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<blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 9387960" data-attributes="member: 32164">So, I had a thought a while back that I wanted to share with the community.It occurred to me after pondering the edition numbering for years that 3e was the game's 3rd-Edition in a lot of different ways.First and most obviously, it was the successor to AD&amp;D and AD&amp;D: 2nd-Edition. That makes logical sense, and I think people mostly stop there and don't ponder the rest.But it's also the &quot;Third Edition&quot; in a few other ways. Follow along with me if you will...Way back in the bygone days of 1974, there was one &quot;D&amp;D,&quot; the original, or &quot;White Box&quot; game. In many ways, this was the first iteration (1st-Edition) before the game &quot;split.&quot; The Holmes box was basically the same game. This continued until the late-70s, when the game split into two separate product lines: the boxed-set Moldvay &quot;Basic/Expert Dungeons &amp; Dragons&quot; line and the hardcover &quot;Advanced Dungeons &amp; Dragons&quot; line.So, counting this way, OD&amp;D/Holmes was the game's &quot;1st-Edition,&quot; and the successive split into two product lines is the game's &quot;Second Edition.&quot; The reintegration becomes 3e.But you can take it even further, where the Basic/Expert Moldvay boxed sets (which were retooled by Mentzer) is the 1st Edition of &quot;Dungeons and Dragons,&quot; (just like the 1e AD&amp;D books are that game's &quot;1st-Edition&quot;) and the expanded &quot;Rules Cyclopedia&quot; is the 2nd-Edition of THAT game. Which makes 3e the successor to both. And explains why they dropped the &quot;Advanced&quot; name.Anyway, I doubt WotC put that much thought into it, but I was woolgathering and thought it was an interesting observation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="JohnSnow, post: 9387960, member: 32164"] So, I had a thought a while back that I wanted to share with the community. It occurred to me after pondering the edition numbering for years that 3e was the game's 3rd-Edition in a lot of different ways. First and most obviously, it was the successor to AD&D and AD&D: 2nd-Edition. That makes logical sense, and I think people mostly stop there and don't ponder the rest. But it's also the "Third Edition" in a few other ways. Follow along with me if you will... Way back in the bygone days of 1974, there was one "D&D," the original, or "White Box" game. In many ways, this was the first iteration (1st-Edition) before the game "split." The Holmes box was basically the same game. This continued until the late-70s, when the game split into two separate product lines: the boxed-set Moldvay "Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons" line and the hardcover "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" line. So, counting this way, OD&D/Holmes was the game's "1st-Edition," and the successive split into two product lines is the game's "Second Edition." The reintegration becomes 3e. But you can take it even further, where the Basic/Expert Moldvay boxed sets (which were retooled by Mentzer) is the 1st Edition of "Dungeons and Dragons," (just like the 1e AD&D books are that game's "1st-Edition") and the expanded "Rules Cyclopedia" is the 2nd-Edition of THAT game. Which makes 3e the successor to both. And explains why they dropped the "Advanced" name. Anyway, I doubt WotC put that much thought into it, but I was woolgathering and thought it was an interesting observation. [/QUOTE]

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