If you had to choose one edition of D&D....

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If the only RPG you could play was official D&D, which edition would you choose?


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Ossian

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Suppose the only RPG you could play for the rest of your life was official D&D, and only one edition. Which one would you choose?

I'm tempted by 5e for the player base and go-between old school and new school feel, but am put off by the power level and abundance of magic from the get go. I like old school over new school, so 3e and 4e are out. I was raised on good vs evil type fantasy, so I like the flavor and art of BECMI and 2e. I never played B/X or 1e. I think simplicity wins the day for me, so I choose BECMI over 2e.
 
Suppose the only RPG you could play for the rest of your life was official D&D, and only one edition. Which one would you choose?
Do you mean unaltered and as originally published, no rewriting or editing for clarification?
...am put off by the power level and abundance of magic from the get go.
I understand that's optional, but I have the same feeling when I read about 5th edition online. Haven't ever read or played the game, though.
 
BECMI is a good choice. It's got way more crap than I'd ever use with the CMI bits, but that's stuff that I can withhold if I really want to.
 
G Gabriel what makes 2e your choice?

It's the closest to the way I play. When I play B/X or Castles and Crusades, I tend to want to tack on skills. I like weapon proficiencies, specialization, and expertise. I like all the minor geegaws that 2e uses, so I tend to start trying to add them into the other variants that don't have them.

But at the same time 2e isn't overly complex. It doesn't weigh me down with those extra geegaws or make it feel like they're critical, like 3e does. 2e is easy for me to run, still providing a nice crunch for when I want it.

Plus, I've played 2e off and on since it was launched in 89. I basically kicked 3e to the curb almost immediately and just stuck with 2e. It's familiar.

Also, the material I have for 2e is more wieldy. I never played with much more than the core. Give me the two corebooks, my two Monstrous Compendium folders, my 4 volumes of Encyclopedia Magica, Complete Fighter's Handbook, and Complete Book of Humanoids and I don't need anything else. That selection has pretty much kept me going ever since 89, and I don't have much real need of anything else. I haven't even exhausted the potential of those things.
 
After choosing one edition, you could alter it any way you like....
I'd probably go with the glorious Gygaxoid mess that is Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but only the first three books. It has more than I'd ever need for a lifetime of play and it's fun to read in ways that the other versions I have seen are not.
 
It would be a hard call between BX D&D and 5e but I think 5e as Dragon Warriors actually scratches my old school fantasy vibe better than BX does, but there isn’t a modern fantasy replacement better than 5e.
 
OD&D for me. It was the version of D&D I chose when I tried to see what I could fit in a little briefcase.
 
OD&D would probably be my choice, because I've been playing it so long. I think that 5E would be my second choice, but the greatest single volume RPG has to be the Rules Cyclopedia.
 
5e. I'm not hugely fond of D&D at all really, but 5e is probably more like what I'd want to play than most other versions. A combination of the fact that it has a strong central mechanic and has good character customization without the pitfalls or abuses that 3.x had. 2e AD&D would probably be my second choice.
 
Played every edition, Good memories with 2nd... but if I had to choose only one, it would be 3.5.
It was well done and had loads of options.
 
I haven't played 5e yet.

I'd choose AD&D2e.
I've now played 5th ed a couple of times now. I like it well enough as a player, as long as the DM is able to walk me through some of the newer concepts that I'm not clear on (such as bonus actions).

That said, AD&D 2e for me. That's mainly familiarity for me, but it's also loose and flexible enough for me to tweak it for the types of games I want to run.
 
Suppose the only RPG you could play for the rest of your life was official D&D, and only one edition. Which one would you choose?
Most likely, another hobby:smile:!
And it's not even because of D&D. Replace that with most systems and I'd react the same way:wink:!


Second most likely, OD&D. But that's by far not the most likely option:evil:!
 
I load it down with my own house rules, but 2nd ed. I enjoy becmi (cyclopedia) but after a while find it a bit constricting.
3rd and onward loose the value of classes
4th is just a computer game in print
and tbh 5th 'fixed' the wrong things IMHO
 
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Close second.

D&D5 is tempting... but grogs gotta grog and I’m no exception.
 
B/X. It's my favorite D&D edition and the foundation of pretty much every other ruleset I've enjoyed in the past few years.
 
1st ed AD&D. I've played the others at least briefly, and IMO they embody a branch of gaming that I can't stand. Endless options that require you to take specific options to get later options. If you make a bad choice you end up going down a different path than you wanted unless you try to plan it out all the way...and I don't always know in advance what that will be. My brain doesn't let me enjoy this approach...I feel compelled to track down every path for the most optimal way to get to my final goal and hope that doesn't change along the way. It's very frustrating to me.

