I started playing at 3.5, barely touched 4e and am actively playing since half a year with 5.e. So not really an old school player. However I do enjoy looking for old school adventure modules and such to run.
Personally I like the feel of taking things slower then the 5e pace. Encounters are made in a "realistic" way. Which means they are what they are and not get toned up or down to match the group. So if they're under leveled or outnumbered then so be it. They'll just have to figure out how to deal with it and be creative. Not all encounters are automatically survivable either. Even traveling takes time and effort.
Quite enjoy looking at older versions and taking things from it. 5e is very modular and easy to adept to do whatever, however, you want.
The problem with many games is that it plays into the feel of being a super hero. Look at XCom 2 WoTC for example. After the first tier of upgrades you become so powerful it reduces any threat. You no longer need to worry about anything and just brute force your way through everything. Its fun...for 5 minutes and then gets dull. Same for turning on god mode in the older games is fun for 5 mins and gets boring real fast. I find this frustrating and has made me, and my friends, lose interest in more and more games. It also seems to cater to a shift of people mentalities in general every day life. Instant gratification, no challenge and whining whenever things get even remotely harsh. It is weak and pathetic in my opinion.
DnD is not the best system to run a war game, but its very adaptable and easier to get materials for. The way 5e material is made seems decent enough. Giving you the background information and details. Everything else is up to the DM to tailor it depending on the group/style of play etc. It is pretty modular in that regard, but not a lot of DM's seems to want to invest time and energy into it. Just look at the amount of DM's that take an adventure module and run it as written. Then complain it is a linear experience. While in fact there is so much they can easily do with it to flesh things out. Modifications that make it very vast and open.
In order to obtain the old school feel in an adventure for me includes looking at the old modules. Thing is that there is 0 narrative present. There is a village with no mention/quest hooks to do anything. Just a location with tons of fleshed out shops and NPC's. Or you get dropped in front of a dungeon to start right away. In this day and age EVERYTHING seems to require deep story, plots etc. In short modern day players constantly need to be told where to go and what to do instead of them exploring and stumbling on stuff themselves. Developing story/interaction happened more naturally as well in the older systems because of that. Now you got mechanical systems for everything almost forcing it all in a certain way. This again shows that...although the old adventure modules were written more linear and dungeon crawler like....they were actually much more open and free when actually playing.
Same with wanting a more Sword&Sorcery experience. As far as I can tell 5e doesn't take magic items into its equation for CR calculations. Nor for anything else for that matter. I agree that the many classes/specializations are aimed at magic. But you can homebrew EVERYTHING. Micro-management for casting spells..making players actually keep track and gather the materials they need to cast. That will limit how much they can rely on spells. Especially if you run a campaign where such magic is rare and hard to come by to begin with. Increase opponents damage output so the fights become deadlier and more visceral. In order to obtain that sense of dread and threat.
In 5e the pacing is definitely faster. Even when compared with 3.5. Players have more resources to spend, require less down time to get back up and running and they can get away with a lot more at less repercussions. Things that took a week in 3.5 can now be done in a day or 2 in 5e. This really messes up time tables from some modules. Meaning that players can do everything and be maxed out when running into the bad guy. Instead of the bad guy being able to do its counter actions. So when creating that old school feel and pressure keep this in mind as well. There is also less motivation for down time activities as well in 5e. A long rest is only a night of sleep instead of a week for starters. It requires a homebrew rule to have players do this and make money with alternative activities. Then have them perhaps spend some coin for additional training/development or whatever story elements you want to handle.
The Gritty Realism section on page 267 of the DMG gives some ideas for how to capture a more traditional sword and sorcery feel where magic isn't quite as ubiquitous, and where conserving resources and trying to avoid unnecessary combat instead of rushing headlong into battle can be the best strategy.
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I started playing at 3.5, barely touched 4e and am actively playing since half a year with 5.e. So not really an old school player. However I do enjoy looking for old school adventure modules and such to run.
