What is your favorite edition of D&D and why?

[Mallus]

Green Ronin came out with a fantasy supplement for M&M, correct? I thought about picking up M&M and I do have True20 which I really dig.

Yes, it's called Warriors and Warlocks, and while it has a little new crunch, it's mostly a series of guidelines for running a fantasy game using M&M --plus it opens with a great history of pulp/comic-book fantasy.

 

[Agamon]

No contest. After having played it for over a year, both as a DM and player, 4E is by far my favorite edition of D&D, and holds together the best during play for my groups.

As a DM, I love 4e for:
* Ease of preparation (and the DDI is a thing of beauty)
* Simplicity of NPC and monster stat blocks, but still with tons of interesting options during a fight
* Skill challenges (yes, I use them, and they work well especially if the DM uses some judgement)
* Focus on actually playing and running the game, rather than prepping for it
* MUCH harder for a player to munchkin powergame. It means my job as a DM is a ton easier not having to worry about appropriate encounters and challenges trashing some PCs while other PCs don't break a sweat
* The system is so robust and scales well through all levels of play
* XP budgeting system for encounter design
* New cosmology- it strongly mirrors the cosmology of my homebrew world, and I find the new cosmology far more evocative than the old one

As a player, I love 4e for:
* Easier organic character development (meaning I don't need to pre-select feats, skills, classes, etc out to level X to be able to qualify for something later), and retraining
* Focus on play mastery rather than system mastery
* Focus on working as a team, rather than lone-wolf tactics
* MUCH harder to munchkin powergame, and fewer one-trick pony PCs
* I can play ANY class and know I won't be a gimp or useless at any point during the character's progression
* The new multiclassing rules
* Powers are just a stupid amount of fun in play
* Caster class power is reigned in, but a smart caster with some prep time for rituals and careful power use can do some really incredible stuff
* Much less reliance on magic items for character progression and power

I couldn't put it much better myself, though I've only been a player for a handful of sessions. So the DMing is a big thing for me. Without the DDI, 4e would be fun and easy to prep and DM. With it...well, it's really fun and really easy. The last days of 3e for me was neither easy nor fun and felt a lot like work without pay...except that my actual work is more interesting.

I have to say, the other D&D I'd like to play would be RC. I was reading it a few weeks ago and it brought back some good memories of our old B/X games.

 

[wedgeski]

My answer to this is 4E.

I had a good time DM'ing and playing 3/3.5, but I feel in hindsight it was much more to do with the inherent D&D-ness of the whole thing, as opposed to the mechanics. The rules blew me away when they first arrived on the scene, but I did tire of them in the end, and in the last couple of years of 3rd Edition's life, I was painfully aware of what I didn't like.

4E blew a fresh wind through the game for me, simple as.

 

[Votan]

I am starting to come around to 4E. My group has been very partisan 3E but the DM burden at high levels is discouraging.

But what is really selling me on 4E is how many interesting character ideas come out of paragon paths and epic destinies. They end up being much less about power and much more about flavor. It's been making me think.

For a "pick-up" game, 1E/2E was much better -- faster (and disposable) characters and even less overhead.

 

[Blackbrrd]

4e because it makes each combat quite different. Monsters do more than damage/poison you.

 

[thedungeondelver]

4e because it makes each combat quite different. Monsters do more than damage/poison you.

Yeah! Now they can hold you or petrify you or cast spells at you or charm you or...

 

[El Mahdi]

3E (and not 3.5E).

For me, it's the most versatile character creation system by far. I can't imagine any character from literature or movies that I can't make, and the mechanics will fit almost to a tee. The only downside is it's complexity can lead to a reduction in ease of play. That's why I've houseruled in quite a few mechanics from 4E. But all in all, for me, 3E has it all.

 

[FriarRosing]

I would have to say 4th edition. And close behind that, probably Basic D&D/Rules Cyclopedia D&D/Whatever you want to call it.

They're both easy to run, easy to play and fun. If I want a long, drawn out and story-driven game with lots of glorious combat as well as character interaction, I'll run 4th edition. It's great for well thought-out, structured gaming, and it can be really rewarding with that. The Rules Cyclopedia just gives you so much in one book, and it's great for on the fly, super immersive gameplay where anything can happen. I think they offer two sides to a coin in a really good way while both sharing important things I like (particularly simplicity and ease of running a game). When I want a lot of tactical thinking and long term, fleshed out characteres I run to 4th Edition. When I want to throw my players into really organic, inspirational cooperative story telling where no one knows what will happen and everything occurs in our collective imagination, I run and grab my Rules Cyclopedia.

 

[diaglo]

Yeah! Now they can hold you or petrify you or cast spells at you or charm you or...

and they have levels too.

everything that is not a PC is a monster. even that 5th lvl lawful cleric you visit at the church for healing.

oh wait. i think i read that somewhere else.

 

[kitsune9]

Yes, it's called Warriors and Warlocks.

Thanks Mallus!