So, Your D&D Edition is Changing 

Here's some homework for anyone looking for more. Warning! Read at your own risk! A Farewell to Hexes by Greg Costikyan www.costik.com/spisins.html Death to the Minotaur by John Tynes www.salon.com/2001/03/23/wizards/

I want to thank all the folks who, within 90 seconds of a 60min long video, were racing to the comments to shit on different editions, extoll their favorite edition as the only one that matters, and otherwise be humorless weirdos. :D I was worried the Edition War talk was going to seem esoteric and not relevant to modern players, but I didn't need to worry. I know my hobby. :D

"Hasbro wants to invest in the BRAND, not the game" well put. :)

This video is the DnD equivalent of "You are going through puberty here is what is going to happen with your body"

Because of your videos, I started a D&D club at my middle school last year. It has grown to the point where I need a bigger room. Thank you for motivating me.

As an anthropologist, I never get tired of hearing how this hobby and culture was shaped over time. Killer vid, Matt!

There are some Serious Important Things in this video but mostly I just love talking about the history of this hobby I love and I hope folks can see that. This video is mostly fun, it's not that serious. :D People should not interpret this as me being down on the hobby, in fact the opposite!

That last part about money...The whole reason I got into D&D in the 80s was because I was a teen that didn't have a lot of money and it was cheap when compared to movies all it took was a little money for dice and a couple of books up front and gas money to get to your friends house to play and you could play all day Saturday and Sunday before going back to school. As much as a VTT is probably inevitable, I like the Idea of getting together with people face to face drinking a few beers and socializing with flesh and blood people....it's one of the things that drew me to the game when I was an awkward outsider kid and it still appeals to me as an awkward outsider adult.

I just finished their first ever campaign. To be clear, this was a WEEKLY game where I was a first Time DM when I put it together, it was a homebrew world coz I knew NONE of the forgotten realms lore and was played from lvl 1-20. We started 7 YEARS AGO and it had always been on VTT because it was a mixture of rural, interstate and international players (Australia, New Zealand, Finland and USA). Basically, we made a pact that we would end the game in person and see it through to the end together. We spent two weeks together here in my hometown in Sydney Australia and completed the last sessions over three days and to say that having everyone who had become family to me in the same room finishing that journey together was one of the most memorable and fulfilling moments of my life would be an extremely large understatement to the value it had to me. The only reason this game could have succeeded was because of people like Matt Colville, Penny Arcade, Critical Role and Tabletop Champions who basically were all my mentors in how to truly understand the magic that could come from this game. I love VTTs because it makes it so easy to make snap decisions and just make things happen in a way you can't do in person unless everyone is in a homebase somewhere so you can just whip out what you need; but I truly hope that IRL gaming never truly becomes obsolete as this hobby grows. The energy and atmosphere is irreplaceable. Sure, we could have completed the game online and it would have been epic and fun and everything, but it wouldn't have had that same "moment in Time" feel to it, that having the custom minis and battlemaps and props and everything. I'm all for VTT expansion and integration, i just hope they never truly take away that in person experience from the next generation of TTRPG players. Then again, I'm sure people will always find a way to make it work....TV battlemap DMs already exists with roll20 app integration, who knows? EDIT: As soon as we finished our epilogues, the gang was like "so, wanna start rolling for new characters now?" 😂😂😂 The next campaign starts in the new year😊

We had a guy in our group, the oldest and had been playing since the 70s. He HATED video games, not just WoW. He also hated MTG and D&D was basically his only beloved game. He was such a great DM and made fun worlds and adventures. I am just glad our group didn't have the tabletop fallout from WoW and similar games over the years. I play video games regularly but am glad I rode out the campaigns. He passed away 2 years ago and I miss his games and the times we had. I am ever grateful to have spent those games with him while I could and hope everyone realizes they can have time for both if you manage your time. Keep making memories with your friends playing things you love.

"You don't know me, but I know you," sounds like a line you'd hear in an action-adventure movie. It's usually followed up with, "If you want to live, come with me."

