Dungeons & Dragons 3.5

Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (commonly called the "2024 rules" or "D&D 2024") is the revised and updated version of the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition tabletop roleplaying game, published by Wizards of the Coast. Released across three core rulebooks throughout 2024 and early 2025, it is not a new edition. It is the same game, refined. The revision was driven by a decade of player feedback and data on how tables actually run 5E, and it shipped to coincide with the game's 50th anniversary. The three revised core books are the Player's Handbook (September 2024), the Dungeon Master's Guide (November 2024), and the Monster Manual (February 2025). All three are reorganized, reworded for clarity, and mechanically updated. Rather than replacing 5th Edition with a "6th Edition," 5.5E expands and tightens the existing framework while maintaining backwards compatibility with every 5E adventure module, sourcebook, and campaign setting published since 2014. If you are new to D&D entirely, start with the Dungeons & Dragons 5e (2014) entry for a full explanation of how the game works. Everything described there still applies here. This entry covers what 5.5E specifically changed. Description D&D 5.5E plays identically to 5th Edition at the table. Players create adventurers, one player takes on the role of the Dungeon Master (DM), and the group tells a collaborative story driven by a twenty-sided die (d20) and the DM's rulings. The core loop, the "Three Pillars" of Combat, Exploration, and Social Interaction, and the fundamental mechanics (Advantage and Disadvantage, Bounded Accuracy, the Proficiency Bonus, the rest system) all carry over unchanged. What the 2024 revision addresses is the rough edges that a decade of play exposed. Martial classes (Fighters, Barbarians, Monks, Rogues) now have more tactical options in combat instead of repeating the same basic attack every turn. Spellcasting classes have been rebalanced to reduce the gap between low-level and high-level power. Rules that were famously unclear or frequently house-ruled (grappling, crafting, surprise, two-weapon fighting) have been rewritten. The Dungeon Master's Guide, long criticized as poorly organized, has been restructured into a book that new DMs can actually learn from rather than only reference. The result is a game that feels the same at the table but runs more smoothly. Groups that have been playing 5E for years will notice the quality-of-life improvements. Groups starting fresh will simply have a cleaner ruleset from day one. Both 2014 and 2024 material can be used at the same table without conversion, though the newer rules are recommended for new characters.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5E) is a heroic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game published by Wizards of the Coast. Released in 2014, it is the edition that brought D&D from a niche hobby into mainstream pop culture - showing up in TV shows, podcasts, and actual-play streams, and introducing millions of new players to the hobby for the first time. 5E was designed after a massive public playtest ("D&D Next") with the explicit goal of being approachable to newcomers while still satisfying veteran players. The Basic Rules are free, and a game can start with nothing more than those rules, some friends, and a set of dice (or a digital dice roller app). In 2024 the core rules received a significant revision, now commonly referred to as Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024). Both versions are fully compatible and most groups mix material freely. The system it directly evolved from is Dungeons & Dragons 4E (2008) Description In D&D 5E, players create fantasy adventurers (a half-orc barbarian, an elven wizard, a tiefling rogue) and one player takes on the role of the Dungeon Master (DM). The DM builds and describes the world, voices the non-player characters (NPCs), controls the monsters, and acts as both the lead storyteller and the rules referee. There is no board. The game is a conversation: the DM describes a scene, the players say what their characters do, and the dice decide what happens when the outcome is uncertain. A typical session runs three to four hours with a group of three to six players plus the DM. The game describes itself as resting on "Three Pillars": Combat, Exploration, and Social Interaction. A single session might include all three, from tracking a monster through the wilderness and negotiating with a shady merchant to fighting a troll at the entrance to a cave. Combat is the most mechanically detailed of the three and tends to take up the largest share of table time, though groups are free to lean as hard into roleplaying