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D&D Older Editions
Jonathan Tweet: Prologue to Third Edition
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<blockquote data-quote="DerKastellan" data-source="post: 7782069" data-attributes="member: 6902208"><p>I think each edition of D&D has its virtues and its original sin.AD&D 1e collected the rules in a more organized manner and explained how to run games BUT it abandoned the spirit of "It's your game, make it your own." and moved strongly toward "Play it like I write it, that's best for you." (This is rather well-described in "Dave Arneson't True Genius".)AD&D 2e re-balanced many parts of the game and cut down the rules hodge podge of 1e where e.g. individual monsters had their own (and in my opinion, "improvable") rules. Just as 1e was more designed than original/classical D&D, 2e took it a lot more towards a well-edited game... BUT it changed the fundamental flow of the game by rewarding killing monsters and made it the main activity. (It also introduced feat/proficiency/kit creep but at least it was optional.)(Many people commented that they removed stuff like demons and depictions of summoning circles, making the game bland. I personally wouldn't miss that because it doesn't feature much in my games, YMMV.)D&D 3e introduced, like the AngryGM recently wrote, the single central resolution mechanic. Quite cool stuff and most people would not want to go back before that... BUT it made feats part of the central game, making mechanical building of characters and pre-planning their advances part of D&D. In my opinion it did not add that much to variety because many options were discarded over more powerful ones, and the slew of prestige classes and feats, etc... just too much, just too mechanical. Etc...I personally don't like 3e or Pathfinder much. They certainly did matter for the evolution of D&D and RPG game design but also go away from anything remotely simple. I doubt anyone ever spent as much time looking at their character sheet before 3e as ever after. That's why I call my "BUT"s original sins. You were stuck with them after, they never went away. Monster-killing is now core and center in D&D. Thanks 2e. And no edition since 3e has dared to keep characters even remotely as simple as before 3e. Dungeon Crawl Classics is a good example how the raw power of 3e's core can be combined with a select few mechanics to create a slim D&D experience powerhouse. Because it's 3e without exploding feat-mania on top. (Except magic. Every D&D-like game has broken magic. And 6e won't fix that.) Every such lesson is learned the hard way. I'm glad people can take from OGL 3e and 5e what they need to build new games because many good ideas are contained within the history of D&D.I might not like playing 3e (simply because tastes vary), but I'm glad it was made and exists.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DerKastellan, post: 7782069, member: 6902208"] I think each edition of D&D has its virtues and its original sin.AD&D 1e collected the rules in a more organized manner and explained how to run games BUT it abandoned the spirit of "It's your game, make it your own." and moved strongly toward "Play it like I write it, that's best for you." (This is rather well-described in "Dave Arneson't True Genius".)AD&D 2e re-balanced many parts of the game and cut down the rules hodge podge of 1e where e.g. individual monsters had their own (and in my opinion, "improvable") rules. Just as 1e was more designed than original/classical D&D, 2e took it a lot more towards a well-edited game... BUT it changed the fundamental flow of the game by rewarding killing monsters and made it the main activity. (It also introduced feat/proficiency/kit creep but at least it was optional.)(Many people commented that they removed stuff like demons and depictions of summoning circles, making the game bland. I personally wouldn't miss that because it doesn't feature much in my games, YMMV.)D&D 3e introduced, like the AngryGM recently wrote, the single central resolution mechanic. Quite cool stuff and most people would not want to go back before that... BUT it made feats part of the central game, making mechanical building of characters and pre-planning their advances part of D&D. In my opinion it did not add that much to variety because many options were discarded over more powerful ones, and the slew of prestige classes and feats, etc... just too much, just too mechanical. Etc...I personally don't like 3e or Pathfinder much. They certainly did matter for the evolution of D&D and RPG game design but also go away from anything remotely simple. I doubt anyone ever spent as much time looking at their character sheet before 3e as ever after. That's why I call my "BUT"s original sins. You were stuck with them after, they never went away. Monster-killing is now core and center in D&D. Thanks 2e. And no edition since 3e has dared to keep characters even remotely as simple as before 3e. Dungeon Crawl Classics is a good example how the raw power of 3e's core can be combined with a select few mechanics to create a slim D&D experience powerhouse. Because it's 3e without exploding feat-mania on top. (Except magic. Every D&D-like game has broken magic. And 6e won't fix that.) Every such lesson is learned the hard way. I'm glad people can take from OGL 3e and 5e what they need to build new games because many good ideas are contained within the history of D&D.I might not like playing 3e (simply because tastes vary), but I'm glad it was made and exists. [/QUOTE]
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