D&D General What editions of Dungeons & Dragons do you like?

pming · Jan 10, 2021

Hiya!

1e, obviously for me.
5e, also a very nice edition.
..
Other:
"2.5e Options Books" (Spells & Magic, Combat & Tactics, Skills & Powers, High-Level Campaigns). We decided to give it a try; we did the first 1/3 of the Night Below boxed set using this. Only some minor changes (I reworked how to buy/spend CP's for 'building' your characters 'class', allowing you to buy other classes stuff...and yes, it was balanced, point wise at least).

"B/X" The good old "Erol Otis covers" boxed sets. Absolutely LOVE this version! BECMI is a razor-thin second to it.

"Hackmaster 4th Edition". This is the 'first' edition of Hackmaster...which is the 4th 'edition' of Hackmaster when taking into account the antics of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic books where they were playing HM 3rd edition. HM4 is the one based on 1e/2e/BECMI...with a gazebo-full of other goodies! I would say that HM4 and 1e are effectively tied for me as my favourite edition. HM4 is soooo much "AD&D" as to be, in my mind, an actual edition of 1e AD&D as far as I'm concerned!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

EzekielRaiden · Jan 10, 2021

My favorites are 4e and 13th Age--which is basically 3e+4e, but preserves WAY WAY WAY more of the good things from 4e than what 5e did. (Perhaps that's why I feel 4e got left behind--I've seen it integrated into the 3rd edition rules style in a way I consider much better?)

Edit: Honestly, bit surprised to see 4e up there at 40%. Though I suppose the very things I thought meant it would get a chilly reception (the several...contentious...threads about Class Not Appearing In This Edition among them) sort of imply that it's in that contentious middle-ground. Very surprised that 3.5e, at least as of this post, isn't even a majority. I know these aren't even necessarily representative of all ENWorld posters, but I would have expected FAR higher votes there or "other/spinoff" for Pathfinder.

Zardnaar · Jan 10, 2021

Like most of them to some extent.

Favorites are B/X, 2E and 5E.

Zio_the_dark · Jan 10, 2021

Liked all editions I had a chance to play so I selected 2e, 3.5, 4th and 5th...
2e get me in initially, loved 3.5 but would be unable to play it again now, for 4th and 5th like them both for different reasons and currently playing both (i only started 5th very late)!

Islayre d'Argolh · Jan 10, 2021

I answered D&D 3.5, D&D 4, D&D 5 and other (thinking about Basic D&D)

D&D 3.5 because of E6, D&D 4 because of the cosmology and the game design experiments.

D&D 5 et BD&D because it's, from my POV, the two best editions of D&D ever.

My feeling is we're living the golden age of D&D because both D&D 5 and Old School Essentials (= BD&D perfected) can be bought and played.

Dr Magister · Jan 10, 2021

I liked playing 3.5, but I never wanted to run it.

I love both playing and running 5th.

Weiley31 · Jan 10, 2021

At first, I only wanted to play 5E as that's the version I learned and started playing in regards to DND.

Lately though, I like want to play 3.5/Pathfinder, BECMI/LoTFP cross hack(rules wise anyway), 2E, and 1E. It's weird.

I still want to add aspects of 5E to them, but my playing range seems to have expanded for some reason lately.

Ath-kethin · Jan 10, 2021

pming said:
"Hackmaster 4th Edition". This is the 'first' edition of Hackmaster...which is the 4th 'edition' of Hackmaster when taking into account the antics of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic books where they were playing HM 3rd edition. HM4 is the one based on 1e/2e/BECMI...with a gazebo-full of other goodies! I would say that HM4 and 1e are effectively tied for me as my favourite edition. HM4 is soooo much "AD&D" as to be, in my mind, an actual edition of 1e AD&D as far as I'm concerned!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

Hackmaster 4e was also the first place the Al-Qadim gods were statted out. Which was cool on one hand, but on the other hand completely eviscerated the distant and non-aligned nature of those gods.

Strider1973 · Jan 10, 2021

All of them, really, including 0 or Original Edition (1974), and BX/BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia and yes, even 4th edition! I also enjoy a lot all of the clones-retroclones or things like those (OSRIC, For Gold and Glory, C&C, LL, Fantastic Heroes & Witchery (this last being my favourite reskinning of various editions of D&D). I also like Pathfinder 2e A LOT, I enjoyed Pathfinder 1e less, simply too crunchy for me!