edition change: forwards or backwards?

[ericgrau]

1e is the most basic form of 1e-3.5e. Before that was basic D&D, which was somewhat different.

2e was 1e with some sensible updates/fixes. Some people were bummed by staff changes at TSR during the making of 2e, but other than that people seem to say that the fixes were pretty reasonable.

3e built upon 2e, with a lot of clear definitions on just about everything. In many ways that's an improvement, in other ways it can seem overdefined and overcomplicated. It might also open the door to rules lawyers trying to find an excuse to argue with the DM. If you like lots of house rules or a more open and less defined and detailed set of rules (lots of DM fiat), or w/e you might prefer 2e. Otherwise most people see 3e as an improvement.

3.5e was 3e with a bunch of sensible updates/fixes, like 1e to 2e.

Unlike other editions that built on the ones before them, 4e is an almost entirely different game. It was built on experiments from 3e (and the d20 system in general) as released in WotC supplemental books. It also seems to stem from WotC's game experience in general, and is a much more gamey game.

So I would recommend playing 2e, 3.5e or 4e. If you just want a basic framework and would like to customize or make up stuff on the fly, try 2e. If you want a more structured and developed version go with 3.5e and be sure to read *all* the rules and take notes (not essential, but it really helps). If you like the whiz bang 3e/3.5e splatbooks or want something more like a board game or video game, get 4e. This would also avoid the powergaming abuse that tends to happen with 3e splatbooks. And everyone's favorites that they claim "fix" everything about 3.5e were precursors for 4e. So IMO go 3.5e core (or maybe add a book or two) or else go the whole nine yards and get 4e.

I'm biased towards 3.5e myself, the last true D&D IMO. It's fairly well developed if you pay attention to all the complicted rules and stay core. As for 2e and 4e I've mostly read some game material and comments of those who've played. I DMed 2e very briefly and that was a long long time ago. But while I prefer 3.5e, I'd probably play any of the 3.