Full post on Reddit. Final paragraphs:
And I know that sounds bad. I know! I know this basically all sounds like “you prefer 5E to these other games because you have to actually try to play them?” But the answer is actually yeah, exactly! It’s not that I’m checked out on my phone or something, but I’ve learned I’m not actually interested in thinking too much about my part at the table. I think being there at game night with friends is fun, but I mostly just want to be along for the ride until it’s time to roll some dice to hit something and let the other players figure out what to do otherwise, maybe get in some banter-in character in between encounters, and chill. In everything else I’ve played, I’m dead weight if I’m not actively participating. In 5E, I can just kind of vibe until it’s time to roll to unlock a door or stab someone, and I’m not penalized for doing that. The game is neither loose enough that it needs my constant input outside of combat, nor complex enough to need any serious tactical decisions. That’s a very comfortable spot for me!
So yeah. I imagine there’s a lot of players who would prefer other systems if they tried them, but I’m not one of them. And I imagine there’s actually a lot more people like me at tables than you’d expect! Hopefully this gives some insight into why someone would still prefer 5E over everything else, even after giving a lot of other games a shot. Thanks for giving me a chance.
Interesting reflective statement from a 5e player.
It’s interesting, because actually this part is one of the reason why I don’t play D&D. Everytime I try a D&D game, It’s quickly think about how to spend your XP wisely because you’re impacting a whole progression tree, and if you choose the right feats you’d get a combo or whatever and then the whole combat looks quite intimidating when you start thinking how the party should work to be the most efficient at overcoming an challenge.
While tons of other RPG are more like sit down at the table, have a laid back chat with NPC, and sometimes roll a couple of dice.
I don’t say that your point of view or way to play is wrong, but find interesting that your premise to play D&D is my premise to not to play D&D