I am proud of my gold star ⭐️ and grateful for this history lesson. I came into D&D only since the pandemic. I watched a little CR and while it was a piece of media I loved, it was overwhelming to imagine trying. The voices, the role playing, the long campaigns seemed insurmountable. Then I was introduced to Dimension 20, and especially Aabriya Iyengar. I understood how D&D could be applied to many settings (regency era, watership down, cyberspace, the brain as a city, etc.) and how I could make it my own. Her “rule of cool” gave me permission not to know or understand all the rules. I started DMing for three best friends and various guest friends running A Christmas Carol one shot we kickstartered, and now my own Agatha-Christie-inspired stuff. We can only meet once a month usually. We use Lego dudes as miniatures. We knit and snack and laugh at the table. I have no idea how many 5e rules I have forgotten let alone not even learned yet. In the end, a video like this is both a reminder and affirmation that the point is to have fun at the table with your friends, and not to moralize rules and editions as eternal expectations. 56:54

I used to love how, when there was an edition change, the novel writers would come up with some cool story lines to bring the mechanics out, I.E the Avatar Trilogy, etc so cool

The ironic thing about the new players hating the old players is that once a new edition comes out, they're going to be ABSOLUTE grognards.

This is spot on about the anger toward WoW - in hindsight I realize how utterly true this was. I saw longtime groups stop playing D&D in favor of WoW. Was a very strange era in the hobby. Also, totally geeked to see you mention Shadowdark! 🤘

i thought this was gonna be a video about the philosophy and rationale behind releasing different editions of a game, which it is, but I did not also expect a full detailed retrospective on the entire history of dungeons and dragons lol

Matt. I’m a longtime pathfinder GM. This video, like all your videos, continues to perfectly apply to me and my group. We’re transitioning slowly into PF2.5 now and taking a “that’s a great new rule, let’s use it” approach. We will probably be fully moved over by the end of next year. Keep doing your awesome work!

If you do feel like converting, maybe just convert to a company that doesn’t hate you.

33:22 "You can't have some people playing one addition" I actually used that for a character in my campaign for one of my players. She played an "ancient hero" type of character, and to make her really feel ancient, she wanted to play with Ad&d rules. It really made her feel like the old knowledge she had was incompatible with the modern 4th characters, and it actually went really well... with a lot of faith and wiggling the rules.. Edit: It was extremely fun... but you are right. I wouldn't recommend trying it unless you have too much time on your hands.

I watched the acid trap in the Briarwood Castle in S1 of Critical Role with no context and I ran a mock combat a week later with my friends as level 1 characters in an open field against Mephits. I still remember feeling absolutely sure by the end of that combat that this was going to be my favorite hobby and I've been DMing ever since!

Some of my favorite supplements for D&D were the Complete Handbook series for 2E. There are so many cool, weird, and interesting things in those books that I still pull from them today for my homebrew games. The best thing about D&D is there is almost 40yrs of material to pull from. I have always viewed editions as guidelines and ran my own thing for my friends.

I got a gold star! I like these "History of D&D" videos, they're fun! Besides, it's been a while since we got a properly LONG video from Uncle Matt. I look forward to trying MCDM's Endeavor when it comes out next year.

I'm only 10 minutes into this hour-long D&D video so there's a decent chance this will be surpassed in another twenty or so minutes but "the cynics are usually right, but not in useful ways" is possibly the most wise statement about humankind I've ever heard and I may need to go take a break to think about it.

I think that whatever comes, we can not discount the OGL debacle's influence. It stoked much more resentment toward the money people and the C-suite suits than there would have been normally, and has put a lasting distrust into some people's minds. It is all too recent, only happening this year (2023) it has not "blown over" like the Corpos had hoped. I think because of this, any effects we normally would have seen, will be amplified.

Dude, if you made a two hour video where you just read the ingredients lists on shampoo bottles I would still listen to all of it. Such an amazing storyteller voice.

I think video games cannot be underestimated in how people are introduced to D&D. Baldur's Gate 3 is a stellar example. I was introduced to D&D by Neverwinter Nights back in the day.

It's strange. Ever since you said that MCDM was releasing a new game, I've felt kinda "Well, okay, but I don't know if I'll end up getting it". But now, somehow, after listening to you extoll the mores and folkways of old editions for the better part of an hour, after hearing about the tradition of some picking up a new edition and some leaving it behind, I think I'm 100% on board for the new game. You're a good salesman, Matt. Keep it up.

Player and DM since 1982. Game store owner covering the period of 3.5 to 4e. Your description of the events, mood, and business of the 3 to 4 transition is spot on.

