You could play a drow and ally with orcs in 1e (by Gygax!). Tiefling were created to be a player race in 2e and non-evil Gith have been around for decades. As for 3e, its most famous module hinged on allying with kobolds.
But if you have an adventure where the party needs to fight through and...
I feel like it was earlier. We started using that very early. (Though the focus on warriors is funny, versus the poor magic user who might actually start with 2hp, and have like 10 by 4th level).
2024 monsters, especially at higher levels, have been toughened up. (Though spell casting and spell like abilities have been oversimplified).
Not sure how much of a difference it would make here but I thought it was worth noting.
Am I the first person to mention Ennie winning Mothership in this thread?
So Mothership. Space horror mini-toolkit with several adventures.
Also agree that CoC is a true triumph of game design. D20 CoC is a great horror/mythos resource.
i got that first printing PHB, with the CD and the monsters in the back, and was running something almost right away.
Of course the character generator on the CD did not really work, and other complications would ensue, but I do remember being pleased with those first sessions.
If it works why stop at 1? But then they would be really leaning into a bifurcation, of more casual board game style, and a more hardcore one that presumably migrates more and more to D&D beyond.
Like one is basic, the other more advanced.
The MM, Dragon Delves, 2 box sets and 3 setting books makes 7 for the year, which ties 2019 for most 5e releases in a year, at least in print. Otherwise you are going well back into 4e for that many.
As for Tod. Apparently they were doing him the favor, or something like that. There is certainly space for better RPG content on Youtube. Hope it works out for him.
So setting Tod aside (ahem) for now.
2024 D&D is three very big books and is definitely not simpler nor (in spite of many organizational changes) does it feel particularly more accessible then 2014. New player acquisition remains a big question mark. But they clearly have a plan, and at least...
I was actually surprised that it was not in Korean. It felt a little weird. And was skeptical and didn't watch it until I realized what a big hit it is there (and how it has been embraced by a lot of the Kpop community).
Now it is a huge hit around the world. You think the K-wave is fading...