I've figured it out.

[der_kluge]

Some of you may know this already, but I've been struggling with this. Reading all these threads about the various edition, I think I've finally come up with a reasonable theory as to why people tend to hate 2nd edition, but love 3rd edition.

Here's my hypothesis:

When 2nd edition came out, people were involved in their 1st edition games heavily, and having a grand old time. 2nd edition came out, and removed certain classes, and modified certain things which fundamentally changed the way people were playing their game. So, for example, if you were playing a monk when 2e came out, well, you got screwed, big time. People hated this, and they either did one of four things - quit playing the game altogether, , switched to a different system (rolemaster, runequest or something similar) or continued to just play 1st edition, or reluctantly switched. This last option seems to be the rarest of them all. Maybe I should post a poll to determine. In fact, better yet, I'll make this thread a poll.

Fast forward 12 years when 3rd edition comes out. Now, almost unanimously, people love this game. Why? Because those original campaigns aren't being run anymore. *Most* people don't have campaigns that span 12,13, 14+ years. So, people could start fresh with 3rd edition, and be ok with it. Plus - hey, it has the monk and barbarian, so it must be good. Ignoring the fact that 3rd edition is to 1st edition like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is to a hamburger.


This is my theory. Any thoughts?

 

[IronWolf]

My group switched to second edition when it came out. We really didn't find it all that bad. Of course we were all in high school then and early college.

Your hypothesis could be on the right track though. I know I had a rather lengthy break from the game altogether (not due to not liking 2nd edition, just different interests in life at the time). When I came back to it, 3.5 was just coming out, so of course I was pretty happy with the rules, as you said its not like I had to switch a whole long running campaign to the new set.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I started with 2e just a few years before 3e came out...so the ongoing campaign thing doesn't exactly fit me.

 

[BSF]

Actually, I was initially very excited about 2E. Then all the splatbooks came out that got worse and worse and worse. TSR became infatuated with FR. Then we had more and more adventures that were railroads. I ended up ditching D&D at that time. I played in a 1e game with friends later. Still had fun, but I missed some of the 2E features. Most of these friends were barely aware there was a 2E.

1E and 2E still didn't have the same options as my HERO system though. Unfortunately, most people are very intimidated by Chargen in HERO. When 3E came out, I found a decent middleground.

 

[painandgreed]

When 2E came out, I was in college and all 20+ of the people I played with switched without a complaint. 2E seemed to be pretty much 1E with all the house rules we'd develpoed on our own added in. It mearly meant standardization between campaigns even if the non-weapon prof. system wasn't as detailed as half the other skill systems out there, it worked and everybody knew it so characters could go between games without much conversion.

 

[Crothian]

We went to 1.5 we brought in the rules from second edition that we liked like the Bard as a core class, profciency system, but kept some things like the old system. REally the changes from 1st to 2nd were really not a big issue with us, the changes effected no one I knews game that much.

edit: I think people had an easier time switching from second to third, then from first to second is that from second to third was a bigger and better change. first to second didn't change enough and many of the changes people didn't seem to relaly like.

 

[Mark]

Went from the original three booklets to the 1E hardbacks to the 2E hardbacks to the 3E hardbacks.


What's that do to your little theory, kluge-gee?!?! Huh?!?!?


How you like me now?!?!? Huh?!?!?


Huh?!?!?

 

[carpedavid]

I'd venture to say that the reason 3E is loved and 2E is hated is that 3E has much better mechanics, *and* it gives the end user enough knowledge to know how to tinker with the system in a balanced fashion. If you will, 3E is "internally consistant." At least, far more so than 2E.

At least, that's why *I* love 3E and dislike 2E. I played 2E for many years, and then got fed up with not being able to do what I wanted in any consistant fashion. When 3E came out, I wept tears of joy .

 

[Gundark]

I played 1st edition & Red Box....then my mom decided that DnD was going to turn me into a satan worshiper. So I was allowed to play TMNT / Hero's Unlimited / Ninja's and Superspies.
I quit role playing cause it got to the point were I couldn't stand palladium. Played a little Shadowrun before going wholeheartedly into Warhammer 40k. Got back into d20 with Star Wars and then into DnD.

 

[francisca]

This is my theory. Any thoughts?

Sure: There are much better things to obsess about.

I bailed on RPGs right around the time the Survival Guides came out for 1E, for various reasons. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that I would have continued playing 1E and/or Basic/Expert, had I kept gaming.