people being torn between naming their children after a Bible character or naming their children after family or important friends. Having a first name and a middle name solves the problem. If you meet someone who has a Bible name and some other name, ask them about that other name. It might be interesting.

They feel low fantasy and human scale. They feel like real people, not fantasy caricatures. Bible names aren't just names, they're part of the world's tone. Maximus Decimus Meridius is a cool name, and to some people so is Goku, Vegeta, Vash, Monkey D. Luffy, Ichigo, and Naruto; but those names don't suit low fantasy and human scale. These names describe characters who shoot lasers out of their hands and can crush planets while they shape nations or decide the fate of a planet. Meanwhile, David is a guy you might meet at a hardware store.

They're Good for World Cohesion. When you create a period setting, you should use names the sound like they go together and sound like they describe a place in time, a culture, a language, or a myth. It's about choosing a naming convention that reinforces the world’s emotional logic. It’s the same instinct behind:

• Tolkien using Anglo‑Saxon and Norse names
• Earthsea using simple, elemental names
• The Witcher using Slavic names
• Dark Souls using medieval European names

Modern and Sci-Fi settings can get away with breaking these rules to an extent. I mean, Luke Skywalker anyone? Luke!

Don't-Do's of Names

At the very least, here's a simple list of rules for what not to do with names:

1. Avoid names that are hard to spell and hard to pronounce. These make names that are hard to remember and they slow down play.
2. Don't pick names that lack cohesion with the setting (or joke names) because they make world feel fake. You might think Rex is a cool name, but who named you that in a low-fantasy period setting?
3. Don't pick names that carry no emotional weight. Bob can be a strong name if there's a strong reason behind it. People think Atticus is a strong male name because of the character Atticus Finch. You need a cool namesake to make your name cool.

Bright‑Dark 3d6 - Session 0 Checklist

Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game doesn’t need a sprawling D&D-style Session 0 because the game already solves the ambiguity problem. The tone, genre, danger level, and realism are baked into the system. So instead of 30 questions, Bright‑Dark needs about 6-9 all laser-focused on the emotional, thematic, and narrative cohesion that makes Bright‑Dark work.

The Essential Bright-Dark 3d6 Session‑0 Questions

These aren’t generic TTRPG questions. They’re tailored to the Bright-Dark tone: grounded, melancholy, hopeful, dangerous, human.

1. What does your character care about deeply enough that the GM can build stakes from it? In other words, what matters to you so deeply that losing it would hurt?
   *This is the most important question to running Bright-Dark!
2. What kind of Bright-Dark story are we telling?
3. How grounded and dangerous should the world feel?
4. What themes do you want your character to explore?
5. What level of supernatural presence do we want?
6. How connected are the characters emotionally?
7. What boundaries or sensitivities should we respect?
8. How much spotlight do you want?
9. What is your character’s quiet hope?

1. What does your character care about deeply enough that the GM can build stakes from it?

In Bright-Dark, stakes are personal.

The world may be dangerous, but danger only becomes meaningful when it touches something the characters care about. 

• Before play begins, each player should tell the GM what matters most to their character: a hope, a fear, a relationship, a promise, or a fragile part of themselves they cannot bear to lose.

This is not backstory for its own sake.

It is the emotional anchor the GM uses to shape conflict, tension, and consequence. Adventures begin with the world’s troubles, but they become Bright-Dark stories only when those troubles threaten the things the characters hold close.

Knowing the Characters to Create Stakes

When the GM knows the characters, the stakes write themselves. When the GM does not, the story has no weight.

2. What kind of Bright-Dark story are we telling?
Bright-Dark is a tone, not a genre, but there are flavors:

• wandering melancholy adventure
• intimate character drama
• quiet survival
• mythic but grounded fantasy
• soft supernatural intrusion
• political or social tension

This question aligns everyone’s expectations for emotional weight and pacing.


3. How grounded is the world’s danger?
Bright-Dark thrives on believable stakes.

• Are you comfortable with realistic injury?
• Are you comfortable with characters being afraid, shaken, or vulnerable?
• Should danger feel constant, occasional, or rare but serious?

This sets the lethality dial without needing D&D’s “gritty realism” debates.


4. What themes do you want your character to explore?
Bright-Dark characters carry wounds and small hopes. Examples:

• Grief
• Redemption
• Trust
• Found family
• Quiet courage
• Moral ambiguity
• Healing
• Sacrifice

This question ensures every character has emotional weight that fits the tone.


5. What level of supernatural presence do you want?
Bright-Dark uses magic sparingly and meaningfully. Options:

• Low magic (rare, subtle, mysterious)
• Medium magic (present but not flashy)
• Mythic intrusions (angels, spirits, cosmic forces)
• No magic (pure grounded drama)

This prevents mismatched expectations like “I want flashy spells” vs “I want realism.”


6. How connected are the characters?
Bright-Dark works best when characters care about each other.

• Do you already know each other?
• Do you share a wound?
• Do you share a hope?
• What binds you emotionally?

This avoids the “we meet in a tavern” problem entirely.


7. What boundaries or sensitivities should we respect?
Bright-Dark deals with melancholy and vulnerability, so you need clarity on:

• Violence level
• Emotional triggers
• Interpersonal conflict
• Romance boundaries
• Moral themes
• Lines and veils

This keeps the tone safe without breaking immersion.


8. How much spotlight do you want?
Bright-Dark is character‑driven, so ask:

• Do you want lots of personal scenes?
• Do you prefer ensemble scenes?
• Do you want slow‑burn arcs or fast arcs?

This prevents overshadowing or under‑involvement.


9. What is your character’s quiet hope?
This is the most Bright-Dark question of all.

• What small thing keeps your character going?  
• What fragile hope do they cling to?  
• What do they want to protect?  

This gives you emotional anchors for the entire campaign.

Why Bright-Dark Only Needs These 9
Because the system already defines:

• Tone  
• Realism  
• Danger  
• Genre  
• Pacing  
• Supernatural logic  
• Moral texture  

D&D needs 30 questions because it can be anything. 
Bright-Dark needs 9 because it is something.

• This game is focused.  
• The tone is intentional.  
• The implied world is coherent.  
• The mechanics reinforce your themes.
• So, Session 0 is elegant, not bloated.

Download: Full Rulebook PDF version 0.9

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