I've been intrigued about playing D&D again after a 35+ year layoff... I have a 3 year old and I'm sure in a few years he's going to want to play and I have no idea what the game is like these days... I have all of the old handbooks (I think they're 1st and 2nd edition) and a bunch of old manuals & campaigns... My favorite campaign was called "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" (you can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_to_the_Barrier_Peaks). I still have a folder with all of my old character profiles...
My question is, I see that many of the games are 5th edition... How different is the game now compared to how I used to play? Is it simply differences in rules? If I recall when you play it's pretty much open for how you approach each move so I'm not sure how my "old school" experience would preclude me from being a viable player today.
Thanks for any info, I'm definitely excited about trying a campaign using today's technology!
So you're kinda discussing two different types of change in the game; mechanical change and playstyle change.
Mechanically the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons is very different from the editions you're familiar with. More rules, different AC calculations, different names for things. There are likely less options in some places (such as weapons) and more in others. You can check out the Basic Rules for free as they have everything you need to learn how to play.
As for playstyle, well that hasn't so much changed as expanded. Some people play games likely similar to what you're familiar with; player action driven dungeon crawls, and loot runs, combat-centric with lots of downtime for building keeps and whatnot. However there are many more styles of play; for example West Marches is a form of play like what I just mentioned, but with many more players. Online play is big, especially now with people being more isolated. Story driven games, driven by the popularity of Live Play shows such as Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, put roleplay and story more in the forefront. Some DMs run heavily improvised, reactionary games while others play more linear games with tighter, more nuanced stories. One shots are big now; short (usually one, but maybe two or three session) games where the player start with fresh characters and play through an entire narrative arc.
Basically, the rules have changed but the game you're probably familiar with is still there.
Ahh interesting... Based on the description of my experience do you have an opinion on what I should focus on playing to get more acclimated to today's rules & style?
For play style, I'd suggest checking the free adventure, Frozen Sick (taken from the Critical Role setting of Wildemount): https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/wa
For an example of the roleplay heavy, story-centric, high production value style of play that is inspiring a lot of people to play, I'd also maybe suggest Critical Role itself. Although please keep in mind, this is not meant to be inspirational, but inspirational at most. Also it's not the be-alls and end-alls of 'modern' D&D, but just a very popular show that showcases (in a very glamorous way) a popular style of play.
I'm sure there'll be lots of other recommendations and tips from other posters in this thread to come (at least, I hope so)
Frozen Sick is a good example of modern adventure design as it's an introductory adventure taken from the latest book; Explorer's Guide to Wildemount.
As for how a more modern campaign is played, well that still varies greatly from DM to DM, but if I were to talk in terms of common styles from least to most linear (or most to least open world), it'd be as follows:
West Marches - A drop in/drop out style of campaign for many players and DMs. The idea is that there's a map populated with things to do and the players decide when they want to play, put a group together and find a DM. For example, they might know there's a dungeon to the north; they find a DM in their group to run the dungeon and they go explorer it.
Dungeon/Hex crawls - An open map or collection of dungeons that the DM runs for their group. Usually lighter on narrative, more focused on the story that emerges as the players proceed. Dungeon of the Mad Mage is an official adventure that uses this structure.
Open World Campaign - The players have a world to explore made by the DM. Things happen whether or not the players interact with them, they simply influence how things happen. A more narrative version of the West Marches campaign
Reactive Campaign - The DM has an idea of a narrative that they plan out maybe a little in advance, then react to what the players are doing. Often enemies will have their own goals which play out, but usually only the ones the players decide to take an interest in, the rest being pruned back or recycled. Critical Role is an example of this.
Player Driven Campaign - This is a bit like a reactive campaign, except usually rather than things getting pruned back because the players aren't engaging with them, they just wait until the players do. Often there will be a clear goal and the players can approach it in their own time, sometimes taking their own route. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Curse of Strahd, and Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus are all published adventures that use this structure; there's an end goal that can be approached through different paths at the players pace.
Linear Campaign - Similar to a player driven campaign, except there is usually a single route to the next stage and often a 'clock'. The players have to race to finish things and often given tasks or goals to accomplish. A lot of DMs start with these kind of narratives and some simple adventures follow them. Some published examples include the series of adventures from Ghosts of Saltmarsh, as well as elements of adventures like Hoard of the Dragon Queen
One Shots - Small, self contained adventures designed to be done in a single even. Often very linear as with little room for exploration, a good example is the Uncaged Anthology on the DMs Guild, as well as the 'Encounter of the Week' articles published here on D&D Beyond.
