As a veteran of every edition ofDungeons & Dragonssince 2eADnD, it’s fascinating to learn that many players remember legacy editions of the game as being about anything more than combat. It seems there is a Mandela Effect-like phenomenon at work distorting the idea of these older editions from what they really were. I recently revisited my bookshelf, poring over everyPlayer’s HandbookandDungeon Master’sGuidefrom 1e to 4e. Reading the actual books completely confirmed my recollection thatDnDwas purely a combat simulator in its earliest versions, leaving the origin of these misconceptions a mystery.
There are problems with the game at present, like theHasbro CEO’s determination that AIDnDis the future, but it is still far improved overADnD. The idea of social intrigue as a pillar of play was entirely absent in 2eADnD. Some Dungeon Masters may have run socially focused campaigns; in the same way, I could run aSuccession-style story withMonopolyas the gaming system. These non-combat-focused campaigns certainly may have happened, but they did sodespite the myopically battle-focusedAD&Dsystem, not because of it. The books themselves confirmed battle was all that mattered.
Old-School D&D’s Rules Focused Solely On Combat
Many Dungeon Masters Made The Game About More Than Its Rules
In terms of game design, reviewing the olderPHBs andDMGs showcased a clear improvement with each edition from 2e to 4e, as the game grew beyond its wargaming roots to be about more than dungeon crawls and battle. In the 2eADnD PHB, the only nod to the Exploration Pillar is a few pages on swimming and climbing. Theclosest thing to a Social Pillar is the Reaction Adjustment based on Charisma, and the presence of a Non-Weapon Proficiency for Etiquette. This was not a game for Byzantine power struggles and political intrigue,it was a dungeon crawl simulator.
How D&D Players Can Join A Campaign In Progress (The Right Way)
Many Dungeons & Dragons games add new players partway through. Experienced players know the right way, and the wrong way, to join a game in progress.
Mosteditions ofDungeons & Dragonslastedabout a decade. Their successors built on what came before, expanding the playstyles available to groups to encompass more than killing and looting. The 2eDMGdevoted about ten pages to the Exploration Pillar, along with a few tables the DM might roll on.It had no concept of a Social Pillar whatsoever, unless one stretches credibility to considering the distinction between Hirelings and Henchmen as a Social Pillar. There is nothing wrong with adding more complexity to any tabletop RPG than what it suggests in writing, butthe rules deserve no credit.
TheDungeons & Dragons2024 Bastion systemreturns to a notion fromADnDwhere characters would gain a stronghold of some kind on reaching a high level. Some interpreted this as grounding Player Characters in the game world and giving them a political role as they transition beyond adventuring. In 2eADnD, this would be up to the DM, as the game offers no such suggestion. 2e strongholds are a place to sleep and a source of followers. Interestingly, 2e was a clear step backward from1eADnD, which did put more emphasis on adventurers as bureaucratsat upper levels.
3e & 4e D&D Added More Rules For Non-Combat Challenges
To Most Players & DMs, Rules Legitimize Content Rather Than Harming It
The 3eDnDrevision did a lot to clean up the messy parts of the system and promote game balance, but the addition of a skill system was the biggest boon for the game’s versatility beyond combat. The Social Pillar finally existed, as there were now distinct skills to Gather Information, Sense Motive, or engage in a Bluff or Diplomacy. These provided far more nuance over a simple Reaction Modifier based on a rolled Charisma stat. More importantly,theylegitimized social encounters as an important part of theDnDgame. Rulesdoshape what a typical campaign will look like.
Yes, You Should Absolutely Run Severance As A D&D Game
Severance is a uniquely horrifying and compelling television series. All of its thrills can translate to Dungeons & Dragons, and other tabletop RPGs.
Whether someonerecallsVampire: the MasqueradeorRequiem, the impact ofWhite Wolf’sWorld of Darknessline of games cannot be understated from the 90s through today. These games added mechanics that specifically fed into role-playing, as certain behaviors might replenish, or expend, a character’s Willpower. The fact that one-third of these games’ skills were Social in naturesupported the concept that social encounters are as vital as any melee. The 3eDnDrules may not have leaned as hard into promoting deep characterization or complex narratives, but they did helpDnDcatch up a bit withVampire.
The 2eADnDera did provide some of the most beloved settings forDnD, likePlanescapeandDark Sun, with a deeper focus on lore than more recent editions' setting books, but these settings are distinct from the core rules of the edition, where rules centered on battle and looting.
Though4eDungeons & Dragonsdivided fans, itcontinued 3e’s efforts to make the game enjoyable in and out of battle. Combat Powers were partitioned from Ritual magic, meaning a Wizard no longer needed to choose between situational spells that might aid exploration or social interaction, and spells to defeat enemies. The Skill Challenge system provided a robust mechanical framework to address everything from spies sharing secrets at a high society masquerade inForgotten Realms’Calimport, to surviving the harsh deserts of Athas in aDark Suncampaign.4e advanced the idea that the Social and Exploration Pillars truly matter.
Some D&D Groups Prefer A Blank Page Over A System
Rules Are Meant To Support Role-Playing, Not To Replace It
It became evident from rereading the actual 2eADnDbooks, those that introduced me to the TTRPG hobby, that the edition is not at all what people remember it for, asit was certainly the most single-mindedly combat-focused edition of the game. Some groups may have experienced fantastic games that highlighted social scenes and exploration every bit as much as battle, despite the system doing nothing to promote that style of game. For some,the blank page is interpreted as brilliant game design, but to me, it is a blank page. An absence of rules can never improve a tabletop RPG.
After 5e, Old-School D&D Now Means The Opposite Of What It Used To
For years Dungeons & Dragons’ newer editions have competed with OSR games, but D&D should focus on advancing its design and let OSR claim its legacy.
Some players may have used the 3e skill system to simply “roll Diplomacy at enemies” instead of role-playing interactions, and some 4e groups may have used Skill Challenges as a substitute for roleplaying, instead of a system that compliments it. That is a problem for those players, or those tables. To me,the rules of a system are the designer’s way of telling you what the intended focus of the game is, and the kind of stories and challenges to expect.Dungeons & Dragonscan facilitate complex and epic stories, but newer editions’ rules have made that far more likely.
