Favourite D&D Ruleset

[Glyfair]

I have to say 4E, right now. That doesn't mean that other versions don't have things I like about them. However, 4E is the system I'd most like to use as a base. From 4E I'd then add the things I enjoy about the other.


AD&D - The whole "Gygax" feel of word usage. The feel of playing a game that was groundbreaking and new.

BD&D - The simplicity of the game, at the expense of built in options.

3E - The "customize to your heart's content" feel.

 

[Knightfall]

D&D 3.5 is my favorite version of the game. My second favorite is D&D 2nd Edition.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Right now 4th.

The first edition we played until 3rd came out had so many houserules is was almost unrecognizable (we effectively had prestige classes and feats though, which is something that made us jump ship to 3rd - they made our house rules official)

3.x is what I played - I had a mix of 3rd, 3.5, and stuff from other d20 games (action dice from Spycraft, most of the classes from Arcana Unearthed (I kept the 20 level versions to fit with normal D&D), a lot of stuff from the Path of book and huge handfulls of 3rd party prestige classes, feats and spells). I really enjoyed the customization of it.... but I play Hero for my main game system. I don't need D&D to be that intricate or customizable, I can do it with much less work in Hero. And I did - that is why I stopped playing 3.x. I folded all the stuff I liked into my Fantasy Hero game. Because of that, I love the simplicity of 4E.

 

[Belorin]

I really did some soul seaching on this poll, the last couple I just kind of put down whatever I thought was good at that moment.
So, in all fairness I have to say 2nd ed. Before the Player Options came out. The game was fun to play, there were all the complete handbooks of ________, the Realms were bursting with new info and there were all the DM supplements; _________ guides.
Yes, it did have it's problems, but we were coping with them and having fun doing it.
Hopefully 4th ed can bring that feeling back to stay.

Bel

 

[GAAAHHH]

BECMI D&D for me. I got started on this one, and it still makes me want to play when I read through it.

 

[Ruslanchik]

I voted for Original.

Looking at it from a 3E perspective it seems kind of absurd. "Why would you make something so complicated when it could be so simple?" But there is something organic about it. I like that.

 

[Gothmog]

Right now, 4e is my favorite, followed closely by 1e. 4e is like being reunited with your best friend you haven't seen since childhood (in this case 1e)! Yeah, the mechanics of 4e and 1e are very different, but for some odd reason, they give a very similar play experience to my group, so we love it! 2e was really just streamlined 1e, and we had some great times with 2e, but the clutter and Gygaxian verbosity of 1e has a lot of appeal for me.

I won't comment on 3e since we're trying to avoid edition arguements.

 

[Hjorimir]

4e is my favorite version. I did love 1e quite a bit and the 2e fluff was outstanding. But, all things considered, 4e gets my vote for best.

 

[Treebore]

Castles and Crusades. The one game that allows me to enjoy them all. Well, the parts I like enough to import.

 

[Clavis]

Rules Cyclopedia. A complete version of classic D&D, including everything from mass combat to becoming a god. Can be run fast and loose, or pretty darn crunchy (if you us the optional weapon mastery and skill systems). The art aside, probably one of the best RPG books ever put out by anybody. Copies have held their value pretty well on the secondary market because they're worth it.