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<blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 5339801" data-attributes="member: 463">None of the pre-3e versions of D&amp;D are 'magic solves everything' versions.&nbsp; Magic tends to be pretty rare, both items and spells.&nbsp; For the rarest magic in the D&amp;D family I'd suggest either Moldvay/Cook-Marsh Basic/Expert D&amp;D, or failing that Labyrinth Lord.&nbsp; Basic Fantasy RPG is also good as it caps spells at 6th level.Another approach is to use AD&amp;D/OSRIC retro-clone, but reduce magic item preponderance by not using the rules for assigning magic items to NPCs - those rules IME are the main source of magic items in a standard 1e/OSRIC game.Standard 1e NPC demographics mostly work well, where 9th level characters are dominion rulers.&nbsp; There's a few things to keep an eye on like some very high NPC levels in the Men entry in 1e Monster Manual (because it was OD&amp;D-based), but nothing an experienced DM can't handle.Edit:&nbsp; For high degree of PC customisation I guess you want 2e AD&amp;D, or for even more stick with E6 or E8 3.5e like you say.&nbsp; Actually I suspect that the ideal for you might be to use E10&nbsp; 3.5 D&amp;D, set NPC demographics so they're all in the 1st-10th range also (so halve levels from standard 3e), and keep monster CRs in the 1-14 range, eg reskin young dragons as old dragons; maybe use 3.0 demon &amp; devil stats.&nbsp; Allow Forge Ring and Greater Weapon Specialisation as 9th level feats.3e is a great game for the first 10 levels, but IME breaks down after 12th.&nbsp; You'll probably want to make magic item creation harder/more expensive for low end items like 1st level scrolls and wands, though.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="S'mon, post: 5339801, member: 463"] None of the pre-3e versions of D&D are 'magic solves everything' versions. Magic tends to be pretty rare, both items and spells. For the rarest magic in the D&D family I'd suggest either Moldvay/Cook-Marsh Basic/Expert D&D, or failing that Labyrinth Lord. Basic Fantasy RPG is also good as it caps spells at 6th level. Another approach is to use AD&D/OSRIC retro-clone, but reduce magic item preponderance by not using the rules for assigning magic items to NPCs - those rules IME are the main source of magic items in a standard 1e/OSRIC game. Standard 1e NPC demographics mostly work well, where 9th level characters are dominion rulers. There's a few things to keep an eye on like some very high NPC levels in the Men entry in 1e Monster Manual (because it was OD&D-based), but nothing an experienced DM can't handle. Edit: For high degree of PC customisation I guess you want 2e AD&D, or for even more stick with E6 or E8 3.5e like you say. Actually I suspect that the ideal for you might be to use E10 3.5 D&D, set NPC demographics so they're all in the 1st-10th range also (so halve levels from standard 3e), and keep monster CRs in the 1-14 range, eg reskin young dragons as old dragons; maybe use 3.0 demon & devil stats. Allow Forge Ring and Greater Weapon Specialisation as 9th level feats. 3e is a great game for the first 10 levels, but IME breaks down after 12th. You'll probably want to make magic item creation harder/more expensive for low end items like 1st level scrolls and wands, though. [/QUOTE]

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