or exploration as they like. The default assumption is a high-fantasy world filled with magic, monsters, and ancient ruins. The flagship published setting is the Forgotten Realms, but Wizards of the Coast has released adventures across a range of worlds, and many DMs create their own. The game does not ship a single canon story. Every table's story is different, shaped by what the players do. 5E is designed to be approachable. The core philosophy is "rulings over rules," meaning that when something comes up that the rules do not explicitly cover, the DM is encouraged to make a quick call and keep the game moving rather than stopping to look things up. The rules reward creativity and improvisation, and the system explicitly expects that no one at the table has memorized the entire rulebook. That said, the DM carries most of the preparation work between sessions: building encounters, preparing maps, and keeping the story moving. Players can show up with nothing but their character sheet and a set of dice.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition is a tactical, crunchy and highly customizable heroic fantasy roleplaying game system published by Paizo. Originally released in 2019 as the evolution of the Pathfinder system (which grew out of the D&D 3.5 system, as a reaction to the release of the simplified and more video game-like D&D 4E). The system recently received a comprehensive "Remaster" overhaul, which decoupled the game from the legacy Open Game License (OGL), moving it to the system-agnostic ORC License. The Remaster version has updated various terminology and streamlined different conflicting mechanics, the core engine of PF2E remains exactly the same as before. Description Like other d20-based fantasy games, players are an adventuring party that go on adventures, defeat enemies and uncover various mysteries while the Game Master (GM) is in charge of running the world around the characters and is in control of managing any enemies and non-player characters they might encounter. However, where D&D 5E leans heavily on "rulings over rules" and simplicity, Pathfinder 2E has shifted its focus on customization and making sure that with every system balance is maintained. Pathfinder 2E is ideal for players who are more into tactical combat, clear rules for exploration, and the ability to build unique character concepts with a reasonable amount of customization without accidentally breaking the game or worry too much about maintaining balance. The system comes with great tools for the GMs as the system provides clear guidelines and mechanics for most situations, meaning the GM rarely has to invent or interpret rules on the fly to keep the game moving. System Overview & Key Features The 3-Action Economy Pathfinder 2E is famous for their action system. Instead of pre-defined action types, the player can perform creatively distribute their actions how they see fit. Instead of always having a "move action" that the character can utilize or leave unused, the system allows a character to instead use that action as an extra attack. Or instead of attacking, the adventurer can move twice (or thrice, if using all actions). Degrees of Success Instead of approaching "1" or "20" on the d20 die as a critical result, The system considers "oversucceeding" as a critical success. Succeeding a roll by 10 or more points it is automatically a Critical Success. If you miss the DC by 10 or more, it is a Critical Failure. Because of this, every single +1 or -1 improvement feels more impactful and important. Feat-Based Character Customization There are no "useless level-ups" Every single level-up players make meaningful choices by selecting from an extensive assortment of Ancestry Feats, Class Feats, Skill Feats, and General Feats. This creates a situation, where even two characters of the same class can be played completely differently. Reliable Encounter Building The game's underlying math is rigorous and highly functional. An encounter mathematically classified as "Severe" will actually push the party to their limits. GMs can trust the system's encounter building rules completely. Keyword and Trait System Spells, weapons, and abilities have specific traits (like "Incapacitation" or "Fire"). If a rule has a trait, it consistently interacts with the rest of the game's mechanics in the exact same way, removing ambiguity. Edicts and Anathema PF2e has abandoned the traditional moral alignment system. Deities and classes are governed by Edicts (things your character must strive to do) and Anathema (things you must avoid), creating a more nuanced approach to roleplaying. Additional links paizo.com/pathfinder - Official Pathfinder website 2e.aonprd.com - Archives of Nethys (Official free rules database for PF2e)