I love how Matt speaks from experience and the heart about things like this. It makes his voice all the more valuable in the sea of noise

Matt: “Who doesn’t like Loot Crates?” Everyone: Raises their hand

Wow, as an electronic musician, when you started the tangent about east vs west coast synthesis, I felt like laughing because I already knew exactly what you were about to say! It's amazing how knowledge that niche can randomly come up, huh?

As someone who's only ever played 5e, but always wondered about the previous editions, this video answered a lot of my questions and put it in exactly the type of context I was looking for. So, thank you for the explanations and sharing your experience - it was delightful. It's funny to look back 10 years, when someone tried to get me into D&D, but at the time I wasn't as interested. I only really got into it some 4-5 years ago, and weirdly enough not because of anything like Stranger Things or Critical Role, but simply because of curiosity about roleplaying as an activity. I didn't know anything about any editions or anything, I simply got dragged to a discord server and given a PHB. A few days later, I was on my Blue Dragonborn Druid, playing a battle theme on my flute to inspire my allies, on my first turn in my first combat ever. Fast forward to today, I'm working on a massive project, making an entirely homebrew setting, content and rules for a unique D&D game, using 5e as a basis. It's been a ride.

I honestly love these videos. As an art history major and 5e dnd player, any opportunity I have to learn about what came before, why it’s important, and how it’s happening again right now is so appreciated.

Me: "sweet! A video about the history of d&d! That's one of my favorite things, next to the history of synthesizers" Matt: "hold my potion"

I was a middle schooler in the 3.5-4 edition wars. I remember spending all my money on the core books for 4e and then getting mocked by the people I was going to play with. Cause they all meant 3.5…. So I found some players and we played 1-30 and slayed orcus and thwarted his plans to overthrow the raven queen. Good times.

Great video, I love these longer form videos that exposite the history and culture of dungeons and dragons as well as the hobby in general. Your passion for this hobby shines through every time!

💫 Yay, gold star! Thank you for this, btw. It makes me realize how our own game group is so split on trying something new at times, because we have Gen Xers who grew up with AD&D and Millennials with 3.5 and Gen Z kids who have only known a single edition.

Can only speak for myself, but I think lots of us are actually relatively new to D&D, and our formative TTRPG experience is being "on-boarded" by Uncle Matt. I've only ever known 5th edition. So silly things like edition wars is actually very alien to me. This video was super useful in putting things in perspective.

I can't believe those "running the game" videos are that old already. I re-watch these often; your enthusiasm for dnd and gaming in general is contagious and when I hit a wall in my dming I just watch those for inspiration. Your contribution to d&d is just as big to some as Critical Role and Stranger Things... because you are a river to your people.

Classic Matt hooked me in Gold Star ⭐️ certified. Played from ‘81 to today. Working on a pirate themed campaign with my 25 year old son and his buddies that I’ve DM’d for since they could roll dice. Joy is the gaming table. Thank you for all you do.

I shared this with my D&D group after discussing the idea of changing versions, interestingly because at some point if I remember correctly my dm plans to use your system once it releases. This is something that I feel like we all need to see so we can come to the table and discuss everything before a change does happen.

I would love to watch a series where Matt plays all kinds of games especially if it helps out those rpgs with small audiences right now.

Not related to the video at all, but I want to thank you Mr Colville for inspiring me to run my first campaign after being a player for many years, It's going well with 7 players (help) and I'm on my 46th session this Sunday with the party just turning level 5 from level 1. In February of 2024 It'll be running 2 years strong. This hobby has brought me so much joy and I enjoy your creative monsters, rules, and stories / insight. Thank you again for what you've provided for this hobby and for this amazing game.

45:22 I lost all my original D&D group over 4th Ed. I’m with you. I felt like they really made D&D more accessible to new players and it was so easy to run games and not get bogged down into arguing about rules. I love 5e as the new shiny but 4th Ed made it simple to just play. 3.5 was great but man did it get tedious sometimes.

50:15 You nailed it right here for me! I was an AD&D kid (1981) and we played 2nd Edition because it had cooler covers and BLUE INK on the inside! I got back into D&D because of 3e, and I started feeling left behind by 3.5 and 4e. Pathfinder was SUCH a breath of fresh air because it felt like AD&D with 3e rules! Loved it. I was never really aware of the edition wars - like you said, I tended to like the game that I knew. But I also was excited about the new thing and Critical Role brought me fully back to the game and now I’m on year four of running a campaign with my brother and some friends from college.

Truly the greatest of all central conflicts - the money people, vs the devs, vs the grognards, vs the excited players - I'd play that campaign!

