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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RandallS" data-source="post: 5467374" data-attributes="member: 63083">While I could make a case for 3.5 being the edition that changed things the most, I finally decided that it was 4th edition, for the following reasons:From OD&D through AD&D2e (including all D&D editions through RC), the differences between the various systems were so minor that characters could easily be moved between editions with a few minutes effort -- and adventures written for one edition could be used with any of those edition, often with little or no advance conversion by the GM. (The Player's Option books did make huge changes, but they were all OPTIONAL. No changes were made to the core rules.)With 3.0, character conversion from previous editions became somewhat more complex if you wanted to be true to the character, but adventures from older editions were still easily usable (and vice versa, 3.0 adventures were easy to use with older editions). 3.5 changed a lot of spells and made it harder to do without minis and battlemats, but characters and adventures from all previous editions were still usable without a complete rewrite.I can run either of my two homebrew campaign worlds and my versions the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Greyhawk, and the Forgotten Realms in any of the edition through 3.5 without having to make major changes to the campaign world to accommodate rules differences.4e breaks all of this. It is almost impossible to convert characters from previous editions without completely re-imaging them. It is impossible to convert non-combat-focused characters viable in all previous editions of the game; they cannot even be created in 4e as the gamesystem forced all characters to be combat-based ability-wise. Neither of my homebrew campaigns can be converted at all as they depend on the existence of powerful non-combatants and spells, magic items, etc. that have either been eliminated or changed beyond recognition. The Wilderlands, Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms could only be used with such major re-imaging that they seem to be completely different worlds.Judging by the above, it's obvious that 4e changed the game the most in ways that affect my gaming. In many ways, it feels like a completely new gamesystem using the D&D name. For the record, I've played in and/or ran games in every edition of the D&D over the years, so I'm speaking from my own experiences.</blockquote>

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