Those of us who play D&D in an iteration other than 5e, what do you play and why?
I’m a fan of AD&D 2e. It’s what was current when I started playing, and I’ve pored over those books with an intensity only a dorky teenager can muster. The last game I ran was a several-year-long 2e campaign. It’s the edition/system I know best, and running it is second nature to me. I typically run homebrewed settings, but I love the diversity of settings published for 2e: Planescape, Dark Sun, and the like really showed how far 2e could be pushed.
The only problem I have with 2e is that my wife did NOT enjoy the system. I’ll likely have to figure something else out when I run another game because given the choice between her and 2e, I’m going to go with my wife.
I have a special place in my heart for 2e. Baldurs Gate introduced me to DnD and the first campaign I ran was 2nd. 15 years later and we’re pretty much the same group, just on 5th now.
I play OSE which is B/X DnD with the serial numbers filed off - 2+ years of “Grand Campaign” (West Marches in modern parlance) gaming, and a folder full of dead characters, most of them from the early days when we were still accustomed to the new school gaming style.
Does Pathfinder count? Cause I’m playing 2e right now.
4e!
It’s honestly a ton of fun. I like the tactical combat options, I like that everyone has a chance to shine without feeling overshadowed due to other classes, I like the minion system, the cinematic-like skill challenges, some interesting classes, and feats mean a lot.
I don’t think people realize how much 5e is a streamlined version of 4e with some tweaks. And anyone that says 4e isn’t RP heavy - that’s on your groups. We have entire sessions of roleplay no problem.
I’m not actively playing, but I’ve got a 4e one-shot ready for the next time my group can’t do the regular game, and I keep threatening them with 3e.
2e. We like the role playing more than rolling dice to simulate a pen and paper MMO.
I play 3.x (3.0/.5/PF1e. Folks in my group have different preferences and opinions between the 3, but what I run is mostly 3.5)
We like having a range of options to make characters feel unique.
We like having the game promote tactical movement and positional advantage.To me, these things help form the groundwork for my own encounter design, suspension of disbelief, and worldbuilding.
Personally, I prefer Pathfinder (2e for me, but 1e is tons of fun too).
I think the big thing that keeps me coming back to Pathfinder over 5e (I am running a game for newbies in 5e because they probably don’t want to complexity) is that there are actual, hard rules for almost anything you might want to do in the entirety of the game. DnD is always advertised as “do whatever you want and the DM will tell you how it goes!” but the rules for 5e are so combat-focused and simplistic that the DM will inevitably end up homebrewing…well, 80% of the game unless you players or crazily combat focused. Whereas 2e has extensive and widely available rules for freaking everything and it makes it feel so much more like a world compared to 5e. Also, their adventure paths are so awesome and exciting compared to 5e campaigns IMO.
I also am not a big fan of WOTC lately, so that is helping me stick to Pathfinder. Also, they are very LGBTQIA+ friendly!
