D&D General What Is Your D&D Survivor Edition?

[Green Onceler]

Pathfinder classic would be hands down my first choice, but since thats not allowed I guess 3E can be second best.

Agree. Voted 3.x, which I figured represented PF1. I haven't really bought any "D&D" style gaming material since PF1 went OOP. Still have 1000s of hours of material left to play through. Not being a big fan of the current iterations of the game (either PF2 of D&D5,) is saving me a fortune.

 

[hopeless]

Sorry when I first read this I assumed you meant a d&d survivor style game.
Eventually ran a game I tested out by running over 40 characters through it getting them all killed until I was left with a small group I let the players choose between.
The only one to run their character properly was the Chaotic Magic User who noting he had a potion that controlled a specific creature brought it out to make use of it.
When the Lawful characters basically ran away to have the chaotic magic user actually use their stuff properly was an eye opener.
I miss those days of the original d&d sets!

 

[GreyLord]

AD&D (1e). If we are allowed ALL the rules and regulations, it would be 2e (with the grandfather clause, which means all the 1e core rulebooks can be utilized if one wishes as well).

However, I voted 1e because I'm not sure if one would allow the 2e grandfather clause to be included.

 

[cbwjm]

I can't decide between BECMI (I love the rules cyclopedia) and 2e (I love 2e) both systems are fairly close in how they play, but then 2e has a lot of additional content to flip through. Being able to carry the whole game around in a single book is pretty handy though.

 

[Orius]

I'm in the 3e crowd too. It does what I want the best with the least amount of houseruling required. However, 2e was probably the most creative edition of them all, but it requires more work om the DM's part.

The classic D&D game is a solid choice too, but it lacks just enough AD&Disms for me to to choose it over a game from the AD&D lineage.

Honestly I have no desire to pick just one. I'm far to used to using elements from multiple editions to stop now.

 

[DammitVictor]

AD&D (1e). If we are allowed ALL the rules and regulations, it would be 2e (with the grandfather clause, which means all the 1e core rulebooks can be utilized if one wishes as well).

However, I voted 1e because I'm not sure if one would allow the 2e grandfather clause to be included.

I mean, for me, 2e is the choice regardless-- if I can't use 1e material, I'm still sticking with 2e-- but I am right there with you about including 1e material in my 2e game. I did this for years simply because I didn't know better, and AD&D is a better game when it includes Monks and Assassins. (And, for that matter, Kensei and Barbarians.)

 

[Retreater]

This one's a real challenge for me, which is why I haven't voted yet myself.
I have no nostalgia for any edition prior to 2e because I didn't play them. Both B/X and 5e have silly fiddly bits that hold them back. 3.x is literally all fiddly bits, a house of cards of game design. 4e is a slog. OD&D is unplayable by itself, as written.
I've never played 1e, but on readthrough it seems like a baroque mess of charts and impractical subsystems.
So I'm leaning to 2e as being the "sweet spot."

 

[Wolf72]

3x=PF1 for me ... Like others, I have so much of it, I won't invest in a new edition. But, I'd like to mash in tons of 1e house ruling mayhem but that is another thread.

 

[aco175]

I would echo stealing 4e monster design, but add 3e 3rd party publishers.

 

[Mercurius]

For me it is almost always going to be the most recent edition. I like the general evolution of the game (for the most part) and don't really like to go back. I don't see D&D in the same that I do, for instance, see film or music, where there isn't a clear correlation between quality and recency. I love music from all eras (am particularly fond of 70s funk and jazz) and most of my favorite films were from before 2000.

Now if the question was, "What single D&D book would you choose for forever bathroom reading?" The answer would be the 1E DMG. If you asked, "Which D&D book did you get the most pleasure out of when it first came out?" The answer would be the 1E Deities & Demigods, which I used to bring with me to school and read during recess with my friends, way back in the early 80s.

But as far as the poll, the answer is 5E. It isn't perfect, and I hope to see this and that tweaked, but it does the best job at maintaining classic tropes + streamlined rules + newish bells and whistles.