What 10,000 registered users tell us about the systems people want to play Back in April we took our first analytical look at the numbers on Groupfinder. It was an overview of the active posts on the platform. Based on the games and player posts on the platform we came to the (obvious) conclusion: contrary to some niche opinions - D&D is still the king in the tabletop scene. Since then a lot of changes have happened: **Groupfinder just passed 10,000 registered users**, and 84% of them joined in 2026. Now based on all the numbers we can see on Groupfinder, we have written up a second iteration of the article. A little something we now call "State of tabletop".  All the data is based on **4,277 player profiles and 2,686 groups** from 56 countries all over the world. A bigger data set allows us to draw better and more concise conclusions. Of course one has to keep in mind, that the numbers presented here only represent what we can see within the boundaries of Groupfinder. And the lovely people using the platform to find players or games. Compared to the first time, we have split the "pathfinders" into two: 1E and 2E. Pooling those systems together was a mistake. An oversight I admit was in no way helpful to presenting the data and the tabletop scene. This time, we are hopefully showing the data in a more transparent and logical manner. The road to 10,000 The dominance of D&D Beyond just D&D Where the GMs are needed Play styles: OSR, PbtA, FitD and SWADE How people play Do groups actually fill up? The Groupfinder Library Are you contributing to the numbers? The road to 10,000 For most of 2025, Groupfinder was growing at a quiet pace. A few dozen sign-ups every month. Then November happened and users started discovering us more and more. /images/general-media/1791299708_3O0GzTlx.pngRegistered users at the end of each month Since November 2025 we've averaged about 850 new users every month, and it hasn't really shown any signs of slowing down. The summer dip (June and July) was expected and reflected in the user growth: Vacations happen, campaigns pause. But August and September have been two of our busiest months ever. When we wrote the first report in April, the platform had less than 5,000 registered users. Since then, we have exceeded that number by an increment of two. The dominance of D&D **The crown hasn't moved.** Dungeons & Dragons is still the system most people come to Groupfinder for, either as players or as GMs looking to assemble a group. **Groups**: 59% of all groups ever posted on Groupfinder are for some edition of Dungeons & Dragons. This mirrors the ~60% we saw in April. Now that our data set is larger, we feel comfortable, that the ballpark popularity sits in that range. **Players**: 73% of player profiles list D&D 5E, and 35% list the 2024 revised rules (5.5E). Players can pick several systems on their profile (on average they pick 2.7), so there is an overlap. But it also means that at least three out of four players are looking for a D&D game. **5E vs 5.5E**: The 2014 rules are still far ahead. For every group running the updated 2024 version, there are 3.6 groups running 5E. Among players the gap is narrower - roughly two 5E players for every 5.5E player. The new rules have a bigger player count than there are games to choose from. Starting out and not sure where to begin with tabletop gaming? The approach hasn't really changed: find a Dungeons & Dragons group first. There are simply more games to choose from. Beyond just D&D The encouraging part hasn't changed either: players who play D&D do move on to try other systems. Once we set Dungeons & Dragons aside, here is where the rest of the interest goes. /images/general-media/1791295582_PINPTalX.pngPathfinder 2E draws 2.6x the interest of Pathfinder 1E, which still makes the top 5 on its own. **Pathfinder, now in two parts.** Split apart, Pathfinder 2E is comfortably the most popular system after D&D: 104 groups and 663 player profiles. Pathfinder 1E is smaller, but far from retired: it still makes the top 5 on its own, and with 48 groups it has more tables than Vampire or Call of Cthulhu. Old-school crunch has a loyal following. **The new top 5.** Compared to April, Vampire: The Masquerade has overtaken Call of Cthulhu, and Daggerheart holds on to second place barely a year after release. Cyberpunk RED drops to sixth. Partly because Pathfinder 1E now takes a spot on the graph of its own. **The rising indies.** Just below the top, Lancer (mech combat with a big narrative heart) and Shadowdark (old-school dungeon crawling with modern rules) are both past 100 mentions. Keep an eye on them for the next report. Where the GMs are needed Popularity is one thing. How easy it is to actually get a seat is another. So for each system we compared how many players are interested in it with how many groups are running it. /images/general-media/1791299934_OD1gA30E.pngHow many players for every game post **The horror and grit crowd is waiting for a GM.** Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk RED and Vampire: The Masquerade all have 9 to 12 interested players for every group. If you have ever wanted to run one of these, you won't be short of players. Even Pathfinder 2E and Daggerheart sit above the average. If you are a player of these systems, don't wait for a group to appear: post your player profile with the system tagged, so GMs who are on the fence can see there's an audience. And if you're that GM on the fence - this is your sign. Play styles: OSR, PbtA, FitD and SWADE Some of the most interesting games out there cannot be labeled one game system. Dozens of games share the same core rules or the same philosophy, but each one gets its own name. On a system-by-system list they look tiny. Grouped together under one "family", we can get a better idea of the numbers. We sorted every system in our data into four families, using published game lists (see the sources at the end): - **OSR and NSR** (Old School Renaissance and "New School Revolution") - games that recreate or remix early D&D play: deadly, rules-light, player skill over character sheets. Shadowdark, Old-School Essentials, Mothership, Mörk Borg, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Dolmenwood, Cairn and many more. - **PbtA** (Powered by the Apocalypse) - games built on Apocalypse World's "moves" and 2d6 rolls, where every roll pushes the story forward. Monster of the Week, Masks, Dungeon World, City of Mist, Kult: Divinity Lost and others. - **FitD** (Forged in the Dark) - games built on Blades in the Dark: crews, heists, stress and clocks (progress trackers). Blades in the Dark itself, Slugblaster, A Fistful of Darkness and others. - **SWADE** (Savage Worlds Adventure Edition) - one generic engine with many official settings. Savage Worlds itself, Deadlands and Pathfinder for Savage Worlds. /images/general-media/1791298479_n23oMjiY.pngCounted as one family, OSR games have more groups than Pathfinder 2E **The old school is bigger than it looks.** No single OSR game makes our top 10 on its own. Shadowdark comes closest in 9th place. But put them together and OSR games have 114 groups, more than Pathfinder 2E's 104. Add the original pre-3rd edition D&D rules (OD&D, AD&D 1E and 2E, B/X, BECMI) and the old-school crowd grows by another 17 groups. **PbtA is the storyteller's niche.** 39 groups is modest, but every PbtA group has 6.3 interested players waiting. Every single PbtA group we could see runs online. **Forged in the Dark is the hardest seat to find.** With just 10 groups and 7.4 interested players per group, FitD is the style where players outnumber tables the most. Blades in the Dark accounts for most of it. If you have ever wanted to run a heist, the crew is already here. **Savage Worlds is steady.** 25 groups, and all of them run the core rules rather than a named setting like Deadlands. It is also one of the styles most often played around a real table (28% of its groups), together with Shadowdark. A note on counting: groups run one system each, so the group numbers are exact. Player profiles can list several systems, so a player who ticks both Shadowdark and Old-School Essentials is counted twice in the OSR family. That's why we lead with groups here. How people play **Online is the default, but the table is underserved.** 81% of groups play online, while only 65% of players are looking for an online game. Flip it around and the in-person side looks very different: 35% of players want a game at a physical table, but only 19% of groups offer one. That works out to almost 3 players for every in-person group, versus about 1.3 for every online group. If you are a GM with a spare seat at your kitchen table (or a friendly local game store), you are in demand. [Browse the players near you](https://groupfinder.gg/players) - the radius search will show who is close enough to join. **Campaigns rule.** 85% of groups are running a campaign (a longer story played over many sessions), 14% are one-shots (a single, self-contained session) and 1% run West Marches or living-world games (a shared world where players drop in and out of sessions). Daggerheart is the exception worth pointing out - 27% of its groups are one-shots, more than double D&D 5E's 11%. People are still trying it on for size. **Every system has its own table fingerprint.