Dungeons & Dragons

Categories: Role-playing games | Dungeons & Dragons | Origins award winners

For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation).
Image:Players hndbk v35 cover.jpg
Player's Handbook for D&D version 3.5

Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) published by Wizards of the Coast. The original Dungeons & Dragons, designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneseon, was first published in January 1974 by Gygax's company, Tactical Studies Rules (TSR). Originally derived from tabletop wargames, this publication is generally regarded as the beginning of modern role-playing games and, by extension, the role-playing game industry. The game achieved notoriety, particularly in the 1980s, due to its alleged promotion of devil worship, witchcraft, suicide, and murder.

Players of D&D embark upon imaginary adventures in which they battle many kinds of fictional monsters, gather treasure, and earn experience points as the game progresses. The game departed from traditional wargaming by giving each player the part of a specific character to play. It also developed the concept of a Dungeon Master (DM) or Gamemaster (GM), the storyteller and referee responsible for creating the fictional setting of the game, moderating the actions of the players' characters, and playing the supporting cast of non-player characters.

In 1977 the game was split into two slightly different versions: Dungeons & Dragons and the more complex Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as AD&D). In 2000, the simplified version of the game was discontinued and the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons was released as a major revision of the AD&D game. The current version of the game, released in July 2003 is Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 (also known as the Revised 3rd Edition or D&D3.5).

Dungeons & Dragons remains the best-known and best-selling RPG, with an estimated 20 million players worldwide and over US$1 billion in book and equipment sales (as of 2004 according to a BBC news report). Products branded Dungeons & Dragons made up over fifty percent of the RPG products sold in 2002. Outside of the gaming community, D&D has become a metonym used to refer to RPGs in general.

Contents

[edit]

Play overview

Image:Charsheet.jpg
A 3.5 Edition character sheet

Dungeons & Dragons is an open-ended "make-believe" game in which players choose which actions their characters will take. The results of those actions are determined using the game's rules, which govern almost everything from combat to social interaction. However, the Dungeon Master is responsible for interpreting the rules and most simple actions can be resolved from simple logic without referring to the rules. The rules of the game are described in three core rulebooks: The Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual. Additional rulebooks, such as the Arms and Equipment Guide, contain optional rules which can also be used. Abbreviated versions of the rules are available to help beginners learn the game.

The only items required to play the game are the rulebooks and polyhedral dice. However, there are many optional items which can be used to supplement or enhance the gaming experience. Pre-designed adventures and fantasy settings are available. Special gameboards or cloths are sometimes used to visually depict the situations in the game, and miniature figures can be used to provide a three-dimensional representation of the characters. Computer programs are also available for supporting the game.

Before the game begins each player creates his or her character. Players typically use the same character repeatedly. Players roll dice to determine their character's ability scores (strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma). They then choose a race and a class. Races include elves, dwarves, humans, and halflings. Some of the many classes include clerics, rogues, fighters, and wizards. Depending on the class chosen for the character, players will decide which skills and feats the character knows. They will also select an alignment to describe the character's moral and ethical outlook. These choices determine what the character can do, how well they can perform different actions, and how the character will evolve with experience.

The game is presented by a Dungeon Master (DM) to a group of players. The DM does not have a single character, like the other players, but acts as a narrator, choosing and describing the other characters, settings, and situations the players' characters encounter. The DM also arbitrates the actions of the characters in the game by using and interpreting the rules of the game.

For example, the DM may describe a crisis that requires the attention of the heroes ("An evil wizard is raising an undead army!"), and suggest some possible goals ("Find the wizard's lair and slay him!"). Because the players can freely choose their own course of action ("Let's ally with the wizard and take over the kingdom instead!"), there is no true criteria for "winning" aside from what the players set for themselves. A single "adventure" typically spans multiple sessions, and characters may be reused in further adventures, if the players so choose.

When a player chooses to have his or her character attempt an action (such as punching an opponent or picking a lock), the outcome will be determined by a character's abilities, a random die roll, or by some combination of the two. Different characters will be skilled at accomplishing different things, and the system encourages a well-balanced team of specialised characters.

When characters defeat an enemy or accomplishes a difficult task, they are awarded an appropriate number of experience points (XP) by the DM. When characters accumulate enough experience points they advance a "level", allowing their players to improve their existing abilities or choose new abilities for them.

[edit]

Adventures

Image:S3ModuleCover.jpg
S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks was one of the few adventures released by TSR to include science-fiction elements, such as ray guns and robots.

A typical D&D game consists of an "adventure", which is roughly equivalent to a single story. After completing one adventure, players will usually start a new adventure while continuing to play the same characters.

