I've been through three separate editions of DnD, and have had a chance to peruse material from further back when Halflings were called hobbits and were what we'd refer to in 2nd or 3.X Edition terms as Fighter/Rogues, a time when your race defined what class you were, unless you were human. There are edition wars all over the internets, people that spew vehement arguments that 1st Edition is the only TRUE DnD, or that 4th Edition shits all over everything Gygax and Arneson ever wanted, or that it is true DnD, or that 2nd Edition was the best ruleset ever. I have an alternate opinion: YOU'RE ALL FUCKING WRONG. (Note: This is just my opinion and I could be just as wrong as you are, and likely am.)
They're all DnD. DnD is not a ruleset because the rules change. From Chainmail on into whatever 7th Edition will be, the rules have changed and they will continue to do so as different people come into whatever company runs DnD. In 6th Edition perhaps we'll be using d12s plus an average of our Mettle statistic to roll an attack roll. Who knows. I think people get confused that the rules are the game. They're not. Chainmail was a miniatures game, 2nd Edition was never particularly miniatures heavy to me, and now 4th Edition is extremely miniatures heavy. So much so that you'd think they might at least attempt to produce some decent looking minis for the damn game (they don't). Which is "truly" DnD?
Pro-tip: They all are.
DnD is not a ruleset, I think people get confused because some rulesets resemble others. In 3.X and 4th you make skill checks. In 2nd you had non-weapon proficiencies that were sort of a vague unformed precursor to feats and skills. In all editions you're rolling d20s to hit shit and d8s for longsword damage. From one edition to the next there are elements of the rules that are shared so people get confused and think the rules are the game. You think of the system you start with as DnD and when a new edition comes out you see the resemblance and feel like they've shit all over what you've come to think of as "your" DnD. Everything is new and different and all the stuff you thought of as written in stone was actually written on a paper product that was designed to make sales and when it stopped making sales or the contents of your many stone tablets became too complex and hard to manage and keep balanced as new ideas entered the system, they made new tablets.
Being a brilliant motherfucker, I will tell you what "is" the game.
Castle Greyhawk and all the head honchos of the Greyhawk setting being a rogues gallery of Gygax's old characters is the game. Elminster is the game. Elves being resistant to sleep effects is the game. Halflings being ripped off from hobbits and the lawsuits involved with those shenanigans is the game. Fighting mind flayers in the Underdark with a two-weapon wielding Drow is the game. Druids having no resemblance whatsoever to the religious sect of the same name is the game. The fact that you get the Futurama joke where Gygax rolls a d20 to determine his greeting is the game. Eric and the Dread Gazebo is the game. Being eaten by a gelatinous cube and your former party using a ten foot pole to yank your loot out of the jello is the game The game is the iconic stuff. The stuff that is a part of the shared history we all have. Its goofy color coded dragons and miniature giant space hamsters. Fuck the rules. Burn the rules down. I'll play DnD using GURPS or my dorky little card game I made up many posts ago.
That's my edition war rant, and the only point of it is that we're all still playing DnD guys. Cool off and roll some polyhedrons.
All that said, THAC0 was still fucking retarded.
Music: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
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