What do you love about your favorite edition that ISN’T rules related?

Garthanos · Jun 19, 2019

Salamandyr said:
Honorable Mention: I love 2e's nods to history--dividing equipment lists by time period, and putting out supplements for historical simulation. Feeding back to an interest in the real world is what the greatest of fantasy's do.

Ah good call I noticed it first in the Players Handbook never saw any of the supplements but it was very evocative even the bits in the PHB. When the PHB mentions Belisarius it makes my face light up.

Tallifer · Jun 20, 2019

4E: Character Builder and Monster Builder: soooo convenient and useful!!!

Ellsworth · Jun 20, 2019

5e: Clerics and paladins don’t have to be religious.

“Not all divine powers need to be derived from deities. In some campaigns, believers hold enough conviction in their ideas about the universe that they gain magical power from that conviction. . . Just as druids and rangers can gain their spell ability from the force of nature rather than from a specific nature deity, some clerics devote themselves to ideals rather than to a god. Paladins might serve a philosophy of justice and chivalry rather than a specific deity.” (DMG)

Some folks don’t agree with this move, but if the DM requires a player who chooses to run such a character to provide a convincing backstory regarding how the character came to wield such power through conviction and devotion alone, it can make for some really fun roleplay.

alienux · Jun 20, 2019

While 1E isn't my favorite edition (it's tied between 2E and 5E), I love the line art from the 1E MM. I still love looking at that art.

Tony Vargas · Jun 21, 2019

Ellsworth said:
5e: Clerics and paladins don’t have to be religious.... force of nature ...devote themselves to ideals rather than to a god....

Some folks don’t agree with this move.

The 2e CPH went into that idea in considerable detail. Forces & Philosophies, I found it very interesting and developed a number of them back in the day.

cbwjm · Jun 21, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
The 2e CPH went into that idea in considerable detail. Forces & Philosophies, I found it very interesting and developed a number of them back in the day.

It is definitely an interesting concept. The Mystara setting also worked like that with clerics that could be devoted to a sphere or alignment.

oreofox · Jun 22, 2019

I know ever since 3rd edition (never looked into it for 2e as I never played a priest there) it has been possible for clerics to "worship" an ideal, and obtained their domains that way. Not sure if they were required in 4e, either. I believe it was the same for paladins.

As for me, it would be some of the art from 2nd and 3rd editions, though my favorite art overall is from Pathfinder (minus their goblinoids). 5e's art is 90% garbage (well made garbage, but still ugly as hell garbage to my eyes). There was only 3 artists from 3e's that I absolutely hated. While that seems to be 2 more than 5e, it's just that 5e seems to use only 1 artist (talking the 3 core books). 2e's has that old nostalgic feel, and except for most of the Planescape art, I really love the look of nearly all of it.

Immortal Sun · Jun 22, 2019

I gotta second many of the previous comments about 4E's cosmology. Having never liked a single previous incarnation of D&D cosmology, I absolutely fell in love with what 4E presented, and I still use it in my homebrew.