Let me just say at the start that this is not a post bashing Wizards of the Coast. Well, at least not directly, it isn't. I think I'll save direct attacks on WotC for a later date. For those of you who don't know where I stand concerning WotC, let me put it to you this way: The Wizards are Hydromancers, and the Coast is the coast of Greed Ocean.
Like I said, this is not about WotC. This is about Dungeons and Dragons. Specifically it is about the titles of the DnD games. On the surface, one might think that it is all pretty straight forward. In fact, once you look just beneath the surface, you will find a mass of confusion. I will try my best to guide you through. Hopefully, we'll make it through without hurting your brains too much.
In the beginning, there was Dungeons and Dragons. (Ok, so historically and technically first there was Chainmail....nevermind.) Dungeons and Dragons was new and exciting. It came complete in a box. It took your hero through his first couple of experience levels. Later boxes came out with new rules and abilities. Each box took your hero through more and more experience levels. Game and Players grew together. It was lovely. At least, I assume it was. I mean it spawned a whole culture of role playing games.
Dungeons and Dragons continued to grow. Soon the rules needed to be condensed down into a set of books. The players had grown too. They were hungry for more. New rules were added. Details got deeper. Optional rules moved in. This was a more complicated...nay, more evolved version of the game. Would one go so far as to say it was a more advanced version? Yes. Yes one would. In fact, that was the title: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. This would later have "1st edition" added to the title, but we aren't there yet. More books and rules would be developed as time went on. It was all Dungeons and Dragons as far as the feel, worlds, rules, creatures, races, classes, etc. It just happened to be a more advanced version. For those of you who think about the "demonic" stuff that surrounded Dungeon and Dragons, this is the era of that. No one stopped to realize that although devils and demons were put into the game, they were the BAD GUYS! Granted a couple of people may have lost it, and there was that Tom Hanks movie. The truth is, it was probably the same type of people that accused rock and roll music and would later accuse Harry Potter. But I digress.
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons had come to a point where rules were spread out over all sorts of books, so they decided to once again condense. The result was Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition. This is all well and good because it is the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game. ADnD now came to be known as 1st edition because it had a 2nd edition to be the 1st of. Keep this in mind. Seems obvious, but just wait. Also, a lot of players, myself included, view ADnD 2nd Edition to be the quintessential Dungeons and Dragons. I will admit that I have been known to just call it DnD when I in fact mean ADnD 2nd Ed. At those times, I'm just being lazy. Well, not just that, I mean to me ADnD 2nd Ed. IS Dungeons and Dragons. All other versions are held up and judged by my feelings for ADnD 2nd Ed. Trust me, it really is the best edition.
Let's move on. Many years later, WotC (grumble grumble) bought the rights to everything Dungeons and Dragons. Remember how up to now it all evolved in a sensible way? DnD > ADnD > ADnD 2nd Ed. Yeah, well, sensibility ends here. WotC wanted to create a new version of Dungeons and Dragons. Fair enough. They created the D20 system. They applied it to Dungeons and Dragons and released it as....Dungeons and Dragons. They went on to make it known that this is NOT 3rd Edition. It is Dungeons and Dragons. More specifically it is D20 Dungeons and Dragons. Regardless, they were well aware that since this was not Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, it could not be a 3rd edition. It could not be called Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition (which although as far as sequential titles are concerned would be accurate) because it was a completely new system. It was simply Dungeons and Dragons again.
Not so many years later, having realized that they had totally screwed the pooch as far as such simple things as game balance and play testing were concerned, they had to fix all the problems found in D20 Dungeons and Dragons. Of course they probably could have just sent out some form of errata, but no, not only would that be a bit outrageous given the number of fixes, it wouldn't make them nearly as much money as simply remaking all the books. Yes, that's right, in classic WotC fashion, all your old stuff was obsolete and useless. Keeping in mind that WotC fought to get people to realize that this WAS NOT 3rd edition because technically it couldn't be, guess what they titled the new fixed version of their D20 game? Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition? NOPE! They went and called it Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. It makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Not only are they going against themselves, they practically remake every book to fit the fixes and call it "point five" as if it was just a minor update. WoTC more like WoTF. I'm not even going to go into all the problems with Not 3rd Edition and 3.5 Edition Dungeons and Dragons. That's pages of rant all to itself.
So what should have been DnD > ADnD > ADnD 2nd Ed. > D20 DnD > D20 DnD 2nd Ed. was now DnD > ADnD > ADnD 2nd Ed. > DnD 3rd > DnD 3.5. Well, then, this wasn't enough. Oh no. For whatever reason (I have my guesses) they decided they need to make yet another version of Dungeons and Dragons. They decided to make another completely different set of rules and mechanics. Being the "brilliant" people that they are, WotC went and named it....you guessed it 4th Edition. So, think about it. Even if we consider a completely new mechanic as being a "new edition" (which is stretching things a heck of a lot) this would truly only be 3rd Edition. DnD and ADnD have relatively the same mechanics so they would be grouped as 1st Edition? 3rd and 3.5 are the D20 system, so that would make them 2nd Edition? Leaving the next new system that they call 4th Edition to really be 3rd Edition? That, however, isn't even an argument, although there is logic to it. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that to add to all the confusion, they brought back the boxes from the very original Dungeons and Dragons to sell 4th Edition. Oh oh, AND I also forgot to mention that ADnD 2nd Edition had a reprint at one point. Did TSR call it ADnD 3rd edition? Did they call it ADnD 2.5? NO! NO THEY DIDN'T!
So, to summarize, first there was the original Dungeons and Dragons. This received some changes and gained some advanced rules and mechanics. It was rightly called Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1st Edition.) This got condensed and tweaked to create Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition. Next came a whole new system (the D20 System) and called it Dungeons and Dragons (but not 3rd Edition.) They had to fix all the mistakes in this version so they re-released it as Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. This now made the not 3rd Edition 3.0. They then went and made yet another whole new system and called it Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition.
Confusing isn't it? A pointless thing to complain about I'm sure, but it just adds ammo to my stance on WotC and how Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition is the very best edition. So what should you take away with you from reading this blog? Perhaps nothing, but then again perhaps something. Yes, something indeed should be taken. If you ever want to play a Dungeons and Dragons role playing game, find a group that plays ADnD 2nd Edition. You can thank me later.
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