Interest Check for Players Returning to D&D for the First Time Since the Early Editions

I am just returning to D&D for the first time in 20 years, and I am a middle-aged adult with an established career and a schedule that would allow me to do some regular gaming via Roll20. I am not looking to join an established group as a player or DM. Instead, I am hoping to find some people with a similar background who are at a similar stage in life and have an interest in getting back into D&D and perhaps forming a Roll20 group for D&D 5E. If you once played Original D&D, BECMI, AD&D 1 st edition, AD&D 2 nd edition, or AD&D 3.5, but you haven’t played since those versions were first on the market, this might be a great opportunity to get back into the hobby. And it could also be a great way to learn and make the transition to 5E, which has done a great job in making the game simple, flexible, and fun. I would love to start some conversations and get a sense of whether there are others like me lurking around Roll20 and looking for an opportunity to play with people with a similar background. Please do not reply or contact me unless you fit into this category and are serious about rekindling your interest in D&D. However, if you have a similar D&D background and are looking to talk about opportunities to play and enjoy the game again, please feel free to respond here or send me a private message via the community forum.

Let's see. I am not middle-aged or have any of that buuut. My background as game player though is similar. You can check my profile as it explains everything there. The interest in D&D and similar games was never gone. I just never had the chance to find people near me that was interested/wanted to play D&D. Just once I got it when I was serving(army) and it wasn't good enough cause of the DM not being dedicated to it and playing quite rarely. He was also of those kind of DM's "My word is law" and he was like looking out for chances to screw your character up and laugh about it/your reaction. Just recently I found this site and I am totally eager to play some good game and get back into it. But for couple of days now the only group I found was a one shot thing, which we didn't even get the chance to do allot cause one of us had a real life situation coming, so he had to go.

The big thing you are going to need, of course is a DM. That is going to be a hard stop on anything you will want to do. I'm also a more than middle aged adult at 48, but I have been gaming since the old days and didn't stop. I currently run a 5th Ed that is full with 7. I'm playing 5th in a game on Thursdays that is being set up by another DM. If you can find a DM that is willing to run 5th edition for like minded middle-agers, and it fits my schedule, I'm in. The sheer problem of course is that there are about 15 players to any one DM, so that is the real key to getting a group started, middle aged players or not, finding a person willing to do the work. Whoever you want to recruit, or have in the group, is really also going to depend on the DM, because they have to be willing to run the game, so really you seem to be looking for an old school DM, who wants to run a group for people who used to play old school. Once you get a DM saying "I'm willing to run this, you'll get 10 to 12 posts within a day, because everyone is looking for a DM to run it, since "I don't have the time, or energy to DM" is the catchphrase for a lot of players, along with "I'm already running one or two or three games, so I'd like to play" (like me). Good luck with this effort.

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm going to send both of you a private message, and hopefully we'll see some more people chime in as well.

Well I'm 30 now, and before this past weekend I hadn't played D&D since high school (3.5). I thoroughly enjoyed my dnd nights but I moved to Nunavut (Canadian arctic) when I graduated and my time was mostly used learning what life would be like there. I sold all my books and gear. Looking back on it, it was kinda like a modern day dnd hah! But I digress. I've found a great group, and another group with promise but we've yet to play. Even though we had a 8 hour session as our first session, I'm still finding myself foaming at the mouth for a game through the week! I've been looking for decent groups to join but they seem to be few and far between. I know this is just a discussion about possibly forming a group, would just like to throw my bid in. As it stands, I've found myself with boatloads of free time for now and the foreseeable future. Would love to find a group to play with Sunday-Thursday and Friday or Saturday day. Hope to hear from ya!

Wow, Nunavut. I've always been interested in the Canadian Arctic. I'm glad you've managed to make a comeback despite once selling all your books and D&D accessories. I will send you a private message.

