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5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons Announced

Posted by Soulskill on from the roll-for-fan-support-initiative dept.

New submitter lrsach01 writes "Wizards of the Coast has announced a 'new iteration' of their Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Early information says the game will be more inclusive, with a basic rule set that 'builds out.' This Spring, WotC will be 'conducting ongoing open playtests with the gaming community to gather feedback on the new iteration of the game as we develop it.'"

2 of 309 comments (clear)

  1. exponential version growth by nitehawk214 · · Score: 5, Informative

    1974 - First edition
    1989 - Second edition
    2000 - Third edition
    2008 - Forth edition
    2012 - Fifth edition

    --
    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    1. Re:exponential version growth by tilante · · Score: 5, Informative
      Umm, actually...

      1974 - Original D&D
      1977-9 - First Edition AD&D
      1985 - "Unearthed Arcana" - extensive changes and expansions to AD&D - arguably "AD&D 1.5"
      1989 - Second Edition AD&D
      1995-6 - "Skills & Powers", "Combat & Tactics", "Spells & Magic" - arguably "AD&D 2.5"
      2000 - Third Edition AD&D, "A" is dropped for marketing reasons
      2003 - 3.5 Edition AD&D
      2008 - 4th Edition AD&D
      2010-1 - "D&D Essentials" - arguably "AD&D 4.5"

      However, during the 80s and early 90s, TSR also kept developing "D&D" as a separate system, separated for legal reasons. This version is often called "Basic D&D".

      1977 - First Edition BD&D
      1981 - Second Edition BD&D
      1983-5 - Third Edition BD&D
      1991 - Fourth Edition BD&D

      Thus, new D&D rule sets came out the fastest during the late '70s and early '80s, but the average time period between new rule revisions has been 5 years or so. AD&D now moves faster, thanks to the dropping of the "BD&D" line in the '90s. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition AD&D were all announced 2-3 years before they actually came out. I'd expect to see 5th edition actually coming out late in 2013 at earliest.