AD&D2e: The Era of Transition

Amongst D&D players, fuelled by sometimes heated discussions, emerges a clear distinction between old school and modern gaming notions. Such notions are muddled and can represent all sorts of gaming habits or techniques, but loosely defined:

Old school gaming puts emphasis on events over story, strives for slow-paced dungeon delving and wilderness adventuring, demands player skill and common sense over character abilities, and presents combat as a deadly and not-so-rewarding affair. Character death rate is considerably high, given the multitude of dangers that can insta-kill one, but character generation can be quick and easy.

Modern gaming assumes that story takes precedence over events, is characterised by fast-paced action scenes with a variety of backdrops (above or under ground), requires a die roll for most actions, and embraces combat as the cornerstone of D&D, with corresponding rewards. Character death rate is significantly low, despite the endless trials and tribulations, and character creation takes some effort to be completed.

Having said that, there doesn't seem to exist a clear line between old school and modern in D&D. Sure, the '70s can be easily labelled as old school gaming and modern gaming features prominently since the '00s, but the time in-between appears to bring different styles and experiences to most gamers. The age running through the '80s and '90s is filled with experimentation, shifts in tone and theme, and blends different styles to create an amalgam that caters to a variety of players*. While the changes of old school gaming can be traced throughout the '80s, adventures that focused on story and rulebooks that codified rulings and house rules, I believe that AD&D2e's publication in 1989 cemented the co-existence of both old and new style. It is the time we see the term module and adventure used interchangeably; the emergence of a strong narrative in adventures, exemplified by excessive, sometimes, boxed texts; and the appearance of new ways to reward characters, for reaching goals and successfully overcoming encounters without resorting to violence, with the introduction of Story XP. These features ran along typical dungeon crawls (albeit with a narrative twist), random encounter tables, and deadly battles. Even the Gold-as-XP rule, while optional, was there (DMG Revised, pg. 69).

Sample from the adventure Tower, Temple, Tomb (1994),
featuring dungeon delving and rich backstory shown in long texts.

As can be discerned from DM David's post, experience points awards were a key component in determining the switch from old-school to modern gaming. As the '90s progressed, more emphasis was given to story awards (DMG clearly defines group and individual awards, the latter being optional), and hefty amounts of XP were expected to be handed out if the characters acted in accordance to the adventure's plot. And by the time 3e rolled out, experience was only given for defeating enemies and completing adventures or reaching certain story milestones. D&D in the '90s also marked a distinct departure from the notions of old-school gaming, with the publishing of the famous boxed campaign settings. Each setting relied on the world's quirks, themes, and strong narrative, which necessitated story-driven adventures, and each one was accompanied by literature novels that were influential in developing stories within the world, and in some cases (see Dark Sun) even created meta-plots that would change the whole campaign setting considerably. Still, the sensibilities of mega-dungeons were still popular, as was dungeon-crawling, and some were even published as boxed sets (see Dragon Mountain).

Dragon Mountain (1993) and Dark Sun (1991), glorious boxed sets.

So this amalgamation of styles and systems could be considered the norm for AD&D 2e's era and for the most part, it was true. Your extensive dungeon would now be backed by an equally extensive backstory, explaining all the details that your party would encounter during its expedition. If a dungeon wasn't planned, random encounters (generally combat-oriented) would fit your party's venture into urban or wilderness settings, to keep things tense and interesting. As the societies evolved in the two last decades of the previous century, to gain their modern sensibilities, so did it seems D&D, with a plethora of modules, novels, and rulebooks dominating the RPG scene and shaping the future of the game, towards a more narrative style, one supported by substantial rulesets and fiction. And as the need for sneaky treasure-looting gave way to the need for epic action/combat scenes, a far riskier but more exhilarating experience, so did subsequent editions turn their attention on how to better narrate and implement such wondrous moments.



*Also, you might want to check out this brilliant work from James Maliszewski (of Grognardia blogspot) on the Ages of D&D; he tackles TSR years specifically, as he doesn't comment on post-2000 editions.