While i'm only 27, i am/was(i just applied to a campaign so hoping they'd be open to having me) in a simular predicament while my interest never fully disappeared, due to lack of people interested and most importantly perhaps, a dm, i haven't really done any RP'ing in the last 10 years and a few weeks ago i found a youtube channel about someone using roll20 to play and thought to myself "really, something like this existed all along?" and well after watching a few dozen episodes of said campaign i decided to give it a try! I played 3.5 for 3 years and loved it so why not rekindle with an old flame ;) Especially as the books i bought are still in good shape. Anyhow, if my age wouldn't be an issue and you would find a dm, i'll join if its on a weekday if you'll have me so we can discover the differences between 3.5 and earlier and 5.0 together aswell as scrape of the rust from not playing for quite some time. hope to hear back from ya! PS: I'm not natively english speaking but i'd hold my own, especially spoken.

Curious how old are you all? 48. Gaming since age 11.

Hi Greg! I have a similar background indeed. Instead of retyping it all I'll just post the link to my own forum post: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1143411/italian-" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1143411/italian-</a>... As you see, I know where you're coming from. The only thing is, I'm really not that interested in the 5th Edition (from what I've read so far). I'd prefer trying Pathfinder with the official setting for several reasons. But, for the right group of people, I might overcome this :) It's true the DM issue is going to be the hard obstacle, but if we can build a "core group" of people with similar backgrounds, I'm sure we will be able to find one eventually. Heck, one of us could find the motivation to do it himself, but, well, again, a product with a constant stream of official modules would help a lot in this regard.

I'm running two games a week, otherwise I'd run it...as 5th ed, not pathfinder. I'm looking for that old skool feel that 5e has, and playing it is like 1st edition again but this time with better tools and 30+ years of experience.

James S. said: The big thing you are going to need, of course is a DM. That is going to be a hard stop on anything you will want to do. I'm also a more than middle aged adult at 48, but I have been gaming since the old days and didn't stop. I currently run a 5th Ed that is full with 7. I'm playing 5th in a game on Thursdays that is being set up by another DM. If you can find a DM that is willing to run 5th edition for like minded middle-agers, and it fits my schedule, I'm in. The sheer problem of course is that there are about 15 players to any one DM, so that is the real key to getting a group started, middle aged players or not, finding a person willing to do the work. Whoever you want to recruit, or have in the group, is really also going to depend on the DM, because they have to be willing to run the game, so really you seem to be looking for an old school DM, who wants to run a group for people who used to play old school. Once you get a DM saying "I'm willing to run this, you'll get 10 to 12 posts within a day, because everyone is looking for a DM to run it, since "I don't have the time, or energy to DM" is the catchphrase for a lot of players, along with "I'm already running one or two or three games, so I'd like to play" (like me). Good luck with this effort. Hmm. If you are somehow saying that some players don't want the responsibility or are lazy, it's true. But I don't believe that it applies to all cases. For instance, I have seen people who want to DM but they are reluctant cause they lack some knowledge or because they don't have the skill to do it. A good DM is like one of the two cores you need for a good game. In fact it's the hardest. Cause players? I believe there is so many that you can find a good team with a little try/attempt. But a good DM is hard. Cause you need to find or to be a DM that knows what he is doing and also he is doing it right. So with that being said it's just hard to become a GM/DM, even if you put the effort to learn rules and create world, simply cause you was either not creative enough, your creativity went in the wrong way(not making something that many would be interested/enjoy) or the way you say things/describe things and guide players while you DM is non-entertaining/non-interesting. Also personally I enjoy the role/side of being a player more than DMing, with that being said, I would have no issue to help/assist the DM if I gain enough knowledge and experience. Due to not having played in a long time, I am currently kinda like a new/newbie player. So I currently can't assist. But once I get the experience and all, I plan to be helping DM's in games I will be playing. That is if they need/ask for my help.

I'm just saying that if you ask 20 people here "Do you play, or are you a DM?", 15 will say play only, 3 will say, Play but would like to learn how to DM, 1 Will say I DM, 1 will say I DM multiple games, but I'd like to play. All of your analysis of the factors behind the scenes is true.

