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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Retreater" data-source="post: 8517996" data-attributes="member: 42040">My wife and I were having a conversation last night about what I see as shifting expectations of play as 5e progresses. The conversation mostly sprang from the changes in Monsters of the Multiverse, based on what I can tell from the previews. More or less it ended with her laughing and telling me I'm a jaded grognard. This got me thinking about what the corporate written (or intended) expectations of play have been throughout D&D's history and how it might've been different based on how we actually played the game. So I'll write my own experiences here and welcome you to do the same.1. OD&DPerceived expectations: Dungeons and adventure sites are presented before expendable characters, who seek treasure for greed and power. My play: I didn't play this edition at the time and only recently in the form of retroclones. I can say that I ran it as a rules-lite version of 3.x or 5e era D&D, with story, roleplaying, and dungeon exploration, using all the pillars of play.  2. D&D (B/X, BECMI, etc.) [Note: I've had the same experience with this edition as OD&D - just differentiating it because it's another edition.]Perceived expectations: Dungeons and adventure sites are presented before expendable characters, who seek treasure for greed and power. My play: I didn't play this edition at the time and only recently in the form of retroclones. I can say that I ran it as a rules-lite version of 3.x or 5e era D&D, with story, roleplaying, and dungeon exploration, using all the pillars of play.  3. AD&D 1ePerceived expectations: "Get good, bro" style tournament modules, adversarial DMing. More character options than previous editions to allow greater customization for more dangerous adventures.  My play: I didn't play this edition at the time and haven't ever played it (even as a retroclone). I have read the books and modules. I have played several adventures for more recent editions based on the design philosophy of 1e, and they seem to match my perceived expectations. 4. AD&D 2ePerceived expectations: The characters are part of a large, epic story, narrated by the DM. Otherwise the rules are similar to 1e, just a lot of the "teeth" have been taking from the adventures and monsters. The era of massive campaign settings also implies large, story-driven campaigns.My play: My first edition I played when it was released. I followed the perceived expectations, only in my own campaign world. Very narrative-focused, kept a running tally of character HP behind my screen so I could fudge dice rolls to never kill characters.5. D&D 3.x    Perceived expectations: "Back to the dungeon." Take the flavor and adversarial design of AD&D 1e, codify the rules into a unified mechanic and give loads of customization options to players to "get even more good, bro." My play: I totally followed the perceived expectations. Became a Killer DM, ran my adventures like tournaments. 6. D&D 4ePerceived expectations: Keep the dungeon theme from 3.x, but put all power based in class abilities that can be easily balanced. Instead of an adversarial DM, you're there to run challenging/exciting encounters that the characters can win. The rules are even more unified to the point where nothing will come as a surprise. Welcome new players into the hobby, including MMORPG players.My play: Since most of my play was at organized events, I definitely followed the expectations. 7. D&D 5ePerceived expectations: Take the theme from 2e, with the characters being part of a large, epic story - only instead of sprawling campaign guides, WotC produces campaign adventures (which reinforces the epic story concept even more strongly). Take the rules codification from 3.x but be welcoming to new players like 4e by simplifying everything you can. Don't give many character build options or splats, because that's confusing. My play: Most of my developmental time as a DM was during the 3.x era. As a result, I try to run 5e more tactically (on a grid) and firm with the rules - but I think my problem is that I need to run it more like 2e.  </blockquote>

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