There are plenty of tabletop role playing games out there to spend time with. Whether it's with longtime friends or strangers, no game has had the effect in the tabletop world that has throughout its many editions.
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It's true, the various realms of D&D have seen plenty of changes over the years. New classes, new rules, and all new ways to play the game. Of all of these editions though, which ones are the best to hop in to? Which are worth going back in time for? And which are best left in the past?
7 Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition - 2008
Fourth Edition falls short of the cult classic status or ease of use that give other editions high praise. There were a lot of big changes from 3.5 to Four. One of the biggest was how various classes used their abilities. Powers, as they were called, were given to the player dependent on class with a recharge rate that was anywhere from 'at-will' to 'per-day.' It was a clunky change that didn't go over too well in the minds of the players and GMs alike.
The fourth edition of D&D is somewhat recent, with plenty of people who have been in the hobby for a handful of years having memories of it. Sadly, it's overshadowed by its younger brother Fifth Edition and doesn't have as much in the way of in-depth rulings that keeps 3.5 close to peoples' hearts.
6 Original Dungeons & Dragons - 1974
The edition that started it all. While it was the first stepping stone to what D&D is today, the first edition of the game is a far-cry to what it is now. Not that this is a bad thing — every game starts somewhere. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson did what they could with the limited time and finances they had, and they learned a lot from it. The first edition was a sort of hodgepodge of different games and ideas, but it was a humble game.
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You can easily see where the Fighting-Man archetype of character was developed and branched out into the Fighter and other martial classes, and that can be said for all the characters and facets of the game. No longer do you have to own Chainmail and Outdoor Survival to be able to run the game from top to bottom. D&D has its own rules now. While it was a hassle to get into the original edition, it was a fun new experience for those who loved tabletop games in the '70s.
5 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition - 1989
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons' second edition is sort of the teen era for D&D; it doesn't quite know what it wants to be, but it has some ideas. In this edition, Gygax, David Cook, and the rest of the team began implementing changes from the previous generations, and to a solid amount of success. They consolidated much of the books and rules of AD&D and began to tweak combat as well.
A big change here was more PR focused. They added some new monsters and classes and cut all content that got them in hot water during the Satanic Panic of previous generations. You can see the streamline from AD&D 2 to what the game is now, and while it is a fun one to play still, it falls short of some of the other well-loved generations.
4 Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition - 2000
You can really see where D&D caught its stride in its Third Edition. It was the role playing game for a whole new millennium. Now under Wizards of the Coast, plenty of new changes apart from the naming convention. Most of these had to do with ease of use, which won it some popularity off the bat. One of the biggest changes was the new d20 system, of which any player of D&D and games that use its system are familiar with.
Other big changes made it a hit for longtime players: a new sorcerer class, the ability to level beyond 20, and a bigger focus on combat scenarios. If you are thinking about looking back and playing older editions, this is a good first step as it lends an understanding of what the game has become but also lets you keep mostly with the system you already know
3 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition - 1977
After a host of changes and tweaks to the original design Advanced Dungeons & Dragons came into the world of tabletops. D&D had begun to spread, and with that the creators wanted to hone their abilities with an all-new game. They did, potentially, dive a little too hard into the rules side of things. Math and rules aplenty lined the pages of AD&D's three handbooks.
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Still, there was enough to keep players hooked and new ones coming in. A new alignment system, a deeper dive into combat, and three times the classes that the previous edition allowed for. If you could get and understand a copy of AD&D, you were big news in your gaming circle.
2 Dungeons & Dragons, 3.5 Edition - 2003
For many, this is the pinnacle of Dungeons & Dragons. 3.5 still holds a lofty place in people's hearts and on their shelves at home. Fine-tuning was the name of the game for this addendum to Third Edition's rulebook. For current fans of the game, consider 3.5 as just a big Unearthed Arcana.
It gathered all the small changes they saw they needed to make without disrupting players who were already well-acquainted with third edition proper. There were already plenty of players who had been around from the start, and even more that came in around Third Edition. 3.5 was the culmination of the creators and fans of the game from this point out and you can tell.
1 Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition - 2014
Starting in the mid 2010s, Fifth Edition has won the hearts of players all over the world. It has been the D&D people have flocked to in the digital age. While there are only three core books to this edition, much like earlier ones, there's plenty of extra play material, and there are nearly two dozen additional adventures to enjoy. There's also near-monthly Unearthed Arcana and play test material available for free on Wizard Of The Coast's site.
Fifth Edition has made the D&D world far more accessible for people who want to dive into it. Everything from more inclusive language, a better balance between combat and exploration, to more options for making your characters your own; it's all here in more or less one package.
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