D&D (2024) So IS it a new edition?

[mamba]

We are not playing a video game where a computer does all of the bits and bobs in the background. 5.5 is not a "patch" it is a core rules update that changes or modifies the entire game.

just like a software patch could

 

[Remathilis]

Only in RPGs could you change the rules and then claim it's not a new edition.

My character in WoW plays very different in 2024 than he did in 2014. Still the same edition of the game.

 

[mamba]

My take is if you have to go out of your way to say whatever you have is backwards compatible with the previous, to make rules for that backward compatibility, then whatever you have isn’t the same as whatever you had before. It may be similar, but it’s not the same.

no one is arguing that the two are identical, the question is does the change constitute a new edition or not / is what you now have better described as a new edition

 

[FrogReaver]

no one is arguing that the two are identical,

And I’m not suggesting they are.

the question is does the change constitute a new edition or not / is what you now have better described as a new edition

I’m suggesting that needing to define it as backward compatible implies it’s a new edition. If it was the same edition then backward compatibility would not be needed.

 

[Velderan]

My character in WoW plays very different in 2024 than he did in 2014. Still the same edition of the game.

And yet you can't connect to the server without a forced update to the current version. Effectively, the 2014 version ceases to exist as Blizzard forces everyone to adopt 2024, if you really want to continue the comparison.

 

[Maxperson]

That and 3e, especially the core PHB, had "simpler" classes.

Some classes were just the same feature over and over again getting almost nothing new after the first few levels. Races where simple too.

So if you change anything the impact was greater than if you change something in 5th edition where each class each race had multiple aspects to them.

I think that the base classes in 3e were simpler in large part because of prestige classes, spells and feats, all of which are more complicated than their 5e counterparts.

The 3e fighter looks much simpler until you realize that you are getting a ton of feats which will be used on feat chains and other feat interactions. Those were pretty darn complicated to get right.

Then there were a ton of things for fighters to do in combat. Disarm, trips, Sanders, etc. All of which also had feat interactions.

And then, grappling!(mic drop).

I don't agree that the core of 3e is simpler than 5e.

 

[Maxperson]

My character in WoW plays very different in 2024 than he did in 2014. Still the same edition of the game.

WoW expansions change the game enough to be considered a new edition as RPGs use the term.

 

[FrogReaver]

I think that the base classes in 3e were simpler in large part because of prestige classes, spells and feats, all of which are more complicated than their 5e counterparts.

The 3e fighter looks much simpler until you realize that you are getting a ton of feats which will be used on feat chains and other feat interactions. Those were pretty darn complicated to get right.

Then there were a ton of things for fighters to do in combat. Disarm, trips, Sanders, etc. All of which also had feat interactions.

And then, grappling!(mic drop).

I don't agree that the core of 3e is simpler than 5e.

But I do agree that even small changes to that core tended to change more than small changes to 5e’s core do. I think it’s just diluting that reason down to simplicity on 3e’s part seems off.

 

[Minigiant]

I think that the base classes in 3e were simpler in large part because of prestige classes, spells and feats, all of which are more complicated than their 5e counterparts.

The 3e fighter looks much simpler until you realize that you are getting a ton of feats which will be used on feat chains and other feat interactions. Those were pretty darn complicated to get right.

Then there were a ton of things for fighters to do in combat. Disarm, trips, Sanders, etc. All of which also had feat interactions.

And then, grappling!(mic drop).

I don't agree that the core of 3e is simpler than 5e.

But that is my point.

In 3e the simple parts were interconnected each other and the complex parts which made the whole thing complex.

But in 5e the parts aren't so intertwined. So you can change the whole ranger class without affecting much else.

But in 35, the whole skill system and spell system and companion system and feat system had to be redone to fix ranger. And they STILL failed.

 

[Scribe]

My character in WoW plays very different in 2024 than he did in 2014. Still the same edition of the game.

So going from say, Vanilla, to Wrath.

Mechanic updates.
Talent Tree rebuilds.
New class/species options, and combinations.
Massive viability changes.
New abilities.
Functional engine changes.

Thats not 'the same edition' at all.