I reviewed D&D Next previously, but since there's a new packet with big changes, I'm going to review lessons Wizards of the Coast seems to have learned from previous editions, and what edition those lessons came from. When possible, I'll leave alone things mentioned in my previous entry.
As I've said before, I have played some 2nd Edition, but I'm most experienced with 3rd and 4th edition, so most of these lessons in relation to 3rd (including 3.5) and 4th. Have they learned more from 2nd and earlier editions? Most likely.
1) Simple Stats (2nd/3rd)
Ability checks, skills, and saving throws are done directly from the 6 core abilities in Next. This hearkens back to some of the simplicity of 2nd Edition. Special skill modifiers are not part of the core game, but will be added in an optional module. [Update: The latest update packet has a proficiency bonus that applies to attacks, skills, and anything else the character is proficient in.]
2) Character Knowledge/Fields of Lore (3rd/4th)
Players want to know what their characters know. Dungeonmasters want to know what the characters know. To avoid giving everyone the same chance to know everything, Fields of Lore (Similar to Knowledge skills in 3rd) provide bonuses in their given area of expertise. [Update: Fields of Lore are part of skills in the most recent playtest packet..]
3) Leveling Means Something (4th)
As in 4th Edition, every class gets something each level in Next – such as new class features, ability score increases, or a new level of spells.
4) D20 + Modifier vs DC (2nd/3rd)
In 2nd Edition, you have to roll over a number for some actions, under for others. You rolled percentile dice sometimes, instead of the d20. And trying to hit someone was even more confusing, though some people (like Chad Perrin) feel it was actually fairly simple. (And the way Chad explains it does make it sound easier.)
Rather than trying to roll under your ability score or consulting charts for every action, 3rd Edition made the same ability modifiers for all ability scores. All rolls – saving throws, skill checks, attack rolls – become attempts to roll over a target number, rather than sometimes trying to get a lower number. Even THAC0 was gone; attacks were now the same type of roll as any other, with armor class being a target number. D&D Next is keeping that simplicity alive.
5) Power Bloat (3rd/4th)
WotC has learned that there are oddities that come with modifiers that rapidly increase with level. There are questions of how the world can function without player adventurers. There's the problem of magic items and feats being used just to get ever-higher bonuses, when they could be something unique and memorable. As players level up, they discover that all locks are magically trapped, wooden doors are now adamantium, and the king has hired some impressively outfitted guards.
So D&D Next is limiting power bloat. Increasing attack bonuses, while present, are kept low. Armor class is similarly kept low. What's this do? Well, it means that you can reasonably face a horde of monsters at higher level that presented you with a challenge one-on-one at lower levels. It means that rallying the city to fight a dragon becomes a real option.
And while it does get easier to bust down wooden doors while you level, the higher levels don't make it feel like the average person should be living in the medieval equivalent of a bomb shelter.
6) Perfect Balance isn't so Perfect (4th)
4th Edition made sure that every character received something at every level. They made sure that everybody had a specific role in combat. And while it was very balanced, it was often very bland. D&D Next is compensating for this by injecting more flavor into every class, and more options into every character.
7) Multiclassing is Awesome. And Dangerous. And Awesome. (3rd)
It's no secret that I'm a fan of multiclassing; I've only twice created characters that were not multiclassed. And when a fellow player brought in Dungeonscape, he looked right at me and said “I found a you class!” (Dungeonscape holds the Factotum, a Jack-of-all trades class which, unlike the bard, doesn't have to haul around an instrument or sing to activate his abilities.)
And multiclassing was awesome. When they limited its options in Fourth Edition, I felt like there was something missing from the system. (I still multiclassed, I was just less satisfied.) But I can understand why they wanted to cap the options: In 3rd Edition, you take a level of fighter to get weapons and armor proficiencies; a level of monk for unarmed abilities, and rogue for trapfinding, sneak attacks, and skill points. And they're just the core classes. And that's without messing with the balance for base attack bonus (which usually wound up low) and saving throws (which often wound up high), making for a character so unbalanced, they could prove you weren't dreaming. (Inception reference!)
Multiclassing is set to appear in Next in an upcoming playtest packet as a valid option. According to to Legends and Lore, it will resemble the beloved multiclassing options of 3rd Edition, while making the numbers more dependent on character level rather than class levels. Even if, Wizards forbid, they did not include multi-classing in the final core rules, there are feat and character options that simulate some of the effects of multiclassing. [Update: Multiclassing is in the most recent packet. They've done a fair job of it; dipping into a class will delay ability score increases/feats, but will not change your proficiency bonus that can apply to attacks, skills, and occasionally, saves.]
Maybe I am dreaming...
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