My first proper exposure to a pen and paper RPG was stumbling upon the RIFTS monster Manual back in like...1997 or so. I read the crap out of it, and eventually managed to get into a game of it held online on a MU*.

It didn't last very long - I don't think we ever reached what could be considered any sort of ending, but I was sort of hooked. A few years later I stumbled upon another MU* that was doing 3.5 in a nonstandard campaign environment (modern day when the world was getting 'invaded' by portals and monsters and things coming through to everyday Earth).

I'm currently in two 5e games, and I have to say....5e is terrible if you want to actually have rules for who and how awesome your character is. 3.5 was great for that. All those feats and skills and stuff. You could actually MAKE your character in 3.x.

5e has succumbed to the 'everybody is okay at everything' ideal of many newer Final Fantasies and Elder Scrolls.

Though I do rather like that they gave casters infinite casts of at least basic damaging spells rather than the piss-poor 'Level 0' spells that did 1d3 damage.

But a Fighter is no better at fighting than a cleric or paladin or rogue or ranger or anything else that can use a long sword and that's just lame.