5e isn't just needlessly complex, it is an unreferencable mess that has very poor general rules with lots of exceptions and poor standardization. The rules for traveling are so misplaced that most players don't know they exist, not that it's possible to find them when needed. And when there are general rules, they tend to be unfun. Stuff like crafting has no depth in 5e, it's just time + gold = item. It might "work", but it's just bookkeeping there is no hidden fun.

For fantasy, I prefer Hackmaster 5e, because it keeps the complexity and detail without dumping special case rules onto players. It's not perfect, but it's way more engaging and characters feel way more interesting. WFRP 4e is also nice, but not as deep (it does suffer from rules being scattered everywhere). I'll likely end up playing OSE ot some point.

Mega-dungeons are great. I'm running one now and I basically have zero prep, I made the dungeon and just see where they go. They go in the dungeon and explore, get into some trouble and grab some loot. It's honestly so nice to have them dungeon crawling. My last game I was juggling plot lines across 5 cities and making custom content constantly in prep. I was burning out between 5e and building content every week.

5e Undermountain is a very poor megadungeon.

You mean like Jesus? That seems a little heretical, this isn't Warhammer Fantasy RP.

Funny, my Hackmaster book p. 113 says fudging dice is cheating. But you are free to roll dice with the devil.

Gamemastering rpgs. 20 years of experience and a good cross section of games played. Spent the last five years really trying to improve too.

I just use the Shucked Oyster, all the RP is built into it. But I play with a bunch of degenerate women.

Timer systems like arrow counting, rations and encumbrance are good for game flow. Removing them tends to diminish the level of emotional investment and roleplaying in the game.

5e has also undermined experience by constantly introducing powercreep. So even after years of running, 5e is frustrating to run.

"Finally, this rule absolutely eliminates the need for anyone, be he player or, so help me gods, GameMaster, to fudge a roll. Fudging, also known as CHEATING has no place in a game that already has a mechanic designed to eliminate freak occurrences."

I guess you are right, DMs can fudge all they want. GMs keep their honor and don't roll dice with Satan.

In video game design there is the MDA framework. Where mechanics (rules) create dynamics (gameplay flow) that express aesthetics (genre and emotional expression). Thus in d&d the rules change the actions players take and these actions determine the tone and feel of the game. This is why Silvery Barbs is miserable, the dynamic it creates diminishes the roleplaying aesthetic by breaking suspension of disbelief.

When looking at 5e the fact most players don't just homebrew a few rules, but gut large mechanics (light, encumbrance, gold, travel) of the game. This has completed removed WotC's control of D&D's dynamics. This breaks the aesthetics of the system. 5e in it's current state is not a heroic fantasy game, but everyone thinks it is. Which is why so many tables fail and new DMs burn out.

There is a wide range in how RPGs can be played. For TSR era D&D there it has a lot of in built mechanical flexibility. White Wolf games like WoD or Exalted adds a layer of dramatic flexibility at the expense of in-built heroics, which works well for a dark modern setting.

I really like a lot of games for different reasons. WW games, particularly Wraith, are some of the more interesting to run. Due to the higher reliance on player creativity and inter-character interactions. I really enjoy Wraith's shadow system for creating interactions between players for character flaws.

Paranoia is perhaps one of the most interesting GM experiences because it encourages so many deviations from standard gamemastering; railroading, PvP, splitting the party, killing PCs, ... . Still it works so well.

With Hackmaster 5. The balance point of play is on health and equipment. This creates a long term dynamic instead of an encounter or "adventuring day" balancing act. Added with penetrating (exploding) dice and thresholds of pain (ToP) this makes even easy combats dangerous. So there is very little pressure on balancing a fight to make a challenge, every fight is dangerous. This is honestly the biggest flaw with GMing D&D 5e and PF2e, because there isn't really a longterm balance point. And giving players a little extra healing (bonus action healing potions) or a night of sleep makes it much harder to challenge them without a TPK. Which is a consequence of the mechanics fighting logic in the game.

Thanks to Hackmaster's longterm framework equipment can be very impactful on play encouraging exploration. And giving a powerful item doesn't create a future problem for me. I can just roll for items and it's fine. I also don't worry about mixed level parties, weak characters or broken abilities.

Hackmaster Monsters are well designed with lots of supporting information that help inform my choices and provide easy answers. Stuff like sleep cycles and spell components are clearly listed.

For WFRP and CoC, the d100 universal resolution system and simplicity of rules makes it very easy to arbitrate. Effectively there are few rules questions.

Cthulhu also follows a particular flow of dread, terror, gore/horror that push the game forward. But it does typically work best with one shots.

It looks incredibly basic and difficult to incorporate into prep or play. It seems to be for people without experience.

Berin Kinsman has a nice set of books on gamemastering. He does have a bit of a minimalist writing style. The books have some good advice that isn't commonly discussed.

Robin Law's gamemastering book is a pretty good starting point.

The Alexandian is also good, but I have some style disagreements with him.

The old WEG starwars guide is very good for the basics.

Cthulhu d20 has a pretty good section on presenting a more thrilling game and horror.

Overall there is not a whole lot of great advice in the hobby. Most of it is the same bland or unactionable advice.

It's not the complexity. It's the bloat, terrible interactions and game dynamics. 3.5 didn't suffer from gm burn out, but 5e does. Because 5e is a bigger mess.

Scarlet Heroes has some nice solo tables. The Tome of Adventure Design is also pretty nice for random tables.

I am specificly referring to things like the battledome and retained retraining rules. The creators don't seem to understand what an RPG is and are treating it like video game mini-games are an ideal play pattern. Like are you going to want to reference some poorly designed minigame rule for Negg management?

Neopets seems like an ideal IP for something rules light, not something that is trying to be GTA on paper. I also sense that some of these designs might make the game feel unfaithful to Neopets.

Note that it's making a lot of promises for more rules, but not describing what those rules are. Which is likely a sign of the rules being very rough and needing a lot of work. Which is why I say it looks like a mess.

Did you note that I included encumbrance. Magic bags are a huge problem for trivializing the concerns of your character.

Oh my bad. I missed it when I saw the post.

I am aiming to run UVG and ACKSII. I'll likely learn Star Trek 2d20 too, because my player is interested in it. But I'm also looking forward to finally having the Dolmenwood books and extras. I wouldn't be surprised if I run another two or three new systems for one shots too.

I'm just being critical of inexperienced designers making a fantasy heartbreaker. It's clear that MCDM as a company is a heavily 5e and 4e design team (or worse video games) and lacks a lot of basic understanding of the medium. One of their core design goals is unachievable, cinematic. It's fine they are trying things, but it looks more like they are just learning the medium of RPGs.

In the video he even states that if a simpler/established dice resolution system works then they would use that. Which suggests they tested all these systems after 2d6, because it doesn't achieve their design goals. They just realized it worked the best for their bad situation.