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<blockquote data-quote="thecasualoblivion" data-source="post: 4568388" data-attributes="member: 59096"><p>I voted 2E, and I'll explain why at the end. But first, We'll look at things individually:</p><p></p><p></p><p>For this you are looking at 2E, basic D&D, or 4E. 1E while somewhat rules-light ends up requiring a lot of book referencing in the end. 3E is terrible for what you describe. 2E and basic D&D perfectly fit what you describe, and while 4E can get complex with combat and character creation, after a short period of time you stop referencing the books altogether, and it can easily do improvisation in both combat and non-combat situations, particularly outside of combat. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>4E all the way on this one. 1E/2E aren't too bad with this though, and 3E is a disaster.</p><p></p><p> </p><p>1E/2E does a small group best. 4E really wants at least 4 PCs, though I could see things working with 3. With that small of a group, I'd recommend a DMNPC or allowing people multiple characters. 1E/2E does running multiple characters better than newer editions, and multiclassing helps tremendously. 3E does not handle players running multiple characters well(less well than 4E, and the game can be swingy to the point where running 2-3 characters gets very risky. On the other hand, with heavy optimization and powergaming a small 3E group will do well. </p><p></p><p> </p><p>I'm not a big fan of 3E core. Its the least balanced version of D&D in Core, and a lot of primary concepts just don't work well(Fighter, I'm looking at you). 1E, 2E, and 4E work just fine out of the core books.</p><p></p><p> </p><p>I think 4E is very underrated in this regard. While players can spam magic end over end, the magic they can wield isn't high impact like earlier editions. Slow leveling 1E/2E with a cap at around level 10(how most people have historically played it) and frugality with magical treasure can accomplish this goal as well. 3E doesn't do this well at all without heavy modification.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Actually, 3E does this better than any other D&D. The nature and limits of 1E/2E really require/encourage you to spam Fireballs and whatnot, to the point where its often hard to justify memorizing Fly. 4E's Rituals work very well for "non-combat" situations, but their slow(10 minute) casting doesn't allow for tactical non-combat application, or use in combat at all. </p><p></p><p></p><p>What you say here doesn't sound like it disqualifies 4E. I would call 4E firmly in the moderately complex combat camp. Any edition sounds like it would work fine.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This all but disqualifies 3E, particularly the difficulty in eyeballing encounters. The other editions all work fine.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Basic D&D just doesn't deliver this at all. 2E(and 1E if you ignore racial restrictions and level limits), is underrated in this regard, as it offers things like Fighter/Mage, Fighter/Thief, Mage/Thief, ect. The multiclassing system adds a lot of options. 3E offers the most freedom, but the system tends to break down quickly if you aren't optimizing. 4E in this regard is underrated, having limited but deep choices in core. </p><p></p><p></p><p>3E wouldn't work well in this regard given your time availability limits. The 2E DMG probably has the best tools in this regard, while 4E advocates starting small and fleshing out a greater area as the game progresses.</p><p></p><p></p><p>2E handles the narrative style best of all editions, and the 4E skill system can easily be disregarded to achieve the same effect. With 3E, you'll be ignoring large portions of the game, and 1E had lots of fiddly dice systems for this sort of thing.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>All versions are equally do well for this.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As I said before, I recommend 2E. I believe you can accomplish what you want with 4E, but 2E is more what you want right out of the box.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="thecasualoblivion, post: 4568388, member: 59096"] I voted 2E, and I'll explain why at the end. But first, We'll look at things individually: For this you are looking at 2E, basic D&D, or 4E. 1E while somewhat rules-light ends up requiring a lot of book referencing in the end. 3E is terrible for what you describe. 2E and basic D&D perfectly fit what you describe, and while 4E can get complex with combat and character creation, after a short period of time you stop referencing the books altogether, and it can easily do improvisation in both combat and non-combat situations, particularly outside of combat. 4E all the way on this one. 1E/2E aren't too bad with this though, and 3E is a disaster. 1E/2E does a small group best. 4E really wants at least 4 PCs, though I could see things working with 3. With that small of a group, I'd recommend a DMNPC or allowing people multiple characters. 1E/2E does running multiple characters better than newer editions, and multiclassing helps tremendously. 3E does not handle players running multiple characters well(less well than 4E, and the game can be swingy to the point where running 2-3 characters gets very risky. On the other hand, with heavy optimization and powergaming a small 3E group will do well. I'm not a big fan of 3E core. Its the least balanced version of D&D in Core, and a lot of primary concepts just don't work well(Fighter, I'm looking at you). 1E, 2E, and 4E work just fine out of the core books. I think 4E is very underrated in this regard. While players can spam magic end over end, the magic they can wield isn't high impact like earlier editions. Slow leveling 1E/2E with a cap at around level 10(how most people have historically played it) and frugality with magical treasure can accomplish this goal as well. 3E doesn't do this well at all without heavy modification. Actually, 3E does this better than any other D&D. The nature and limits of 1E/2E really require/encourage you to spam Fireballs and whatnot, to the point where its often hard to justify memorizing Fly. 4E's Rituals work very well for "non-combat" situations, but their slow(10 minute) casting doesn't allow for tactical non-combat application, or use in combat at all. What you say here doesn't sound like it disqualifies 4E. I would call 4E firmly in the moderately complex combat camp. Any edition sounds like it would work fine. This all but disqualifies 3E, particularly the difficulty in eyeballing encounters. The other editions all work fine. Basic D&D just doesn't deliver this at all. 2E(and 1E if you ignore racial restrictions and level limits), is underrated in this regard, as it offers things like Fighter/Mage, Fighter/Thief, Mage/Thief, ect. The multiclassing system adds a lot of options. 3E offers the most freedom, but the system tends to break down quickly if you aren't optimizing. 4E in this regard is underrated, having limited but deep choices in core. 3E wouldn't work well in this regard given your time availability limits. The 2E DMG probably has the best tools in this regard, while 4E advocates starting small and fleshing out a greater area as the game progresses. 2E handles the narrative style best of all editions, and the 4E skill system can easily be disregarded to achieve the same effect. With 3E, you'll be ignoring large portions of the game, and 1E had lots of fiddly dice systems for this sort of thing. All versions are equally do well for this. As I said before, I recommend 2E. I believe you can accomplish what you want with 4E, but 2E is more what you want right out of the box. [/QUOTE]
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