D&D 2E Yup, it's confirmed, 5E is the easiest version to run since 2E.

[Reynard]

I just spent all weekend at TotalCon in Mansfield, MA (great convention for those in the region, btw) and during that time I ran 6 slots of a 5E ongoing hexploration game. The simple fact is that 5E lets me run the game without too much overhead. I drew a few sketches on paper but we never had to bust out minis or otherwise bog the game down with rules. Advantage/Disadvantage worked like a charm to reward player ingenuity and provide meaningful decisions. There was even time for old school shenanigans like a gelatinous cube at the bottom of a 20 foot deep pit and lizard men riding dinosaurs.

See the link in my sig for details, but the long and short is that 5E is the D&D I have been looking for for a long time now. (Note: I ran my game for 5 sessions at Carnage in November but my mastery of the system was a little shakier and I was a little less certain about the game I was running, so TotalCon was the first time I really got to engage the system in a meaningful way.)

 

[darjr]

Same boat here

 

[Sacrosanct]

it's the first edition since 2e that I've bought ;-)

so yeah, enjoying it myself for the same reasons

 

[Psikerlord#]

I agree it is easier to run than 3e and 4e. I cant remember much about running 2e to be honest. This is the first edition to inspire me to homebrew a world, so it must be doing something right time wise.

 

[PnPgamer]

Uhh id say that 2nd edition is really awkward to run, as the system assumes that gm does absolutely everything. Calculates even attack rolls and thaco and such

 

[Icon_Charlie]

Uhh id say that 2nd edition is really awkward to run, as the system assumes that gm does absolutely everything. Calculates even attack rolls and thaco and such

That is because back there society and lifestyle was a LOT slower. People had time to work and create with whatever gaming system that they had on hand, which in many cases were far more complex then they are now.

Most people today's society do not have the leisure time as they had back in the 70's - 80's.

Today it is the too fast paced, always on the go mentality.

Why you think board games have positive sales for 7 straight years. Casual Gaming is what it is now a form of entertainment.

And 5th ED is easy to use.

 

[PnPgamer]

Ive never lived in the 70s or 80s. I am just getting to know this so revered system, and i am yet to run it. Dont get me wrong i find it intriguing, but needs a definitive houserule here and there.

 

[Shiroiken]

The only D&D system I've found to be easier to run than 5E is BECMI. 5E has many of the same advantages that AD&D had, without a lot of the clutter.

 

[Beedo]

As an OSR person, I'd say it's not as easy as classic D&D (Moldvay BX) or even a retro clone like LOTFP. But 5E seems much easier and fun to run than any of the AD&D versions or later. Most of the complexity is on the player side. So far so good.

So far, the only thing I don't love (in prep) is creating stats for NPCS from scratch and identifying CR's. I'm still making my peace with that process.

 

[Uchawi]

I agree it is easy to run, as that is one of the design focuses. There is no way for 2nd edition, or AD&D to compete as those games did not have the huge advantage of hind sight.

I prefer something like 4E that was also simple to run, but had more depth and a consistency to the rule base.