
Tim-Ra the Undying |
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I started playing D&D in the mid-80s with Basic and Expert, then AD&D 1E. As 2E, 3E, and 3.5 came out, I readily adopted each new rules set as my go-to game. But 4E failed to grab me--it was the first edition that I wasn't excited to GM. So my group and I stuck with 3.5 for about 10 years, until we finally decided to try PF 1E. Then we pretty much left D&D behind--though I did frequently convert material from my sizable D&D library to PF.
My wife and I tried out PFS sometime during the next couple years, and that soon became a large percentage of our gaming. I had mostly run homebrew campaigns up to that point, but eventually got burnt out on the amount of prep work required, so organized play let me keep scratching the GMing itch for much less work.
When Starfinder came out, it took a little time to get traction in our area, but once it did (mid/late-S1 of SFS), that became a regular part of our diet, too.
Similarly, PF 2E faced resistance from many of our local regulars (including the store owner, who was perfectly happy to host it but decided it wasn't his thing after playing a few times). But between the end of new 1E PFS material and my wife becoming a VO, 2E soon vied with 1E for our game of choice.
Somewhere along the way, we tried out D&D 5E. I enjoyed it, both as a player and GM, but it just wasn't as robust as PF1 or PF2. My kids (who were teens at the time) got into it far more, and it was definiteky their (and their friends') game of choice for a few yesrs. But then the 6E OGL fiasco soured all of us on playing more 5E, or wanting to ever try 6E.
I still play PF1, just not as much as I used to. Some of us locals who regularly GMed PF1 formed a weekly round-robin group (which went online during covid and has atayed there). We're be wrapping up our latest campaign in the next couple months, and I'm not sure if the group will continue. My wife and I also started playing in an old friend's PF1 homebrew game, but we're the two remote players in an otherwise in-person game, which can be challenging at times.
There is a lot that I like better about 1E and a lot I like better about 2E, and I'm not really sure how to articulate my reasons. I haven't yet GMed 2E, which is probably the longest that I've ever played a RPG without taking a turn as GM. But with SF2 coming out, I've decided to try running that early on, which means that--as my wife and eldest child put it--"then you can come run PF2 with us, too!"
There are still some 1E adventures that I very much want to play or run, but I can see that the end of my engagement with thst edition is looming on the horizon. Keeping two versions of two RPGs straight in your head is a lot of work, and probably not viable long-term.