The Gaming Forum is a graveyard so I must risk Lounge scorn. (D&D related questions. Advice sought)

[Mojambo]

Hello fellow nerdlings.

I have been requested to run a few friends of mine, who have never played D&D or roleplayed in any way, through a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

I played a bunch and DM'd a bit with 1st and 2nd edition. Played a bit more with 3rd edition, and have only read about 4th edition. What I've read about it has convinced me that I don't want to go near it with a ten foot pole. It appears to be a tactical miniatures game and I'm just not into it at all. I've always preferred my D&D story heavy and the combats more theatrical (and exclusively in the mind) than tactical (moving pieces on a board) in nature.

Anyway, I'm trying to decide what edition to run this campaign under. I can think of pluses and minuses for every edition based on the type of DM I am and (particularly) the type of players I'll have playing.

The players - I believe these players will most enjoy creating characters with stories behind them and then having their characters story and history melded into the bigger picture of the campaign world. Story will be the draw for them. This is a plus for me, as that is what I like to do as a DM. I think they won't be very inclined to min/max or munchkin game. They are looking to taste the flavor of fantasy roleplaying, not necessarily digging through the nuts and bolts. Granted, this a guess. They'll probably end up power gaming maniacs...

The DM - I like to create worlds and then find ways to make the PC's important within them using the (hopefully deep) backstories and histories they come up with in their character concept. This is of course accomplished in very small ways at the beginning and then as they level they begin to take the reigns of power and responsibility on the world scale. I am not particularly good at crafting individual adventure scenarios and like to adapt existing published adventures to fill out my overarching campaign. I'm also not a real big fan of rules adjudication. I'd rather make quick commonsense rulings than stick to the rules.

Ugh. The post is becoming so much longer than it should be... Anyway. The reason I laid out all this info on my skills and the players' gaming appetite is that I need advice on what edition I should go with.

1st edition. Pros - There would be something really nice about giving them as close to the Gygax experience as possible. Plus, I just have so many great memories about playing 1st edition. Cons - Not the most friendly game in terms of number crunching. Kind of hard to make magic users viable, especially for newbies. There's a lack of supplementary materials, although I could probably download a bunch of those awesome early adventures.

2nd edition. Pros - Right in the wheelhouse of my gaming experience. Tons of supplementary materials. Cons - Kind of a bland edition at heart. Lacks the charm of 1st edition, and the d20 improvements of 3rd.

3rd edition. Pros - d20 makes it simpler from a math standpoint. Lots of character depth and customization. Cons - Trending more towards tactical based combat, although nothing compared to 4th ed. Much of the character customization (feats etc) is based around combat min/maxing. Tieflings... blech.

So what say you? Knowing what you know about DM and players what edition should we go with?

[Orrex]

1. Geek!

If the players want to "taste the flavor of fantasy roleplaying," then go with 2nd Ed., your strong suit. 1st Ed. is good for a lot of things, but some of the mechanics are so clunky (and inconsistent) that it can be nightmarish if the players and DM aren't all pretty solid on the rules.

The release of 3rd Ed. was the nail in my RPG coffin. Everything I've read of it has made me glad that I never bought any of it.

[Mojambo]

2. Thanks.

I'm feeling 2nd edition as well.

I may alter the Wizard class to more resemble the 3rd edition Sorcerer though.