Final Thoughts on 5e

[Amechra]

I blame your DM(s). They didn't:

While they are partially to blame, I put that fault squarely on 5e's lackluster DMing advice. In my mind, this is offloading fault from the developers onto the consumers, which is... yeah, not a fan.

My overall issue isn't "Oh, I have to buy Tasha's to get the next best thing", it's "This game has some fundamental design choices that I don't like all that much. This newest release chooses to double-down on those design choices in a way that makes it very clear that I am not part of their intended audience."

Given that a) we seem to have similar tastes/thoughts/issues and also b) that I don't know many other RPG systems, I would be really interested in hearing what your preference would be to run?

It depends on exactly what you're looking for. Right now, my interests are drifting away from straight D&D-style fantasy stuff to other genres. A few of the games I'm interested in playing/running at the moment:

1) Masks - This is a PbtA game about playing teenage superheroes. The different playbooks (read: classes) are themed around specific types of stories, rather than their in-world powers - so, for example, one player might be playing the Janus (where both your mundane life and your hero life are fighting for your attention) while another person is playing the Protege (where you're basically Robin trying to figure out whether or not you're just mini-Batman). The most interesting part is that your stats aren't fixed - they're designed around your self-image, and other people can try to permanently push your stats up or down. I've had a ton of fun with this game before despite not really having much love for superheros in general.

2) Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e - This is the one "straight" fantasy game I'm looking into. Mostly because of the really good Fatal and Friends reviews/readthroughs of the books (be forewarned: there's a bit of bad language). I'm particularly enamored by the "career" system - long story short, it's a class system designed from the bottom-up for multiclassing. It just seems like a class act all around.

3. Urban Jungle - It's a film noir game with a surprisingly novel damage system. Basically, when someone hits you, you get to roll to reduce the damage. If you don't reduce the damage to 0, you either spend a Soak (which tend to have extra effects linked to them) or you immediately drop. I want to give it a try purely on that basis... the only issue is that you're all playing animal people for some reason. Maybe I could con some people into playing Lackadaisy Cats with me?

4. The Warren - It's a horror game where you play bunny rabbits! As in, actual bunny rabbits. The damage system is one of the most brutal I've seen - whenever you take a wound, you permanently lose the ability to engage with certain mechanics. There isn't a point where you have to retire a character, but the game suggests doing it after 2-3 wounds. And then you pick up and play a different bunny.