This site is known for having a strong OSR presence, or at least plenty of folks who don't mind sitting down to a game of older-edition D&D. With the release of 5e just around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to try and see just what everyone would pick as their favorite version of D&D, retro-clone, or neoclassical D&D (pick your term, doesn't matter to me).

I know lots of folks mash up several games together to get their idealized version of D&D; that's awesome! If no one game listed is your primary (let's say the one you get at least 2/3 of your material from), please select "Other" and explain just what you mash up together.

Remember, polls are only limited to 20 options, so I tried to pick the most popular or noteworthy. Apologies for those not listed!

Other: Fantastic Heroes & Witchery

Why does Rules Cyclopedia get a different option from "Basic D&D, any iteration" when it's an iteration of BECMI?

Quote from: Warthur;756236Why does Rules Cyclopedia get a different option from "Basic D&D, any iteration" when it's an iteration of BECMI?

I thought about it; it's referenced enough by itself that I thought it was warranted. If not, hey, the two are easily enough added up.

Love the originals, especially BECMI/RC, 1e and 2e. Crazy about C&C (AD&D made ridiculously simple), AS&SH (Conanesque Dying Earth Mythos-bashing D&D), DCC (finally, a D&D with spell failure!) and FH&W (let's cover every possible base, from lizard men PCs to laser guns. Amazing toolkit).

But ACKS still takes the cake. It's like someone reached inside my head, identified the things I like best about D&D, and then fine-tuned my favorite version of classic D&D to do these things even better.

I voted for RC as it is my favorite incarnation of D&D. (Yes its BECM, but all contained in a single volume. Love that.) But another favorite of mine was not on the list and I don't know if people consider it OSR or not. But I really like Microlite 20.

Quote from: Zachary The First;756240I thought about it; it's referenced enough by itself that I thought it was warranted. If not, hey, the two are easily enough added up.

Fair enough.

Where's OD&D? Why's OSRIC lumped in with 1E but Labyrinth Lord not lumped in with Basic?

1e AD&D although I don't care for the organization of the voting chart.

Added OD&D as its own entry.

No multiple choice?  Because I like 4-5 equally and haven't been able to try many others on the list so I can't give any reasonable vote to your poll, sorry about that.

Quote from: Marleycat;756262No multiple choice?  Because I like 4-5 equally and haven't been able to try many others on the list so I can't give any reasonable vote to your poll, sorry about that.

Yeah, what she said except that I have tried most of those and like 4-5 choices on list as favorites.

No Metamorphosis Alpha? You nazi communist kkk monster!!!1! Probably Canadian too.

Quote from: Just about everyoneabundant critique of Zach's poll options

Somehow I didn't see that coming, when in retrospect it was so damn obvious it was bound to happen.

I like all the versions I've tried and read in one way or another, but 4e was the chassis of my most successful D&D campaigns so far, so I'll vote for it. It's not perfect, but none of them are.

Quote from: The Butcher;756277Somehow I didn't see that coming, when in retrospect it was so damn obvious it was bound to happen.

"Maybe," I said to myself, "it will be different this time. Maybe I'll post this poll, which I fully comprehend is not sufficient to entail all available options, and is fully subject to my own personal failings and bias, and these goodly gamer folks will see this, gently comprehend, and not ride me out of town on a rail".

"The hell you say," retorted my inner voice, which knows far better than to believe such nonsense.

I considered this, nodded resignedly, and hit "Post" anyway.