This is like the Hardcore History of DnD. I love it

Wow!!! This is such an awesome video! Thank you for all the work you put into it.

There's little I love more than a deep dive into the history of a thing. If all of your stuff (i.e. videos) are this interesting, then I only wish I had stumbled across your channel sooner.

Great vid. Honestly, you could add a Part 2 and go for another hour. Maybe after 5.5 or 6e happens you could make a, "So, You're Tying Really Hard Not to be a Grognard Now" video.

I watched the stream VOD version of this so I’ll say this here when I couldn’t say it there: this is a great bookend the D&D content era on this channel. Looking forward to the future!

Matt this was a fantastic video that is part of a channel that has done so much for me as a new DM. You tackle so many parts of the game, the culture and history in ways that help me to find my bearings and when I have doubts to establish a confident foundation to tell my own stories. Thank you for another great video, and you are very good at what you do (in my humble opinion).

This is the first video of your's that I've ever watched, I think RU-vid auto played me here while I was sleeping because it was 9 mins into playing when I woke up this morning. What a cool piece of history with breakfast.

I got so excited when I got the gold star! This was a great video.

Yes, Mr. Colville. Generation X does not exist. And that is exactly the way we like it. :) As another second generation gamer, I feel you are very much spot on in your history and your analysis.

Hello, this is my first introduction to you, and it's weird seeing all these assumptions about things. It's exciting, and I can't wait to go back and see what you've had to say for apparently a very long time. I started with 3e, bought the core 3 books, but never found a group to play. When I did, they were playing 3.5, but told me the "3.0" PHB was good enough to start at level 1 and they'll just tell me if something big changed. I fell out, but was still interested. I eventually found a new group, and bought a whole bunch of 3.5 books. I played games, I ran games, it was super great fun. I even got ahold of old modules and adapted them for 3.5 in exactly the way you described, though I had no previous edition experience to easier determine what was supposed to be easy vs challenging so I just winged it more. I enjoy the homebrew scene, especially how easy it is to create new player character options, classes, spells, feats, all that, and make some of my own. I enjoy the technical side so much that when Eberron came out, I was in awe of how tightly integrated the mechanics were to the subtle cracks and semi-flaws of 3e, and that's something that just can't be replicated when they took the flavor forward. Anyway, 4e comes out, and I'm not a basher or edition warrior. I loved the system for its tactical skirmish mini-wargaming side. Though I had and still have criticisms of it, which I'm rarely able to talk about, because it's hard to find someone who isn't an edition warrior and thus won't entertain the idea that I appreciate multiple systems, or find someone who doesn't just assume I'm an edition warrior and don't care to listen because they're just tired of arguments. Mainly that complexity was unified, which don't get me wrong was a good option, but it removed the "choose your own character creation difficulty" that made fighters and wizards so different to build. And I didn't like how complex classes were from the perspective of homebrew, meaning it took a lot more design to make a new class or modify an existing one that I kinda gave up trying. Also, it was more work to run older adventures, as not just monster replacement was needed, but whole new tactical maps with interesting features and terrain were so integral to 4e that "30 kobolds in the middle of a cave" wouldn't do the game justice. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate a lot of the under-the-hood stuff that went into 4e's design and implementation that actually underpins 5e and more modern gaming, and it doesn't get enough credit for that. For various reasons, I switch "back" to the 3e ruleset with Pathfinder. I still had a lot of old 3e/3.5e books after all, and pf1 let me straight up run all those "old" adventures and modules written for it right out of the box with very very little modifications. This is also where I first started toying with Ravenloft, taking cues from the 3e Expedition adventure but also previous versions. 4e never had a fully contained Ravenloft adventure the way 2e, 3e, and 5e had. Plus, pf1 was just as easy to homebrew for as 3e, with classes especially being easy to modify or create. I also could take the lessons learned from 4e about interesting tactical maps and terrain and move them into my games. I kinda missed Eberron though, because while it still existed, and I now had two whole series of books to pull from for flavor, the tight integration with the cracks in 3e was missing. Like how you can appreciate a car for its good suspension over a bumpy road, but it feels less special when the road is smoothed out? The car never got less good, but it still felt that way. But eventually Pathfinder got long in the tooth, *because* it was so complex and got tons of material out for it, plus all the content being accessible in the OGL made new character builds brought me panic attacks from analysis paralysis with having five million feats to sift through when making an otherwise simple character at level 1-3. 5e comes along, and it's an instant switch. Just as easy to homebrew for as 3e/pf1, a lot of under the hood changes that made it a unified gaming system (thanks, 4e!), and I still appreciate that the supplement churn hasn't gotten out of hand. I wouldn't be surprised if there are fewer mechanical character option books produced over its lifetime than there were 3e/4e/pf books released in six months during their respective heydays. Again, it's easy to dig through old material for adventures and flavor. Tactical combat is nice, but for simpler encounters it feels like a breath of fresh air to not have to pull out a map and engage people into heavy thinking mode for optimal play, while still having that big setpiece battle with all kinds of interesting terrain and positioning. Currently I'm personally invested in Pathfinder 2e, especially since it's now easier to handle all their free online content, and the refresh with the new (as of time of commenting) Remaster making things exciting. I find I don't have as much enthusiasm for homebrew or creating my own stuff as I used to (two jobs and declining health can do that). I feel like I'm being left behind the newer generation of tabletop RPG players though as I have hangups about online play, and the explosion of performative gaming like Critical Role. It's harder to find in-person games than it used to. I know that shouldn't be a complaint, because really it's increasing the accessibility of gaming, from people who just find it more convenient, to bringing in people who would've had problems trying to meet in person, plus bypassing being limited to your local area for finding fun people to play with. I'm keeping a critical eye on WotC, having not liked a lot of the things they've done as a company lately, and have been open to other alternatives. The biggest problem is finding other people who are open to other systems and able to meet in-person, since I have such anxiety about online play. Sorry for the huge wall of text, but since you shared some of your stories, I thought I could share some of mine.

