Gaming question.
Nov. 24th, 2003 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tyggerjaiSo I'm terribly, teeribly out of touch with the D&D world, evidently. I don't mind that, at all, but my curiosity was recently piqued, and I'm sure some of you can answer my simple question.
When I played, back in the day, it was pretty clear that D&D(tm) and AD&D(tm) were different beasts. Forks, if you like, in software terms.
D&D had Basic, Expert, etc rulesets - a different set for each 5 (or ten?) levels of your characters, different classes, etc.
AD&D had Players Handbook, DM's Guide, Monster Manual, etc.
And they were utterly, *utterly* separate, even if they were both TSR products (and I'm not 100% sure of that, either). Point was, you played one, or the other. Some people played both, but it was like playing GURPS *and* Car Wars. Sure, they were both Steve Jackson, but they weren't the same game.
And D&D, to a large extent, faded away. It had its day, and was replaced by the far superior and more popular AD&D. Even when I was playing, that writing was on the wall. And then AD&D came out with Second Ed., which was a bit of a rewrite, but still definitely AD&D. IT said so, all over the books. AD&D. And then came 3rd Ed. Dunno what was on that - I'd long given up by this point.
Now, and this is the thrust of my query, there's Ed. 3.5. Which says ... D&D. No "Advanced" anywhere. But it *is* AD&D - there's no way *known* it's Original D&D as *I* knew it.
So what's the story? Is it just that WOTC have figured that AD&D is, to all intents and purposes D&D these days? Have they "merged" rulesets, as it were? Have they officially EOLed the "original" D&D? Was there an announcement I missed?
sol.
.
When I played, back in the day, it was pretty clear that D&D(tm) and AD&D(tm) were different beasts. Forks, if you like, in software terms.
D&D had Basic, Expert, etc rulesets - a different set for each 5 (or ten?) levels of your characters, different classes, etc.
AD&D had Players Handbook, DM's Guide, Monster Manual, etc.
And they were utterly, *utterly* separate, even if they were both TSR products (and I'm not 100% sure of that, either). Point was, you played one, or the other. Some people played both, but it was like playing GURPS *and* Car Wars. Sure, they were both Steve Jackson, but they weren't the same game.
And D&D, to a large extent, faded away. It had its day, and was replaced by the far superior and more popular AD&D. Even when I was playing, that writing was on the wall. And then AD&D came out with Second Ed., which was a bit of a rewrite, but still definitely AD&D. IT said so, all over the books. AD&D. And then came 3rd Ed. Dunno what was on that - I'd long given up by this point.
Now, and this is the thrust of my query, there's Ed. 3.5. Which says ... D&D. No "Advanced" anywhere. But it *is* AD&D - there's no way *known* it's Original D&D as *I* knew it.
So what's the story? Is it just that WOTC have figured that AD&D is, to all intents and purposes D&D these days? Have they "merged" rulesets, as it were? Have they officially EOLed the "original" D&D? Was there an announcement I missed?
sol.
.