it has been decades since I last found D&D like minded players. The last game I played was in the early 80's. Lately I found more content and then found this site. I dug out my books and started checking out stuff here seeing 5th edition as the rule. I take it my copies starting at 6th printing January 1980 are obsolete with current gaming. Looking in the store and seeing bundle e-books at $454 and looking at a stack of 1st & 2nd edition hard copies modules and other related content. just thinking on how much money is sitting there and finding out it's all useless now to play in a 5th edition community. anyway I am not sure I would be able to play with out yet again investing in books. looking in to hard copies at $50 each and not having yet found local players I am still researching this site. it appears to be a completely different game now.
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And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
Huh doing research I found out a great deal the failing TSR Gary Gygax era was bought by Wizards of the Coast April 10, 1997. Wizards of the coast had a strong economic incentive for publishing a new edition so the 3rd edition was printed and released in 2000 but Wizards of the coast had been bought by Hasbro in the summer of 1998. In 2003 Wizards (AKA Hasbro) released version 3.5 of Dungeons & Dragons. Hasbro then released edition 4 in 2008 then released edition 5 in 2014. so the history TSR Original D&D 1974, Advanced D&D edition 1977-1980, 2nd edition 1989-1994, 2nd edition revised 1995, 3rd edition (Hasbro) 2000, 3.5 edition (Hasbro) 2003, 4th edition 2008, 5th edition 2014.
My point is its been 5 years now and by the history of Hasbro the 6th edition replacing the 5th edition should be coming out soon. I am still looking in to what happens when you buy the hardcopy do you also have to buy the ebook to use this site? 50 bucks for each of the hard covers and 29.99 for a pdf each that you can't use with out a electronic device and well become obsolete in a matter of a year or two when the 6th edition comes out.
I was depressed just looking at stacks of 1st and 2nd edition hardcovers and the modules I have finding out all this now 30 bucks for nothing but a PDF file book? 454.15 for PDF's bundle...….. I think Ill just stick to my first editions given I find anyone willing to play if their beginners then they well not care. and if they have pdf's their screwed as it's a deck top game no computers allowed it's a gathering of players to play not what for some one to look in the PC for their books. LOL I can imagine playing online and having to wait as the DM has to click out to go read his PDF files.
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And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
Looking at the history is pretty interesting, but as you explained, there were some quite succinct reasons for those editions occurring when they did.
The current edition of Dungeons & Dragons is going strong - it's sold significantly more than any previous edition and Wizards of the Coast D&D designers have made various statements when asked about 6th edition (paraphrased):
They have a forward plan for the current edition that extends several years into the future (5+ if I recall correctly).
Having learned from previous editions, they are releasing content slower now and making sure it is much higher quality.
If/when 6th edition becomes necessary, it will only be because the D&D community want it to be and will be "backwards compatible" with che current (5th) edition books.
Personally, I don't believe that we will see anything of 6th edition for at least another 5 years and even then, it will likely have a significant playtest period and will probably be more akin to 5.5 rather than 6.
As for buying books - there is currently no way to purchase a physical book and digital book as a bundle (or purchase the physical book and then gain access to the digital book for free). Content on D&D Beyond is a lot more than just an ebook/pdf though. The character builder and basic rules are free, so play around with the site and you'll hopefully see the advantages! :)
It should also be noted that it's not possible to purchase PDFs of the 5th edition product, outside of what is sold on DMsGuild - that's pretty much 3rd party content, some of which is very cool and well produced though.
As for your 1st edition & 2nd edition books - there's nothing making those unusable if you and some friends want to play a 1e or 2e game. Personally I sold all of mine (some of them are collectors items now) and used the money to purchase current edition books.
Using mobile devices at the gaming table, as part of the game, has become a lot more common now. Personally I still prefer to have the paper character sheet infront of me, but there's a really handy export function on D&D Beyond that handles that for me.
Most of all - good luck to you in finding a D&D game that you enjoy - that's the important thing!
I know the feeling of chucking $$$ at rulebooks at then have those been obsolete some time later.
I'm a 40k player as well as a D&D player/DM
Each time a new 40k edition would be out, you had to purhcase the nex rulebook, cause while somethings where pretty mych unchanged, some where completly changed.
Then you had army books for your army, usually with rules changes, points changes, new units added, old units taken out, and thats for ALL the armies of the gmae, if you play only one army, its not a big deal, but if you're someone who has several different armies( Eldars+Tyranids+SM+Imperial guards), the need for books and the cost is multiplied...
And thats not even factoring the models costs, paint, glue, and other hobby accessories like range rulers, templates and dices...
40k is in its 8th Edition, wich is completly different in a large portion of its rule set, so previous books are completly obsolete, Oh and there's also campaigns and Warzones specific books, supplements fpr various types of missions; Urban fights, Savage worlds fights,etc...
