D&D General Which Previous Edition (poll; read OP)

[payn]

All I can say is if you even mention 4e, it is guaranteed someone will come along and say something equivalent to "oh, you mean the edition that FAILED because it was BAD?"

This is still true today. It's lessened, to be sure, but it happens pretty much without fail.

Is it any wonder why 4e fans are defensive?

Seems more like PTSD than defensive sometimes.

 

[Reynard]

Seems more like PTSD than defensive sometimes.

Living with someone who suffers from PTSD, I wouldn't go so far. But I do think that a not-underserved level of defensive reaction can sometimes make it seem like 4E fans are the aggressors in such discussions. I'm not saying it doesn't come from an understandable place, but for those of us without a dog in the race on either side it can feel like the 4E fans are first to bristle. I myself have been attacked for simply not explicitly including 4E in a discussion.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I did not expect the results I'm seeing.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

The real question is, how many people who voted 4e would rather play it than 5e?

Seems like that's rather the opposite of a thread predicated on specifically choosing to play a previous edition and not 5e.

 

[Voadam]

1st choice: BECMI or B/X (I never even knew there was a difference even back in the early 80s except for the covers - I had B/X and then supplemented with Companion - by the time Masters came out I had moved on to AD&D - but I did make sure to get a Rules Cyclopedia later)

2nd choice: 2E

I did the B/X - Companion route as well. I was excited to see new high level thief abilities. When I saw that the Companion level 15 thieves were worse than B/X expert range thieves with nothing new I knew there were differences between the editions.

 

[Oofta]

Wow, surprised how much votes for 4e. Although I said I'd want to play in a 4e game, not run it. If it was to run, I'd be in the special snowflake category running Troika or Trophy Gold or Freebooters on the Frontier or some such...

It was the most recent edition. A lot of people that post here either played several older editions so split their vote. A significant portion have probably only played 4 or 5.

I would be OK with a low level game or two, but wouldn't join a longer running campaign myself.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

The real question is, how many people who voted 4e would rather play it than 5e?

Right. I voted 4e Essentials, but I'd much rather play 5e. It's just that I don't dislike 4e (either version) enough to decline an invitation to a campaign using it.

For even older editions I have some nostalgia goggle warm feels, but to be frank, the systems were various states of mess. 3e less so than previous ones, but it was still hella cumbersome and not that coherent. 4e at least works without being a constant headache. I have issues with the design philosophy, but I'd rather take than than AD&D's insane jumble of disunified mechanics.

Also, I think Essentials is far more divergent than Tasha's. Essentials basically redid the classes with a new design philosophy. It is pretty significant reboot even though you can use it together with the older stuff. Though I guess how post and pre Tasha's race design difference is pretty analogous. Still, the classes are a way bigger chunk of the game mechanics than the races.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'm a special snowflake. Who is DMing and what they want to play and run will always trump whatever game I might "prefer"-- considering that I don't really "prefer" any edition of D&D when it comes to playing as they are all fun in their own way. But none of the games themselves are more fun than what the DM will provide. The DM will always provide more fun or more agony than any edition itself could give.

As far as DMing though... I wouldn't DM any older edition of the game. I enjoy using with the new shinies, so in this case it is 5E. Then as soon as 5.5 and/or 6E get released, I will DM those and not DM 5E anymore.

 

[delericho]

It would be 3.5e for me - although there is an awful lot I like about the other editions, they each have something that would just bug me too much for me to consider running them. Low-level, core rules only 3.5e I could be happy-ish with. (Technically, 3.0e also works, but 3.5e wins that comparison... just.)

That said, these days I really can't see myself running any edition other than 5e. Indeed, right now I'm finding it hard to see me running even that.

Edit to add: If someone else wants to run, I'll play any previous edition.

 

[Jer]

I'd cast multiple votes if I could - basically I'd play in anything that is either B/X or BECMI or 4e related. I didn't really want to play AD&D in either of its flavors when it was actually the current edition and I played enough 3e to last a lifetime when that edition was current.