In following with 6d6's weekly themes, the second portion of the RPG Blog Carnival involves everyone's favorite hot topic of 2009, the state of the hobby in regards to preferred edition.

I think there's a lot of good discussion to be had regarding the differences of the editions, the playstyles that they map to, the broadening of scope they provide, and the impact on the fanbase.

The trouble is, I can't seem to find very much of it. People seem unable to compare editions without getting, well, heated about it, if you know what I mean.

If, God forbid, you find yourself being drawn into an edition flamewar, repeat after me this little mantra: It doesn't really matter.

The joys of gaming should transcend edition and ruleset. Don't get me wrong, the ruleset you choose is important - it dictates the feel of your game, but just like almost any gamer out there, you are well within your right to play exactly any game you want, and as to what everybody else is playing - well, again: It doesn't really matter.

To help contribute to this month's RPG Blog Carnival (hosted in July by 6d6fireball), I thought I'd resurrect an old rant I made on ENWorld about, simply, how awesome Dungeons and Dragons really is.

I suspect I'm preaching to the choir here, obviously, but I think there's some interesting ruminations in here that are still thoughtful.

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The game simply kicks ass. Having gone through the last three editions now with a diverse group of gamers reflecting a panoply of interests, it has given me some insight as to why it's so much darned fun. So check this out:

D&D, as a hobby, is pretty unique in its appeal and in what exactly it appeals to in us. It's a surprisingly synergistic combination of both left-brain and right-brain activities that are the reasons why we keep coming back to play, week after week, and why it holds such a cherished place in our hearts. To many of you these may seem obvious, but I felt the need to recognize them and write them down.