Factor in that i've been playing 40k since 97 nearly non stop for the past 5 editions and kept buying models and paint for the last 22 years...
So believe me when i say that i know the feel!
BUT D&D isn't neccesary the same, while with 40k you cannot use past content in current content( there's very little houserule, outside fiendly games, and even then i've hardly seen any myself), D&D works pretty well with past content and houserulling.
You can have past edition books and still draw source and material from it with a little bit of conversion work, a lot of people use D&D5 rules/characters classes with 2Ed and 3rd Ed adventure modules for example, making the changes for parts that are neccesary to change.
The place at D&D is right now, i don't think like Stormknight said that the changes would be so drastic, that we'll need to learn a whole different game, at least not to the point where everything will be obsolete, once again for the few things that would change in the core rules, there might be no difference for the rest of the rules or mecanics.
Now the Hardbook Vs Digital connundrum, while i do also appreciate the physical presence and weight/touch of a paper book, i personnaly think that we need to move on from it.
Now it might sound cheesy but, not having a paperback book, means more eco friendly, also less productions costs.
Now since there's less production costs you might think "then it should be cheaper", yes, but do take in mind that for what the content in itself is cheaper, you pay for the "digital" interactions, meaning the integration of rules in the virtual tool, where you can hover the mouse over the name of a spell or class feature and see a tooltip with the rules for it, with no need to search for it.
For that DnD Beyond and also other 3rd party virtual characters creators since last edition, are amazing, and greatly simplifies the life of people, specially for the new players, where the prospect of creating a character the old way would have seem daunting at first.
Now yes a book+digital content bundle would be heaven on earth, but in the end there's little advantage of paper over digital, at least imo.
-You can acces your digital content from anywhere, on any device, no need to lug around 5 books, or searching for that one supplement, that you've misplaced or forgot where you've last seen.
-The way buying digital content works, lets you pick what parts of a digital book you're most interested in,if you like a subclass from Xanathar's Guide to everything, but isn't interested in the rest of the book, you can buy ONLY that subclass/spells/items for a very small fee( most of them are under 1$), and if you decide to buy the book later, you get a discount for the options you allready own.
-You can still export and print your character sheet, handouts etc, like you want.
Honestly outside of nostlagia, of if you live in an area that has real crappy internet/Data coverage(wich is still unfortunatly a reality for lots of people), there more advantages for digital content and books, then the other way around..., well outside the obvious "If there's a Power outing in my area, at least i can read the book with a torchlight/candle" scenario...
Like said, use the free content for a while to see how you feel about it, play around with it, and see for yourself.
Oh also DnD Beyond supports Homebrew content, you can create a lot of things yourself, and also the most important feature for me i think is the ability to Share your content with your players of you are the DM and created a campaign for them to join, meaning that though you've bought digital books, they don't have to, you can decide to share what you have them and grant them acces to your content for them to use, wich is one of the greatest thing ever!!!!
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"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
No need to toss your old 1st ed stuff. I have stacks of it still around, and it's all still useful. The stat blocks for monsters, trap damage, etc will need to change. But even that isn't a complete crap shoot. Hit Dice are still a concept, and more or less the same, which is to me the important part about planning encounters.
You'll want to get armor class and attack rolls down in 5e--that's the biggest stumbling block you'll face. Once you understand what a 'good' AC is compared to what they used to be, and once you switch around to rolling and adding for skill/ability checks rather than rolling under your stat, and you get comfortable with those, you'll be able to actually use all those old 1st Ed modules if you wanted to.
But you can do it on the fly once you know the system well enough. A 10HD monster with a -2AC from 1st ed will convert to something like a 12HD monster with a 21AC and a +7 to it's attack roll. And once you convert the monsters and trap damage and such, the old modules can still be used verbatim after that :)
I don't know which area you live in, but the editions that people still regularly play are
2e, 3.5e (mostly because of Pathfinder) and 5e.
If you live in a city there is a 100% change there is a lively 2nd edition community somewhere calculating THACO and such. Also if you just want to go light in, just pick up the PHB. There is no 6e on the horizon and most likely wont for a while. 5th is still selling really well and will probably have a similar lifespan to 2nd (a decade or more).
