I was skeptical of 5th edition for the first several years of its existence. I liked the chassis it was built upon, since it wasn't terribly different from my favorite editions (BECMI and 3.5). I'll say now, nearly 10 years on (or has it been 10 already?), that 5th edition almost rivals the aforementioned BECMI as my favorite iteration of the game.
One thing I think that's really made it fun for me is the absolute avalanche of 3rd party and fan content. The OGL was key in this respect, much as it was for the popularity of 3.5 (and for the birth of Pathfinder). I've recently been digging into years of PDFs that I've accumulated and never really flipped through as thoroughly as I should have, and I've got ideas busting at the seams. Some of my favorite material are the classes that just regular ol' folks like me have created. I'll decline to list them - the discovery is the best part. Go and find yourself some gold!
Some people get all weird about materials that haven't been thoroughly playtested, and aren't comfortable using unofficial rules. I say this to them: you aren't having enough fun. If I, the DM, cannot contend with something a player brings to the table, then I didn't vet it thoroughly enough to begin with, thus not doing my job, or I'm not planning properly for the character in question - again, not doing my job! All these options, subclasses, extra spells, magic items, and extra rules allow me to choose whatever I would like and build my world upon it. Sometimes someone else's concept or rule will spark a wild idea that spurs an entire campaign arc to be written. House rules are fun. Do your job as a DM, vet what hits your table thoroughly, and above all, PLAN FOR WHAT IS ON THE CHARACTER SHEETS.
That said, I'm toying with a few campaign ideas now, that will eventually be detailed here as a way to keep track of it all. One campaign I'd like to get off the ground would center on the accumulation of occult knowledge, and the key to it all are dusty tomes hidden away in ruins and tombs. I'm gathering all the material I can that's been written about books and libraries in D&D, as well as magical items in book form, or lists of titled books - it seems there is no end to the products geared toward this subject on the internet. The characters would always need to quest after knowledge of some sort in order to fight against whatever threat has reared its head, which will always have a vulnerability to exploit via magic, but the magic itself could be half a continent away, or held as a secret by something even worse than the threat they're currently facing. In other words, +1 swords and magic missiles will not feature, but complicated rituals that exploit the fabric of the universe, will. I know it's all vague, but so are my ideas right now!
Another idea I'm toying with, because I've watched so much Supernatural apparently and I can't get enough of the angel characters on the show, is an Ultramodern 5 campaign (maybe - D20 Modern is just as good in my eyes), centering around the wars angels and demons fight in the spiritual realm that spill into the material plane. I've been collecting all the 5e material I can get my hands on that has embellished on the subject of angels in the game, but I've also been reading the D20 version of Engel, SJG's In Nomine, C.J. Carella's Armageddon, and the Malhavoc Press supplement The Anger of Angels. There are some other 3rd edition era books I need to find to further research all of this, as well, but they slip my mind. I've also been delving into Old Testament pseudepigrapha that happens to have a lot of detail on angels, mining it for subject matter. As for 5e supplements, I've found some excellent fan-made materials on the subject, and I can't wait to see what else I find.
Both of these ideas were born of the fan-made and DM's Guild supplements that I've read and enjoyed. This is why house rules are my favorite artifacts of D&D, and it also gives me a window into how other people are playing the game we all love. I can't get enough.
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