You know, the more I think about it the more i come to believe that the "Omega World" by Jonathan Tweet was the best Gamma World. That was the D20 version that came as a polyhedron mini-game.
If not that one, for me it'd be 4th edition.
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Omega World is great (one of the few Paizo Dragon issues I still own) and I like the first two editions as well, but Mutant Future scratches that particular itch for me better.
2e Gamma World is chalk full of old school goodness like the optional rule where the players can roll the dice for themselves in combat. However, objectively, I feel that 4e Gamma World is the best of the various product lines, especially since The Overlord of Bonparr is the best campaign material written.
Quote from: RPGPundit;337704You know, the more I think about it the more i come to believe that the "Omega World" by Jonathan Tweet was the best Gamma World.
Erik Mona (then editor of Polyhedron) once said that the naming came about for that reason.
"Omega World" was to be the last instalment of Gamma World ever, the one that would render the need for any future treatment obsolete.
He said it in jest, but I think he's got a point.
I only know the first 3 editions. 1st is my sentimental favorite, because it was the first I had, and because I love the art by Dave Trampier. 2nd is cool, because it's really just a cleaned up and expanded version of 1st with higher production values, but doesn't have quite the same visceral appeal to me. 3rd edition was utter shit.
I'd say 4th edition was my favorite.
It most certainly isn't third edition.
I am GW junkie and I've played them all. My favorite is GW 1e and Mutant Future is its A-grade retro-clone. Gotta love the spidergoat!
Since I play OD&D, GW 1e has been a mainstay for any kind of sci-fi crossover or just as a weird monster manual.
There was some talk on Dragonsfoot that MF was going to get spiffed up with new art and layout to be sold in stores. I'd love to see that happen.
2nd Edition- the first boxed set that they put out in color, whichever that one was.
Quote from: Abyssal Maw;3377462nd Edition- the first boxed set that they put out in color, whichever that one was.
Yup, it was the second edition.
My first choice for running Gamma World is the 4e. It's a seriously messed up game with some good ideas and a lot sloppy execution, but it's the version I know best (and I have them all). I have my 4e house rules, I have a really nifty character generator program to quickly create unique NPCs and combat encounters and various other resources that make it a pleasure to run.
Omega World is very, very impressive. I really like the elegant way it deals with genotypes, hit points and the random but weighed character generation rules. However I've never been comfortable with it being based on the D&D rules. Having mutations described in terms of "like the D&D spell xyz" is a mood-killer.
OW really deserved to be its own self-contained game.
I loved 2E. Very much, I've found 4E a very very good version for general play. Omega World wasn't bad, but I still have a preference for the other two over it.
As long as we're all clear that Bruce Baugh's monstrosity was the worst.
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Quote from: RPGPundit;338029As long as we're all clear that Bruce Baugh's monstrosity was the worst.
Because that's what this thread is really all about.
!i!
4th edition is quite neat, but I hate the skill system and the item identification. The former is easily turned on it's head to match the combat rolls, the latter is just as easily ignored.
It's a funass game though.
I like Omega World best. I thought that should have been expanded to a full fledged game.
Edit: Personally, I like the premise of Metamorphosis Alpha more BUT the GW editions always had cleaner if not better systems.
2e was the best I played. I may have played 1e, but can't remember. I know one of our family friends had that when I was a kid.
I like universal chart systems, but 3e was bad. It didn't help that there was a 12- or 16- page document of errata.
Mutant Future is pretty okay. I just wish it didn't have descending armor classes and attack matrices. Lame.
Quote from: RPGPundit;338029As long as we're all clear that Bruce Baugh's monstrosity was the worst.
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I don't know about that. I felt a lot more let down by Andy Collins' 5th "Alternity" version of Gamma World. Sasquatch as a player race? Pure Strain Humans are actually aliens?