Thank you for this video! First of all, I love your depictions of the history behind it all - there is so much to learn from the evolution of editions, features, monsters etc. Secondly, this is the first video in a while from you, where I really FEEL your passion for DnD. Not that it is an exclusive passion, but a passion none the less. I am such a casual DM that I don't really want to delve into other ttrpgs at the moment, and you have always been my greatest source of inspiration on being a DM. Therefore, I have feared for a while that all the work with your new game would mean the end of a wonderful era for me, where you could inspire me to become better. Other youtubers provide input and inspiration, but for me personally you have provided exactly what I needed in a way no one else have measured up to. So thank you for this video. I hope for new videos in the running the game-series, and generally just wish you all the best.

As one of the many contemporary classical composers who also runs D&D (no, really, there's a shockingly large crossover), I was so delighted by the tangent veering into early tape music history. Phenomenal stuff.

I’ve been around for a while, but the worst experience I had was when 3.5e transitioned to 4e I liked 4e I liked a lot of what it did, I liked a lot of what was changed, and I appreciated the way it made it easier for DMs (me) to do what I loved Unfortunately, that meant that I was a pariah in my own hobby: If I talked about 4e, I was told I was a fool - if I was vocal about my appreciation, I was shouted down - if I posted a discussion about all the things 4e does well, I got literal, actual *death threats* I have experienced the edition war, and they are a fools game Thankfully the idea of what 4e is and what people *think* it is… is slowly changing - people are finally realizing what elements made it good I wish I would have been wise enough to just enjoy the game rather than even involve myself in the wars

Firstly, this is my first watch of your channel. You had me at the Atari Adventure clip for your channel. Secondly, I started playing D&D in 77 in the BSA. I played pretty much solo AD&D 1st Ed. until 1983. I moved on to more modern TTRPG's that were motivated by the times, Marvel Super Heroes, Boot Hill, Top Secret,Traveller, Twilight:2000, MERP, Battletech, Car Wars, Cyberpunk 2020, GURPS Cyberpunk, and Shadowrun. Here, 40 years later I'm returning to my D&D roots with the POD copy of D&D Rules Cyclopedia. Thanks for your channel!

Not since the story of how you held your post on the Day of Thunder have I felt my stomach drop at the feeling of a real life time abyss, and wished to be there in the before times when it happened. Thank you, Matt, for onboarding so many of us into running the game, and for passing to us some of the traditions that make it the hobby

Every time i watch a Matt video, my love for the game reignites. Matt, you have such an infectious love for the game, and i hope i can have the same effect on my players

Stranger things is what got my daughter into d&d she saw them playing it and says "Daddy I wish I could play that game" which I responded with " Oh yeah I got all the books (3.5) in the attic!" Grinning ear to ear 😃

matt, you are amazing, thank you so much for your work. cheers from Brazil, from a GM who never played D&D, but absolutely loves your content.

