OD&D The OA Theory- When OD&D Became Second Edition

[Mercurius]

But unlike many here (apparently) I am in the minority that I LOVE UA! Love the new classes, love more magic items and spells, love it all.

Did you love the binding?

 

[DND_Reborn]

Did you love the binding?

Yep, the copy I have never fell apart, unlike most.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think the cutoff was 1981. Most of the iconic adventures were published by then, and all of the books released after were just collections of things that were already in those modules and dragon magazine; not really new content.

And I loved OA back in the day. Absolutely loved it. The 80s was a special time (not necessarily in a good way in hindsight) and anyone who didn’t experience them first hand will never understand no matter how many times they watch Stranger Things. It was a whirlwind of pop culture changes and technology advancements. Think about how much music and fashion have changed since 2000. Not a whole lot. In almost 20 years. You might be able to come up with a half dozen things in that time. Well, there were a half dozen major pop culture changes and fads in just one year in the 80s.

 

[Parmandur]

I think the cutoff was 1981. Most of the iconic adventures were published by then, and all of the books released after were just collections of things that were already in those modules and dragon magazine; not really new content.

And I loved OA back in the day. Absolutely loved it. The 80s was a special time (not necessarily in a good way in hindsight) and anyone who didn’t experience them first hand will never understand no matter how many times they watch Stranger Things. It was a whirlwind of pop culture changes and technology advancements. Think about how much music and fashion have changed since 2000. Not a whole lot. In almost 20 years. You might be able to come up with a half dozen things in that time. Well, there were a half dozen major pop culture changes and fads in just one year in the 80s.

If you watch anything from the WB Network in 2000, and compare it to a CW show in 2009 or 2019, you can hear and see the difference. You can see the shifts even over the 7 year runs of Buffy or Angel, just for two examples.

 

[S'mon]

So, I have a thought that's been percolating for a while, and it's gone from inchoate to half-baked status ... which means that it's time to share!

Today, I unveil my OA Theory. Um, no, this isn't the theory about how interpretive dance can get us to parallel worlds. Instead, it is my grand unified theory that's been working in the back of my skull for a while as to when OD&D, as a general concept, ended.

Are you ready?

Are you sitting down?

The golden period, the glory years, the REAL D&D officially ended November, 1985. Since that time, we have all been in nothing more than a poor holographic simulation of a D&D game. Or maybe a zombie-filled apocalypse. Still working on that part. ahem

So why that date? We all know about the continuity of time and editions between OD&D, 1e, B/X, BECMI, and 2e (1974-2000), and that they are largely interchangeable. But there is also a difference between, say, late-period 2e and OD&D. Or between B/X and Rules Cyclopedia.

Here's the theory- before a date certain, we were all playing Old D&D. Maybe,... Classic D&D. After that date .... New D&D.* And the dividing line isn't exactly the ouster of Gygax, although it is in the ballpark.**

It's Oriental Adventures. That's right. If you look at the publication history in the 1e line, you see a clear line from:
(1974) OD&D -> Holmes Basic -> 1e (1977)

Within 1e, you see the classics of the genre:
1977 Monster Manual
1978 Player's Handbook
1979 DM's Guide
1980 Deities & Demigods
1981 Fiend Folio
1983 Monster Manual II
1985 Legends & Lore
October 1985 Oriental Adventures

Then, everything that sucked.
December 1985 Unearthed Arcana
1986 Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
1986 Wilderness Survival Guide
1987 Manual of the Planes
1987 Dragonlance Adventures
1988 Greyhawk Adventures

To be clear, I am not trying to yuck anyone's yum, or state that those people who enjoyed Kim Mohan's stewardship of the WSG should be ashamed of themselves***, just that October 1985 was the end of CD&D.

Why?

Well, it could have been space radiation. Or maybe a virus.

Wait, why do I think that this marks the end? It's a stylistic thing. Oriental Adventures, and books prior to it, whether you like them or not, have a distinct P.O.V.; this changes diametrically in the two books following: UA (an explosion of options, cantrips, and poorly-thought out ideas) and DSG (the beginning of the "splat books" we would see in 2e).

