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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GreyLord" data-source="post: 7793609" data-attributes="member: 4348">I'd actually disagree with the premise and say that there is no essence of ALL the editions of D&D that pertains strictly to D&D.There are two DIFFERENT times, that prior to 3e and that after 3e.Prior to 3e, it was the wargaming influence and specific rules (to hit/THACO, descending AC, Saves, varied leveling, humancentric focus) mixed with general roleplaying that made it an essence SPECIFIC to D&D.However, after 3e came out all the way to 5e there is no strict adherence to something that makes it D&D that could not necessarily be applied to any other RPG out there.  The rules have changed too drastically to really say...this is D&D.You could say it is leveling...but other games do that these days as well.  You could say it is specific monsters, but there are many D&D games where those monsters never show up...so that can't really be used.  You could say vancian spellcasting...at which point you ask...what differentiates between D&D and games that have their roots in 3e such as Pathfinder?  Is Pathfinder and other games like it now also included as D&D product identity or D&D itself?  I'm not sure WotC would want to include those.At this point I'd say it's just a Name Brand that has ease of use.  It has always been popular but that popularity died down for quite a while in a downward trend.  It had a resurgence of sorts at the 3e release but then went down again, and even that resurgence was nowhere close to where it was during the height of the fad years.Only now with a game that has ease of use is it attaining a new popularity.  I'd credit that to the name brand of D&D (and people who want to try RPGs will hear of D&D first normally, which is where they will turn to...and with the ease of use of the rules today...they stay), but not necessarily some mysterious essence of the game today that can't be found in any other RPG...or at least an essence that has been around from OD&D to 5e today.5e has it's OWN essence of what makes it 5e, but I don't think anything that could truly connect it all the way back to the original game that is seen in almost all games of D&D (or essence) exists that could not apply to many other RPGs along the way.</blockquote>

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