Thanks everyone for your continued comments and interest. I've been in touch with several of you privately, and I'll reach out to any new people shortly. Here is some more information for clarification. Game Times I'm in the Pacific time zone, and if I can help organize a group, I would be aiming for weekends Pacific time (GMT -7), either in the afternoons or evenings, although late mornings could be possible on Saturday or Sunday. If you are not available during these times and don't have a very stable and regular schedule, then there is probably no way to make this work. Also, I like the idea of gaming every other week as this might be a better fit for the sort of players outlined in this thread. It might be a good balance between once per week and once per month. But it's probably too early to get that specific. Game System D&D 5E DM I have a strong interest in potentially being a DM for a group, and I have been working on a possible custom campaign and other details that would be required. However, as Reno pointed out, some people are wary of becoming a DM or GM because it's vitally important to have the required knowledge, so I've been working on learning more of the 5E rules, and I have studied the Roll20 help videos. I have been running a small test adventure in person, and I hope to do some further testing using the Roll20 system. I am confident that I have the creativity and communication skills that would be good assets for a DM, and, in the past, during the couple of instances when I led some brief one-shot adventures, I received positive feedback from players. But I am also someone who takes preparation very seriously, and I don't like getting into something unless I am sure that I have the time to do it the right way and that I'm properly equipped to ensure a clear success. One recommendation I received from other GMs was to conduct a trial run once a group is established, and I did something similar with an unrelated online game years ago. We ran a two-month test game to make sure that we all could get familiar with the game and that our members would be committed, and it worked beautifully. It set the stage for a very successful, long-term gaming effort. Of course, having the right players and having everyone interested in a similar experience is very important. That is one of the reasons why I started this thread, to see if there are other similar players out there who have a similar background, interest, and gaming experience, so they could be a good fit for a group that supports everyone, including the DM. If the right group of people emerges and there are enough people available at the right time and interested in the same kind of campaign and game experience, then I would certainly be willing to conduct a trial effort as DM. So far, based on my private conversations, it looks promising, and I like the idea that a couple of people have volunteered to help as well. But I want to give this plenty of time and consideration so we can really make sure that we've got the right mix of people, and I need to keep doing my homework. More to follow soon, and I hope we continue to attract interest from other players who fit the ideal profile.

Hello, I am a 48 year old female, and have been playing D&D since 1985 and DMing since 1987. I have always preferred DMing as a way to express my creativity and many many ideas and adventures I have running around in my head. I guess you could say I live and breathe D&D. I cut my gaming teeth on AD&D 1st ED, loved running AD&D 2nd ED, and moved on up to 4th ED, and then moved on with Pathfinder. I have playtested 5E as a DM, so I am familiar with the rules as far as the PLAYTEST goes, and still have the final copies of playtest material. So, if you need a 5E DM, I'd be more than happy to step into that role. If you want, of course. My favorite setting is the 3.5 Forgotten realms setting. I fell in love with Forgotten Realms as soon as I stepped into it. Not particularly happy with what 4th ED did to it. But I digress. I guess all in all, thats my story. Drop me a line if you are interested in me playing or being a GM. This is Rogue, over and out.

Thanks, Rogue. I sent you a PM.

I'm on board with all of that, Greg. My Sundays availability is blocked for utc-4 EDT 1p - 5p. as I am on roll20, running Stars without number at that time. Otherwise, cool. Saturday is doable, but Sunday after EDT 5 PM is better for me. Hello to all players!

While this still has my interest, the fact that it'd be on a weekend would be less then ideal for me. More or less because my weekend scedual isn't consistant to the point especially during winters and during this fall, i'd be absent 1/4th of the time which is less then ideal not only for myself, also for the group aswell aswell as the dm. I guess this won't be the right campaign for me sadly.as i kind of got hyped over it =( Good luck and if in the future, days would change to weekdays, drop me a pm!

I'm a 38-year-old male who played way back in middle school and high school. It's been a long time, but the bug has bitten me again and I would really like to find a game. I'm located in the EST and Saturday evenings would probably be the best for me. I really hope this gets going as I would love to join in.

