What are the big differences between the D&D editions?

Question

I've been out of the loop for a while, and I used to play AD&D 2nd ed, but today I find there are a lot of different versions that have fairly different gameplay.

Can anyone summarize the really big differences, the ones (maybe top three?) that are the 'killer features' of the different editions? What makes each edition play differently than the others?

Answer 1

OD&D - Had only three classes (Cleric, Fighter, Magic User). Cleric spells up to 5th level, Magic user spells up to 6th level. Every attack except for certain monster abilities did 1d6 damage if it hit. There wasn't a lot of difference between characters in terms of combat capabilities. Characteristics didn't have many modifiers.

OD&D plus Greyhawk Supplement - The Greyhawk supplement transformed OD&D into a form of older edition D&D that is recognizable by most gamers today. Characteristics have more modifiers and exceptional strength was introduced. Variable damage dice for different weapons and creatures was introduced. The number of spell levels increased.

Holmes Edition, B/X D&D, Mentzer D&D - Similar to OD&D plus Greyhawk including selected elements from other supplements, the rules rewritten for clarity and organization. Playing a Race meant playing a class. For example a Dwarf used only the Dwarf Class. Both B/X and Mentzer were divided in distinct books that focused on a specific range of levels. Later the Mentzer version was combined into the Rules Compendium. The biggest difference between these rules and AD&D was found in higher level play. Mentzer D&D had specific rules for running domain, mass combat, and even becoming a immortal i.e. god.

AD&D 1st Edition - OD&D plus Supplements plus Strategic Review articles are combined, rewritten, and organized into a three book set. One of the reason behind this edition was to standardize how D&D was played to make running tournaments easier. The most popular version of older edition D&D. Bonuses for characteristics roughly go up to +4 and are capped at 18 except for exceptional strength.

A lot of extra details are added in Gygax distinctive writing style. Some section are poorly designed or understood like the unarmed combat rules, initiative, psionics, human dual classing, etc. While other are widely adopted, classes, races, spells, magic items, etc. Characters select a race and a class. Non-human race can multi class which involves splitting experience between multiple classes. Non-humans were generally limited to a max level (often low).

AD&D 1st Edition plus Unearthed Arcana. This version shifted the power level of the game upwards by allowing increased level limits for non-human, new classes that were slightly more powerful, and weapon specialization for fighters. Later AD&D hardback books (the two Survival books) expanded the use of non-weapon proficiencies as a skill system.

AD&D 2nd Edition, Still basically AD&D 1st Edition but the rules have been reorganized and rewritten for clarity. Some content like half-orc, demons, and assassins were removed or changed due to media pressure. Character customization was expanded by using non-weapon proficiencies as a skill system and by allowing characters to take kits that confer various benefits. Combat has been redesigned to overcome the issues with initiative and unarmed combat that were part of the previous edition of AD&D.

Because of the success of Dragonlance, much of AD&D 2nd Edition run was focused on customizing the rules for specific settings or themes. TSR released a lot of different settings like Dark Sun, Birthright, and others.

AD&D 2nd Edition Skills and Powers, Introduced several rule systems that allowed extensive customization of a character.

D&D 3rd Edition, Took the idea of Skill and Powers and developed a cleaner system for customizing characters by designing the classes so a level of one class can stack on top of another class. A single level chart was introduced and a each level a character could take a new class or add another level of a class they already had.

In addition feats were added to allow character to further customize their abilities. A true skill system was introduced and integrated into the game. The underlying d20 system worked by rolling equal too or higher than a target number and adding various bonus. This was used across the game in a standard way. Problems developed at higher levels as the number of options increased to the point where players had a tough time resolving their actions.

In addition when various supplements were combined character could be built that were considerably more powerful than other combinations. This version was also noted for released the d20 system under a open game license which ignited a vigorous third party market. This version of D&D is still being developed and printed by various publishers notably the Pathfinder Rules by Paizo.

D&D 4th Edition - This edition is a completely new game with only a few game mechanics carried over from the 3rd Edition. It has a simple set of core rules and defines all character and monster abilities as exceptions which are described in standard terms. Higher level combat has been simplified, and class has been designed to have specific roles in combat. Every classes has a diverse set of combat options to use. The use of a battlegrid and miniatures is part of the core rules. Classes and monster generally have a high fantasy flavor. There are multiple ways to heal centered on a new mechanic called healing surges. Combat takes noticeably longer than any prior edition except perhaps for high level 3rd edition combat. While not present at the game's launch, this edition is noted for popular use of on-line computer tools.

D&D Next - the next edition of D&D currently under development. From what little we know the core will be similar to older edition D&D rather than the new system developed in 4th edition. It has been said by the designers that options will be present to allow the game to be played in a manner similar to 4th edition. The designers focus is to make it modular so that a referee can construct a campaign that feels like their favorite edition.

Answer 2

I am getting back into AD&D for the purposes of introducing my children to it. I do not know much about 4th plus edition, but can say 3rd Edition is relatively simple for new DM's and players to grasp the concept it also goes well with campaigns such as Planescape, Forgotten Realms etc why they TSR just couldn't keepthings as they are bemuses me (why fix something that's not broken). Regarding end game and higher level, expansions with extra rules would have been more than adequate.

Answer 3

Part of the initial editions had to do with the fact that Gary Gygax (creator) had studied anthropology so a lot of it ended up boiling down to certain social strata, gritty realism (despite all the magic), and (let's face it) Tolkien derived setting with a rather broad scale of difficulty. 3rd Edition was released as an easy edition to learn, and 4th edition dropped a lot of the pretenses about the game's relation to social skills and became more focused on cinematic style combat. (Most of my gaming group refers to D&D 4e as "Table WoW")

Is there a specific element you want to read/run/whatever?

ADDED:

There's a quote hanging on the internets stating more or less "1st ed tested players, while 4E tests characters." I would have to agree with that statement. 1st, 2nd, AD&D (and all other permutation in that "generation") relied heavily on player intelligent, even when playing the oft low charisma "Meat Shield/Tank" which is why I said 'gritty realism'. There was no weapon scaling, and even different damages for weapons against different sized targets (such as a five foot blade having more it can cut through on a giant than a man). I found the system only as forgiving as the DM since despite the strong urging to min/max there were still plenty of caps in effect.

Contrariwise, the 3rd, 3.5, and 4th editions (and other permutations in the "modern generation") were more concerned with ease of play and less chart checking. What this led to is/was the tendency that even though the game tried to make a more open forum, and one a lot more forgiving to multi-classing, it lent far too much into the realm of specializing. Starting at roughly level 6 or 7, if you weren't dedicated to a few select things your character could do, you would become lost compared to anything at an equal "challenge rating".

One thing that 4e did that I preferred over 3(.5)e was the ability to later swap out powers, enabling a player to realize that something they selected became irrelevant or maybe just less fun. However, this also enables the exponential power gaps to continue for a character that tries to be balanced.