(Of course, if D&D were my only option, I suspect I would stop gaming.)
 
I started with BECMI, played AD&D 2nd the most, enjoyed 3E the most, have a great fondness for B/X and retroclones based on it, but I'd have to say 5E. It gets most things right and it's easy to tweak what it doesn't.
 
I really enjoy OD&D in the guise of Swords and Wizardry. But then their are ideas that I port over from BECMI/RC. Especially having cut my teeth on it back in the day. So then I would look to RC even more, as its all in one book. That appeals to me a great deal. But over all 5e really hits that sweet spot (in reality, or just my own perception) of old and new school. So I guess, 5e overall. (Looks over at RC sitting on top of my 5e books on my desk.) Maybe.......
 
I really enjoy OD&D in the guise of Swords and Wizardry. But then their are ideas that I port over from BECMI/RC. Especially having cut my teeth on it back in the day. So then I would look to RC even more, as its all in one book. That appeals to me a great deal. But over all 5e really hits that sweet spot (in reality, or just my own perception) of old and new school. So I guess, 5e overall. (Looks over at RC sitting on top of my 5e books on my desk.) Maybe.......

You know you want to.
 
AD&D first edition is about as close as it got for me. But then, I'm a Rolemaster and GURPS guy so D&D never scratched the right itch for me. There was a really nice, unofficial 1.5 on the net at one point in time that got C&D but beyond that D&D really never hits the mark for me.
 
5e because I can strip it back to a B/X like simplicity if I like. The only thing holding me back from picking the RC is descending AC and Saving Throws.
 
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AD&D 2nd Edition for tone & style, familiarity, support, flexibility, and nostalgia. 4E and BECMI come in close seconds. 1E is too pulp/weird/lurid/Gygaxian fantasy for me, 3.x too opaque and imbalanced.
 
Suppose the only RPG you could play for the rest of your life was official D&D, and only one edition. Which one would you choose?

Wouldn't ultimately matter, because I'd houserule it until it was Phaserip.

OK, I know, cop-out answer. I guess if we're just going by "Favourite by process of elimination", I'd stick with 2e, and get my Planescape on.
 
1e AD&D (in Greyhawk with the classic Gygax modules).

I really quite like 5e — but if there can be only one...
 
Currently, I would have to say Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition: Player's Option. Infinitely replayable and remixable, and various supplements give me the tools to beat the worst cruft out of it.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is finally starting to get the same sorts of tools through third-party publishers, so it's a close runner-up.
 
Gygax AD&D for nostalgia factor and overall feel, 5E for actually being the most practical option to teach to newbies.

JG
 
I wouldn't play any of the official ones. About the only D&D I have any interest in trying at this point is Douglas Cole's Dungeon Heresy.
 
Is it too late to add a poll?

B/X in the #1 spot with 5e barely beating out 2e for second place. The best adventures overall were published for 1e.
 
Keeping a close eye on nostalgia blur, it would have to be 2e for me. It hit the right level of fantasy for me in terms of power and feel and there was (is?) an enormous amount of modularity in terms of how many of the optional bells and whistles you can deploy at the table to hit the game you want. In terms of complexity, it's the version of D&D that naturally hits my preferred level where earlier versions were a little too loose and 3/3.5, whilst we had some good times, was too mechanical for me.
 
It's be 2nd ed AD&D for me as it was the last edition I enjoyed playing, plus it had Spelljammer and Darksun. Not played 5e so I have no idea what it is like.

To be honest I'd likely give up gaming altogether because I am just bored of D&D tropes and the d20 is way to swingy for me these days.
 
If such a dire situation ever presents itself that means I can only have one rpg in my possession, and it has to be D&D, then it must be the End Of Days...

In that case, its a toss up between B/X and 5E

I really like the vibe of D&D B/X, its hard to beat. That old school flavour first attracted me to this hobby, its in my blood.

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But 5E's core rules are more internally consistent, and feel more logical. There's a little bit of bloat, but that can be trimmed down if I don't like it. Overall D&D 5E feels like it has simplified things rather than become more complicated, which is refreshing.
Hmmm I really don't dig those old weird Saving Rolls from TSR D&D, so that's a deal-breaker for me right there with B/X.

Ok, D&D 5E it definately is.
(I can easily play it with an old-school vibe if I want)



(I also love the 5E limited edition slipcase set that's sitting in my bookcase :grin:)
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