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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 4896565" data-attributes="member: 19675">My answer: 3.XEdMechanical Reason:The changeover from 2Ed to 3Ed and beyond eliminated a lot of counterintuitive and quirky math.  The only one that remained was the dissonance between Power/Spell level and Character Level, which disappeared in 4Ed.The advent of the "Feat" mechanic meant that D&D now mimicked more closely my favorite system all time, HERO.  To whit- HERO divides PC abilities into Skills, Talents and Powers (which can be further modified, but that's not important at this moment), each of which represented PC abilities with differing parameters and overall impact on the game.With 3Ed, you had Skills, Feats, and Powers/Spells, effectively doing the same thing.Furthermore, the game added all kinds of supernatural mechanics ranging from old favorites like Psionics to the newfangled Shadow magic, Binding, Truenaming, and Incarnum.  Results & power were mixed, but they were better mechanically integrated than the attempts to expand beyond arcane and divine magic in previous editions.The 3.5Ed update and certain supplements added corrected or improved some things, and 3PP games like AU/AE, Midnight, True20, Pathfinder and M&M (of course) have refined the game immensely.In addition, the new multiclassing and race rules vastly expanded the variety of character designs available to the players.As a whole, it became one of the most flexible and enjoyable FRPGs ever made.Aesthetic Reason:Quite simply, the mechanical changes in multiclassing and race rules made it possible to design more different PCs than in any other version of D&D.The only systems that beat 3.X's flexibility are the toolbox games like HERO, GURPS and Mutants & Masterminds.This means that imaginations were never more unfettered in D&D.  Character designs beyond the PHBs of earlier editions required extensive HRs and that means DM headaches.  3.5 had formalized rules that essentially reduced the DM's workload in that regard down to "Yes" or "No" on whether the PC would be allowed.And I say this from the perspective of someone who has played the game since 1977.  I can honestly say I've played every race and every class in almost every combination in 1Ed & 2Ed, and that got a little stale.  The only thing that prevented my shutdown as a D&D player was the inventiveness of the settings, esp. Dark Sun and Spelljammer (elements of which even found their ways into our Greyhawk and FR campaigns).But I can't say that of 3.X.  There are too many classes.  There are rules for playing virtually any sentient race in the game.  There are templates.  The multiclass rules are lenient.AND the settings are still creative.  (In all fairness, some of the work done on campaign setting designs was better in 2Ed, but the overall creative work in 3.X at the least showed good, strong effort...even if the designers didn't use the rules to their fullest.)</blockquote>

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