If anyone else might fit this category and have an interest in a 5E group, probably on weekends PST, please have a look at the discussion here and send me a private message or leave a reply in the thread.

Hey there, I'm 41, started on AD&D 1st edition back in late 80s early 90s. Got back into playing again last year and would be happy to jump in a 5th edition campaign. I did pick up the PHB. Weekends work and Im pretty flexible depending on how often we play.

Hey guys and gals! As you can probably tell by the response to your thread, there are a lot of us 40-somethings (I'm 46) out there in Roll20 land. Our bios tend to all read as variations of this: "First started playing D&D in the 80's, stopped playing for years because I was busy getting married/with career/having kids, but now the kids are older, life is good and I have some free time at night so I'm really looking to play again via the miracle of Roll20." Mine is pretty much the same, with the exception that I started playing online a few years ago via the miracle of Fantasy Grounds and just switched to Roll20 this year. I've mostly been playing Savage Worlds and a few other games the past few years, but I hopped on the 5E bandwagon this summer and am loving it. It's a great time to return if you are a 40-something player, because the best description I've heard of 5E is that "it feels like the spiritual successor to 2E, with all the lessons learned from 3E & 4E thown in". As for playing, I've been DMing off and on for about 30 years, but almost never play as a player. I currently am running a Sunday evening campaign (US time) and have just started running something on Friday nights that may or may not turn into a permanent thing. Neither have openings at the moment, but most likely will in the near future. Would definitely enjoy joining a social group of similar players, and playing or DMing as well. Also, if some of you want to get together for a pick-up game, I have some ready to go and would be happy to run something to get your feet wet. On a side note, I had a lot of fun the other day "embracing" D&D again - I pulled out all of my old modules, dragon magazines and sourcebooks from storage (where they had been collecting dust for years) and filled up a bookshelf next to my computer with them. Can't wait to convert The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh to 5E! Actually, I was thinking about condensing all my old modules into 3-hour one shot adventures...

A man of like mind. Welcome to roll20.

Welcome, Answulf. I'll send you a private message, but it's nice to see another old school D&D gamer who has returned to the fold. I had a similar experience in getting out many of my old books and modules lately. Now that many titles are also available as electronic PDFs, it has re-opened much of the old content for the original generations and new generations alike. Thankfully, with Roll20, there is a great way the old school generations to connect and play.

One day, I will photograph my collection. a lot of it is going on ebay this year.

Yeah, there are several times in the past I thought about throwing all my stuff on e-bay, but when I was looking at what things go for it's almost not worth it. Glad I hung on to it now, though - lots of material to recycle into 5E.

yes, same here.

I sold off my collection to a friend some time ago and regretted it ever since. I have a pretty extensive collection of electronic RPG material, but it's just not the same as holding some dusty old tome in my hands. I mentioned to Greg A. in a PM that I would love to see an updated version of Tomb of Horrors. Answolf, Thanks for joining the discussion. It would be great if you could help get something going.

Hello, this is Ajax, I've been running D&D games for the last 40 years, I would consider running a game for Old Timers like myself, if a group of maybe 5 could be assembled. I love the new 5E Edition and that is what I would want to run, but with the old school flavor. I would only be able to run something like this every other week however and either on Wed, Thrus, or Fri.. Time would have to be starting between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM CST and the sessions running about 4 hours or so. I run material drawn from all kinds of sources and bastardize it to my own twists and turns. I have a very good grasp of Roll20 and use some excellent scripts to keep the game running smooth. If there is an interest let me know here as I don't check PMs very often... -Ajax

I can't commit to running another campaign right now, but I could run something maybe this Saturday if we have enough interest - would be cool to meet you all in-game. I'd want to run a short one-shot, like say 7pm-9pm Mountain? Something like that. Hi Ajax! I'd certainly be interested in playing in one of your games too. I think we may have bumped into each other before, but I'm not certain. You know, the funny thing is you get a bunch of old-timers together and there are more GMs than players. I can just see some young guy telling his friend, "Holy crap! I just found a thread with like 10 GMs in it! We should pretend we're old!"

