Way back in 2017, I began the Editions War series of posts, applying a series of metrics to older editions of D&D to see how they stacked up. Now, with an update to 5e D&D looming for release in 2024, it’s time to take a look at the current edition of D&D!
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The OGL for the d20 System had opened a veritable Pandora’s Box in the gaming industry, as everyone with an idea, a friend who could draw, and a word processing program set out to make their own game/modules/supplements to make a buck. The situation reached a critical mass quickly, and an RPG bubble formed. Then, like all bubbles, it popped, sending dozens of companies into the dustbin of history. The pop had a secondary effect of spooking WotC, who had been rolling with 3/3.5e D&D for around six years at that point. Concerned that the market had “spoken” (it had not, except against a glut of third party products of varying levels of quality), they began work on 4e D&D, and were determined to break the mould again. It would be the shortest, most confusing run of any edition.
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Image used for review purposes.
With the release of 1e AD&D, it can be truly said that the Editions War had truly begun, as the nascent gaming community polarized either towards the more complete and ready to play Basic D&D, or embraced the more complex and nuanced 1e AD&D (or simply “AD&D” as it was known at the time). Regardless, TSR supported both simultaneously, and the two games diverged onto very different evolutionary trajectories.
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