Changing to another edition

[Desdichado]

Just making an interesting note, here. Not complaining. But it is interesting how many people have mentioned D&D3, even though the topic of the thread specifically avoided mentioning/including it for discussion.

Uh, since it's an edition that most of us have changed to at least relatively recently, that's not really very interesting at all; it's completely to be expected.

 

[mikedidthis]

Just making an interesting note, here. Not complaining. But it is interesting how many people have mentioned D&D3, even though the topic of the thread specifically avoided mentioning/including it for discussion.

Quasqueton

I figured it was implied by the thread title and the context of being posted here on ENWorld. Since the thread is about leaving D&D at the advent of 2e, and this board came into existence specifically because of 3e, to me that suggests that someone responding to the question has a good chance of having been drawn back into the game in some way that's likely related to 3e. In my experience, discovering that 3e existed was part of the process of my returning to the game, so it seemed germaine to my discussion of changing editions.

Anyway, I think that may have something to do with why D&D3 has been mentioned as often as it has.

[EDIT: Joshua Dyal beat me to the punch on this between the time I hit reply and the time I actually typed out the message (darn work interruptions--do they actually expect me to do work during work hours?!! . Anyway, he put it much more succinctly than I did.)

 

[Ruined]

i have ones for Intellivision

Man, I played that! Used to go to our landlord's house and play it, because their kids obviously didn't realize how cool it was. =)

To chime in about my experiences leaving 2nd ed. after years of 1st, it was more of a timing issue than anything. We picked up a lot of the 2nd ed. material including the Forgotten Realms stuff. It was cool, but we didn't feel the need to start new campaigns for it. The big culprit were the other games appearing not long after that. We delved into Shadowrun and Warhammer FRP heavily, and there was a lot of bias that 'WRFP Good! D&D Bad!' that still exists with some people I know.

 

[Desdichado]

[EDIT: Joshua Dyal beat me to the punch on this between the time I hit reply and the time I actually typed out the message (darn work interruptions--do they actually expect me to do work during work hours?!! . Anyway, he put it much more succinctly than I did.)

I feel your pain. But my boss telecommutes on Fridays, so I can do stuff without interruption at my own pace for the most part.

Anyway, succintness, while one of my features, isn't always a virtue. Your reply is more interesting.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Interesting. Where the old D&D computer games based on 1e rules? I always thought those were based on 2nd edition rules. Pool of Radiance was 2nd edition, right?

Pool of Radiance was primarily 1st Edition, as near as I can tell.

It's sequel, Curse of the Azure bonds, was the first really 2nd Edition game.

Ah, the good ol' Gold Box days ...

 

[Gentlegamer]

I began with AD&D (the Zeb the Destroyer version) and never really left. Non-game factors intervened for a while and I'm now looking to restart my campaign, possibly under d20 Fantasy rules, or C&C.

 

[Treebore]

Reading this thread makes me feel fortunate/lucky/good. I never had any problems with any incarnation of D&D, until 3E. Even with the problems I have with 3E the most important part of the game was, and is, always achieveable. Having fun.

I have been gaming since early 1985. I have taken a few months off here and there, Even a year once or twice. But I have always roleplayed. Whether it was RIFTS, Traveller, Shadowrun, Aftermath, MERP, Chivalry and Sorcery, Synnibar, CyberPunk, Twilight 2000, or whatever. I have liked every edition of D&D, but have always had problems with every one of them. 3E giving me the biggest, hence my decision to move on to Castles and Crusades if I am ever to DM again.

But why do I feel fortunate/lucky/good? Because, anyone I have had time to "decide" is a good DM can come up to me and say, "I have a good campaign idea, but I want to do it using X edition of D&D." I'll say yes, because I like every edition of D&D, and I know that the most important part of the game will be achieved.

I'll have fun.

 

[diaglo]

Pool of Radiance was primarily 1st Edition, as near as I can tell.

It's sequel, Curse of the Azure bonds, was the first really 2nd Edition game.

Ah, the good ol' Gold Box days ...

don't forget eye of the beholder, hillsfar, and ravenloft

 

[rogueattorney]

A lot of folks here have stated that they stopped playing D&D when AD&D2 came out. Was this abandonment because the game changed too much, or because it didn't change enough?

If it was because the game changed too much, why didn't you stick with AD&D1? [I stuck with AD&D1 right through the mid 90s.]

If it was because the game didn't change enough, why didn't you leave D&D earlier?


And for those of you who moved from Basic/ExpertD&D to AdvancedD&D, why did you make the move?

Did anyone go from AdvancedD&D to Basic/ExpertD&D? Why?

I began with the '81 B/X sets. I liberally took from both AD&D1 and the Companion/Master sets as well as some Judges Guild products. My group really didn't think deeply about the rules and used what we liked and tossed the rest.

I was quite unhappy with the 1e product support in the mid-late 80's, things like the Survival Guides, the Forgotten Realms stuff, and many of the late 1e modules. I thought they were nowhere near up to the same quality as the stuff that was coming out prior to 1984 or so. At about the same time that 1e's products were going downhill, the BECM line came out with some fabulous products, namely the Gazetteer series. Thus, while I mixed and matched 1e and D&D, at the time of 2e coming out, I was favoring D&D.

I also thought all the 1e rule editions from The Dragon, Unearthed Arcana, the Survival Guide, etc. had resulted in a pretty bloated group of rules, and figured a new edition was a pretty good idea. I was 14-15 at the time, and really didn't know anything about TSR's politics. I filled out the survey and read the articles in Dragon, and went out and bought the PHB and first installment of the Monstrous Compendium. I was sorely disappointed.

The structural flaws in the Monstrous Compendium are patently obvious in retrospect. A really, really bad idea. The 2e DMG I borrowed to run our game, but never used in 5 or 6 sessions, and just gave back to the owner without ever buying one for myself was equally poor. But to this day, I still have a hard time telling people what I found wrong with the 2e PHB. I used it for a few years and didn't think it was ghastly. I just think it simply came down to the fact that it changed too many of the things I liked and none of the things I didn't like about the 1e PHB.

I ran a D&D/1e/2e mish-mash game until the Rules Cyclopedia came out in 1991. At that point I ditched it all for the RC. Everything in one book. A few years later in the mid-90's, I looked over my 1e and 2e stuff and came to the conclusion that I will run a 1e game again (and I'll be starting it later this week!!!) but I'll never run a 2e game again. I've sold it all over the course of the last decade. At about the same time (1994), TSR dropped its support of D&D, which was when I stopped being a customer of TSR.

I missed the boat on 3e. That's how far out of the rpg loop I was. I got the 3.5 PHB and MM, and have played enough to know that I don't mind playing it. I don't have any particular desire to ever run it (or maybe it would be better to say that I can think of about 10 games I'd rather run first). I've also since become a bit disenchanted with the RC, in favor of the earlier B/X 1981 rules. At this point, the B/X rules are my favorite for casual, non-hard core games with friends and family, and 1e is my favorite for the more serious gamers.

I've realized that continuing product support really doesn't make that big a difference for me. I've got the rules I need for both sets.

R.A.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

don't forget eye of the beholder

Might have been 1st Ed, as well ...

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?gameid=387

EOB2 was definately 2nd Ed.

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?name=Eye+of+The+Beholder+2

hillsfar

Never actually played it, but it looks like it's 1st Ed:

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=510

and ravenloft

Also definately 2nd Ed - they used the same game engine when they made Menzoberranzan.

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?gameid=883

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=699