I'll jump in on this thread too, since I pretty much fit the demographic. I started playing D&D in 1979 and played more or less continually until the late 90s. But it became more and more difficult to get a game together as friends moved on and life in general took over. Then I discovered Roll20 not quite 2 years ago and it has allowed me to finally get back into gaming again. I'm currently DMing two campaigns, both using the D&D B/X ruleset. But I'm also interested in getting into 5th edition, with an "old school" twist. I have of course downloaded the free .pdfs and I've also purchased the boxed 5th edition Starter Set. But running my current campaigns have kept me from taking the time to delve much into learning 5th edition. However, if there's interest in a 5th edition old school campaign, I'd like to try getting in on it. I have no problems DMing, in fact that is how I usually play. But I've first got to make the time to learn the 5th edition ruleset. Any game I might run would probably be limited to the core rules found in the free .pdfs, I probably wouldn't want to get any more complicated than that. Anyway, I just wanted to jump in on this thread and get my name out there as being interested, along with everyone else posting here. Thanks for the consideration!

Yes, it looks like we have managed to attract a number of veteran GMs. As someone who was hoping to potentially GM for a group, that could be a bit intimidating! But it can also be a tremendous help to a newer GM because there is a lot of experience and wisdom to call upon. But I wonder how a group that contains several GMs would play out if most of them were participating as players. I definitely cannot do weekdays at this point, and if I put together a group, I would like to take a more gradual approach and finalize a set of people, have a session zero or two, and potentially run a couple of of trial sessions to help make sure that everyone is up to speed with 5E and that we've truly got the right people involved. Then it would be good to go from there and move into a full campaign.

My own campaign here is very old school, very traditional style serious political plots, cavern adventures, etc. I am unfortunately booked up between This campaign, running 5e wednesdays, running Stars without number sundays, and feelers out to a 5E game that is set up to play Mondays (but has not started), and a 5E game I play in on Thursdays (that completed it's first session an hour ago, and looks to be solid, and will continue.) If any of those crash and burn, I'll have a spot in my week. Although I could do a one shot. But my marriage precludes sat - sun - mon on a regular basis. But a one shot, sure. I have told other people in the community that I'll be doing one shots here and there also, likely saturdays, as yet not finalized.

Greg I think your plan is a good one. I am on board with it. We can all meet. I think a bunch of us meeting each other to see how the mix is as old school GM's that want to play 5E is a side issue. I'm up for shooting the breeze about old-school gaming on Skype. Does not have to be this instant, I'm just saying. I like meeting people, I like talking, I'm a GM. That's why I'm a GM. I like gaming. I like meeting gamers. Where the hell are you gonna find six old-school gamers who are willing to be dungeon Masters on roll 20?? ha ha Ha right here. :)

I'm going to contact the folks I've already spoken with over the past couple of days, and I'm hoping we can set up a Skype group call/chat this weekend. We can open it up to some of the newer posters too, but I've already got a half dozen people on our list, so we might already be full if we all decide to move ahead and we can schedule accordingly. I'm looking at Saturday for the Skype session, maybe late afternoon Pacific time to hopeful work with everyone's schedules.

right on. good night.

I'd look forward to being a player instead of a GM for a change and would happily lower my position to player only until called up for duty! Especially in an old school vibe campaign. In my experience, having several GMs in a group is pretty much pure bonus. Having the ability (and people willing) to take over when the GM can't make it, run something else when the GM wants a break or alternate GMing duties adds significantly to the lifespan of the group. The longest group I've ever been a part of had 3 GMs, and that is 100% why it was the longest group I have ever been a part of...

