The Best D&D edition for me.

[bagger245]

Very cool. I've had a lot of fun writing LL material for my zine. Such a great little game. Soon I plan on getting Mutant Future!

I planned to email you to say thanks and commend you on those nice zines you have going on but never got the time. Anyway good job.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

I bet you're going to get a *lot* of opinions on this. Here's mine:

I think "Classic" D&D would probably be a good choice. The version commonly called B/X or Moldvay/Cook is my favorite version of Classic D&D:

It is out-of-print. While used copies are plentiful, if that is a problem, the next best thing would be Labyrinth Lord. Labyrinth Lord has a lot going for it. It's a one-book solution, it's available in print (including hardcover) and also in the form of a free PDF, and it's well written and has fantastic and inspiring interior art. (That last factor is one advantage it has over the Rules Cyclopedia, another "one-book" Classic D&D volume.)

You mentioned THAC0 as a factor against 1e. THAC0, itself, was little-used in 1e; most often 1e relied on the combat tables, although THAC0 could still be used in many situations, if you wanted to. If your distaste for THAC0 includes a distaste for "low numbers are good" armor class, in general, the the above games might not be the best choice. However, there are two alternatives I recommend:

Basic Fantasy RPG shares much in common with "classic" D&D, but it uses "higher is better" AC numbers. Swords & Wizardry shares much in common with 0e 1974 rules, and has a "flip-AC" system where numbers are included for both AC styles: you pick the approach you prefer. Lastly, while OD&D(1974) is my personal favorite, I don't recommend it for your particular situation; I think you would find the original rules difficult to learn from. However, if you lean in the OD&D(1974) direction, Swords & Wizardry would be an excellent and accessible alternative.

I also recommend that you take a look at RFisher's Classic D&D site, and perhaps my own musings on OD&D.

What he said.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

What do you prefer? Lots of storyline or lots of combat or a mixture of the two. Other fantasy games out there are:

Runequest. The AV 3rd Edition is the best IMHO, but will cost you about $50 used if you can find it at all. You can get the newest edition from Mongoose Publishing. Its a low powered game, though the magic can be twinked. The SRDs for the new game can be found here: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/rqsrd.zip
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/rqcompanionsrd.zip
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/rqmonsterssrd.zip

Exalted. Its a White Wolf game so it draws some flamage from this board. But its a high fantasy, high powered game. Information can be found here: Exalted

Ars Magica is a classic game that dispenses with the whole "all classes must be balanced" nonsense by making magi the most powerful beings in reality (well there are stronger things), you play a magi, a companion, and a grog (meat shield) as a troupe. Here is a free copy of the 4th Edition: http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=AG0204 And here is the 5th Edition website: http://www.atlas-games.com/arm5/index.php

The Riddle of Steel is a game I've heard a lot of good things about, but it seems to be out of print:
Riddle of Steel
The Riddle of Steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RPGnet : The Inside Scoop on Gaming
RPGnet : Review of The Riddle of Steel
RPGnet : Megasearch Results

I know there are others like Burning Wheel, True20 (Blue Rose), etc. that you can look up and find. Enjoy.

 

[Newbznsn]

The thing about clones is that i was really hoping to get the real D&D. I know they are the same but for some reason... Also, if i get the basic rules or rule cyclopedia, i cant get up really high levels? Also, what's the difference between basic D&D and classic D&D? Do they both have better modules for me than 3rd edition?

 

[grodog]

The thing about clones is that i was really hoping to get the real D&D. I know they are the same but for some reason...

This is perfectly reasonable: why settle for less than the real thing? The rules in many of the retro-clones, however, may be easier to understand than those in the core rules (for some folks---I never had problems with the rules themselves BITD, and I'm sure they were pretty easy to understand for many others of the millions of AD&D players who made TSR into the giant that it was). I think this applies most to OSRIC and to Swords & Wizardry, since they're clones of the earliest/least-well-organized-and-explained editions.

Also, if i get the basic rules or rule cyclopedia, i cant get up really high levels? Also, what's the difference between basic D&D and classic D&D? Do they both have better modules for me than 3rd edition?

RC will take you up to 36th level, I think. OD&D supports play up to any level, just like AD&D. Classic---assuming you mean the old Basic/Experts sets---will take up up to 36th level if you use the Mentzer editions, otherwise Basic supports levels 1-3 and Expert levels 4-14 via the Holmes/Moldvay Basic sets and the Cook Expert set.

The modules for OD&D and AD&D are the old classics, so in general, yes, they're better than later modules. The pre-1980 modules are B1-2, C1-2 (in tourney form), D1-3, G1-3, S1-2, S4 (in tourney form). S3, EX1-2, WG5-6 were all also created during the earliest days of D&D, and then retooled/expanded for publication. If you're not familiar with the module codes, the Acaeum's list @ Mod Code Index is a great reference, along with the Acaeum modules by levels charts @ AD&D Mod Chrt and D&D Mod Chrt and Adrian's TSR Archive (which provides back-cover blurb text, so it's handy to get a better sense of what the modules are about) @ TSR Archive

 

[Aus_Snow]

Do they both have better modules for me than 3rd edition?

Definitely not, according to what appear to be your preferences, as they currently stand.

That is, if by '3rd edition', you are including non-official product, such as some of those adventures already named by others, in this thread. I've not been the kind of DM who's often turned to published adventures (I've found a lot of enjoyment in creating them, instead), but I'll see what other possibly appropriate titles I might be able to dig up, if you're still interested in 3e whatsoever.

Whichever way you go, all the best with it - and hey, even if your first choice isn't the right one, that's no big deal; just try another one out.

Another thing: I would at least give other RPGs a quick glance, seriously, as some of them might very well turn out to be more in line with your tastes, as far as I can tell anyhow. If you're totally sold on it being D&D though, that's cool too - whichever, enjoy!

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

*peers around anxiously*

What's happened to all the C&C fanbois? They're normally all over a thread like this... but here we are on page 2, and, nada. I'm starting to get worried about them!

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Probably hanging out here: Troll Lord Games :: Index

Oh, and I forgot one, Tékumel :: The World of the Petal Throne which hosts a d20 version of the game written by me.

 

[S'mon]

The thing about clones is that i was really hoping to get the real D&D. I know they are the same but for some reason... Also, if i get the basic rules or rule cyclopedia, i cant get up really high levels? Also, what's the difference between basic D&D and classic D&D? Do they both have better modules for me than 3rd edition?

Rules Cyclopedia goes to 36th level. It is a compilation and edit (by Aaron Allston) of "BECM" D&D, which is the following:

1983 Mentzer Basic Set, followed by Mentzer's Expert, Companion and Masters sets.

Personally I find the RC not great for starting a campaign off at 1st level, it has too many accretions. I'd recommend getting either Mentzer Basic + Expert or Moldvay 1981 Basic + Expert ("B/X" off ebay, all go cheap, then either the RC or the Mentzer Companion & Masters sets.

Re scenarios - I certainly find the B/X or BECM scenarios vastly superior to WotC's 3e efforts, and my current tabletop campaign comprises 3e rules with (so far) Basic D&D scenarios - B7 Rahasia and B5 Horror on the Hill. I have B4 The Lost City, B1 In Search of the Unknown, and B2 Keep on the Borderlands too, they're all good. A version of B3 Palace of the Silver Princess is downloadable free from WotC's website.

 

[S'mon]

*peers around anxiously*

What's happened to all the C&C fanbois? They're normally all over a thread like this... but here we are on page 2, and, nada. I'm starting to get worried about them!

Naughty Labyrinth Lord seduced us away from poor C&C.