Wizards of the Coast to reprint D&D 3.5

[thedungeondelver]

Hey, my last trip to the FLGS, 100% of the RPGs being played were AD&D 1e.

That aside, with regard to this I'm tempted to say I wish the reprint was 3rd edition. I have no rules preference for that version of the game but I think 3rd edition was so monumental that it has a special significance. It was a clean break with the past, and yet at the same time embraced what the authors thought were the most important elements of the past (WORLD OF GREYHAWK, the "back to the dungeon!" mindset).

It was just a real landmark on the D&D landscape. It was the first edition under a wholly new company. It was the first edition to include computer software with it, it was the first edition to do away with the D&D rules almost entirely...

So if this is true, again, I'd be tempted to say they should have reprinted 3rd edition, if for no other reason that historical purposes.

 

[Echohawk]

I'm curious about people's statements that "after 1e, 3.5 is probably the most popular old edition."

Yeah, I added "still being played" to the end when I typed that as a qualifier. I agree with you that 3.5 is very likely more popular than 1e. But Pathfinder has cannibalized much of the 3.5 audience, drastically reducing the number of people still playing 3.5 as written.

That said, I don't have any concrete numbers on 1e popularity versus 3.5 popularity. It would be more accurate to say "eliminating 1e, since we already know that the 1e books are being reprinted, then the next most popular version of D&D in the queue for reprinting is probably 3.5".

 

[El Mahdi]

If this is true, which honestly I doubt, WotC are losing their fricking minds.

I agree. They're Insane...Insanely Brilliant that is!

 

[Incenjucar]

Fascinating. If this is true, I hope it at least leads to a re-release of the 2E fluff books, especially Dark Sun and Planescape and the green Culture books. Much of their content is universal.

 

[M.L. Martin]

There's another reason to consider this plausible--there's still a high demand for 3.5 core books, if Amazon resellers are any indication. The PH and MM start at cover price in the used listings, and the DMG at around $25. And it's not like the books were underproduced, as opposed to most high-priced supplements.

(Sorry, thedungeondelver, but given that you can find 3E core books for about 1/3rd cover, I don't think a reprint's likely.)

 

[Loonook]

A German retailer announced earlier yesterday that WotC' upcoming product catalogue features a reprint of the three D&D 3.5 core rule books.

Nothing is confirmed beyond a reprint of these three. The books, however, will integrate the latest errata.

Please treat this as an unconfirmed rumor unless we hear further. That said, the poster in question is an extremely reliable forum regular who has not been known to spread misinformation about such things in the past.


Source here.

Quotes:



In translation:
"For now only reprints of the core 3 have been announced, as with AD&D 1st."
" 'Is there a link for that info on the WotC server, or was this for the time being only an info handed out to retailers?' - So far we only had an entry in the catalogue with title, order number and ISBN."

ISBNs can be confirmed... Let's have those numbers. Any book including the errata will have a brand-spanking-new ISBN due to being changed.

Also, this rumor appears in German on a single site, and in English from you on two sites, and a mention on a small blog.

I would love to have this happen, but give us the information and we'll beeeeelieve .

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[wingsandsword]

Fascinating. If this is true, I hope it at least leads to a re-release of the 2E fluff books, especially Dark Sun and Planescape and the green Culture books. Much of their content is universal.

1e had the best dungeons & modules of any edition.

2e had the best setting & source material of any edition.

3.5e had the best rules of any edition.

There is a lot of D&D heritage to mine there in reprints and inspiration.

Hmm, a 3.5e rules game, using 2e setting materials (I was always partial to Forgotten Realms/Planescape crossover games) with a lot of 1e dungeons thrown into the campaign, could be pretty cool.

 

[Alaxk Knight of Galt]

1e had the best dungeons & modules of any edition.

2e had the best setting & source material of any edition.

3.5e had the best rules of any edition.

There is a lot of D&D heritage to mine there in reprints and inspiration.

Hmm, a 3.5e rules game, using 2e setting materials (I was always partial to Forgotten Realms/Planescape crossover games) with a lot of 1e dungeons thrown into the campaign, could be pretty cool.