So, there's my theory. Classic D&D ended in November, 1985.




*1985 was also New Coke, and Classic Coke. Coincidence, or CONSPIRACY?

**The fateful meeting was October 1985, but it wasn't decided until October 1986.

***I won't discourage it, either.

With its introduction of Proficiences et al I'd think OA belongs much more with the post-85 lineup, and indeed initiated that lineup!

 

[Yaarel]

For the sake of creating a dividing line in what is inherently a subtle incremental evolution, I prefer the year 1980. I would characterize everything from Blackmoor to Original D&D 0e to the core three books of Advanced D&D 1e as ‘formative’ D&D. In other words, the three core books of D&D 1e and everything before it are formative D&D.

Features for Blackmoor appear from 1970. An announcement for people to come join the campaign, described as a Medieval European variant of ‘Braunstein’ was published in 1971. The name ‘Blackmoor’ appears from 1972. D&D 0e mainly codifies rules inspired by Blackmoor. Gygax tried to publish D&D 1e without Arneson, but it derives from the collaborative work of both Arneson and Gygax. The legal settlement between Arneson and Gygax effectively buys out Arneson’s ownership of D&D 1e.

Everything after the 1e core three is post-formative. This also corresponds to the difference between D&D with Arneson and D&D without Arneson. Gygax leaves TSR in 1985. Gygax planned to create D&D 2e to consolidate his own developments of D&D 1e. But this second edition happened without him.

The time conveniently corresponds to decades. The 1970s are mainly about Arneson. The 1980s are mainly about Gygax. Even when Gygax leaves in 1985, his version of the D&D game lingers on.



FORMATIVE D&D

BLACKMOOR, by Arneson

1971 Blackmoor (Medieval Euro setting for Braunstein, innovating player roleplay and DM adjudication)

D&D 0e, ORIGINAL, OLD, by mainly Arneson

1974 Dungeons & Dragons
1975 Greyhawk
1975 Blackmoor
1976 Eldritch Wizardry
1976 Gods, Demigods, and Heroes
1976 Swords and Spells

D&D 1e, ADVANCED, by both Arneson and Gygax

1977 Monster Manual
1978 Player's Handbook
1979 Dungeon Master's Guide



D&D 1e SUPPLEMENTS, by Gygax without Arneson

1980 Deities & Demigods
1981 Fiend Folio
1983 Monster Manual 2
1985 Legends & Lore
1985 Unearthed Arcana
1985 Oriental Adventures

D&D 1e SUPPLEMENTS, by TSR under Williams without Gygax

1986 Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
1986 Wilderness Survival Guide
1987 Manual of the Planes
1987 Dragonlance Adventures
1988 Greyhawk Adventures

D&D 2e, by TSR under Williams, planned by Gygax to consolidate 1e but evolved without him

1989 Dungeon Master’s Guide
1989 Player’s Handbook
1989 Monstrous Compendium

 

[Shadow Demon]

The above gives Arneson way to much credit. The 1971 line item is only correct item that gives him credit for the role-playing concept. The only mechanics that made it in D&D by Arneson were contributed in Blackmoor OD&D supplement; the rest were by Gygax plus many others. Arneson had zero contribution to the game post-1975 with TSR.

 

[billd91]

I love Oriental Adventures - but it needed some fixing. The non-weapon proficiencies needed work in that format and were much better after the concept was reworked in the Survival Guides and 2e.

That said, it had a lot of very interesting stuff including an better barbarian, a monk that didn't completely suck, and great concepts.

 

[Sacrosanct]

The above gives Arneson way to much credit. The 1971 line item is only correct item that gives him credit for the role-playing concept. The only mechanics that made it in D&D by Arneson were contributed in Blackmoor OD&D supplement; the rest were by Gygax plus many others. Arneson had zero contribution to the game post-1975 with TSR.

There’s an entire thread correcting this assumption by none other than Rob Kuntz himself. And great news! It’s on the front page. So we don’t need to rehash the whole thing again here....

 

[billd91]

There is an utterly fatal flaw in this theory, though. UA came out in June 1985 and OA October 1985. The order is reversed.