You can also check out some online games via roll20 or fantasy grounds, using a VTT (virtual table top) and voice chat. Or Adventure League at a local store / cafe / bar / hobby shop using standard rules.
the share amount of content I have out does all the e5 I have: player hand book, dungeon master, Monster manual. monster manual 2, fiend folio, deities and demigods, manual of the plains, oriental adventures, dungeoneer's survival guide, wilderness survival guide, unearthed arcana, grayhark adventures, dragonlance adventures, dragonlance atlas, forgotten realms cyclopedia and DM"S sourcebook, book of lair's, book of lairs 2, 2nd players hand book. 2nd Dungeon masters guide, 2nd dungeon master's guide the castle guide. I have a great deal of content the point is even if the e5 is selling if they come out with e6 you'll no longer be allowed excess to any of it with out paying example Drow elves I have the unearthed arcana tome and it has a full part of Drow player character states but I cant play a drow here if I do not buy the e5 content I spent the night making up a sub-race from scratch Dúr egla (dark forsaken) pecks I get to do what ever to the race not perfect yet but I am working on it. can you tell I am Horde? Now to edit my rouge thief assassin from my first attempt at making a drow sub-race to my new dark forsaken drow elven race.
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And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
I don't know which area you live in, but the editions that people still regularly play are
2e, 3.5e (mostly because of Pathfinder), 4e, and 5e.
Fixed that for you. Just a healthy reminder that there is still a respectable fanbase for all of the various editions of D&D and the versions that are designed to work best on a virtual table-top environment are doing just fine in this digital age.
That said, new editions are just opportunities to introduce more players into the fanbase who maybe were not interested or even around to get interested in the first place. WotC has actually done a pretty good job with 5e advertisement, especially with the rise of streamed "celebrity" gaming.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I agree, but I if you are just randomly walking in the gamestore, those are the editions I constantly see advertised for drop in etc... meaning you don't have to look far to find a 2e or 3.5e game in person. Online obviously you can find any edition without a problem.
As for the OP. The reason why a lot of people like 5e so much is that it feels like the proper successor to 2e. That being said, if you don't want to play it, take a look at meetups or check out local gaming stores in you area. I'm sure you'll find some 2e games that you could join. Better yet, you could host one on roll20 and post either in roll20 or here that you're looking for players to join a D&D 2e game.
I agree, but I if you are just randomly walking in the gamestore, those are the editions I constantly see advertised for drop in etc... meaning you don't have to look far to find a 2e or 3.5e game in person. Online obviously you can find any edition without a problem.
I haven't seen an advertised 2e game at any of the ten or so stores in my area in almost over 15 years. I know they exist as private home games, but nobody by me is expecting some new kid to wander in fresh from watching TAZ or Critical Role and wanting to sit down and try to digest 2e D&D. We do still have occasional 3e and 4e tables though. I mostly just attribute it to a difference in area. I assume that in some game stores somewhere older edition games are being played, but 5e has really brought a lot of the community together under one banner.
even if the e5 is selling if they come out with e6 you'll no longer be allowed excess to any of it with out paying example Drow elves I have the unearthed arcana tome and it has a full part of Drow player character states but I cant play a drow here if I do not buy the e5 content
I mean yeah, but keep in mind that most playing of the game is still done offline, away from D&DB :) If you buy the 5e PHB, you will have Drow, you can convert anything from 1e/2e that you want, and play to your heart's content offline. Not being able to put your character online here isn't too big of a deal, imo.
I'm with you--I had the 3e basic books, one 4e book, and a stack literally (and I mean literally literally) as tall as I am of 1e and 2e material. All the hardcovers, plus pretty much every boxed set that came out (I used to know a guy who worked at TSR, got a bunch of scratched and returned stuff for cheeeeap). But aside from being able to use some of that here, all of it can be quickly converted to be usable in 5e.
And, if you want to make a Drow here, just homebrew up your own Drow race, and create your character using that. With a little work on the front end, you save money and can have a drow character here.
I would try gaming cafe/bars. They have a less vested interest in what you are playing since they are monetizing your food purchases and not your book purchases.
Spending 2 minutes I found multiple 2e games in my area. Granted they were mostly Dark Sun and Spelljammer... but still. Whereabouts do you live if you dont' mind me asking.
I am 35 west of Chicago. I appreciate you looking up groups and responding to my thread but I have no interest in Dark Sun nor Spelljammer. Sitting around a café or bar playing is not the atmosphere I am seeking. I guess I am just old and remember sitting in a circle with friends drinking beer and playing with a Handbook paper pencil and a set of easy roller dice. having delusion of grandeur of some day being the DM hence buying all the hardcover content. Not really sure if I want to play the Hasbro version of D&D yet. I am entertaining my self by making homebrew sub-races and sub-classes. Not knowing any of the e5 rules and having no way to learn the rules with out spending money I can just make my own as long as I do not click the share button I can do what ever I want with the created content and homebrew can't tell me I can or cant anything. I might not get to play my sub-race Dúr egla sub-class sub-race. Dúr egla assassin but it's a learning thing right now and who knows Xynn Vyrth could be a NPC in a campaign for evil alignment characters. "For the Horde!" I really miss killing every thing I ran across. =/ I am still fudging my way through. Need to dig out my Fire giant fighter again and make yet another sub-race character! Oh him and Xynn running a black op to assassinate key people for profit good times =P anyways having fun digging in to my books again and homebrew throws rules out the window "hooo raaa chaos anarchy and mayhem; kill them all and search the bodies!"