I've probably missed some styles of play as this is by no means an exhaustive list. Some good live play series I'd recommend for different styles of D&D play:
So interesting.. People watch videos of people doing campaigns? I don't think I was aware that that was a thing... Huh...
I read through the Basic Rules link and I'll take a look at Frozen Sick and read through that... I'll create a character and perhaps I'll see if I can do a short campaign... Thanks so much for the tips!
So interesting.. People watch videos of people doing campaigns? I don't think I was aware that that was a thing... Huh...
I read through the Basic Rules link and I'll take a look at Frozen Sick and read through that... I'll create a character and perhaps I'll see if I can do a short campaign... Thanks so much for the tips!
Yeah, streaming campaigns have become incredibly popular. The most popular ones are very narrative heavy, but people stream all kinds of stuff.
I played in the late 70s and early 80s of AD&D. I have all the books from that era, so I understand where you are coming from.
Play these days is much different and the rules have been adapted to suit the "market." First, players don't want to futz about playing lower level characters. I believe the official guidance for DMs is to construct a story that will allow players to level up to level 2 in four hours of game play. They recommend you level them up to level 3 after about another four hours. Things do eventually tail off but the expectation today is to level up to "second tier" (above level 5) in about eight four-hour sessions. In my day, you'd be lucky to get to level 3 in that much time.
But the changes have been for the better in most aspects. For example, the game has been tweaked to reduce the lethality of it. For example, you won't see any level 1 magic users with four HP casting their one spell and then hoping to survive wielding their dagger and no armor until the next day. Magic using "classes" begin with more HP and have something called cantrips they can cast anytime at will, subject to maybe a 1-minute cool down.
In my day a player could cast or swing his sword each turn. Now higher level players can swing a sword twice even at level 1 with two-weapon fighting. Fighter classes advance to attack several times each round. It is not uncommon for a fighter to attack four or more times on his turn. Likewise, these are stages to your turn that include take an action, interact with an object, reaction, bonus action, and more that you will have trouble finding explained in the rules. Based on my reading they either expect you to know these things from versions 3 or 4 or you just have experienced players to explain it to you. The details are buried in the rules but it isn't easily laid out for you.
Depending on the group you join up with your play experience may be similar to how you remember or very different. I am exhibiting my old corps RP heavy playstyle in my current group and the younger players exhibit their min-max playstyle with little tolerance for others that slow things down to talk to the provincial governor or a shopkeeper. That is all interpersonal stuff that will be particular to your group.
Many players want to play 'secretive' characters where they hide some aspects of their character from the other PCs and only they know the truth with the DM. I'm not too keen on the idea but I guess if you trust the DM and the players it might be an entertaining experience. I think if I noted one of the red flags indicating that was going on I might have some real trust issues until the truth came out.
Adventures are released as hardcover books that describe the setting for the campaign. Many, if not most, players play these and often the more enthusiastic play these campaigns more than once, I guess with different character classes.
Character creation is also different. You pick a race and a class, and then roll your stats. You pick which roll will apply to which stat instead of getting whatever the Fates give you. So there are expressions like Dump Stat used which indicates a stat you would assign to your lowest die roll because it has little to do with success for that character class. For example, Strength is my Dump Stat for my Bard because he relies on Charisma, Dexterity and to some extent Wisdom.
Armor and weapon limitations are handled a bit different. They classify armor as light, medium or heavy, and certain classes may be considered proficient in one two or all three. Using an armor you are not proficient in has penalties, where in AD&D is was simply forbidden. Weapons are classified as Simple or Martial and ranged weapons fall into this as well. You may be considered proficient in Simple Weapons and then a list of specific martial weapons, or proficient in Martial Weapons as an entire class. Likewise you may be proficient in Simple Ranged Weapons, so you may fire a light crossbow and a short bow, but not be proficient in the Heavy Crossbow or the Longbow.
Weapons also typically have an attribute associated with their use. My rapier is a dexterity weapon so I am allowed to use my Dexterity modifier on my to-hit rolls. A longsword is a strength weapons so it received the strength modifier when it is used by a proficient character.
There are a number of skill checks used to determine if you hear a noise or see a stone out of place in the wall. That won't take long for you to figure out.
It is a different game, still a lot of fun, and if your group uses the same play style you used in your youth, it will be very much the same. Good luck and enjoy!
