How long was D&D 3e in playtesting?

[MerricB]

G'day!

I was just wondering (actually, it's for a discussion on another board) how long D&D 3E was playtested for.

I know there's several playtesters around here along with other knowledgable folks, so can anyone tell me?

Cheers!

 

[Piratecat]

We got the manuscript draft in October or November, I think, and it launched a year and a half later.

 

[MerricB]

Thanks, Piratecat!

Do you look back at that time as one of the highlights of your gaming career?

Cheers!

 

[diaglo]

how long D&D 3E was playtested for.

not long enough.


i'm still playtesting 1edADnD.

 

[Henry]

The first scooper I think was a netizen named "der Verdammte" out of California in late 1999 - Eric would know better than I. By then, it had already been in testing for several months.

From aquela.com (James Wyatt's website):

I got my first inkling of 3e around Christmas of 1998, when Dave Gross (the editor of Dragon magazine) sent me an e-mail asking if I'd like to participate in a super-secret playtest project. I got NDAs in the mail shortly thereafter, had my wife and another friend sign and return them, and waited... until September 1999, when I finally received a draft of the Player's Handbook.

 

[wedgeski]

The first scooper I think was a netizen named "der Verdammte" out of California in late 1999

Now there's a name that brings back memories of messageboards, Eric-type scoops, and general excitement.

 

[Rugger]

Now there's a name that brings back memories of messageboards, Eric-type scoops, and general excitement.

Seriously! Takes me back...

I think he still posts here occasionally...

-Rugger