Admissions of a Third Edition Convert

 

 

I admit, I was less than thrilled when I heard that Wizards Of the Coast was going to be releasing a third edition Dungeons and Dragons.  Now part of this distaste had to do with the fact that I had finally gotten all caught up on the newer second edition books such as the Players Options and the various spell compendiums.  I had only recently gotten all of the new rules tested out and integrated into my campaign.  I was proud of where my campaign was at and how well the new rules had been added.  Suddenly I was faced with the impending doom that was a new set of rules, totally replacing the hundreds of dollars worth of books I already had!

 

At first I panicked!  I was in shock!  How was I ever going to be able to afford a new set of books?  I’d have to replace all of my well worn and thumbed through books with new ones!  It took me years to get everything together the first time and I was not ready to try it again. 

 

The panic and dismay subsided when I moved and no longer had a campaign running.  At this point I pretty much went into denial.  I just wasn’t going to buy the new books when they came out.  I really didn’t need them, and what the hell, I had enough second edition books to keep any new campaign going for generations.  I would just watch the new rules come and let them pass me by.  Sure it made me feel a little like a second edition elitist, but it felt better than horror and grief.

 

Then it happenned, all at about the same time; third edition came out and I had enough people interested in playing to start up a new campaign.  It came a little reluctantly, but the collector and gamer-aholic in me came out and I bought all three of the core rulebooks in a frenzy of freely flowing cash!  I was a little ashamed at my behavior, but having committed the crime I figured I probably should revel in my decadence and surrender to the new system completely, wallet and soul.

 

I got home locked myself in a room and started devouring the written words and the new artwork.  As the weekend ended I crawled out of my self-imposed cell, looked my wife in the eye and smiled.  I was a true convert to the third edition gods. 

 

The rules were just right for the style of play I enjoy most.  There was a pleasant blend of simplicity and complexity that catered to all of my gaming desires.  The rules were simple, non-cumbersome and flexible, while at the same time they offered enough detail to satisfy my need for answers and guidance.  I introduced my players to third edition and they also enjoyed it.  As the campaign has continued on we have learned more and more about how the system works and this has done nothing but enhance our enjoyment of the game.

 

Third edition has been out long enough now that there have been some supplements to the core rules that enhance the game without changing the basic rules the way that the old Players Options books tended to do.  I look forward to getting many years of use out of my new Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons books, and hopefully I’ll keep this experience in mind when the inevitable Fourth Edition comes out some time in the hopefully distant future.