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
The word campaign is still commonly used... Although based on what I've heard from some classic game players a big difference is the shorthand for die. For example, supposedly long time players will call a 6 sided die a "die6", but modern players just say d6 (pronounced "Dee six")
I cut my teeth in the early ‘90s D&D and AD&D 2e. If you need help getting updated feel free to ask me anything. I’ll do my best to answer. Yes, they still call them campaigns. To tell you the truth, rules aside, the biggest thing that’s changed since 2e is player expectations.
Hello, and welcome back to D&D! While I am still something of a novice myself, there's a couple more things I can add to the already excellent information that has already been given.
About character creation: Rolling for stats is still a popular way to create a character, but there's two other methods you can use, Point Buy and Standard Array. Point Buy gives you a score of 8 for all your attributes as well as a number of unallocated points for you to add however you like, which gives a nice degree of customization; the drawback is that this can be a little time consuming, and a little bit complicated if you're like me and not good at math (considering you're coming from older editions though, it may not be that complicated for you). For the standard array, you receive a number of set attributes (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 15) and you apply them to whatever abilities you like. You probably won't get the most exciting character using this method, but it won't let you down either.
Another thing that's been changed is the addition of subclasses. With each of the base classes, you also get to choose from a number of subclasses that give you specialized abilities at certain levels. For example, if you were to play as a fighter, there are three subclasses to choose from in the base Player's Handbook: the Champion, the Battle master, and the Eldritch Knight. Champion largely adds to features already present in the base Fighter and is probably the simplest option to play for people who are completely new to the game, Battle Master adds special maneuvers you can use to augment some of your base attacks, and Eldritch Knight give your fighter a small measure of spellcasting, as well as a couple other features made to compliment that. There are also rules for multiclassing (though these are regarded as optional) and there was an attempt to add prestige classes to the game, but that ended up not being very popular so it was eventually dropped.
If I may add a little bit more to the weapon properties MusicScout touches on: for the most part, melee weapons use the Strength stat and ranged weapons use the Dexterity stat, while weapons that have been given the finesse property can use either. There are a number of other properties that can be added to weapons, but for now those are the ones that are most important to remember.
Lastly, you mentioned "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" was your favorite campaign. I recommend you try out the free adventures that others have previously mentioned, but once you've finished those and have a better handle on how 5th edition works, I also recommend you try out "Lost Laboratory of Kwalish", which is an updated version of the Barrier Peaks campaign.
The only other piece of advice I can give right now is the immortal words of Douglas Adams. And lastly, have fun!
I played in the late 70s and early 80s of AD&D. I have all the books from that era, so I understand where you are coming from.
Play these days is much different and the rules have been adapted to suit the "market." First, players don't want to futz about playing lower level characters. I believe the official guidance for DMs is to construct a story that will allow players to level up to level 2 in four hours of game play. They recommend you level them up to level 3 after about another four hours. Things do eventually tail off but the expectation today is to level up to "second tier" (above level 5) in about eight four-hour sessions. In my day, you'd be lucky to get to level 3 in that much time.
But the changes have been for the better in most aspects. For example, the game has been tweaked to reduce the lethality of it. For example, you won't see any level 1 magic users with four HP casting their one spell and then hoping to survive wielding their dagger and no armor until the next day. Magic using "classes" begin with more HP and have something called cantrips they can cast anytime at will, subject to maybe a 1-minute cool down.
In my day a player could cast or swing his sword each turn. Now higher level players can swing a sword twice even at level 1 with two-weapon fighting. Fighter classes advance to attack several times each round. It is not uncommon for a fighter to attack four or more times on his turn. Likewise, these are stages to your turn that include take an action, interact with an object, reaction, bonus action, and more that you will have trouble finding explained in the rules. Based on my reading they either expect you to know these things from versions 3 or 4 or you just have experienced players to explain it to you. The details are buried in the rules but it isn't easily laid out for you.
Depending on the group you join up with your play experience may be similar to how you remember or very different. I am exhibiting my old corps RP heavy playstyle in my current group and the younger players exhibit their min-max playstyle with little tolerance for others that slow things down to talk to the provincial governor or a shopkeeper. That is all interpersonal stuff that will be particular to your group.
Many players want to play 'secretive' characters where they hide some aspects of their character from the other PCs and only they know the truth with the DM. I'm not too keen on the idea but I guess if you trust the DM and the players it might be an entertaining experience. I think if I noted one of the red flags indicating that was going on I might have some real trust issues until the truth came out.