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And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
I of some day being the DM hence buying all the hardcover content. Not really sure if I want to play the Hasbro version of D&D yet. I am entertaining my self by making homebrew sub-races and sub-classe. Not knowing any of the e5 rules and having no way to learn the rules with out spending money
The Basic Rules for 5e are available here and on the Wizards of the Coast site for free. You don’t have to spend money to learn the rules or to play the game, although race and class options are limited in the free version. That said, it is also fine if you decide 5e isn’t for you.
Knowing the simple races and classes is not what I was referring to it is the data of other races where I have to buy to lease for the shortest of time the latest 5th edition states for sub-races and classes, even the homebrew content is leased you have to pay subscription to keep excess to the made content which is understandable. you have to buy server time for WOW it is kind of the same thing. Hasbro needs to make money and has a large economic reason to continue to tweak and remarket the game. Given most all the content is ebook format the game is a cash cow of profit. Like it has be stated before and it still applies the books and data are guide lines not absolute rules and can be altered in anyway the DM wants it's their campaign as it stand theirs 6 versions of the rules now with players creativity like home brew a DM can make sub-races and sub-classes and run their campaign with those as I am doing now making a sub-race/sub-class character I can have a chaotic evil female dark elf assassin thief with purple skin hair and eyes who still practices the darkest of magical arts for their demon goddess Lilith. She might be a bit of a powerplay toon as we called them but it was fun to play a fire giant fights welding two two handed swords one a soil reaper. the object is to have fun and not get bogged down with what people say you can and can't do that. you just kick these people out of the campaign. Hasbro has put out 4 editions sense buying D&D they get it make stuff up and remarket it as new edition rules. with home brew making all kinds of content Hasbro well be wanting to put out another edition handbook and DM guide, monster manual, and like the last 6 editions players and DM's well buy that new edition. Hasbro well profit with the ebooks so much it's mind boggling. anyways back to my sub-class resource.
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And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
Knowing the simple races and classes is not what I was referring to it is the data of other races where I have to buy to lease for the shortest of time the latest 5th edition states for sub-races and classes, even the homebrew content is leased you have to pay subscription to keep excess to the made content which is understandable. you have to buy server time for WOW it is kind of the same thing. Hasbro needs to make money and has a large economic reason to continue to tweak and remarket the game. Given most all the content is ebook format the game is a cash cow of profit. Like it has be stated before and it still applies the books and data are guide lines not absolute rules and can be altered in anyway the DM wants it's their campaign as it stand theirs 6 versions of the rules now with players creativity like home brew a DM can make sub-races and sub-classes and run their campaign with those as I am doing now making a sub-race/sub-class character I can have a chaotic evil female dark elf assassin thief with purple skin hair and eyes who still practices the darkest of magical arts for their demon goddess Lilith. She might be a bit of a powerplay toon as we called them but it was fun to play a fire giant fights welding two two handed swords one a soil reaper. the object is to have fun and not get bogged down with what people say you can and can't do that. you just kick these people out of the campaign. Hasbro has put out 4 editions sense buying D&D they get it make stuff up and remarket it as new edition rules. with home brew making all kinds of content Hasbro well be wanting to put out another edition handbook and DM guide, monster manual, and like the last 6 editions players and DM's well buy that new edition. Hasbro well profit with the ebooks so much it's mind boggling. anyways back to my sub-class resource.
I mean...you do get that you can buy the 5e Player's Handbook in physical format, get all the rules and the major races and classes, and play to your heart's content, and have nothing to do with this website, right?
This website is also not Hasbro, it's a separate company providing these services. You can still buy hard copies and break out the paper and pencil and play at home, far away from your computer.
Beta Phase 1: Compendium, Listings, and Forums has now opened!
We are excited to announce development of D&D Beyond, an official digital toolset for use with the Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition rules. We have partnered with Curse to take D&D players beyond pen and paper, providing a rules compendium, character builder, digital character sheets, and more—all populated with official D&D content. D&D Beyond aims to make game management easier for both players and Dungeon Masters by providing high-quality tools available on any device, empowering beginners and veterans alike!
"D&D Beyond speaks to the way gamers are able to blend digital tools with the fun of storytelling around the table with your friends,” said Nathan Stewart, Senior Director of Dungeons & Dragons. "These tools represent a way forward for D&D, and we’re excited to get them into the hands of players soon!"
