Why the Best D&D System Isn’t About the Edition — It’s About the Story

Forget the complex rules and mechanics. The true magic of Dungeons & Dragons lies in the stories you create and the memories you make

Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash

There’s a lot of talk lately about switching from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5e) to other game systems. One Redditor even wrote a 1,000+ word essay on why D&D and Wizards of the Coast are terrible, making some compelling points. But what is the best DnD system? Is it the 5th edition? The 3rd? Pathfinder? Or something else entirely?

The answer is surprisingly simple: the best D&D system is the one that’s easy to play, quick to grasp, and supports a great story.

Both story and mechanics matter the most; everything else is just details that can either enhance or detract from them.

Done.

Now what?

The Story Makes the Memories

I’ll admit, my evolution in Dungeons & Dragons stopped somewhere around 1st Edition. When I first started playing in 1984, my friend Marshall told me to get Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. He claimed that regular Dungeons & Dragons was garbage and the Advanced version was superior.