Personally I like the feel of taking things slower then the 5e pace. Encounters are made in a "realistic" way. Which means they are what they are and not get toned up or down to match the group. So if they're under leveled or outnumbered then so be it. They'll just have to figure out how to deal with it and be creative. Not all encounters are automatically survivable either. Even traveling takes time and effort.
Quite enjoy looking at older versions and taking things from it. 5e is very modular and easy to adept to do whatever, however, you want.
Perhaps the following links will aid in even "defining" what it is that is this "old school feel".
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/84t7ah/an_intro_to_the_oldschool_revival_osr_the/
https://www.meetup.com/NYC-DND/boards/thread/10721813/0/?_cookie-check=gMQqjzlOYHIt_FoN
https://andrewjluther.com/2018/04/08/dd-5e-old-school-and-resource-management/
https://www.gamersdungeon.net/?p=1124
The problem with many games is that it plays into the feel of being a super hero. Look at XCom 2 WoTC for example. After the first tier of upgrades you become so powerful it reduces any threat. You no longer need to worry about anything and just brute force your way through everything. Its fun...for 5 minutes and then gets dull. Same for turning on god mode in the older games is fun for 5 mins and gets boring real fast. I find this frustrating and has made me, and my friends, lose interest in more and more games. It also seems to cater to a shift of people mentalities in general every day life. Instant gratification, no challenge and whining whenever things get even remotely harsh. It is weak and pathetic in my opinion.
DnD is not the best system to run a war game, but its very adaptable and easier to get materials for. The way 5e material is made seems decent enough. Giving you the background information and details. Everything else is up to the DM to tailor it depending on the group/style of play etc. It is pretty modular in that regard, but not a lot of DM's seems to want to invest time and energy into it. Just look at the amount of DM's that take an adventure module and run it as written. Then complain it is a linear experience. While in fact there is so much they can easily do with it to flesh things out. Modifications that make it very vast and open.
In order to obtain the old school feel in an adventure for me includes looking at the old modules. Thing is that there is 0 narrative present. There is a village with no mention/quest hooks to do anything. Just a location with tons of fleshed out shops and NPC's. Or you get dropped in front of a dungeon to start right away. In this day and age EVERYTHING seems to require deep story, plots etc. In short modern day players constantly need to be told where to go and what to do instead of them exploring and stumbling on stuff themselves. Developing story/interaction happened more naturally as well in the older systems because of that. Now you got mechanical systems for everything almost forcing it all in a certain way. This again shows that...although the old adventure modules were written more linear and dungeon crawler like....they were actually much more open and free when actually playing.
Same with wanting a more Sword&Sorcery experience. As far as I can tell 5e doesn't take magic items into its equation for CR calculations. Nor for anything else for that matter. I agree that the many classes/specializations are aimed at magic. But you can homebrew EVERYTHING. Micro-management for casting spells..making players actually keep track and gather the materials they need to cast. That will limit how much they can rely on spells. Especially if you run a campaign where such magic is rare and hard to come by to begin with. Increase opponents damage output so the fights become deadlier and more visceral. In order to obtain that sense of dread and threat.
In 5e the pacing is definitely faster. Even when compared with 3.5. Players have more resources to spend, require less down time to get back up and running and they can get away with a lot more at less repercussions. Things that took a week in 3.5 can now be done in a day or 2 in 5e. This really messes up time tables from some modules. Meaning that players can do everything and be maxed out when running into the bad guy. Instead of the bad guy being able to do its counter actions. So when creating that old school feel and pressure keep this in mind as well. There is also less motivation for down time activities as well in 5e. A long rest is only a night of sleep instead of a week for starters. It requires a homebrew rule to have players do this and make money with alternative activities. Then have them perhaps spend some coin for additional training/development or whatever story elements you want to handle.
The Gritty Realism section on page 267 of the DMG gives some ideas for how to capture a more traditional sword and sorcery feel where magic isn't quite as ubiquitous, and where conserving resources and trying to avoid unnecessary combat instead of rushing headlong into battle can be the best strategy.