When comparing Microlite20 Purest Essence vs Basic Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, the Slant community recommends Basic Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Basic Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is ranked 47th while Microlite20 Purest Essence is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose Basic Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is:
Bounded Accuracy is a core design ideal of 5th Edition. In short, it means the numbers don't get too big; this lets weak challenges remain relevant for longer, and strong ones become survivable sooner. In practice, it also places more focus on a character's inherent abilities and less on magical equipment than has been the case in recent editions.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Easy to start
If you are looking for a game like DnD, but much easier - try Microlite20 Pures Essence with Ultimate Fantasy supplement.
Pro Rules will be familiar to any veteran D&D player
As Microlite20 is a stripped down version of the d20 SRD with the same classes, races, items and abilities, it will be easy to understand by anyone that has previously played a D&D game. Especially D&D 3.x.
Pro Compatible with d20 SRD
Any material written for the d20 system can be used with the Microlite20 system. All creatures, items, monsters, spells, etc from any d20 SRD licensed resource are compatible with the Microlite20 system.
Pro Clear writing
The writing is very terse and to the point. There's very little in terms of fluff. As such the rules are easy to comprehend and reference.
Pro Simple rules allow easy customization
m20 remains compatible with the d20 SRD, but rules are lite enough that adding modifications to the system is trivially simple.
Pro Bounded Accuracy
Bounded Accuracy is a core design ideal of 5th Edition. In short, it means the numbers don't get too big; this lets weak challenges remain relevant for longer, and strong ones become survivable sooner. In practice, it also places more focus on a character's inherent abilities and less on magical equipment than has been the case in recent editions.
Pro Easiest tabletop RPG to find someone to play with
As D&D is the largest tabletop RPG franchise and played by most people, it is the easiest tabletop RPG to find players for.
Pro Encourages character immersion
Numerous core aspects of 5th Edition exist solely to encourage thinking in-character, including mechanical rewards for good roleplay and detailed character backgrounds with lasting effects in the game.
Pro Minimal but versatile rules
5th Edition strikes an impressive balance in keeping the rules simple without limiting the creativity of players.
Cons
Con Combat can potentially get stale
Due to the fact that combat is simplified to just 3 variables (AC, HP and attacks) a less experienced DM runs the risk of creating repetitive combat.
Con Lacks variety in various areas
In order to make the character creation fast and relatively simple in-depth customization options have been excluded from the basic ruleset. There's also a limited selection of character options (just 4 classes with a single sub-class), monsters, magic items, etc. The variety is to be found in the full game.
Con Still puts too much emphasis on spellcasters
The sword and sandal brigade, as well as the ever undervalued and undersupported Ranger class (Arcane Archer is under Fighter, not Ranger, where it belongs!), are still second fiddle to the magic slingers and rogues who are always overpowered.
Con Too easy to fall into the meatgrinder trap
Roleplaying falls by the wayside too easily as the murder-hobo set are catered to! Of course, it's also about the DM, however, majority of players want combat and that is exactly what D&D likes to provide - along with the archetypal and archetypical meat-grinder dungeon fest.