Is D&D the only game that radically changes each edition?

[Wik]

You know, I used to have a bunch of 1e Shadowrun stuff, that I could still use with 2nd edition shadowrun, and I think could probably be used in a 3e shadowrun game. I don't know 4th edition shadowrun, though.

My first edition Star Wars d6 books work perfectly fine with 2nd edition.

Ditto for Earthdawn, actually.

...and I'm sure you can all think of other examples.

What I'm wondering (and I may have asked this before, but I don't think I got a response) is, well - D&D seems to change into a new game every eight years or so.

BECMI isn't really compatible with 1e or 2e (Well, it is, if you're willing to do a bit of work, but the systems are rather different). And god forbid you try to mix anything from TSR with anything from WotC. 3e might be to 4e what 1e is to 2e, from what I gather.

So, really, you've got three different versions of D&D - BECMI D&D, "Advanced" D&D, and WotC D&D. None are truly compatible "out of the box".

Is D&D the only game that does this? What other examples can you think of? And, here's the meat of the question: why does D&D do this?

After all, it is the most popular RPG. By my logic, that should mean it would stay the same, yet it doesn't.

Discuss.

 

[jdrakeh]

I think that each distinct brand of D&D (i.e., Basic D&D, AD&D, and D&D 3x) has been specifically engineered for the broadest range of commercial appeal possible at the time of its release.

IMHO, many other games (if not all other games) have never been this proactive about seeking out a market, hence the reason that they don't enjoy the level of success that D&D does.

 

[Glyfair]

One thing you have to remember is that a lot of systems have had almost insignificant changes between editions. D&D did this at times, but didn't call them new editions. For example, apparently it was common for a new printing of the PHB during 2nd edition to have changes made to the rules, but no real notice of the changes and certainly no edition change. I think the changes in Champions between 2nd and 5th edition are close to the number of changes within 2nd edition of D&D.

Also, there aren't that many RPGs that have been had longevity of D&D (indeed, none beat it) and none have had it's popularity. That means the circumstances for edition changes weren't really duplicated with other games.

Also, the pressures to stay the same weren't there, either. That means that when it is time for changes, the changes are significant. Other games evolve through editions. In the early days of RPGs it wasn't uncommon for a new RPG to go through 3 editions in the first 3 years after release with minor rules changes in each.

 

[Nikosandros]

One thing you have to remember is that a lot of systems have had almost insignificant changes between editions. D&D did this at times, but didn't call them new editions. For example, apparently it was common for a new printing of the PHB during 2nd edition to have changes made to the rules, but no real notice of the changes and certainly no edition change. I think the changes in Champions between 2nd and 5th edition are close to the number of changes within 2nd edition of D&D.

I have more than one printing of the 2nd edition PHB, but I don't remember rules changes. Do you have some examples?

BTW, I only have 4th and 5th edition Heroes, but there are quite a bit of changes between them.

 

[jdrakeh]

BTW, I only have 4th and 5th edition Heroes, but there are quite a bit of changes between them.

Yes, the differences between 4th Edition Champions and HERO 5th Edition are numerous (notably, HERO 5th is no longer a superheroes game with notes for generica tacked on but, rather, a fully functional generic system with its own line of supers supplements).

That said, editions 1 through 4 of Champions really only differ a great deal in size (that is, the actual differences in regard to core mechanics are minimal but the number of options expanded with each edition).

In my estimation, HERO 5th is the only real 'new' edition of Champions/HERO (i.e., the only edition that made notable changes to how the core point-buy system functioned). It's more what AD&D was to BD&D than it is any kind of analogy to internal edition changes.

 

[Glyfair]

I have more than one printing of the 2nd edition PHB, but I don't remember rules changes. Do you have some examples?

I'm afraid I don't know. I heard about it from a few sources here, in fact. I didn't play D&D during the 2nd edition days.

Yes, the differences between 4th Edition Champions and HERO 5th Edition are numerous (notably, HERO 5th is no longer a superheroes game with notes for generica tacked on but, rather, a fully functional generic system with its own line of supers supplements).

I didn't remember any, but I have to admit that I didn't ever play Champions 5th edition. I own it, but Hero Games made moves that made me unwilling to support the company at the time. Plus, my group interested in superhero RPGs is scattered across the country.

 

[jdrakeh]

I didn't remember any, but I have to admit that I didn't every play Champions 5th edition. I own it, but Hero Games made moves that made me unwilling to support the company at the time. Plus, my group interested in superhero RPGs is scattered across the country.

Champions 5th Edition is a supplement for HERO 5th Edition. That's a pretty big change Unless you're talking about the actual fifth published edition of Champions, which was New Champions -- a completely different (and widely panned) game powered by (yuck) Fuzion. The Champions supplement for HERO 5th is actually the sixth edition of Champions to see publication.

 

[Dalamar]

Mutants & Masterminds made some rather drastic changes between 1st and 2nd editions, and the new World of Darkness is quite a bit different from the previous incarnations. Shadowrun 4th is significantly different from 3rd as well.

Maybe the more drastic changes are a more modern development (pun intended).

 

[Glyfair]

Champions 5th Edition is a supplement for HERO 5th Edition. That's a pretty big change

I don't consider that a change. One of the earlier editions had a "generic" rule book (might have been fourth edition, but the only edition change I felt significant was from 1st to 2nd) and Champions was a different release.

Actually, technically I own the Hero System 5th edition book. I wasn't buying anything from Hero by the time the Champions book was released. A shame, too, since Aaron Allston was responsible for 3 of the best RPG products I ever owned (Justice, Inc/, Lands of Mystery & Strike Force).

BTW, if you want to stretch definitions, the changes in "Glorantha" games was even more significant than D&D. First you had 3 editions of Runequest with the 3rd edition had some significant changes (as did 4th, but only playtester copies exist). Then because the RQ game disappeared in legal limbo you had Hero Wars/Heroquest, a totally different system with very few systemic ties to RQ. You also had a commonly played unofficial "Pendragon Pass" system that used the rules from Stafford's Pendragon.

 

[trancejeremy]

AD&D 1st and 2nd edition (and the Basic/Expert/etc) were mostly compatible. There were differences, obviously, but not huge ones. You could use a module in one in another quite easily. Not until 3e did it really get different.

4th edition Shadowrun is pretty much uncompatible with earlier editions.

Traveller is quite different in each edition. CT to MT was maybe not a huge jump, but enough so that MT stuff is almost meaningless to CT (but not so much the other way around), and then the jump to T:NE was totally different. And then T4 was like a reverse version of Stars Wars d6 system.

I think the new World of Darkness is pretty much completely different than the old World of Darkness (and even the terminology is different, I think).