Adventures are released as hardcover books that describe the setting for the campaign. Many, if not most, players play these and often the more enthusiastic play these campaigns more than once, I guess with different character classes.
Character creation is also different. You pick a race and a class, and then roll your stats. You pick which roll will apply to which stat instead of getting whatever the Fates give you. So there are expressions like Dump Stat used which indicates a stat you would assign to your lowest die roll because it has little to do with success for that character class. For example, Strength is my Dump Stat for my Bard because he relies on Charisma, Dexterity and to some extent Wisdom.
Armor and weapon limitations are handled a bit different. They classify armor as light, medium or heavy, and certain classes may be considered proficient in one two or all three. Using an armor you are not proficient in has penalties, where in AD&D is was simply forbidden. Weapons are classified as Simple or Martial and ranged weapons fall into this as well. You may be considered proficient in Simple Weapons and then a list of specific martial weapons, or proficient in Martial Weapons as an entire class. Likewise you may be proficient in Simple Ranged Weapons, so you may fire a light crossbow and a short bow, but not be proficient in the Heavy Crossbow or the Longbow.
Weapons also typically have an attribute associated with their use. My rapier is a dexterity weapon so I am allowed to use my Dexterity modifier on my to-hit rolls. A longsword is a strength weapons so it received the strength modifier when it is used by a proficient character.
There are a number of skill checks used to determine if you hear a noise or see a stone out of place in the wall. That won't take long for you to figure out.
It is a different game, still a lot of fun, and if your group uses the same play style you used in your youth, it will be very much the same. Good luck and enjoy!
Having played every version of D&D since the early 80's this is an excellent summary. Older versions were definitely more lethal and character creation was more random. In AD&D, you rolled your stats and then picked a class. If you rolled poorly, you couldn't even qualify for some classes.
A question about the "free adventures"... Can someone elaborate on that? Are these adventures that I read so I can get an idea on how the new game works (basically a transcript of a game that was played) or is this something I jump in and play with a group or solo? What is an example of something that is not a free adventure?
Sorry for asking so many questions, I just want to ensure my first new D&D experience is an optimal one.
A question about the "free adventures"... Can someone elaborate on that? Are these adventures that I read so I can get an idea on how the new game works (basically a transcript of a game that was played) or is this something I jump in and play with a group or solo? What is an example of something that is not a free adventure?
Sorry for asking so many questions, I just want to ensure my first new D&D experience is an optimal one.
THIS is an example of a free adventure. It’s an adventure that was published that you can run for your friends free of charge.
THIS is a not free adventure. You have to buy it to run it just like back in the day (only longer, basically a short campaign)
Hi all,
I've been intrigued about playing D&D again after a 35+ year layoff... I have a 3 year old and I'm sure in a few years he's going to want to play and I have no idea what the game is like these days... I have all of the old handbooks (I think they're 1st and 2nd edition) and a bunch of old manuals & campaigns... My favorite campaign was called "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" (you can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_to_the_Barrier_Peaks). I still have a folder with all of my old character profiles...
My question is, I see that many of the games are 5th edition... How different is the game now compared to how I used to play? Is it simply differences in rules? If I recall when you play it's pretty much open for how you approach each move so I'm not sure how my "old school" experience would preclude me from being a viable player today.
Thanks for any info, I'm definitely excited about trying a campaign using today's technology!
Scott
So you're kinda discussing two different types of change in the game; mechanical change and playstyle change.
Mechanically the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons is very different from the editions you're familiar with. More rules, different AC calculations, different names for things. There are likely less options in some places (such as weapons) and more in others. You can check out the Basic Rules for free as they have everything you need to learn how to play.
As for playstyle, well that hasn't so much changed as expanded. Some people play games likely similar to what you're familiar with; player action driven dungeon crawls, and loot runs, combat-centric with lots of downtime for building keeps and whatnot. However there are many more styles of play; for example West Marches is a form of play like what I just mentioned, but with many more players. Online play is big, especially now with people being more isolated. Story driven games, driven by the popularity of Live Play shows such as Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, put roleplay and story more in the forefront. Some DMs run heavily improvised, reactionary games while others play more linear games with tighter, more nuanced stories. One shots are big now; short (usually one, but maybe two or three session) games where the player start with fresh characters and play through an entire narrative arc.
Basically, the rules have changed but the game you're probably familiar with is still there.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Ahh interesting... Based on the description of my experience do you have an opinion on what I should focus on playing to get more acclimated to today's rules & style?