I always love the Staples Center DM story. I forget when you told it before, but it's always stuck with me. Thank you for all of the videos! The first few you put out got me into running my own stuff and Delian Tomb is my go-to for folks who are new to the hobby!

You're totally right with most people won't notice much of a change between 5e to 5.5, I was interested in a more radical change when OD&D was announced but now I'm not sure if I have another 10 years of the 5.x framework left in me. I am enjoying the wide variety of other games on the market and I hope everyone who is in a similar boat to me begins to explore the rest of the RPG market, there's so much great stuff.

Matt, just hope you know I spent all video trying to figure out the words here but you bring that 'Excited to go watch cartoons on a Saturday morning as a kid' feeling to dnd.

My god, I am such a DnD nerd that I knew the story of the hobby and rhe big movements already. But I really liked your version of events, especially regarding personal situations, and I agree with your message, we need more positivity in the world. Stay well!

Great vid! One of my favorite things about RPGs is exploring the different rules sets. I like a big campaign, but I also like the variety different rules sets allow, including with the same family of games, like D&D. They all offer something in one form or another. It's one of the things I actually struggle a bit with my group. They tend to want to stick to one rule set and just play long campaigns.

I think it's worth noting that 2nd Edition had it's own "x.5" iteration in the "Player's Option" era that happened during TSR's deathbed years.

Ryan Dancey, former Wizards VP and the dude who brokered the deal between WotC and TSR, talks about the Hasbro Board and the idea of Core Brands and the path to $100m a year. www.enworld.org/threads/wotc-ddi-4e-and-hasbro-some-history.661470/

this was a really well made video. great script and well delivered. my voice would have been so tired, and i would have been stuttering every couple minutes haha. you killed it. great to listen to, super informative. just great stuff :)

Matt, I find your videos inspiring. I remember the days of high school and playing every weekend. Miss those days. I've played since first ed. and played everything I could get my hands on. As a dm, I've pulled some rules for all editions and called them 'house rules' to come up with my own Frankenstein dnd game. It works and my players love it.

Matt, this is the first one of your videos I've watched in quite a while. No insult here, I just kind of dropped out of most things ttrpg for a while. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. At the 35 minute mark, I got disappointed that I was over halfway through it. It should have been 2 hours! 😉Anyway, keep up the good work, my friend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back and watch everything I've missed...

I appreciate that this video is not only a history of the hobby, but also the history of THIS channel. With a side of the future of MCDM to boot. Thanks for giving back to the community all these years, and here’s to many more.

I could listen to you talk about the history of D&D all day. I really appreciate how you are realistic about it and comprehensive. Your firsthand experience is particularly insightful. I love how (most of) your group got excited about new editions and that you have stayed excited about the hobby for decades. For what it's worth, I would appreciate more history of D&D, rule change history, how supplemental materials were received by your group etc from you.

Thank you for this video. It really helped set some of the my concerns at ease, and it's great to hear such a fair and balanced perspective from someone who has seen this game through so many of its "generations." Keep being amazing! :)

At least we're past the era of 58 minute videos beginning with "Hey everybody Matt Colville here, I'm hoping this is going to be a short video"

I may be one of the few people who found Matt Colville because of Critical Role, but didn’t actually watch Critical Role until Colville convinced me to. Specifically: my teen daughter started watching CR in early 2019, and wanted to play, so she persuaded me to run a game for our family. Well, of course I had to first figure out how to do that, so I searched for DM tips, found Colville’s Running the Game series. CR itself seemed daunting to start watching - but when I saw Colville’s video about the Vox Machina finale (ignoring the spoiler alert because I was never planning to watch CR anyway), I was so impressed that I decided it was worth it to dive into watching CR from the beginning. It was, and was still extremely emotional when I finally saw that finale in context.

I laughed outloud when Matt started talking about the grappling rules of 3.0 /3.5, ---oh brother, Im right there with ya!!!!!

I love you so much man - found your channel circa 2016, keep it up!!

I have some thoughts on the new edition already, but I'll be damned if I ignore an hour long video from Matt.❤

The moment I realised I was done with 3.5 was when I ran an adventure with a Nalfeshnee demon and saw it's spell list and abilities. I took one look and thought, "I don't want to keep track of all that."

