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We found 3e fairly similar to 1e: it works OK till about level 9 or 10, then starts to wobble, and by the low-mid teens the wheels come off. The biggest difference between 3e and 1e in that way is that 1e is vastly more tolerant of different party sizes and variances than 3e, which almost...

And I see the same with most TTRPGs - they do essentially the same things as any other TTRPG. Hey, that about sums up how we built the game system I use; and though it still ain't perfect (probably never will be) it does me more than well enough. :) For the person who did all that work on it...

For me it's a mix. Some parts of prep* I really enjoy, other parts are a serious slog. Running at the table has a higher "really enjoy" ratio but there's times when it too can be a serious slog. * - including post-game logging, recordkeeping, etc. as well as pre-game prep.

There's about a gajillion different makes and models of cars out there. I've owned the same car since 2009 and it's more than good enough for what I need it to do, 99% of the time (the other 1% usually involves things I want to haul not fitting in it). And yet I think I'm still allowed to hold...

Fair enough for one's own cooking at home. I think a better analogy here, though, is a restaurant. If I'm running an Italian restaurant with a big sign outside saying "Fine Italian Food Here - Come Get Some!" then it's pretty obvious that Italian food is what you're going to get here, which...

Siiiigh. Yet again I have to point out that the survey you're quoting threw out all data received from any respondent aged 35 or over, which just happens to be the cohort most likely to be involved in longer-running games. The cynic in me says this was very intentionally done in order to skew...

Part of it also depends on how you see the physics of magic working in the setting. For me, I see magic as a force of physics similar to gravity etc. only it's malleable by living creatures who know (or have been taught) how to do so; thus the casting of any spell involves three steps: 1 -...

Level doesn't have to be a purely-metagame element in the slightest, and can very well exist in the setting. All it needs is that some sort of in-setting training is required in order to level (which IMO should be the case anyway). There's real-world examples* of "levels" all over the place...

The left-hand graph has a rather large and glaring flaw, as it implies that exactly 0% of the player base is 46 or older. Such is not the case.

If you lock them all into having levels and classes and so forth, then sure; I'd agree. What I want as DM is something that says in hard numbers "this creature, on average, is as strong as the strongest possible human, as smart as the average bag of hammers, not very wise, has average...

How many of those campaigns were intentionally run as open-ended though, i.e. without a set "completion" point? I've been running the same campaign for 17+ years now and there's still no end in sight; hard to call it "fizzled" after that long even if it for some reason stops next month.

For me at least, it's because I view D&D as being more an adults' game than a kids' game.

I love it, only when it's truly wild and unpredictable - wild surges from an interrupted spell doing weird things, or broken magic items releasing their enchantments in ways unintended, that sort of thing. I have about 400 different possible entries (a few of which amount to "make s**t up") on...

Part of the problem is that we're a diverse lot; and one DM's "mistake" might be another DM's "best practice", with both of them running games their players greatly enjoy. Thus, there's always going to be objections from somewhere to published advice around something as...

Indeed, but giving them stats anyway allows for quick and easy comparison with characters. Simply saying Giants are tough and resilient isn't enough; saying Giants average Con 24* is way more useful, and by extension provides their Con save bonus etc. without it all having to be written out in...

This touches on perhaps a key element: DMing isn't necessarily hard as in difficult to learn or do but aspects of it - mapping a setting or adventure, referencing and writing out statblocks, maintaining a decent game journal or log, etc. - can certainly be or become tedious and boring and a slog...

I wonder if it's more that existing players are less tolerant of new DMs. If everyone at the table is new, including the DM, then they all learn together. But if some of the players have played before, it's on them to put up with the rookie DM's mistakes; and some people maybe aren't as...

The damage caused by a Mind Flayer still exists, only it's internal and thus not visible to an observer. The damage caused by a Red Dragon's breath weapon might not be "cuts and bruises" specifically, but the burns and singes and and char marks would be pretty much the same as. And the answer...

The game could use more meat-grinder in its theme, even without it becoming primary. More to the point, death-spiral mechanics would force players to think twice before engaging in combat and look for other solutions first. Such mechanics would also force parties to be more cautious (which is...

IMO death spirals should very much be a thing. The most important hit point to preserve shouldn't be the last one you lose, it should be the first one you lose: going from full to one less than full should have impact.