Visit dndbeyond.com to sign up for the beta now. The D&D Beyond beta will have three major phases to focus testing on specific features on the road to launch. During the beta, all basic rules content is available for use."
huh...…..
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And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
Beta Phase 1: Compendium, Listings, and Forums has now opened!
We are excited to announce development of D&D Beyond, an official digital toolset for use with the Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition rules. We have partnered with Curse to take D&D players beyond pen and paper, providing a rules compendium, character builder, digital character sheets, and more—all populated with official D&D content. D&D Beyond aims to make game management easier for both players and Dungeon Masters by providing high-quality tools available on any device, empowering beginners and veterans alike!
"D&D Beyond speaks to the way gamers are able to blend digital tools with the fun of storytelling around the table with your friends,” said Nathan Stewart, Senior Director of Dungeons & Dragons. "These tools represent a way forward for D&D, and we’re excited to get them into the hands of players soon!"
Visit dndbeyond.com to sign up for the beta now. The D&D Beyond beta will have three major phases to focus testing on specific features on the road to launch. During the beta, all basic rules content is available for use."
huh...…..
Not sure what you're 'huh' ing about. D&DB is a separate company, 'partnering' to bring us digital versions of the game with online functionality. Not the same thing as Hasbro running the show.
FWIW, PHB is on Amazon for $30 right this very second.
it has been decades since I last found D&D like minded players. The last game I played was in the early 80's. Lately I found more content and then found this site. I dug out my books and started checking out stuff here seeing 5th edition as the rule. I take it my copies starting at 6th printing January 1980 are obsolete with current gaming. Looking in the store and seeing bundle e-books at $454 and looking at a stack of 1st & 2nd edition hard copies modules and other related content. just thinking on how much money is sitting there and finding out it's all useless now to play in a 5th edition community. anyway I am not sure I would be able to play with out yet again investing in books. looking in to hard copies at $50 each and not having yet found local players I am still researching this site. it appears to be a completely different game now.
And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
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D&D Beyond FoundersHave a read through the Basic Rules - they contain everything you need to be able to play D&D and they are legitimately 100% free.
You're also able to have up to 6 characters on D&D Beyond totally free.
There are optional rules, more races, subclasses etc in the other sourcebooks.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
Huh doing research I found out a great deal the failing TSR Gary Gygax era was bought by Wizards of the Coast April 10, 1997. Wizards of the coast had a strong economic incentive for publishing a new edition so the 3rd edition was printed and released in 2000 but Wizards of the coast had been bought by Hasbro in the summer of 1998. In 2003 Wizards (AKA Hasbro) released version 3.5 of Dungeons & Dragons. Hasbro then released edition 4 in 2008 then released edition 5 in 2014. so the history TSR Original D&D 1974, Advanced D&D edition 1977-1980, 2nd edition 1989-1994, 2nd edition revised 1995, 3rd edition (Hasbro) 2000, 3.5 edition (Hasbro) 2003, 4th edition 2008, 5th edition 2014.
My point is its been 5 years now and by the history of Hasbro the 6th edition replacing the 5th edition should be coming out soon. I am still looking in to what happens when you buy the hardcopy do you also have to buy the ebook to use this site? 50 bucks for each of the hard covers and 29.99 for a pdf each that you can't use with out a electronic device and well become obsolete in a matter of a year or two when the 6th edition comes out.
I was depressed just looking at stacks of 1st and 2nd edition hardcovers and the modules I have finding out all this now 30 bucks for nothing but a PDF file book? 454.15 for PDF's bundle...….. I think Ill just stick to my first editions given I find anyone willing to play if their beginners then they well not care. and if they have pdf's their screwed as it's a deck top game no computers allowed it's a gathering of players to play not what for some one to look in the PC for their books. LOL I can imagine playing online and having to wait as the DM has to click out to go read his PDF files.
And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
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D&D Beyond FoundersLooking at the history is pretty interesting, but as you explained, there were some quite succinct reasons for those editions occurring when they did.
The current edition of Dungeons & Dragons is going strong - it's sold significantly more than any previous edition and Wizards of the Coast D&D designers have made various statements when asked about 6th edition (paraphrased):
Personally, I don't believe that we will see anything of 6th edition for at least another 5 years and even then, it will likely have a significant playtest period and will probably be more akin to 5.5 rather than 6.
As for buying books - there is currently no way to purchase a physical book and digital book as a bundle (or purchase the physical book and then gain access to the digital book for free). Content on D&D Beyond is a lot more than just an ebook/pdf though. The character builder and basic rules are free, so play around with the site and you'll hopefully see the advantages! :)
It should also be noted that it's not possible to purchase PDFs of the 5th edition product, outside of what is sold on DMsGuild - that's pretty much 3rd party content, some of which is very cool and well produced though.
