So far they all interest me in different but equal ways…yet none really hits the sweet spot of what I want, which is why I’m hacking my own.
A5E I think has way better quality of supplements than most of 5e. I love the dungeon book from ENPublishing. However, I find the player facing stuff more complex than I’d like - same reason why PF2e makes me go “oh boy, more complexity and playing the character building mini-game.” But I get that it’s hugely popular.
WotC 5e is familiar now, so it’s a decent enough baseline. I do like their monster lore too, and VgtM was a great monster book. But I’ve found so many issues and gaps in what the rules care about (not in a nitpicky way, in a “why did you gut exploration? why are chases crap?” more foundational way). I think the focus is in the wrong place, hence my hacking. But I do enjoy things like the potion miscible tables, the magic items, the lore attached to the classes, the design of the rogue class is IMO top notch.
TotV feels like a very slight permutation on 5e…too slight for my tastes, too familiar to the baseline. But I only followed the playtest for TotV, not what’s currently been published so I’m not certain where the changes are. I have deep affection for Kobold Press, love the Tome of Beasts and Courts of the Shadow Fey, so I really want to like TotV.
Right now though, my answer is “None of the above - doing “5e-esque” my own kitbashed way for now.”
