I don't like DnD so I'll say you didn't miss much and then I'll probably get downvoted to nothing XD
I've only really played DnD, Shadowrun and World of Darkness and the last one is the one I've created little monsters in eldest's friends. We're having a great time though :)
Yep I know that feeling XD
My friends (as teens) played a huge amount of shadowrun. I sat in for one session with them, just to get a feel, but didn't go past that.
Do you remember the choose your own adventure books?
Yes, they had some rereadability following the different paths but I didn't really get into them past that.