Which Version of D&D for a player returning after a long absence?

Question

I'm looking at returning to D&D after a long absence.
I played as a player in AD&D for a couple of years and DMed using 3rd Ed rules for a couple of years a while later. I'm a bit of a blank slate now as I can barely remember the distinctions between the two.
Getting hold of relevant rulebooks is not a problem, knowing which edition to go for is so I would appreciate suggestions and opinions. All I know is I'm anxious to avoid the 4th edition, it seems to be universally described as 'video gamey', not a bad thing for everyone I suppose but not to my taste.
Ohhh I get a nice warm geeky feeling just thinking about it!

Answer 1

Well, 3rd edition (or more likely 3.5) offers more mechanical options and more developed characters than AD&D. Its a much more solid system, with a lot of rules for different things in the game.



Perhaps you might be better of considering what people you're likely to game with will want to play. It won't do you much good to get books if you're missing players! If you have game groups that meet at local hobby stores, it shouldn't be hard to get in a game.



I know a lot of people who liked 3.5 now enjoy the Pathfinder system, which sort of continues support for 3rd edition since WotC moved to 4th edition. (I preferred 4e to 3.x, though eventually I found it too clunky with too much overhead - a problem shared by 3.x). If you want, it should be easy for you to find a D&D games day event to try 4e with (though I'll note that so far all of my experiences with D&D games days have been bad).



You might also consider other game options. Savage Worlds, for example, is a nice inexpensive way to get back into roleplaying with a $10 basic rulebook.



Good luck!

Answer 2

The key is to find out which edition your fellow players would be most comfortable with. To DM using third edition rules while players are asking you questions based on 4th edition would give you nothing but grief.

Answer 3

personally i would use the newest version. I found that character creation is easier and game play is simpler. Oh and look up D&D character creation programs it makes the process far simpler and you can even make npc's on mass. happy geeking