** Where and how people play changes a lot from system to system. /images/general-media/1791299345_BaWJDt9f.pngDaggerheart is the one-shot system, Shadowdark is the in-person one. A few things stand out. **Shadowdark** is the most in-person system we track - a third of its groups meet at a real table, and old-school dungeon crawls clearly love a physical map and a pile of dice. **Daggerheart** has the most one-shots (27% of groups): people are still test-driving it. At the other end, **Pathfinder 1E** is almost entirely online campaigns - only 4% of its groups are one-shots. When you've invested in a character that crunchy, you want to keep playing them. **Weekly is the rhythm.** 63% of groups meet every week and 15% every other week. Monthly games are rare, at just 2%. **Where everyone is from.** Half of our users are in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom (9%), Estonia (7% - hello, home crowd), Canada and Germany. In total, users with a location set come from 56 countries. Do groups actually fill up? When a GM closes their group post, we ask why. 909 GMs have answered so far, and **57% closed because their table was full.** 24% say they found their players here on Groupfinder, and another 33% filled the table elsewhere. Only 12% gave up because they couldn't find enough players. A further 13% decided they couldn't or didn't want to run the game anymore - which happens to the best of us - and the rest picked "Other". Sure, we might be a bit biased here, but one in four tables finding its whole party through us feels like a good start. We'd like that number to be a lot higher by the next report. The Groupfinder Library We still believe that showing players more than one system keeps the hobby fresh. That's why the Groupfinder Library exists. It is a growing collection of game systems, tools, creators and communities. Maybe you came here looking for a D&D game and leave curious about Lancer's mechs or Mothership's creeping dread. Your first game doesn't have to be D&D. Every system named in this article has its own library entry, so you can read up before you commit. Are you contributing to the numbers? Whether you are a GM looking for a party or a player looking for a home, your post helps us understand where the hobby is going. **Looking for a game?** Create your player profile and let GMs find you. **Looking for players?** Browse the groups looking for players or post your own table. Till next time, for another State of tabletop

Tales from the Loop is a tabletop roleplaying game of childhood mystery and quiet sci-fi wonder, designed by Nils Hintze and published by Free League Publishing in 2017, built directly on Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag's narrative art book of the same name. It swept five Gold ENnie Awards in 2017, including Best Game and Product of the Year, and remains one of the clearest examples of a TTRPG built to capture a single, specific visual mood - Stålenhag's paintings of enormous, quietly abandoned machinery looming over ordinary Scandinavian suburbs. Description Players take on Kids - ordinary ten-to-fifteen-year-olds, built from archetypes like the Bookworm, the Jock, the Popular Kid, or the Weirdo - growing up in an alternate 1980s where a massive particle accelerator called the Loop hums beneath the countryside, filling the neighborhood with strange machines and stranger creatures nobody adult seems able to explain.  The Game Master runs Mysteries, TV-episode-style adventures staged scene by scene, where the actual danger from the Loop's technology sits right alongside completely mundane teenage Trouble - being grounded, a bully at school, a parent who won't listen. The game states its central promise plainly: Kids in this setting cannot die, which keeps stakes high through fear, loss, and consequence rather than mortality, and lets the tone stay closer to Stranger Things or E.T. than to horror.

Salvage Union is a RPG set in a Post-Apoc world where MegaCorps rules pockets of civilization and nomads on giant 'Crawlers' comb the wastes for 'salvage'. Players are part of the 'Salvage Union', on one of these roaming Crawlers and deploy out in jury-rigged Mechs to collect salvage and investigate their ruined world. Description Playing Salvage Union means playing a crew of salvager mech pilots living aboard a massive, mobile home base called a Union Crawler, scavenging a corporate-ravaged wasteland for scrap to keep their community alive. Beyond raiders and rival scavengers, threats include monstrous Bio-Titans, alien Meld, and the Corpos who still control most of the world's remaining resources. Much of the game's appeal comes from its two-layered loop: narrative exploration and salvaging runs outside the mech, and tactical, resource-managed mech combat once things go loud, tied together by a deep crafting system that lets pilots build and refit their machines from scavenged parts between missions.