Honestly, if I had to pick only one edition of D&D as my favorite, it'd be a dead-even toss up between Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition and Dungeons & Dragons 3.5

I started with 3.5

Quote from: thedungeondelver;10752733e, 3.5, pathfinder and 4e have a "correct way" to build a character; all the other methods are wrong, and once you learn how to "program" the character class, you can get exactly precisely the same outcome with variables on the end, every time, and create the Win Condition every time.  Unless you have a capricious DM, which the rules for 3e and 3.5 (and I guess PF, never DMed it) discourage and 4e expressly forbids.
.

You do realize how silly this sounds, yes? There's no "correct" way to build a character in 3e or 4e. Just like in every other edition, putting your best stat in the Score that correlates with the class is usually the best decision. I mean, sure you can have a Int 8 Magic-User in 1e or a Fighter with a Str 10 and Con 9 in 2e. Your chances of survival plummet fairly well tho.

In the case of 4e, I feel it's even more plausible to play off the wall characters and still have a modicum of success depending on what you're trying to do. For example I converted a 3e Evoker/ eldritch knight/ abjurant champion into a 4e character and didn't need to multiclass or have a great Strength score to use a sword, just grab 1 specific feat and -boom- wields sword fairly well.

Always and forever AD&D2e, followed by D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

Wanted to like 4e, didn't get past character creation.

Hated 3e, had to use online tools to make characters, Feats should never be a thing and "1d20+ a string of numerous modifiers = some fucking number I don't even care about". Handed my character sheet over to people saying "you work it out" and me then never returning to the game. It is Not. Fucking. Intuitive. Stop using that word.

Sorry about that. Breathing deep. Relax.

Quote from: BarefootGaijin;1077023Always and forever AD&D2e, followed by D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

Wanted to like 4e, didn't get past character creation.

Hated 3e, had to use online tools to make characters, Feats should never be a thing and "1d20+ a string of numerous modifiers = some fucking number I don't even care about". Handed my character sheet over to people saying "you work it out" and me then never returning to the game. It is Not. Fucking. Intuitive. Stop using that word.

Sorry about that. Breathing deep. Relax.

3e D&D is as complicated as GURPS 4e, but people will refuse to play the latter due to complexity.

3rd edition is my favourite edition.  Why?  Monte Cook must have seen and used the house rules that I was using for 2e when he created 3e.  You just can not argue with genius like that.

2e is my favourite edition for DnD lore.

In my heart it will always be the basic Blue Cover edition (Holmes), and then Basic and Expert set (Moldvay and Cook). Those are the years I played the game the most, with my brother and then friends in Middle School, for years.

After that I'd go with AD&D (1e).

But right now, it's 5e. That's the edition that brings me the most joy right now, as opposed to the most joyful memories of the past.

Quote from: Mistwell;1077091In my heart it will always be the basic Blue Cover edition (Holmes), and then Basic and Expert set (Moldvay and Cook). Those are the years I played the game the most, with my brother and then friends in Middle School, for years.

After that I'd go with AD&D (1e).

But right now, it's 5e. That's the edition that brings me the most joy right now, as opposed to the most joyful memories of the past.

5E has more attention, and more participation than all other editions; combined.

Quote from: Razor 007;10771105E has more attention, and more participation than all other editions; combined.

5e is so lovely!!

I think they really did do a lot to create a game that works great in a wide variety of styles. I'm amazed at how brilliantly it's working for both my low fantasy S&S Primeval Thule game, my high fantasy superpowered Runelords game, and my heroic/romantic fantasy Princes of the Apocalypse game. It also worked fine for my Stonehell dungeon crawl. It's so easy to change the tone quite radically with a few minor rules tweaks of the sort suggested in the 5e DMG.

Quote from: S'mon;10771445e is so lovely!!

I think they really did do a lot to create a game that works great in a wide variety of styles. I'm amazed at how brilliantly it's working for both my low fantasy S&S Primeval Thule game, my high fantasy superpowered Runelords game, and my heroic/romantic fantasy Princes of the Apocalypse game. It also worked fine for my Stonehell dungeon crawl. It's so easy to change the tone quite radically with a few minor rules tweaks of the sort suggested in the 5e DMG.

What 5e tweaks would you suggest for each type of game style?

Quote from: Crusader X;1077161What 5e tweaks would you suggest for each type of game style?

Some of my house rules I use for all three, eg Long Rest = 1 week & maximum 3 short rests per day.

Runelords (high magic) is closest to RAW - RAW XP with some quest awards. Roughly High Magic for new PC magic items, crafted magic items up to Rare are widely available, emulating Pathfinder settings for Golarion. Items may be sold fairly easily. Spellcasting services widely available up through about 7th level spells.
At level 20, Epic Boons (no more XP) for major achievements. At level 20 attribute caps are raised to 30-28-26-24-22-20.
More at http://smonscurseofthecrimsonthrone.blogspot.com/2016/02/runelords-of-shattered-star-5e-rules.html

For Primeval Thule (low magic), some I use:
HP at level 1 are full CON + max on hit die.
A medical kit (entire kit) + 1 hour + DC 15 Medicine check heals 5 hit points.
XP is individual semi-milestone, 10 or 20 XP to level.
At level 20, no Epic Boons, but 20 XP buys you a feat or attribute boost, now max 22 all attributes.
More stuff at https://simonsprimevalthule.blogspot.com/2019/01/primeval-thule-campaign.html
No routine buy/sell of magic items. No buying spellcasting services. You might get a level 1-3 spell if your mother is the High Diadem of Asura (as is so for one PC).

For Princes of the Apocalypse (mid magic), pretty standard, but fast advancement (we play monthly) with milestone XP and 5-10 to level, using a single group tally. More at https://frloudwater.blogspot.com/2019/01/m4-1491-dr-princes-of-apocalypse-spring.html
Common magic items are widely available; Uncommon items are occasionally available to purchase. Items may be sold fairly easily. Low level spellcasting services (1-3) available and there are a couple sources of Raise Dead.
Not planning to go over level 20 but if so will probably use ad hoc Epic Boons same as Runelords. Not sure about stats, probably keeping cap at 20 or 22 would work best.