Has D&D changed Dramatically over the Years?

[Voadam]

I think the gaming style has changed. There's a lot less long dungeon crawls, for instance. Most adventures that I read now usually take place in cities or the wilderness. Dungeons are "virtual dungeons", eg an old temple, rather than an actual dungeon.

Rappan Athuk

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

World's Largest Dungeon

Lots of Dungeon Crawl Classics

Seems comparable to old edition long dungeon crawls such as

Temple of Elemental Evil

Ruins of Undermountain

 

[Glyfair]

Rappan Athuk

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

World's Largest Dungeon

Lots of Dungeon Crawl Classics

You are making a common internet error. Most does not mean all.

Now, I admit that the DCC line (which may be a majority of adventures released outside Dungeon) is pretty much dungeon crawls by definition. However, I think outside of that line you'll find fewer dungeon crawls than there used to be. Then again, I think people overestimate how many AD&D adventures were pure dungeon crawls.

 

[Piratecat]

The weird thing about this question is that the "correct" answer totally depends on your gaming groups. I've played with groups where a 3e game felt exactly like 1e D&D, and I've played with groups where it felt completely and utterly different. Depending on which game I had just played, my answer might differ.

Truth is, so long as I'm having tremendous amounts of fun in my current campaign, I don't particularly care.

 

[jdrakeh]

Yes. I think it has changed. Markedly so. I do not think that is good or bad, nor do I have a desire to argue in favor of or against the implementation of such changes.

 

[Voadam]

You are making a common internet error. Most does not mean all.

Now, I admit that the DCC line (which may be a majority of adventures released outside Dungeon) is pretty much dungeon crawls by definition. However, I think outside of that line you'll find fewer dungeon crawls than there used to be. Then again, I think people overestimate how many AD&D adventures were pure dungeon crawls.

You seem to assume I'm challenging his statement that most of the ones he reads are wilderness or city adventures. That is an incorrect assumption.

I'm challenging his statement that "There's a lot less long dungeon crawls, for instance."

There are a lot of long 3e dungeon crawls. I don't think it is less than in previous editions.

Goodman Games' DCCs and Necromancer's site based 1e feel modules are two big lines with a bunch of dungeon crawls.

The 3e WotC Adventure Path series had a bunch of dungeon crawls (Sunless Citadel, Heart of Nightfang Spire, etc.).

And there are no WLD length dungeon crawls in 1e.

 

[White Whale]

Funnily enough, I would say (as with fashion and music) ~25 years has allowed my gaming experience to come full circle.

So now you are listening to 80ies music and have big hair again?

 

[Goblinoid Games]

So now you are listening to 80ies music and have big hair again?

80s music, yes. Unfortunately, my hair is coming full circle too, so there is not enough left for being big.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

The weird thing about this question is that the "correct" answer totally depends on your gaming groups.

It also depends on your focus, and how you're defining the concept of a "D&D experience."

For example, I could argue that playing football and playing baseball are pretty much the same thing. Sure, there are some rules differences, but the essence of the experience is a team of players interacting, running around a field, manipulating a ball, and trying to score points while preventing the other team from scoring. Also, there are fans watching, referees overseeing the game, uniforms, a warm-up first, coaches yelling from the sidelines, et cetera. Hell, it's almost EXACTLY the same thing, a few rules details aside...

To even discuss this question, I think we'd have to agree on what "scope" we're talking about. (I'm sure there are people composing objections in their heads as they're reading this, basing it on the similarity of the rules between old D&D and current D&D vs. the differences in the baseball and football rules -- scope and detail, like I said.) And defining the scope would be a whole 'nother debate...

 

[Mythmere1]

The rules have refocused the game in 3e, and the mode of recommended play refocused play for 2e (and then reverted pretty much in 3e).

In 1e, much more time is generally spent screwing around with things to see what they do, and also mapping. The relative sparsity of detail in the combat system allowed time for these activities. Players generally had to specify what they were doing, and die rolls for the results of these actions weren't very frequent.

By contrast, 3e has a more in-depth combat system, and die rolls are used to manage lots of things where 1e would have required exact player instructions but then no die roll (or, possibly, still with a die roll, but usually a saving throw).

Even though the rules are very similar, the focus of the 3e game onto die rolls and the attendant skill system, specific combat actions rather than one-off resolutions of "I try this," and the simple effect of "winging it" under the DM's judgment when rules didn't cover things makes 1e and 3e very different games.

As to 2e, the rules were basically the same as 1e, but there was a lot of focus at that time on how the players were part of a story and shouldn't be killed unless absolutely necessary, including fudging die rolls. 3e returned to the 1e focus of "it's a game of survival" not "it's a story of destined glory." So in that respect, 1e and 3e are very close.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Rappan Athuk

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

World's Largest Dungeon

Lots of Dungeon Crawl Classics

Seems comparable to old edition long dungeon crawls such as

Temple of Elemental Evil

Ruins of Undermountain

Most adventures that I read now... indeed. I should also say same goes for ones I've been a player in.

I'd probably skip most of those anyway, though, at least when DMing.