When comparing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition vs Cyberpunk 2020, the Slant community recommends Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is ranked 16th while Cyberpunk 2020 is ranked 17th. The most important reason people chose Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is:
5th Edition strikes a balance in keeping the rules simple in some areas, confusing and poorly thought out in others, while limiting the creativity of players and any real choice.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Minimal rules though somewhat clumsy
5th Edition strikes a balance in keeping the rules simple in some areas, confusing and poorly thought out in others, while limiting the creativity of players and any real choice.
Pro Free basic rules PDFs
Wizards of the Coast provides free PDFs containing the complete core mechanical rules of 5th Edition D&D (combat, exploration, spellcasting, etc.) and a selection of iconic character options, monsters, magic items, etc. drawn from the full game. Though short on variety, the basic rules are almost playable and accurate to the full game.
Of course far more is free in older editions as well as cheaper, 5e is by far the most expensive edition, and it is almost as bad as 4th edition.
Pro Slightly encourages character immersion
Few 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 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 stats and less their class or on magical equipment than has been the case in recent editions, which is a another major downside to 5e.
Pro OGL content
As with other editions of the game, much of the content is released under the Open Game License (OGL) allowing custom modification, extension and alteration of the game.
Pro Advantage rule
Rolls 2d20 chooses best. This dramatically makes all classes feel the same and moves away from distinct, interesting classes.
Pro Lacks granularity
Overuse of lazy balancing systems such as concentration spells and advantage mechanic.
This removes player choices, fun and creativity.
Pro A good mix of the best rules of the previous D&D editions without the worst things
Pro New, popular & growing
This is the most recent edition of the game and is the only one for which official content is being produced. Do not expect to see new official adventures or splatbooks published for any of the older editions of D&D.
Pro Deep character creation and fast-paced action
With its system for creating character traits and backstory, CB2020 inspires players to build well-rounded characters with adventure seeds built directly into their histories. Skill-checks are based on a D10 roles plus attribute and skill values against difficulty levels, and combat tends to be quick and dirty, keeping the focus on the action and allowing for cinematic gameplay.
Pro Faithful rendition of "cyberpunk" fiction
Pro Universal Stat+Skill+d10! roll-system for determining success
There is a universal roll of using a character's appropriate Stat, a Skill related to that stat and to the action needed, and an exploding d10 die (if you roll a 10, you will start to have adequate "critical hit" thrills by rolling some more, but if you roll a 1 that is a potentially dangerous Fumble on the Fumble Chart, 60% of the time).
Cons
Con Lack of granularity
Due to the simplicity of the rules, responsibility lies with the GM to govern the game rather than hard and fast rules.
Con Lacks the soul of older versions
Con It's too combat-oriented
It's meant for fight-y campaigns. Way too simple too.
Con Bland classes and races compred to other versions of DnD
Overuse of concentration mechanic, no racial stat modifiers and hardly any differences at all between races and classes, compared to previous editions.
Con Only popular because most people playing it have not tried any other systems.
Only justification for the system is to let critical role bring more people into the hobby. Once players try Warhammer, Vampire or AD&D 2e, they will have no need to return to 5e.
Con Worse mechanics than other versions of DnD
Especially spells, races and classes are dumbed down with lazy attempts to balance them, blocking player creativity.
Con Too shallow
Easy to learn, but not much to the game overall. Limited character depth and customization.
Con Very unbalanced
Thieves and Rangers are pretty much useless.
Con Casters are more powerful than noncasters
Con Almost no published material for 5e
WoTC has been super lazy since 3,5 and even that had only a third of the material available that TSR published for AD&D 2e.
Is is sad that WoTC after 7 years has not supported 5e or other versions better.
This is a great reason to look into 2e or 3,5e systems instead of 5e.
Con Chance may be more important than strategy
With a system that gives every roll a 10 percent chance to be a fumble or critical hit (respectively), gameplay can at times become somewhat arbitrary. Some players and GMs may find this high level of randomness enjoyable as a way of disrupting well-conceived plans, and the excellent fumble tables in particular contain loads of hilarity and mayhem. Others may feel the need to 'hack' the rules a bit.
Con A future that is almost an alternate history at this point
Set in a time that is almost upon us, the 1980s vision of the dark future can seem anachronistic, and it may require serious suspension of disbelief for anyone who did not grow up with the genre. Imagine cassette tapes were still around, mobile phones were still the size of a brick, and wifi was rare and expensive.