Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D is a phoenix that just keeps rising from the ashes.

Last year was a roller coaster ride for all things Dungeons & Dragons. The year started with breaking a 23 year old promise with the OGL, a reversal that saw the 5e SRD added to creative commons, the release of the Dungeons & Dragons movie, the excitement of the 2024 anniversary year plans, and the sudden, sobering stop of the December layoffs from Hasbro. We take a look at this tumultuous year and what it means for the game and the brand.

The setting that is currently called Mystara started off as the Known World. Lawrence Schick and Tom Moldvay created the setting as a shared world that multiple gamers could contribute to, for their home games. When the BX edition of D&D came out, Schick and Moldvay were told that the Greyhawk setting was reserved for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons only. That’s when the Known World became known to D&D players, as it became the backdrop of the BX, and later BECMI D&D adventures. When Basic D&D was phased out of existence so TSR could focus on only developing AD&D 2nd Edition, the Known World was renamed Mystara, and was ported to AD&D. Unfortunately, modern gamers haven’t been exposed to the Known World, which is ironic, considering they have been exposed to the Forgotten Realms.