Where Was MY Parade?

I am a veteran of the Edition Wars.  I still serve, but I'm off the front lines these days, but I still hear the voices.  Well... read the voices.  Online.  In heated discussions.

It's been going on for years, and there are no signs that it will stop any time soon.

I speak of course of Dungeons & Dragons.

To briefly summarize, the original game came out in the seventies (this discussion is only about advanced Dungeons & Dragons, because fuck Basic.)  For over a decade, the game continued with only minor changes in the form of expanded, optional rules found in supplemental books and a few new character classes.  The only new 'editions' put out were the same core books with different cover art and fewer tables in the DMG.

Then, in glorious 1989, they released AD&D 2nd edition.  No one in my peer group had anything bad to say about 2nd ed, it was greeted as simply an update to the rules.  They replaced all those cumbersome tables on page 75 of the DMG (you memorized that page number pretty quick,) with THAC0, which was a much simpler formula.  They added the bard as a core class, and altered a few class abilities (two-weapon fighting for rangers, specialist mages, etc.)  They also made standard the proficiency rules that had been introduced in supplemental books, and finally gave plenty of examples for clarity.

Sure there were some cantankerous old grognards who complained at these minor changes, but for the most part, people saw 2nd ed as the same game, with some streamlining.  You could easily use all your old modules and supplements with little modification (I do not own a single 2nd ed module, and simply ran my old 1st ed ones in 2nd.)  Today, most people lump both editions together ("1st ed/2nd ed,") when discussing the subject

Then, in 1997, our beloved TSR, the makers of D&D went bankrupt and sold all rights and properties to Wizards of the Coast.  In 2000, WotC released the third edition (which dropped the 'advanced' descriptor, since Basic had been abandoned.)  This was more than a simple tweak to the rules, it was a major overhaul to basically every system of the game.  They added skills and feats, fixed the idiotic saving throws, and streamlined combat with the D20 mechanic, which was simple, elegant and formed the basis of pretty much every action.

I was one of the skeptics who decried this new edition ("you mean armor class is better the higher it is? That's heresy!")  But once it came out, I was impressed.  3rd ed is simply more logical, unified and versatile (hey look, now characters who aren't rogues can actually climb things too!)

I was sold, but not everyone else was so accepting.  Many people continued to play their 1st/2nd ed games (and still do today!)  There was still plenty of support on the internet (which was a thing by then,) and third party companies even made new games around the old 1st/2nd ed rules.

But most of us converted happily.  And the important thing is, you could convert.  They put out a free pamphlet conversion guide from 2nd to 3rd edition.  If you had a game that had been running for some time, you could simply update the characters and adventure to the new version.  We actually did just that.  The game we were running was at fourth level when the new rules came out, and we converted and just kept playing.  It was great.

Three years later they made 3.5, which was not a true new edition and mostly just corrected a few oversights and streamlined a couple of rules that people felt were cumbersome.  They are functionally the same edition, and if you didn't like any of the changes (like what they did to the cover rules,) you could simply ignore them (which we did.)  It all worked.

Because 3rd edition (and 3.5) was the same game, but a new edition.  They respected their roots, and just tried to make the same experience cleaner and easier to adjudicate by allowing for more possibilities.

But then came 4th edition in 2008.  In the intervening years, World of Warcraft had made a bazillion dollars, and brought tons of new people into the world of fantasy games.  It wasn't just geeks talking about fighting dragons, and tossing around terms like XP, hit points and leveling up.

WotC's masters, Hasbro, wanted in on that action.  They knew that the D&D name had cache, but felt that all those 'rules' and complexity kept some people away.  So they set out to make a new version that would be much simpler, quicker, and would appeal to the casual player.

They made a tabletop version of of WoW.

Each round, you select which of your 'powers' you wish to activate, either casting a spell or activating a melee attack.  These powers are written down on cards (which you can buy from WotC,) and you play them to activate the power.

It's basically 'press A for strong attack, B for fast attack.'  There are tons of suspicious similarities that leave no room for doubt as to their intent for the new game.  It was certainly simpler, and they released a dizzying array of supplemental material for it, power cards, token sets, all kinds of player aids, and a subscription online component (just to really capture that WoW feel!)

You know what they didn't produce?  A conversion guide.  Because for the first time, they weren't trying to update the game, they were making a whole new one, which they made clear was not meant to be compatible with any previous edition.

And I am a h4ter.  I do not like it, Sam I Am.  I don't blame WotC, I myself am living proof that they had no other choice.  I had stopped buying 3.5 books, because I had all I would ever need to play an infinite number of games.

They have to keep putting out new product or else they have no new revenue stream.  So I do not begrudge them or those for whom 4th edition is 'their' version.  But I do not like 4th ed, and I will never play it.

But I don't have to.  In addition to all my old books, there is Pathfinder.  The company that used to publish WotC's magazine acquired the rights to make their own version of 3.5, which some have nicknamed '3.75' because it keeps the same rules but makes a few changes (and a bit of power creep.)  The game caters to both new players and older 3.5 players who are interested in seeing the game evolve, but don't care for 4th ed.

And you know what?  It's doing great.  Paizo has a big fan base, they put out some excellent products (including stuff that works for any game,) and I know far more people who are Pathfinder fans than 4th ed.

So now what's happening?  WotC is playtesting 5th edition.  And it's going to be a fiasco.  Maybe.  Or maybe it will be the game we've all wanted, and will bring together all the grognards, h4ters and whatever you call the people who play 4th ed (I will not say what I call them.)

But probably not.  Because as long as the companies that make these games need to produce a steady stream of new products, there will be new editions.

And that will mean edition wars.  But I will not take up the sword (or the angry keyboard) and battle the true believers and trolls on the forums of battle.  I will sit out the next war and retire from the field to continue playing my game, 3.5.

And Call of Cthulhu.  And D20 Modern.  And maybe Pathfinder, but that's it.  Oooh, and Deadlands and maybe Mutants & Masterminds one day.  And when 5th edition comes out, maaaaaybe I'll take a peek.

Just to see what it's like, you know?

But I will not answer the bugle call this time.  Honest.