3.5 also saw the birth/rise of the Adventure Path.

 

[Mark CMG]

I wonder if they will have a faux leather cover with a little circle and inside it the original faux leather cover?


As to what get played, it does seem at the old school conventions, like GaryCon, that 1E is the more popular of the pre-3.XE editions though if you add in Pathfinder which jined Gary Con this year and if you further include other d20 games, that tips the scales the other way.

For those interested, here's a breakdown of the games available at Gary Con as of this date through pre-registration (some are already filed at this time). Be aware, that many more games will be added to the official schedule and many, many more will be played as pickup games. This is Gary Con IV and it's been growing swiftly from, IIRC, just over 100 attendees the first year, about 250 year two, 350 or so year three, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get close to or over 500 this year. Anyway, here's the breakdown and please don't mind the way it is arranged. I tried to put the old school stuff together with D&D stuff towards the top and make a few other adjustments to keep some smilar games close to one another. Don't read too much into the arrangement as it was a quick job and not meant to be taken as prioritized or qualified in any real sense. The whole is divided with RPGs up top and then Boardgames and Minis games below. I made a few notations of where industry luminaries are running some specific boardgames but you should also know that many not named here and some that are are running many of the RPG offerings as well.

29 1E AD&D
6 (O)D&D (White/Brown Box)
5 3.XE D&D
4 BD&D Red Box
2 2E AD&D
1 BD&D (Moldvay)
1 1981 Basic/Expert D&D

3 Metamorphosis Alpha
1 Gamma World

2 Dangerous Journeys Multi Genre Role Playing Game System
1 Tunnels & Trolls
1 Lejendary Adventures
1 Middle-Earth Roleplaying (MERP)
2 TSR Marvel Superheroes
2 Marvel Heroic Roleplaying
1 DC Heroes Role-Playing Game
3 Ghostbusters
1 Villains & Vigilantes 3.0

20 Pathfinder
9 Hackmaster
5 Castles & Crusades
4 Adventurer Conqueror King System
3 Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
3 Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG
3 Revised D20 System (Avenadia)
1 Savage Worlds
1 Amber DRPG
1 Lance RPG (with Chris Clark)
1 Griffins & Grottos (Medieval Fantasy Wargame and Roleplaying System

10 Stargate SG-1 d20
1 Star Wars d20
1 Star Wars (WEG D6, Revised & Expanded)
1 Star Hero/Alien Wars
2 Serenity
1 Star Frontiers
1 Timemaster
1 The Doctor Who Role-Playing Game
1 Mutant Future

3 Call of Cthulhu d20
1 Call of Cthulhu (Cthulhu by Strobe Light)
1 Call of Cthulhu 5th Ed.
1 CHILL (Pacesetter)

6 Shadowrun (4A)
1 Cyberpunk 2013
1 Cyberpunk 2020

3 Cavemaster
1 Hercules and Xena (WEG)
1 MasterBook (WEG) (running an Indiana Jones adventure)
1 Fantasy Multi-System Compatible (with Jim Ward)
1 Monster Town
1 Paranoia, 2nd Edition
1 Aces & Eights


Boardgames and Minis Games

6 Chainmail Rules
1 Siege of Bodenburg

1 Surcoat (Medieval Fantasy Combat Miniatures Game)

1 Circvs Maximvs (enlarged with minis)
1 LeMans (enlarged with minis)

1 Dawn Patrol
1 Divine Right
2 Dungeon!

1 Titan (with Ernie Gygax)
2 Feudality (with Tom Wham)
1 Kings and Things (with Tom Wham)
1 Exploring the Depths of Uranus (with Chris Clark)
1 Gigantic (with Chris Clark)

1 Micro-Armor (with Tim Kask)

1 Battletech Classic

2 D & D meets Axis & Allies (Boardgame)
1 Euro/ameri-trash style Sci-fi (Boardgame)
1 Tournament of Chivalry

1 Board Games (Other)

 

[kitsune9]

Cool! Though I liked 3.0 over 3.5 personally. High-level combat was scary! With haste, I had an incantatrix (a prc from FR) where I could get off 3 spells a round at times. Fun!

I'll pick them up if WotC prints them.