What makes a new edition?

[JoeGKushner]

I keep hearing how Arcana Evolved is not a new edition of Arcana Unearthed and I just don't see it.

Chaosium for example, has several editions of Call of Cthulhu that have very few differences in them, but they are called new editions. I've seen other games that have less changes or additions and are called new editions.

I keep hearing how two players with AE and AU can play the same game but I'm not seeing it in reality.

So how many changes/additions does a game have to have before it's a new edition?

Note, I'm not just talking about AE as we've recently just seen Warhammer 2nd edition (which with some conversion notes might as well called itself a 'full color director's cut') and I hear Shadowrun is coming out with a new edition and Traveller 5 is suppoed to be out in 2007.

 

[diaglo]

Ricky Bell, Michael Bivens, and Ronnie DeVoe.

ain't New Edition without the others.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Ricky Bell, Michael Bivens, and Ronnie DeVoe.

ain't New Edition without the others.

Gawd...hot tea...out through the nose....can't...breathe...

 

[Belen]

I keep hearing how Arcana Evolved is not a new edition of Arcana Unearthed and I just don't see it.

Chaosium for example, has several editions of Call of Cthulhu that have very few differences in them, but they are called new editions. I've seen other games that have less changes or additions and are called new editions.

I keep hearing how two players with AE and AU can play the same game but I'm not seeing it in reality.

So how many changes/additions does a game have to have before it's a new edition?

Note, I'm not just talking about AE as we've recently just seen Warhammer 2nd edition (which with some conversion notes might as well called itself a 'full color director's cut') and I hear Shadowrun is coming out with a new edition and Traveller 5 is suppoed to be out in 2007.

It is a new edition. At least, it is a book that most people who already own AU will want to buy. It also has the full color thing that will get more people to notice it in the game store. The red cover is also good as a lot of books are black, but few are red.

Anytime a revision causes significant changes, then it woild qualify as a new edition. 3.5 was a new edition of the game, for example.

The black PHB from 2nd edition was not a new edition or even a revision. I know a lot of people call that period 2.5, but the options book were just that, options. You did not need it to play.

Of course, I could be wrong. It is a tricky subject. When does a revision become a new edition. Adding in errata is not a new edition. Fundamentally changing the core book would be a new edition. AE (the core book) is very different from AU.

 

[diaglo]

Gawd...hot tea...out through the nose....can't...breathe...

That's my prerogative

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Hm.. difficult question. What's errata, what's a revision, what's a completely new edition?

I'd say, it's a new edition if it has a large amount of changes, changes that are more than just cosmetic in nature, and changes to key points of the game.

Examples:
They reduce the numerical bonuses you get from righteous might, halving them? That's just a small, more or less cosmetical change, and therefore errata!

They change a great deal of spells, like the H spells, change minor rules like cover and a great number of other things, none of which are really key points? It's a revision!

They change the races, the proficiency system, the classes, the way ability scores work, introduce feats, and countless other changes/additions, several of which are to key points and are quite different from before? It's a new edition!

 

[the Jester]

That's my perogative

Gahhh!!

 

[the Jester]

But seriously folks!

Hmm... I would say that errata is stuff that makes it through the normal process of putting out the edition it's errata for; in other words, stuff that is missed in editing, stuff that was meant to be changed before publication but wasn't, etc. Errata exists to correct mistakes in the version of the game that gets distributed to the public.

I would say that revisions are things that needed changing after the edition they are revisions for came out. Revisions exist to fix problems in the game that are discovered after people start playing it or to improve lacking bits of the game.

When you have enough revisions you need a new edition. This is to make sure your players are on the same page when they get together. This also helps make more money. Furthermore, it gives you a good opportunity to clean the game up, make a few major improvements, etc. A new edition is distinct from revisions in that the game is published anew.

When is a new edition necessary? You'll see a great deal of variance in when they come. Some games publish two editions that are nearly identical; some vary immensely. (For that matter, some do both at different periods!) Personally, I think a new edition is warranted when the changes made to the system will improve my fun in playing the game by 50%.

 

[jeffh]

I like the errata / revision / new edition distinction. I would add another distinction I think is important here, that between changing things and adding things. For the most part, AE merely adds things to AU. Adding things is not normally a sign of a new edition in my books, or every supplement would be a new edition; changes, on the other hand, count in favour of counting something as a new edition. Of course, the border isn't always clear; an addition can change how the game is played, a change can be so minor you never notice it in 90% of game sessions. It's just one factor among many, but I do think it's an important one in typical cases.

The revision from 3.0 to 3.5 actually made more changes than the AU to AE switch. AE adds a lot of new stuff, but it doesn't really alter anything fundamentally. There are a few tweaks to races and some classes, but for the most part things play the way they did before, especially at low levels. They added a race, a class, and an optional advancement path for some characters (evolved levels), but those are the sorts of things one expects to happen on a fairly regular basis anyway; those things, plus updated world material, could just as easily have been packaged together as a (fairly short) "Return of the Dragons" supplement. I see a new edition as something that goes significantly beyond what adding one supplement could have done.

 

[Mercule]

That's my prerogative

Oh, no! He's channelling Britney Spears.