As for your 1st edition & 2nd edition books - there's nothing making those unusable if you and some friends want to play a 1e or 2e game. Personally I sold all of mine (some of them are collectors items now) and used the money to purchase current edition books.
Using mobile devices at the gaming table, as part of the game, has become a lot more common now. Personally I still prefer to have the paper character sheet infront of me, but there's a really handy export function on D&D Beyond that handles that for me.
Most of all - good luck to you in finding a D&D game that you enjoy - that's the important thing!
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
I know the feeling of chucking $$$ at rulebooks at then have those been obsolete some time later.
I'm a 40k player as well as a D&D player/DM
Each time a new 40k edition would be out, you had to purhcase the nex rulebook, cause while somethings where pretty mych unchanged, some where completly changed.
Then you had army books for your army, usually with rules changes, points changes, new units added, old units taken out, and thats for ALL the armies of the gmae, if you play only one army, its not a big deal, but if you're someone who has several different armies( Eldars+Tyranids+SM+Imperial guards), the need for books and the cost is multiplied...
And thats not even factoring the models costs, paint, glue, and other hobby accessories like range rulers, templates and dices...
40k is in its 8th Edition, wich is completly different in a large portion of its rule set, so previous books are completly obsolete, Oh and there's also campaigns and Warzones specific books, supplements fpr various types of missions; Urban fights, Savage worlds fights,etc...
Factor in that i've been playing 40k since 97 nearly non stop for the past 5 editions and kept buying models and paint for the last 22 years...
So believe me when i say that i know the feel!
BUT D&D isn't neccesary the same, while with 40k you cannot use past content in current content( there's very little houserule, outside fiendly games, and even then i've hardly seen any myself), D&D works pretty well with past content and houserulling.
You can have past edition books and still draw source and material from it with a little bit of conversion work, a lot of people use D&D5 rules/characters classes with 2Ed and 3rd Ed adventure modules for example, making the changes for parts that are neccesary to change.
The place at D&D is right now, i don't think like Stormknight said that the changes would be so drastic, that we'll need to learn a whole different game, at least not to the point where everything will be obsolete, once again for the few things that would change in the core rules, there might be no difference for the rest of the rules or mecanics.
Now the Hardbook Vs Digital connundrum, while i do also appreciate the physical presence and weight/touch of a paper book, i personnaly think that we need to move on from it.
Now it might sound cheesy but, not having a paperback book, means more eco friendly, also less productions costs.
Now since there's less production costs you might think "then it should be cheaper", yes, but do take in mind that for what the content in itself is cheaper, you pay for the "digital" interactions, meaning the integration of rules in the virtual tool, where you can hover the mouse over the name of a spell or class feature and see a tooltip with the rules for it, with no need to search for it.
For that DnD Beyond and also other 3rd party virtual characters creators since last edition, are amazing, and greatly simplifies the life of people, specially for the new players, where the prospect of creating a character the old way would have seem daunting at first.
Now yes a book+digital content bundle would be heaven on earth, but in the end there's little advantage of paper over digital, at least imo.
-You can acces your digital content from anywhere, on any device, no need to lug around 5 books, or searching for that one supplement, that you've misplaced or forgot where you've last seen.
-The way buying digital content works, lets you pick what parts of a digital book you're most interested in,if you like a subclass from Xanathar's Guide to everything, but isn't interested in the rest of the book, you can buy ONLY that subclass/spells/items for a very small fee( most of them are under 1$), and if you decide to buy the book later, you get a discount for the options you allready own.
-You can still export and print your character sheet, handouts etc, like you want.
Honestly outside of nostlagia, of if you live in an area that has real crappy internet/Data coverage(wich is still unfortunatly a reality for lots of people), there more advantages for digital content and books, then the other way around..., well outside the obvious "If there's a Power outing in my area, at least i can read the book with a torchlight/candle" scenario...
Like said, use the free content for a while to see how you feel about it, play around with it, and see for yourself.
Oh also DnD Beyond supports Homebrew content, you can create a lot of things yourself, and also the most important feature for me i think is the ability to Share your content with your players of you are the DM and created a campaign for them to join, meaning that though you've bought digital books, they don't have to, you can decide to share what you have them and grant them acces to your content for them to use, wich is one of the greatest thing ever!!!!
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
No need to toss your old 1st ed stuff. I have stacks of it still around, and it's all still useful. The stat blocks for monsters, trap damage, etc will need to change. But even that isn't a complete crap shoot. Hit Dice are still a concept, and more or less the same, which is to me the important part about planning encounters.
You'll want to get armor class and attack rolls down in 5e--that's the biggest stumbling block you'll face. Once you understand what a 'good' AC is compared to what they used to be, and once you switch around to rolling and adding for skill/ability checks rather than rolling under your stat, and you get comfortable with those, you'll be able to actually use all those old 1st Ed modules if you wanted to.