For rules, check out the Basic Rules on this site: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules
For play style, I'd suggest checking the free adventure, Frozen Sick (taken from the Critical Role setting of Wildemount): https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/wa
For an example of the roleplay heavy, story-centric, high production value style of play that is inspiring a lot of people to play, I'd also maybe suggest Critical Role itself. Although please keep in mind, this is not meant to be inspirational, but inspirational at most. Also it's not the be-alls and end-alls of 'modern' D&D, but just a very popular show that showcases (in a very glamorous way) a popular style of play.
I'm sure there'll be lots of other recommendations and tips from other posters in this thread to come (at least, I hope so)
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
So Frozen Sick is something I would read through to get an understanding of how a more modern campaign is played?
Thanks again for the suggestions, I really appreciate it! I welcome more suggestions as I want to ensure my first modern experience is a good one!
Frozen Sick is a good example of modern adventure design as it's an introductory adventure taken from the latest book; Explorer's Guide to Wildemount.
As for how a more modern campaign is played, well that still varies greatly from DM to DM, but if I were to talk in terms of common styles from least to most linear (or most to least open world), it'd be as follows:
I've probably missed some styles of play as this is by no means an exhaustive list. Some good live play series I'd recommend for different styles of D&D play:
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
So interesting.. People watch videos of people doing campaigns? I don't think I was aware that that was a thing... Huh...
I read through the Basic Rules link and I'll take a look at Frozen Sick and read through that... I'll create a character and perhaps I'll see if I can do a short campaign... Thanks so much for the tips!
Yeah, streaming campaigns have become incredibly popular. The most popular ones are very narrative heavy, but people stream all kinds of stuff.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I played in the late 70s and early 80s of AD&D. I have all the books from that era, so I understand where you are coming from.
Play these days is much different and the rules have been adapted to suit the "market." First, players don't want to futz about playing lower level characters. I believe the official guidance for DMs is to construct a story that will allow players to level up to level 2 in four hours of game play. They recommend you level them up to level 3 after about another four hours. Things do eventually tail off but the expectation today is to level up to "second tier" (above level 5) in about eight four-hour sessions. In my day, you'd be lucky to get to level 3 in that much time.
But the changes have been for the better in most aspects. For example, the game has been tweaked to reduce the lethality of it. For example, you won't see any level 1 magic users with four HP casting their one spell and then hoping to survive wielding their dagger and no armor until the next day. Magic using "classes" begin with more HP and have something called cantrips they can cast anytime at will, subject to maybe a 1-minute cool down.
In my day a player could cast or swing his sword each turn. Now higher level players can swing a sword twice even at level 1 with two-weapon fighting. Fighter classes advance to attack several times each round. It is not uncommon for a fighter to attack four or more times on his turn. Likewise, these are stages to your turn that include take an action, interact with an object, reaction, bonus action, and more that you will have trouble finding explained in the rules. Based on my reading they either expect you to know these things from versions 3 or 4 or you just have experienced players to explain it to you. The details are buried in the rules but it isn't easily laid out for you.
Depending on the group you join up with your play experience may be similar to how you remember or very different. I am exhibiting my old corps RP heavy playstyle in my current group and the younger players exhibit their min-max playstyle with little tolerance for others that slow things down to talk to the provincial governor or a shopkeeper. That is all interpersonal stuff that will be particular to your group.
Many players want to play 'secretive' characters where they hide some aspects of their character from the other PCs and only they know the truth with the DM. I'm not too keen on the idea but I guess if you trust the DM and the players it might be an entertaining experience. I think if I noted one of the red flags indicating that was going on I might have some real trust issues until the truth came out.
Adventures are released as hardcover books that describe the setting for the campaign. Many, if not most, players play these and often the more enthusiastic play these campaigns more than once, I guess with different character classes.
Character creation is also different. You pick a race and a class, and then roll your stats. You pick which roll will apply to which stat instead of getting whatever the Fates give you. So there are expressions like Dump Stat used which indicates a stat you would assign to your lowest die roll because it has little to do with success for that character class. For example, Strength is my Dump Stat for my Bard because he relies on Charisma, Dexterity and to some extent Wisdom.
Armor and weapon limitations are handled a bit different. They classify armor as light, medium or heavy, and certain classes may be considered proficient in one two or all three. Using an armor you are not proficient in has penalties, where in AD&D is was simply forbidden. Weapons are classified as Simple or Martial and ranged weapons fall into this as well. You may be considered proficient in Simple Weapons and then a list of specific martial weapons, or proficient in Martial Weapons as an entire class. Likewise you may be proficient in Simple Ranged Weapons, so you may fire a light crossbow and a short bow, but not be proficient in the Heavy Crossbow or the Longbow.
