Beyond Old School/New School

With no disrespect intended toward anyone, I’m about as tired of discussion about what “Old School” means and debating the fine points of “Old School” versus “New School” and “Edition Wars” as I am with any conversation (or flame war) about G/N/S Theory. This will, hopefully, be my last word on the topic.

My view of things breaks down a bit differently than conventional Old/New theory. It’s still a matter of styles of playing D&D and D&D-like games, either variants or retro-clones. It does not encompass games that are not somehow D&D-derived. My breakdown falls into three categories, not two. These are significant enough as to be considered three separate games, even though each is identified as (or with) the name Dungeons & Dragons.

TSR-era D&D
This includes OD&D, AD&D, Basic editions and the Rules Cyclopedia, and any clones or material that expands upon or seeks to capture that style of game play. While many would disagree with me, I do see all of the games under this large umbrella as sharing a style of game play; the differences are largely one of how well each edition supports that style of play.

To me, TSR-era D&D is the dungeonmaster’s game. It relies heavily on the DM’s creativity and interpretation of the rules. Some say it’s more of a player’s game, more freeform and reliant on player creativity as their are no skills or feats, but ulimately it is the DM who decides what is and isn’t appropriate or allowable at his or her table.

3rd Edition D&D
This category includes D20 games that adhere to the rules as written, but not significant variants such as True20 and Mutants & Masterminds, which I consider to be so different as to be separate, albeit derivative, games. While it can be played in a similar fashion to TSR-era D&D, that’s not how it’s designed to play out of the metaphorical box.

There is, decidedly, a distinct style of play here revolving around the wide variety of character customization. For that reason, 3rd edition is the player’s game. It put a lot of control and decisions in the player hands, as skills and feats bound the dungeon master to a methodology rather than winging the rules.

4th Edition D&D
Very much its own animal, 4e is very dependant upon the use of miniatures. While it has fewer skills and has a larger emphasis on combat than 3rd edition, and can be played in a style akin to TSR-era D&D, that is not how it is written to be played.

My conclusion is the 4th edition is Wizard of the Coast’s game. It was designed not for dungeon masters or players, but for them. Start with the removal of the Open Gaming License, and the terms of the Game System Licence that replaced it, which placed control of material produced for the game firmly back into their hands. Continue with the previously mentioned need for miniatures, which creates a revenue stream for them with official miniatures and dungeon tiles. Yes, there are other manufacturers of minis and tiles and those can be released generically without violation of the GSL, but the fact that those products are a key component of their 4e business model makes makes it very much a game geared toward their needs above all others.

What This Has to Do with Old School/New School
To me, this isn’t even a matter of edition wars. It’s not really about three (or more) versions of the same game. It’s arguing about the relative merits of three different games. It’s like debating which is better, poker, canasta, or Magic: The Gathering. After all, they’re all card games so they’re essentially the same thing, right? To me, it’s more like debating which game handles superheroes better, Mutants & Masterminds, HERO System, or Savage Worlds? All of them work, it comes down to a matter of personal preference.

My expectation is that people will be critical and disagree with many of the opinions expressed above, but in the end they really are only my opinions. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments below.