Converting on the fly isn't all that hard, but WOTC put out a document to help too: https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/DnD_Conversions_1.0.pdf
And if you wanted to lay down a couple bucks for an example, people have converted old 1st ed modules to 5e: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?filters=0_0_45538_0_0_45462_0_0
But you can do it on the fly once you know the system well enough. A 10HD monster with a -2AC from 1st ed will convert to something like a 12HD monster with a 21AC and a +7 to it's attack roll. And once you convert the monsters and trap damage and such, the old modules can still be used verbatim after that :)
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I don't know which area you live in, but the editions that people still regularly play are
2e, 3.5e (mostly because of Pathfinder) and 5e.
If you live in a city there is a 100% change there is a lively 2nd edition community somewhere calculating THACO and such. Also if you just want to go light in, just pick up the PHB. There is no 6e on the horizon and most likely wont for a while. 5th is still selling really well and will probably have a similar lifespan to 2nd (a decade or more).
You can also check out some online games via roll20 or fantasy grounds, using a VTT (virtual table top) and voice chat. Or Adventure League at a local store / cafe / bar / hobby shop using standard rules.
the share amount of content I have out does all the e5 I have: player hand book, dungeon master, Monster manual. monster manual 2, fiend folio, deities and demigods, manual of the plains, oriental adventures, dungeoneer's survival guide, wilderness survival guide, unearthed arcana, grayhark adventures, dragonlance adventures, dragonlance atlas, forgotten realms cyclopedia and DM"S sourcebook, book of lair's, book of lairs 2, 2nd players hand book. 2nd Dungeon masters guide, 2nd dungeon master's guide the castle guide. I have a great deal of content the point is even if the e5 is selling if they come out with e6 you'll no longer be allowed excess to any of it with out paying example Drow elves I have the unearthed arcana tome and it has a full part of Drow player character states but I cant play a drow here if I do not buy the e5 content I spent the night making up a sub-race from scratch Dúr egla (dark forsaken) pecks I get to do what ever to the race not perfect yet but I am working on it. can you tell I am Horde? Now to edit my rouge thief assassin from my first attempt at making a drow sub-race to my new dark forsaken drow elven race.
And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
Fixed that for you. Just a healthy reminder that there is still a respectable fanbase for all of the various editions of D&D and the versions that are designed to work best on a virtual table-top environment are doing just fine in this digital age.
That said, new editions are just opportunities to introduce more players into the fanbase who maybe were not interested or even around to get interested in the first place. WotC has actually done a pretty good job with 5e advertisement, especially with the rise of streamed "celebrity" gaming.
I agree, but I if you are just randomly walking in the gamestore, those are the editions I constantly see advertised for drop in etc... meaning you don't have to look far to find a 2e or 3.5e game in person. Online obviously you can find any edition without a problem.
As for the OP. The reason why a lot of people like 5e so much is that it feels like the proper successor to 2e. That being said, if you don't want to play it, take a look at meetups or check out local gaming stores in you area. I'm sure you'll find some 2e games that you could join. Better yet, you could host one on roll20 and post either in roll20 or here that you're looking for players to join a D&D 2e game.
I haven't seen an advertised 2e game at any of the ten or so stores in my area in almost over 15 years. I know they exist as private home games, but nobody by me is expecting some new kid to wander in fresh from watching TAZ or Critical Role and wanting to sit down and try to digest 2e D&D. We do still have occasional 3e and 4e tables though. I mostly just attribute it to a difference in area. I assume that in some game stores somewhere older edition games are being played, but 5e has really brought a lot of the community together under one banner.
I mean yeah, but keep in mind that most playing of the game is still done offline, away from D&DB :) If you buy the 5e PHB, you will have Drow, you can convert anything from 1e/2e that you want, and play to your heart's content offline. Not being able to put your character online here isn't too big of a deal, imo.
I'm with you--I had the 3e basic books, one 4e book, and a stack literally (and I mean literally literally) as tall as I am of 1e and 2e material. All the hardcovers, plus pretty much every boxed set that came out (I used to know a guy who worked at TSR, got a bunch of scratched and returned stuff for cheeeeap). But aside from being able to use some of that here, all of it can be quickly converted to be usable in 5e.
And, if you want to make a Drow here, just homebrew up your own Drow race, and create your character using that. With a little work on the front end, you save money and can have a drow character here.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I would try gaming cafe/bars. They have a less vested interest in what you are playing since they are monetizing your food purchases and not your book purchases.
Spending 2 minutes I found multiple 2e games in my area. Granted they were mostly Dark Sun and Spelljammer... but still. Whereabouts do you live if you dont' mind me asking.
