What D&D Edition is most prevalent?

Hey guys, Im interested in get back into D&D but am wondering with several editions comprised of many books, where best to invest my reading time and money! As a child I played the 1st Edition (4th version) and had the Basic Set (red box) Expert Set (blue box) Companion Master sets (teal box) Master Set (black box).....but rather than hunting those back down, or do most player now play 2nd, 3rd, or 4th edition?

mostly 3.5 pathifinder and 4e but there is still alot of original 1e and 2e

download the NEXT playtest....basically 5th edition..go to wotc, its free

I'd say Pathfinder.

Pathfinder most likely.

3.5 and pathfinder have free sites that has all the info you would need to make a character. <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.d20srd.org/</a> (3.5 site) <a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/" rel="nofollow">http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/</a>

Don't bother listening to any ones opinion.... form your own. When it comes to games its best to do your research and find out what game you'd most like to play, which mechanics you'd like to use and what setting you would enjoy.

I wasn't telling him any system to chose because if I did I would push him towards my preferred system which I didn't state. I was just letting him know if he wanted to play a modern system (somewhat) he could use the links to look them over and not have to spend money to buy books. The choice is always his. There are a lot of retroclones : Sword and Sorcery, Labyrinth Lords, ORSIC, BFRPG, and more. I was just giving the links to the more popular systems being played here. I prefer BFRPG as it runs and feels like 1st edition but with some modern mechanics like ascending combat rolls.

I didn't state that you were. I was simply giving advice.

Brook m. said: As a child I played the 1st Edition (4th version) and had the Basic Set (red box) Expert Set (blue box) Companion Master sets (teal box) Master Set (black box).....but rather than hunting those back down, or do most player now play 2nd, 3rd, or 4th edition? Hey Brook, welcome back! In rough order of popularity, it goes Pathfinder, 4th, 3.5, 1E and 2E. However, WotC is going to be releasing 5th edition or "D&D Next" most likely around GenCon of next year and you can download a playtest packet or preview from their website. There's a thriving community around the playtest packets as well. That being said, if you're coming in and DMing you'll have no problem finding players for whatever edition you choose. I run a Swords & Wizardry game (a retroclone based on 0E original D&D) which had no problems finding a solid group. If you're coming back just to play, then you might need to take whatever you find available first and worry about the details later. There's a pretty sharp lack of D&D DMs and a common complaint is not being able to find a spot in a game. Either way, good luck!

oh, ok. I thought you were. sorry.

Thanks guys......will take a look at NEXT and also check out some other eddition games on youtube to see what peaks my intrest.

I don't know what's prevalent and I can't presume to tell you what to play, but as a GM and a player, for ideological reasons, I prefer versions of D&D that are compatible with the OGL .

3.5 or pathfinder IMO

Hmm... I quite like first edition warhammer... not really prevalent but certainly fun :3

and the Fate editions are really fun but lesser played