All this does sound interesting, I'm Game, and I will respond to PMs just not always promptly... Just my two cents but I find Hangouts more reliable that Skype and easier to use IMHO.... -Ajax

I have used hangouts before, skype, ventrilo, etc. I jumped in on the revivalists skpye that Greg set up. I guess I'll toss my hat in the ring also to do one shots, but my schedule is pretty packed right now until two games i am playing with shake out as stable or die. My thing Is right now I am doing mostly 5E, for running. And I guess that would be the main effort. But just to toss the suggestion out there, I have the range of a whole gamut of games too, that I have run for years (and have all of the books ever in print for): [And in order of what I'd like to run) Last Unicorn Star Trek, Star Wars SAGA, Cubicle 7 One Ring, Traveller, Boot Hill, Top Secret, S.I., The rare prized TSR Metamorphosis Alpha first edition, Gamma World (every edition since 1st), really too many to list. If we could get a try before you buy sort of guild going, I am willing to do one shots of various games, with pre-gens and all of it. Or Not, if the main push is for 5E. I am liking the 5E. I'm still learning it, but liking it. And I am looking for older players. I have gone through many groups of younger players and it seems like combat adds, and plus to hit, and triple damage, and all of that, and what are you doing? "I move my mini and swing" are the kind of thing I've been seeing, and it's lacking. Nothing against younger players but around about the time of 3.5, it became all about Trip attack, and "PC is uber badass, and should never feel challenged" and "If I am told to make a DC 10 and fail it, then the game is broken" I want to move into "Long ago, in a forlorn wooded valley, a small village lay nestled along a small stream. And little did the inhabitants know, that soon would come war, and life would never be the same. As our tale opens..." Narrative style. Each player narrates their actions, so we see the movie in our minds.

This topic was so incredibly specific to what I was looking for that it feels like a setup. I'm mid-40s, played 1st Ed. back in the day and have been really intrigued by all that I've read about 5th ed. I signed up to see if there was anything for someone in my boat and voila! I'm expressing my interest to join as a player. I'm willing to meet any party need - heal-focused cleric, defensive fighter, etc.- at least in the short term (I was hoping to run Phandelver to get my feet wet, akin to your zero/trial idea). I'd even be happy with a first-time DM who learns as we all go (I figure that's only fair), and am willing to spend off-time helping the DM in whatever way I could. I'm late to the party, so no worries if I don't make the cut. Good luck either way!

Nah nah no setup. :) a few of us are gonna help out with DMing too i think there will be more than enough play slots. Welcome, Chris B.

Well, I am only 33, though sometimes that makes me feel like an old timer. I started in 1998 with 2nd edition, DMing for my sister and her then-boyfriend (who is her now-husband), then moved on to 3rd edition, though my first ever game was a 1 session 1st edition. I have been playing on roll20 for 2 years now (605 hours), mostly Pathfinder, but really getting into 5th edition. I have tried my hand at being DM recently, but things didn't work out. Either I was terrible, my desired playstyle was incompatible with what the players wanted, or a mix of both. These failures have shaken me, but haven't quite killed that desire to DM. If nothing else, there may be enough people who have shown interest in this thread to fill 2 groups, if enough people have shown interest in DMing. I think I counted 2 people, at least. If I am late for getting in on this, then I wish you good luck. Playing with those who played the older versions, I think would be very fun.

James S. said: Nothing against younger players but around about the time of 3.5, it became all about Trip attack, and "PC is uber badass, and should never feel challenged" and "If I am told to make a DC 10 and fail it, then the game is broken" I want to move into "Long ago, in a forlorn wooded valley, a small village lay nestled along a small stream. And little did the inhabitants know, that soon would come war, and life would never be the same. As our tale opens..." Narrative style. Each player narrates their actions, so we see the movie in our minds. It's weird since "Old Timers" didn't play that way yet they were young in their turn back then. I remember when one of my group literally sold our souls to a Demon. Can't remember the specifics, maybe he tricked us into a pact or something. Well, we tolerated evil companions, we just underestimated HOW evil he was :D Frustrating though it was, it was a "glorious" end to the campaign, that can never be denied :) I'm not sure this kind of things happens with the more current playstyles... The newer rulesets encourage miniatures and all that, this is a good 90% of the problem for sure. On the other hand, I always felt the AD&D rules a bit lacking, when something more specific (or more logic) happened to be needed after all. What I'm saying is that Old Timers, counter-intuitively perhaps, are the ones who are better equipped to get the most out of the rules-heavy RPGs. Gifted with their Infinite Wisdom and Perspective, they can follow the rules when it's fun or it makes sense, and relax them as needed when it's time to "shift gears". So I realize I'm in the minority but I'm not too attracted to 5E, which I understand simplifies things by limiting a lot of options. Anyway, sorry for the derail :) I'm just hoping the club here widens enough to include a few European Old Timers, too :-/