I am 35 west of Chicago. I appreciate you looking up groups and responding to my thread but I have no interest in Dark Sun nor Spelljammer. Sitting around a café or bar playing is not the atmosphere I am seeking. I guess I am just old and remember sitting in a circle with friends drinking beer and playing with a Handbook paper pencil and a set of easy roller dice. having delusion of grandeur of some day being the DM hence buying all the hardcover content. Not really sure if I want to play the Hasbro version of D&D yet. I am entertaining my self by making homebrew sub-races and sub-classes. Not knowing any of the e5 rules and having no way to learn the rules with out spending money I can just make my own as long as I do not click the share button I can do what ever I want with the created content and homebrew can't tell me I can or cant anything. I might not get to play my sub-race Dúr egla sub-class sub-race. Dúr egla assassin but it's a learning thing right now and who knows Xynn Vyrth could be a NPC in a campaign for evil alignment characters. "For the Horde!" I really miss killing every thing I ran across. =/ I am still fudging my way through. Need to dig out my Fire giant fighter again and make yet another sub-race character! Oh him and Xynn running a black op to assassinate key people for profit good times =P anyways having fun digging in to my books again and homebrew throws rules out the window "hooo raaa chaos anarchy and mayhem; kill them all and search the bodies!"
And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
The Basic Rules for 5e are available here and on the Wizards of the Coast site for free. You don’t have to spend money to learn the rules or to play the game, although race and class options are limited in the free version. That said, it is also fine if you decide 5e isn’t for you.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Knowing the simple races and classes is not what I was referring to it is the data of other races where I have to buy to lease for the shortest of time the latest 5th edition states for sub-races and classes, even the homebrew content is leased you have to pay subscription to keep excess to the made content which is understandable. you have to buy server time for WOW it is kind of the same thing. Hasbro needs to make money and has a large economic reason to continue to tweak and remarket the game. Given most all the content is ebook format the game is a cash cow of profit. Like it has be stated before and it still applies the books and data are guide lines not absolute rules and can be altered in anyway the DM wants it's their campaign as it stand theirs 6 versions of the rules now with players creativity like home brew a DM can make sub-races and sub-classes and run their campaign with those as I am doing now making a sub-race/sub-class character I can have a chaotic evil female dark elf assassin thief with purple skin hair and eyes who still practices the darkest of magical arts for their demon goddess Lilith. She might be a bit of a powerplay toon as we called them but it was fun to play a fire giant fights welding two two handed swords one a soil reaper. the object is to have fun and not get bogged down with what people say you can and can't do that. you just kick these people out of the campaign. Hasbro has put out 4 editions sense buying D&D they get it make stuff up and remarket it as new edition rules. with home brew making all kinds of content Hasbro well be wanting to put out another edition handbook and DM guide, monster manual, and like the last 6 editions players and DM's well buy that new edition. Hasbro well profit with the ebooks so much it's mind boggling. anyways back to my sub-class resource.
And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
I mean...you do get that you can buy the 5e Player's Handbook in physical format, get all the rules and the major races and classes, and play to your heart's content, and have nothing to do with this website, right?
This website is also not Hasbro, it's a separate company providing these services. You can still buy hard copies and break out the paper and pencil and play at home, far away from your computer.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I already posted that you can get a hard cover book for 49.99 dollars. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/dndbeyond "3/12/2017
Beta Phase 1: Compendium, Listings, and Forums has now opened!
We are excited to announce development of D&D Beyond, an official digital toolset for use with the Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition rules. We have partnered with Curse to take D&D players beyond pen and paper, providing a rules compendium, character builder, digital character sheets, and more—all populated with official D&D content. D&D Beyond aims to make game management easier for both players and Dungeon Masters by providing high-quality tools available on any device, empowering beginners and veterans alike!
"D&D Beyond speaks to the way gamers are able to blend digital tools with the fun of storytelling around the table with your friends,” said Nathan Stewart, Senior Director of Dungeons & Dragons. "These tools represent a way forward for D&D, and we’re excited to get them into the hands of players soon!"
Visit dndbeyond.com to sign up for the beta now. The D&D Beyond beta will have three major phases to focus testing on specific features on the road to launch. During the beta, all basic rules content is available for use."
huh...…..
And here I thought I was on my best behavior. BUT NO I got scolded and threatened with corner time. I guess we are not allowed to express our feelings or opinions on anything here. All hugs and kisses every body's special every one gets a ribbon that says 'Your a winner" Not here more then a week and I got naughty points twice. How many points do I get?
Not sure what you're 'huh' ing about. D&DB is a separate company, 'partnering' to bring us digital versions of the game with online functionality. Not the same thing as Hasbro running the show.
FWIW, PHB is on Amazon for $30 right this very second.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)