Different Editions played as variations in time?

[RUMBLETiGER]

So I've tracked down the AD&D book "The College of Wizardry" recommended to me Here after I was trying to develop This Build.
The book is excellent (Thanks @Nebten!) It details many things I've made up on my own because I didn't know the book existed. It also lists all the NPC's that would run the place. It is also 2nd ed. and I play 3rd.

And so, I'm simply thinking of including Mathghamhna in my campaign, say, 150-200 (possibly more) years later. The Chancellor and many of the Regents have passed, new leadership has rose, and time goes on.

Comparing 2nd and 3rd editions, the mechanics (both meta and in game like the way magic is cast) have changed. I'm thinking the justification for this can stem from how Wizards are constantly researching new spells and new ways to do magic, and so the system for casting magic has changed over time. In the same way, combatants are evolving fighting styles. Skillsets differ. Deities die, new deities are created, deities change, portfolios alter. Therefore, the characters from a former edition don't take place in a different universe, they simply take place in an earlier time, before Adventurers "Evolved" in the Change-Over-Time sense of the word.

I'm really tempted to try to dig up 2 of my AD&D character sheets from about 17 years ago and see if I can fit them in to one of my existing campaigns now...

Has anyone else played like this? Run into any problems?

 

[Sekhmet]

[sblock="Stuff?"]If I'm not mistaken, the editions are more or less points on a timeline. I'm a little shaky on my lore at the moment, but the 1E to 2E change was Vecna's ascension, the 2E to 3E change was the Time of Troubles, and 3E to 4E was the orcs banding together under the avatar of Gruumsh.

Cataclysmic events were the catalyst for bringing about drastic change in how the universe worked. Vecna's ascension was awesome, and he immediately set about fixing his place in the pantheon - the changes made between 1E and 2E magic. The rest of the changes could presumably be from the other deities altering to try to fit with the new power.

In the Time of Troubles, the Gods retreated from the world or were cast into it as mortals. War, strife, and hard living were the norm, and with no divine magic being thrown around, even minor injuries could kill a person with infection.
When the Gods returned, some had died or been killed during their stay on the mortal planes, and the entire pantheon was on it's edge. New Gods were inserted, some had stolen their power (Lolth), some were granted it. Again, power struggles in the pantheon lead to changes in the way mortals lived and died. [/sblock]

A lot of things change between editions. Magic, deities, politics, whole planes, not to speak of the actual mechanical changes. Some players remain throughout editions, such as Drizzt and Elminster from the Forgotten Realms universe. Many of the elves would still be alive from 1st to 4th edition, as would most liches, dragons, golems, and other nearly or immortal creatures.
I don't think there is any cause for concern, so long as you don't allow for time travel outside of tightly controlled DM fiat.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

[sblock="Stuff?"]If I'm not mistaken, the editions are more or less points on a timeline. I'm a little shaky on my lore at the moment, but the 1E to 2E change was Vecna's ascension, the 2E to 3E change was the Time of Troubles, and 3E to 4E was the orcs banding together under the avatar of Gruumsh.

Cataclysmic events were the catalyst for bringing about drastic change in how the universe worked. Vecna's ascension was awesome, and he immediately set about fixing his place in the pantheon - the changes made between 1E and 2E magic. The rest of the changes could presumably be from the other deities altering to try to fit with the new power.

In the Time of Troubles, the Gods retreated from the world or were cast into it as mortals. War, strife, and hard living were the norm, and with no divine magic being thrown around, even minor injuries could kill a person with infection.
When the Gods returned, some had died or been killed during their stay on the mortal planes, and the entire pantheon was on it's edge. New Gods were inserted, some had stolen their power (Lolth), some were granted it. Again, power struggles in the pantheon lead to changes in the way mortals lived and died. [/sblock]

A lot of things change between editions. Magic, deities, politics, whole planes, not to speak of the actual mechanical changes. Some players remain throughout editions, such as Drizzt and Elminster from the Forgotten Realms universe. Many of the elves would still be alive from 1st to 4th edition, as would most liches, dragons, golems, and other nearly or immortal creatures.
I don't think there is any cause for concern, so long as you don't allow for time travel outside of tightly controlled DM fiat.

This is excellent. Where would I find the source of the info under "Stuff"?

 

[Sekhmet]

The Greyhawk series of adventures and supplements contain all of the lore for the core D&D game, all the way back from AD&D to now, starting in old school D&D with The World of Greyhawk.
This was updated in Greyhawk Adventures (AD&D), From the Ashes (2e), Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (the transition from 2e to 3e), and most recently Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (3e).
The Greyhawk Player's Guide (right before 3e was released), a condensed version of all the material Gygax had released about Greyhawk in the past, laid the groundwork for 3e to come in.

Also, I mixed up my Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk (core) lore in the 2e-3e switch. Instead of the Time of Troubles, it was the Greyhawk Wars (fueled by Iuz) that brought about the change.

Honorable mention goes to the "Return of the Eight" adventure, which was Roger Moore's (editor of Dragon magazine) kick-off adventure for Wizard's revival of Greyhawk as D&D's core universe at the beginning of 3e.

Books in bold are the more relevant titles.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Thank you! apparently I xp you too much, otherwise I'd do so now!