Each version of D&D has its pros and cons. Some aspects of the system are great, while others are much less so. Today I found myself thinking about the various editions, some of the things I liked most about them, and some of the things I liked least.
Here we go...
Loved - Light rules with plenty of room for the GM, the classic modules, Nostalgia, the Cavalier class, combat tends to move quickly, historical inspirations, Gary Gygax
Loathed -Poorly organized rulebooks, descending armor class, demihuman racial limits
AD&D 2nd Edition
Loved - flavor and feel, character class descriptions, non-weapon proficiencies, Nostalgia, historical inspirations
Loathed - THACO, descending armor class, superfluous supplemental books with no eye for game balance, demihuman racial limits
D&D 3rd Edition
Loved - Improved saving throw system, modular design, improved skill system, feats and other factors allowed for more customizable characters, online SRD, classes well balanced while maintaining their individuality
Loathed - Out of Control Multiclassing and/or Prestige classes, wildly unbalanced supplemental books, the removal of weapon proficiencies
D&D 4e
Loved - Encourages team play, less work for the DM
Loathed - Dissociated mechanics, classes are too balanced and loses a lot of flavor, overabundant player options (almost 3,000 feats and counting!), skill challenges, healing surges, rules poorly organized in PHB
That's just what I could think of off the top of my head.
What are your favorite and least favorite things about each edition of D&D?
The "loved it" part is much easier than the "loathed it" part. I tend to be fairly forgiving of the earlier editions, because we just house-ruled or ignored the stuff we didnt like or use.
ReplyDeleteI find that more difficult with the later editions, because they were "professionally designed" so if you tweaked the system, it was because there was something wrong with you, not the system, or so you were led to believe.
Paladin - Yeah I agree 100% with that. One thing that annoys me that I forgot to add to the list about 3rd Edition was how odd numbers had almost no difference from the even number that preceded it. For example, a 16 and a 17 were almost always the same and resulted in a modifier of +3. But changing the ability chart is like trying to swap out a card at the base of a house of cards. Take it away and the rest of the system built on top of it comes tumbling down.
ReplyDeleteI have been playing since 1983 and as far as I am concerned when Wizards of the Coast merged AD&D with Basic D&D they screwed the game up. Taking two separate game systems and merging them just because they did not want to produce two D&D products was a stupid move on their part. TI and the people I play with only plat 1st & 2nd Edition AD&D, though I have vampired all the D&D Editions and have created a well blanced game.
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