Mastroego, I would take a second look at 5E. The rules are actually quite flexible and open to being used however a DM and the players deem appropriate. In fact, in a number of ways, the rules were modified to encourage more flexibility for people to play the way they want. And the new Player's Handbook gets into more options and details available to players and DMs alike. Then again, flexibility and malleability have always been features of D&D, but I think this was lost on many people. I think many DMs and players take the rules to be absolutes or absolute limits, and they don't always notice the repeated reminders that the rules are ultimately just guidelines. Passages in the rules have always encouraged DMs to make their own interpretations and even modify rules or create new rules, systems, classes, races, monsters, or anything that they need to run a campaign. But many people are naturally inclined to treat rules as fixed and unbending or perhaps incomplete and not comprehensive enough. So somehow we ended up with perceptions that the rules are limiting or lacking. 5E has certainly tried to simplify and streamline things, but it doesn't mean that the 5E rules are the final word. You can still do whatever you want with them. For example, there are no rules for morale in the 5E system, but I've already seen some DMs who have devised their own morale checks based on old school ideas applied to 5E. There are no rules yet for things like mass combat or player dominions, and I don't know if they will be added, but a DM can always go back to some old school BECMI sources for plenty of rules inspiration. That's the idea: if you feel that something is missing, limiting, or not entirely desirable, then you can always make a change or develop an alternative. As long as your players agree, I don't see any issue with that.

Who here has the PHB and who has the starter set? I currently have the PHB, but I'm thinking about grabbing the starter set from Amazon since it's only $12. I haven't created a player yet, and if the past is any indication, character creation for me can be a labor and time intensive project. I'm thinking a pregen character from the starter set may be the best thing to use if we do any quick starter games.

I have both the PHB and Starter Set. Unless you really want the Starter Set adventure, if you already have the PHB, you don't need the Starter Set. The rulebook in the Starter Set is really just a quick reference for combat, spellcasting, and a couple of other items related to game mechanics. It covers none of the player creation process and is missing a fair bit of material from the free basic rules, let alone the PHB. It's assumed that players will use pre-generated characters for the adventure. I can potentially help you create a new character and cut down on the time required. I'm pretty familiar with the process. Or, if you prefer a pre-generated character for a quick game, I could either clone one for you from the Starter Set, or you could use some existing online tools to create one.

I went ahead and purchased the starter set. I discussed our potential game with one of my coworkers, who is of similar age and gaming background, and he has expressed interest in playing again. Two other of my coworkers have also shown interest in playing so I may end up running a game for them at some point. A couple of people who would be playing are complete newbies to the D&D world so I'm thinking the starter set may be a good jumping off point for them. If nothing else the starter set will give me a pretty container for my PHB, character sheets, dice, etc. ;)

i got the playtest materials, (was in it), thwe 1.0 Pdf the 2.0 DM and PH pdf, free from august, and the core printed book for 5e. I have been using online tools to make pcs.

@Greg, I'll surely have a deeper look, I understand your points. Right now I'm slowly going through Core Pathfinder and I'm liking it, even though I'm sure if I'd play it I'd take several liberties here and there, with the same spirit you're describing. But we're splitting hairs, ultimately, as you prove, the game is made by the players: I'd certainly be on board for a 5E Campaign, I'm not saying I wouldn't ;) Speaking of which, if there are more European Old Timers, once again, reveal yourself! :)