Weapons also typically have an attribute associated with their use. My rapier is a dexterity weapon so I am allowed to use my Dexterity modifier on my to-hit rolls. A longsword is a strength weapons so it received the strength modifier when it is used by a proficient character.
There are a number of skill checks used to determine if you hear a noise or see a stone out of place in the wall. That won't take long for you to figure out.
It is a different game, still a lot of fun, and if your group uses the same play style you used in your youth, it will be very much the same. Good luck and enjoy!
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Wow thank you so much for the detailed comparison to the "olden days"! I need to create a character and I'll give a campaign a try...
They still call them campaigns, right?
The word campaign is still commonly used... Although based on what I've heard from some classic game players a big difference is the shorthand for die. For example, supposedly long time players will call a 6 sided die a "die6", but modern players just say d6 (pronounced "Dee six")
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I cut my teeth in the early ‘90s D&D and AD&D 2e. If you need help getting updated feel free to ask me anything. I’ll do my best to answer. Yes, they still call them campaigns. To tell you the truth, rules aside, the biggest thing that’s changed since 2e is player expectations.
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Hello, and welcome back to D&D! While I am still something of a novice myself, there's a couple more things I can add to the already excellent information that has already been given.
About character creation: Rolling for stats is still a popular way to create a character, but there's two other methods you can use, Point Buy and Standard Array. Point Buy gives you a score of 8 for all your attributes as well as a number of unallocated points for you to add however you like, which gives a nice degree of customization; the drawback is that this can be a little time consuming, and a little bit complicated if you're like me and not good at math (considering you're coming from older editions though, it may not be that complicated for you). For the standard array, you receive a number of set attributes (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 15) and you apply them to whatever abilities you like. You probably won't get the most exciting character using this method, but it won't let you down either.
Another thing that's been changed is the addition of subclasses. With each of the base classes, you also get to choose from a number of subclasses that give you specialized abilities at certain levels. For example, if you were to play as a fighter, there are three subclasses to choose from in the base Player's Handbook: the Champion, the Battle master, and the Eldritch Knight. Champion largely adds to features already present in the base Fighter and is probably the simplest option to play for people who are completely new to the game, Battle Master adds special maneuvers you can use to augment some of your base attacks, and Eldritch Knight give your fighter a small measure of spellcasting, as well as a couple other features made to compliment that. There are also rules for multiclassing (though these are regarded as optional) and there was an attempt to add prestige classes to the game, but that ended up not being very popular so it was eventually dropped.
If I may add a little bit more to the weapon properties MusicScout touches on: for the most part, melee weapons use the Strength stat and ranged weapons use the Dexterity stat, while weapons that have been given the finesse property can use either. There are a number of other properties that can be added to weapons, but for now those are the ones that are most important to remember.
Lastly, you mentioned "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" was your favorite campaign. I recommend you try out the free adventures that others have previously mentioned, but once you've finished those and have a better handle on how 5th edition works, I also recommend you try out "Lost Laboratory of Kwalish", which is an updated version of the Barrier Peaks campaign.
The only other piece of advice I can give right now is the immortal words of Douglas Adams. And lastly, have fun!
Having played every version of D&D since the early 80's this is an excellent summary. Older versions were definitely more lethal and character creation was more random. In AD&D, you rolled your stats and then picked a class. If you rolled poorly, you couldn't even qualify for some classes.
Welcome to 5e "modern" D&D, some of it sucks. You're going to love it.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Far from unique to the current edition of D&D, no edition was perfect, parts of each edition 'sucked'.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
I was going for a "Friends" meme.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Really good advice. Thanks everyone!
A question about the "free adventures"... Can someone elaborate on that? Are these adventures that I read so I can get an idea on how the new game works (basically a transcript of a game that was played) or is this something I jump in and play with a group or solo? What is an example of something that is not a free adventure?
Sorry for asking so many questions, I just want to ensure my first new D&D experience is an optimal one.
THIS is an example of a free adventure. It’s an adventure that was published that you can run for your friends free of charge.
THIS is a not free adventure. You have to buy it to run it just like back in the day (only longer, basically a short campaign)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
OK great I understand... Dave sent me the Frozen Sick one.. you think I should read through it or join someone preparing to be DM for it?