Which one is it ?

If I could only pick 1 D&D edition to play all modules, settings, adventures released, be it old, new, OSR, etc. which one you would you recommend ?

From all I've heard and observed, probably Castles & Crusades. And you can get the core of the line in PDF for a bargain price right now at Bundle of Holding.

I was read on C&C reviews  and that was the consensus. I also saw one enthusiastic  recommendation for Blood & Treasure.

A half-decent referee ought to be able to adapt any module or setting that interests him to his preferred system, in my opinion. /shrug

5e seems specifically designed for this. IME C&C is great for Classic D&D but poor for 3e conversions, and I don't think it's handle 4e stuff well at all.

I'd go with AD&D as alot of good modules are for it or can be easily adapted to.

Failing that. BX D&D for its sheer ease of play and compatibility.

AD&D 2E. It's easy to run both 1E/2E together and, in my opinion, 2E had the best settings while 1E had the best adventures/modules.

Easy decision for me.

I went with Earthdawn, its got the same stats, runs on the BECMI scale (except 2 levels = 1 "Circle"), and I figure'd I'd have to convert everything just a little anyway.

Quote from: Itachi;881729Which one is it ?

If I could only pick 1 D&D edition to play all modules, settings, adventures released, be it old, new, OSR, etc. which one you would you recommend ?

Three answers come to mind:

• None, or rather "either". No version/edition is fully compatible with other ones and you'll always have to tweak numbers, add/remove some elements, and that's only the crunch part. Specific settings come with their own flavor and peculiarities, so it wouldn't be that easy to play a campaign made for PLANESCAPE (AD&D) under let's say generic D&D 5th.
  
• AD&D is the edition I like most, even if it still features some weird elements like THAC0. Still, it's the edition I sacrificed most time to and I think it features best settings (ranging from Ravenloft to Birthright) written in the way I like it most. I'd rather spend nights figuring how to make modules from newest edition work under AD&D than the other way around.
• Pathfinder. It's probably the most widely played D&D variation there is. This translates tot he fact that whatever answer you're looking for has been probably already answered. Somebody probably converted the module you're willing to play from D&D -> PFRPG. Somebody worked out stats for specific classes coming from the edition you're planning to use. Somebody made PFRPG compatible version of the setting you're planning to use. Things like that.
  

All D&D settings and Modules released?

4e definitely. Easiest to grab monsters (ie. compendium) and less of a large swing between settings plus they already have three D&D settings already done (Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, & Eberron). You'd just have to convert some Ravenloft stuff as well as generic GreyHawk. With Amethyst: Evolution you can easily replicate Spelljammer too. Planescape is probably the least detailed setting for 4e to do well, however.

Probably AD&D 1e.

AD&D 1st edition.

The various TSR editions have some differences from each other that may be at once relevant and puzzling at first glance but are mostly not too hard to address -- especially nowadays, with the Web at one's disposal.

If you don't know the particulars of AD&D Paladins, for instance, you can ask around. If an NPC's special ability is really important, the scenario is likely to indicate how, so you can probably work out an adequate implementation even if yours is different from the official version.

Even in a crossover between TSR-D&D and 3E/Pathfinder, it might work pretty well simply to swap in your edition's stats for whatever has the same name or close enough to it. Names of spells and magic items tend to give at least a good general idea of what they're about.

With 4E, even the jargon may be inscrutable. As with other translations, it's naturally a lot easier if you're acquainted with (and have handbooks for) both sides of the equation. However, even more than with 3E you're looking at a different balance overall; levels of characters and monsters get increasingly non-equivalent. Even the natures of monsters and magics with familiar names may be quite different.

AD&D 1st Ed. basically consolidates most of the original D&D material, and with its additions has largely become the "classic" touchstone.

Second Edition core (PHB, DMG, the later monster book as opposed to the loose-leaf original) is I think a mix of very good and not so good bits, but different people may sort those differently. The extremely extended line presented a lot more stuff that has become part of common lore among players of later editions, but in forms more easily grafted onto earlier rules sets.

I recommend Castles & Crusades, Blood & Treasure, or D&D 5th edition. All of them occupy a middle ground in complexity that makes it easier to adapt modules from any edition.

Castles & Crusades function similarly to classic D&D. Blood & Treasures as a lite d20. And D&D 5e is the latest that has little bit of each prior edition in it's DNA.

But we talking inches about every edition except for 4th. Even d20/Pathfinder is easily used with classic modules if you stick with the core books and not throw in all the options from the supplements.

Quote from: Itachi;881729Which one is it ?

If I could only pick 1 D&D edition to play all modules, settings, adventures released, be it old, new, OSR, etc. which one you would you recommend ?

Either Scarlet Heroes, Epees et Sorcellerie, or DCC;).

Quote from: Chainsaw;881776A half-decent referee ought to be able to adapt any module or setting that interests him to his preferred system, in my opinion. /shrug

Well, this, too, but I tried to answer the question.

Quote from: Telarus;882156I went with Earthdawn, its got the same stats, runs on the BECMI scale (except 2 levels = 1 "Circle"), and I figure'd I'd have to convert everything just a little anyway.

Not a bad choice at all:D!