Editing Dungeons & Dragons (section)

=== Wizards of the Coast ===
In 1997, a near-bankrupt TSR was purchased by [[Wizards of the Coast]].<ref name="briefhistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.rpg.net/columns/briefhistory/briefhistory1.phtml |title=Wizards of the Coast: 1990 – present |access-date=September 1, 2006 |last=Appelcline |first=Shannon |date=August 3, 2006 |work=A Brief History of Game |publisher=RPGnet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824022118/http://www.rpg.net/columns/briefhistory/briefhistory1.phtml |archive-date=August 24, 2006 }}</ref> Following three years of development, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd edition was released in 2000.<ref>"After&nbsp;... the idea of acquiring TSR began to swim in my mind it took me maybe thirty seconds to decide, We've got to do a third edition of Dungeons & Dragons." ([[Peter Adkison|Adkison, Peter]] in Johnson, ''et al.''; ''30 Years of Adventure'', p. 250).</ref> The new release folded the Basic and Advanced lines back into a single unified game. It was the largest revision of the ''D&D'' rules to date and served as the basis for a multi-genre role-playing system designed around 20-sided dice, called the [[d20 System]].<ref>Johnson, ''et al.''; ''30 Years of Adventure'', p. 273</ref> The 3rd Edition rules were designed to be internally consistent and less restrictive than previous editions of the game, allowing players more flexibility to create the characters they wanted to play.<ref>Johnson, ''et al.''; ''30 Years of Adventure'', pp.&nbsp;255–263</ref> Skills and feats were introduced into the core rules to encourage further customization of characters.<ref>"Countdown to 3rd Edition: Feats and Fighters" in ''Dragon'' #270</ref> The new rules standardized the mechanics of action resolution and combat.<ref name="PHB p.4">Tweet, Cook, Williams; ''Player's Handbook'' v3.5, p. 4</ref> In 2003, ''Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5'' was released as a revision of the 3rd Edition rules. This release incorporated hundreds of rule changes, mostly minor, and expanded the core rulebooks.<ref name="PHB p.4"/>

In early 2005, Wizards of the Coast's R&D team started to develop ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th Edition, prompted mainly by the feedback obtained from the ''D&D'' playing community and a desire to make the game faster, more intuitive, and with a better play experience than under the 3rd Edition. The new game was developed through a number of design phases spanning from May 2005 until its release.<ref>Carter, ''et al.''; ''[[Wizards Presents: Races and Classes]]'', pp.&nbsp;6–9</ref> ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th Edition was announced at [[Gen Con]] in August 2007, and the initial three core books were released June 6, 2008.<ref name="excitingnews">{{cite web |last=Slavicsek |first=Bill |date=October 19, 2007 |title=Ampersand: Exciting News! |url=http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dramp/20071019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619190141/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd%2Fdramp%2F20071019 |archive-date=June 19, 2009 |access-date=October 22, 2007 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast}}</ref> 4th Edition streamlined the game into a simplified form and introduced numerous rules changes. Many character abilities were restructured into "Powers". These altered the spell-using classes by adding abilities that could be used at will, per encounter, or per day. Likewise, non-magic-using classes were provided with parallel sets of options. Software tools, including player character and monster-building programs, became a major part of the game.<ref name="svensson">Svensson; Dungeons & Dragons reborn</ref> This edition added the ''[[RPGA#4th Edition|D&D Encounters]]'' program; a weekly event held at local stores designed to draw players back to the game by giving "the busy gamer the chance to play ''D&D'' once a week as their schedules allow. In the past, ''D&D'' games could take months, even years, and players generally had to attend every session so that the story flow wasn't interrupted. With ''Encounters'', players can come and go as they choose and new players can easily be integrated into the story continuity".<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 8, 2010|title=Dungeons & Dragons tries to lure back players - CNN.com|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayoflife/06/08/new.dungeons.dragons/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 26, 2021|website=CNN|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611092806/http://www.cnn.com:80/2010/LIVING/wayoflife/06/08/new.dungeons.dragons/index.html |archive-date=June 11, 2010 }}</ref>