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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aberzanzorax" data-source="post: 4770093" data-attributes="member: 64209">Ah, but this is exactly the point of my original post. I've seen many descriptions of D&D as what you've said. I've also seen "as long as I'm rolling a d20, it's D&D". My point is, though, that your description is a great definition of D&D...except it is far too broad. It encompasses much more than just D&D.    It seems that any definition at this point that defines D&D is either so broad as to encompass additional game systems that are clearly not D&D or so narrow as to exclude at least one edition (maybe 4th or third, or maybe even first, as we have seen).  So, the conclusion I've drawn from the posts in this thread is that D&D is fundamentally defined by brand name at this point, and not by its characteristics per se.  I don't know yet if that bothers me or not. I have to think on that.  In my opinion, though, each edition of D&D is so different (well maybe not 1st versus 2nd), that calling it "D&D" is more fiction than fact. If I say "We have a D&D game going, want to join?" to someone in the know about the different editions, I'd be SHOCKED if the very next words out of their mouth wasn't "What edition?". (Not even because they favored one versus another, but because they are so different, and a person wants to know what kind of game they are about to play.) This thread has helped me to really understand the edition wars. There are many games out there, and while our conceptions of what "D&D is" are disparate, one thing is clear. There are tons of great choices as to which game we play. 4e, 3e, 2e, and OD&D are different games. In some cases they are more different from one another than they are from other games which are not even D&D (castles and crusades, tunnels and trolls, runequest, etc.) No wonder people had edition wars.  There has been use of hyperbole in which people queried "what if, for 5th edition, they slapped the D&D name on Monopoly?" What indeed? Some people really like Monopoly. Those people would welcome the "change". Lovers of 4th, 3rd, and the other versions would see it as blasphemy. Any edition of any roleplaying game that is more of a "re-invention" or "re-imagining" than a refinement is bound to have these same issues...you change it enough, and it's no longer the same animal. It will be different...and better to some while worse to others.</blockquote>

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