I got a gold star! Thanks Mat. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about edition history, but this taught me a ton of new tidbits.

Amazing video! So much fun and educational! My favorite part was the gold star 🌟 😁 I'm also very excited to try many of the new games being developed now. Should be fun.

Hey Matt, just wanted to comment and thank you for making your videos. I have been DMing a group for the past 3 years online, started during COVID, but just did our first in person session a few days ago and it went really well. I think your point that DnD sessions are "full of memes" definitely has helped its popularity among the younger generations, myself included. Something about the spontaneity of failure in a genre that is usually quite serious creates comedy that feels very relatable and resembles day to day stories. Sure in real life we don't slay dragons or save royalty but we all have a time we slipped and fell or did something incredibly stupid and can laugh about. Its part of what makes the game so human. I think we often get caught up in the rules, when ultimately that is what we are looking for; A reason to hang out and tell stories to each other. Would love for you to talk more about this topic, your passion is plain to see. Keep making great stories.

I started in 2014 when on active duty. Critical Role and Stranger Things weren't really a thing yet. I feel like I got an organic upbringing just before it became super popular to play the game, I only played with people who were willing to try it out or had already played. Me and my coworkers were the weirdos on deployment but it's some of the most fun I've ever had in all of gaming.

Your videos are entertaining and informative as well! I am one of those that played in the 70s/80s and didn’t follow the whole changing of hands and what WotC/Hasbro did to D&D. Heard about it but didn’t know the details. Thank you so much!

Thank you for makinh such a detailed video with perspective and lot of us don’t have! :) Especially for encouraging flexibility and thoughtfulness; remembering that game designers aren’t doing the things that might have upset you.

I'm absolutely here for a discussion of East Coast vs. West Coast synthesis.

I've never been an edition warrior, but I've been around since AD&D 2e, so I've seen plenty of it. I've always been amused at how many 4e mechanics are in 5e, just disguised with non-4e terms (i.e. Healing Surges into Hit Dice).

I got into DnD in 2015 in my sophomore year of high school. I had tried to get into MTG the year before, and like it, but I bounced off because of cost. However, I had been looking to do something within the same fantasy vain, and I decided to look for dnd videos to see if I’d like it. Having just read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss I saw he had a video where he played dnd and ended up tearing through the Penny Arcade PAX Acquisitions Incorporated videos. I found some random people at my school to play with me and they’ve been my closest friends ever since. Matt, your videos were very helpful throughout my years as the dm and have been helpful over the last couple with my best friend taking over that slot. So thank you!

Thank you so much for this video Matthew! I find all the history and edition wars extremely interesting, as someone who got into hobby around 3years ago during Covid. I vaguely understood there were some previous editions, but knew nothing about them. This video was great and I don't mind the runtime at all, it was an hour well spent. In general I find you're a beacon of hope and positivity around this hobby and your attitude always inspires me to not be a grognard and be happy about the game instead. Take care

I think a huge factor that helped people find 5E and consider playing wasn't just that Critical Role happened, but also that there were women at the table. I know so many people who tried to play dnd in highschool but were the only woman at the table, and didn't have a great time. I was lucky that I did have a good time playing with a group of all guys. Seeing a group with woman playing, having fun, and being welcome probably made a LOT of people go, "oh maybe this could be for me too!"

A great distillation of all of the History of D&D videos with the current context. A+ work Matt

I genuinely love how positive you are about everything, and the perspective you add to this whole situation. Thanks for the gold star,

This was a wonderful video. I lived through all of this, since I'm a 1st generation player (according to your definition), and your comments are spot on. I always played lots of different RGPs and never got into either the edition wars or controversies over which rule sets were better; they were just different and to be enjoyed on their own. Thanks for the nostalgic trip through time.

I started with 4e and the digital tools were amazing. I used them to make characters for any new players and the encounter tools made improvising combat a breeze and a blast. Never got past level 3 though. In 5e I've had a group going for years, rotating who DMs. They're all up for trying the MCDM RPG, and I have high hopes for it.

For me, I invested a lot into 2e and so did my friends. We loved the edition and there were so many varied worlds to play in. This is why we all stayed in 2e because there is so much variety.

It's been a while since i had the chance yo sit ajd listen to one of your long form videos. And frankly, it was like slipping on some cozy slippers. I was smiling through most of the hour and evej got a cookie wheb you sugested. Great video and still one of the best creators in the hobby.