Do you like D&D?

[Digital Archon]

I've been playing D&D since 1986 in one version or another. I prefer the newest version because it really allows me to get my wargame freak on while getting some roleplaying in at the same time, which the earlier editions didn't do half as well. On the other hand, it can get fairly clunky unless you make certain demands regarding the amount of time people spend dithering over their actions, as opposed to the old editions of D&D where your combat actions were basically, where things are simpler and generally less tactical.

I do prefer some games more than D&D for "general" gaming. I choose to play D&D because it gives me a specific style of play that i want from it and can't get from other games. This is the same reason i choose to play WFRP, CoC, V:tR, Nobilis, Sorceror and so on. I get a certain style and feel from each of these games that another game can't replicate.

I don't expect tactical combat from Nobilis, any more than i expect thematic exploration of isolation from D&D.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

As a player, I prefer SilCore and HERO to any version of D&D because they have more unified mechanics, are classeless, and seem to go faster in play. I suspect I would prefer True20 because it has two out of three.

As a GM, I prefer True20, d20 Modern and SilCore to any version of D&D, but I wouldn't want to GM HERO because of the difficulty of character creation.

I like d20 (3.x) D&D slightly more than RC Basic D&D because I dislike the races-as-classes model of Basic D&D. Otherwise I might feel differently.

I like d20 and Basic D&D much, much more than either version of AD&D, and, unusually enough, liked 2e with Skills and Powers the best of any AD&D incarnation.

I like D&D better than Shadowrun, GURPS or BRP Call of Cthulu, but I've had less experience with those systems than with SilCore or HERO.

What's the right answer for me? :\

 

[KB9JMQ]

I prefer the current edition but I like them all.
I would rather play the current than others but I would play any to just play D&D.

 

[Ron]

I moderately prefer the D&D Cyclopedia over d20 D&D as it's simpler, easier to run, and presented in a single volume. I like the integrated d20 mechanics better as well the options of customization. However, current D&D multi-volume presentation, the awful layout and covers, the obsession of stating everything, and the detailed tactical combat make me sick. That said, I enjoy playing d20 D&D, but I wouldn't complain either to play AD&D as long as I am not the DM.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I prefer the current edition but I like them all.
I would rather play the current than others but I would play any to just play D&D.

I'll second this.

 

[Campbell]

I came very close to voting that I hate all previous versions of D&D which is not distinctly true. I have specific mechanical issues with both incarnations of AD&D, but I still remain a fan of D&D RC. While some 2e products, notably the Darksun and Planescape lines had some excellent fluff such considerations have no bearing over ruleset. As far as playing and running games in the D&D mold my preferences are as follows

1. D&D 3.5
2. Fantasy Hero
3. Mutants and Masterminds
4. D&D RC

 

[PJ-Mason]

I voted that i prefer other games to the current edition, but my choice does require a couple disclaimers.

1. My last two gaming groups have played D&D exclusively since 3rd edition came out. Short of the couple abortive attempts that i took to GM something else, its been all D&D, all the time. I own at least 20 different games and have never been so stymied in my craving for variety than i have in the last handful of years. So i am just plain sick to death of D&D and stock D20 game mechanics.

2. I very much prefer variations on the D20 rules that many OGL games (M&M, Blue Rose, and others) provide that discharge many of the core apsects that i don't like (classes and hit points mostly, though i am open to any change that seems viable).

 

[Wombat]

Wow, this one is going to take quite some time to answer...

Okay, I prefer 3.X D&D to all previous forms of D&D, absolutely no questions asked. I find the current mechanics to be generally clean, playable, and amusing. Feats and Skills improve the game immensely over previous editions, as does the consistency of XP breaks for levels (same for every class) and ease of multiclassing. The OGL aspect is also wonderful because it means that other publishers (favourites being Green Ronin and Malhavoc Press) can provide other material that also works well into the core rules, thus allowing for all sorts of creativity and a wide scope to the rules in general.

That being said, there are a lot of things in the D&D canon that I am not particularly fond of, beginning with such basic items as character classes, levels, spell-levels-vs.-character-levels, alignment, Vancian magic, the concept of The Planes, psionics (admittedly still an optional set of rules), and a great number of the monsters, inlcuding but not limited to the Phantom Fungus, Mindflayer, colour-coded dragons, Umber Hulk, and Bullette.

Still, it is quite possible to run a fun game with the system.

Conversely, there are a great number of other systems that I prefer to D20, again including but not limited to Ars Magica, Over the Edge, RuneQuest and Pendragon. But in a world where these games often provoke a response of "Huh?" and I prefer gaming to not gaming, I will gleefully take a game that I am less fond of and tweak it to fit a feel that I am going for, thus bringing in a certain variety of flexible gamer, to holding out for the system that I like in the face of people turning instead to GURPS, D20, and WoD (and of the Big Three, I'll take D20).

So my essential criteria is this:

Gaming trumps Not Gaming
A tweaked/houseruled system can cover a variety of ills
In the end, the fun is more important than anything else

So I have a group of gamers that have been together in one form or another for over five years now, all of whom are comfortable with the ways in which I mess with the core D20 rules to get something closer to the feeling I desire. And now they trust me enough that they are willing to try other systems, which is all to the good.

D20 is good. No, it is not my favourite, but it is a good, workable system. I just need to tweak it quite a bit to suit my tastes.

Edited: Oh, none of your options truly fit what I would want to say; I chose the second option as it is fairly close to at least part of my answer, but in the end none of the choices are appropriate.

 

[Bobitron]

I strongly prefer the current edition of D&D to any previous edition. No question.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I find that odd considering this board is dedicated to the current edition of the game and it's "spin offs". Sort of like going to a dog-lovers forum and constantly spouting how much cats are better pets.

You know, I always think the exact same thing: This is a d20 board, so everyone who doesn't like d20 should not be here. I cannot think of any reason for them being here other than openly bashing the very thing these boards are here for. Well, that's the problem with the internet: You cannot take someone by the collar and throw him out....

First one to post an insult towards any edition of D&D

Okay: My hat of e&2DAD know no limit. Older versions are teh suxx.

See? with extra retarded spelling at the end and a D&D classic revamped. Now what did I win?

, loses.

Damn!