D&D (2024) WoTc and TSR... what is D&D

[TerraDave]

..... the bedrock foundation that D&D is built on. Because of them, armor class, hit points, alignment, races, classes, levels, experience points=, etc. are still in the game, even though most have gone through changes over the years. The core set of ideas that began when D&D was created has endured.

....

Yes. In fact the things that have often been the most criticized as outdated in the game are the things that endure. Alternate approaches fade away, or stay niche.

The core adventure experience has also persisted. Story telling, factions, and big settings--with metaplot--all originated with D&D, with TSR D&D--and have also slowly faded in significance. But 5e still has plenty of "you see 3 doors, which do you choose?"

 

[Parmandur]

How do you figure? I just checked an inflation calculator, and $25 in 1991 is $49 today.

Yeah, I used an inflation calculator, but I must have put a date in wrong or something, because now I'm getting $52.

 

[Stormonu]

Which Swordquest? I only played Earthworld, but I presume they were all bad. I liked the comic though.

Don't forget Adventure! and Raiders of the Lost Ark!

All of the Swordquests were progressively worse, then they didn't finish the series.

I listed Adventure, but was never quite a fan of Raiders (damn Tste flies).

 

[MGibster]

Welcome to getting old. I'm 43 and I've run into that feeling more than once, in a lot of different situations. If you don't want to become the old man who yells at clouds, practice accepting that other people have vastly different life experiences and that's okay.

Same here. I think of all the things younger playesr grew up with that I didn't have like Pokemon, Harry Potter, World of Warcraft, and DragonBall Z and how that must have shaped them. I expect that in twenty years time, these younger people will also see how D&D has changed from what they remembered.

And while I have good memories of AD&D's past, the truth is I don't want to go back to it. I'm not the same person today I was in 1991.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

post 4... is that a record for someone to come in and bash 4e?

That sounded like a compliment to me

 

[overgeeked]

The core adventure experience has also persisted. Story telling, factions, and big settings--with metaplot--all originated with D&D, with TSR D&D--and have also slowly faded in significance.

I can’t think of a bit of this that’s true except the fading of metaplot. You think storytelling has faded? I can’t think of an aspect of modern D&D that’s more important than storytelling. Faction play has faded? Big settings have faded? Really? Certainly not in D&D itself. I mean, WotC is releasing settings every year, now multiple settings per year. They may not be to everyone’s taste, but they are doing it.

 

[TerraDave]

I can’t think of a bit of this that’s true except the fading of metaplot. You think storytelling has faded? I can’t think of an aspect of modern D&D that’s more important than storytelling. Faction play has faded? Big settings have faded? Really? Certainly not in D&D itself. I mean, WotC is releasing settings every year, now multiple settings per year. They may not be to everyone’s taste, but they are doing it.

5e has settings, like 1e and B/X D&D did. But there is no equivalent of the gazetteer series or even the greyhawk boxed set. There is no FR setting book. There is certainly nothing like what happened in 2e (which is what I was referring to). There are setting books which are fairly crunch heavy and setting detail lite, at least compared to past editions.

Not one 5e book has been released for a single class or race or some grouping thereof. There is a dragons book, 'cause dragons.

5e has linked thematic adventures over multiple levels, an approach invented by Gary Gygax (but now mostly sold in a single book). It has an inspiration mechanic that many tables ignore. It has nothing of the shared story-telling mechanics on the one hand, or metaplot on the other, that flowed from a more story oriented approach. It has elements of make believe and character aspiration, because it has always had those, which is why people play it.

 

[James Gasik]

All of the Swordquests were progressively worse, then they didn't finish the series.

I listed Adventure, but was never quite a fan of Raiders (damn Tste flies).

Ugh, I'd forgotten about the flies. As I was.

 

[James Gasik]

That sounded like a compliment to me

Please forgive us 4e fans, we're so used to the edition being bashed we've become a little defensive about it.

 

[overgeeked]

5e has settings, like 1e and B/X D&D did. But there is no equivalent of the gazetteer series or even the greyhawk boxed set. There is no FR setting book. There is certainly nothing like what happened in 2e (which is what I was referring to). There are setting books which are fairly crunch heavy and setting detail lite, at least compared to past editions.

Not one 5e book has been released for a single class or race or some grouping thereof. There is a dragons book, 'cause dragons.

You mean like TSR blindly publishing settings with 20+ books each, pumping out splats that no one wanted or asked for, and ending up with a warehouse filled with stock they couldn’t sell? So exactly what caused them to become financially insolvent and lead directly to WotC buying them out.

5e has linked thematic adventures over multiple levels, an approach invented by Gary Gygax (but now mostly sold in a single book).

Not sure that’s true.

It has an inspiration mechanic that many tables ignore.

How many? Yours?

It has nothing of the shared story-telling mechanics on the one hand, or metaplot on the other, that flowed from a more story oriented approach.

Not sure what edition you’re referring to. Inspiration is the closest thing D&D’s ever had to storytelling mechanics. Unless you buy into the misinterpretation of player-authored quests put forward by the Story Now people. No edition of D&D has had “shared story-telling mechanics”.

It has elements of make believe and character aspiration, because it has always had those, which is why people play it.

Sure.