Adventures are usually designed by the DM, but throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons, numerous pre-made "adventures" or "modules" have been published. These modules allow DMs to run a game without needing to create their own adventures, and typically include a backstory, maps, and one or more objectives for players' characters to achieve. Some modules include illustrations or hand-outs to supplement the basic gaming experience.

During the early history of D&D, TSR's modules were usually denoted with a code consisting of a letter and a number. Modules within a letter set were usually related in some way. For example, the modules A1 through A4 comprised a mini-campaign with a linked story arc, starting with A1, Slaves Pits of the Undercity. Other letter sets indicated a thematic similarity (for example, the 'S' series of modules were unrelated except for their relatively lethal nature) or use with a particular set of rulebooks (such as the 'B' and 'X' series, which were designed for use with the Basic and Expert rules, respectively).

Adventure modules typically have a suggested character level, which is often indicated on the cover. For example, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (module S3) was designed for levels 8-12, while Keep on the Borderlands (module B2) was for beginning characters of level 1-3. It should be noted that the letter/number codes themselves had no relation to the character levels the module was designed for. S1, The Tomb of Horrors, for example, is an adventure for characters of much higher levels (10-14) than B3, The Palace of the Silver Princess (1-3).

See also: List of Dungeons & Dragons modules


[edit]

Miniature figures

The wargames from which Dungeons & Dragons evolved used miniature figures to represent combatants. D&D continued the use of miniatures in a fashion similar to its direct precursor, Chainmail, with each figure representing a specific character or monster. While the original rules of D&D required the use of miniatures to resolve combat situations, the rules quickly evolved to a point where combat could be resolved verbally and miniatures were no longer required for gameplay.

Although no longer essential, miniatures remained popular with players and continued to serve as a useful visual reference. In the early days of D&D, they were often placed on acetate-covered graph paper with walls and other references drawn with grease pencils. As the adventurers moved from one area to another, the grease pencil markings could be wiped off and a new area drawn.

In the 1980s numerous companies began to sell miniature figures specifically for D&D and similar games. TSR partnered with Grenadier Miniatures, who released their figures under the D&D brand, while other miniature manufacturers (such as Ral Partha and Citadel Miniatures) simply release generic, fantasy-themed figures.

Professional products were also released to serve as grid-references for miniature play. Some players would build entire floor-and-wall sets from wood or cardboard and would invest in large inventories of trees and other model objects to create more realistic environments for their miniatures. Professionally-built sets were later released, as well.

Periodically, Dungeons & Dragons returned to its wargaming roots with supplementary rules systems for miniatures-based wargaming. Supplements such as Battlesystem (1985 & 1989) and a new edition of Chainmail (2001) provided rule systems to depict battles between armies. The Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (2003) is sold as sets of plastic, randomly assorted, prepainted miniatures that can be used as either part of a standard D&D game or as a stand-alone collectable miniatures game.

[edit]

Game History

Image:Chainmail 3rd edition.jpg
The cover to the game Chainmail, a Dungeons & Dragons predecessor.
[edit]

Influences

The fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, evolved in the early 1970s from the Chainmail system of wargaming rules by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren. The game was influenced by mythology, pulp fiction, and contemporary fantasy authors of the 1960s and 1970s.

The presence of halflings, elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, dragons and the like often draw comparisons to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, although Gygax claims he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings, stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the then-popularity of the work. Other influences, according to the 1977 edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide, include the works of Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, H.P. Lovecraft, Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber, L. Sprague de Camp, Michael Moorcock, and Poul Anderson.

[edit]

Edition history

D&D has gone through several revisions. Parallel versions and inconsistent naming practices can make it difficult to distinguish between the different editions.

The original Dungeons and Dragons (1974) was published as a boxed set and featured just a few character classes and monsters, and only three alignments. Four supplements (Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, and Gods, Demi-Gods and Heroes) were published over the next two years, expanding the character classes, monsters, and spells. Official rule supplements were also published in the magazines Strategic Review and its successor, Dragon Magazine.

Image:D&d Box1st.jpg
The original Dungeons & Dragons set

In 1977, TSR released two new versions of the game: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeons & Dragons.

Dungeons & Dragons was a simpler, sometimes "introductory", version of the game. In 1977 the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, also referred to as the Second Edition, was published as a boxed set. This edition was revised in 1981, which also coincided with the release of an Expert Set to accompany the Basic Set. Between 1983 and 1985 the Third Edition was released in a series of five boxed sets, including the Basic Rules, Expert Rules, Companion Rules, Master Rules, and Immortal Rules.

The Dungeons & Dragons game was revised again in 1991. Typically referred to as the Fourth Edition, this edition included the Dungeons & Dragons Game (an introductory boxed set) and the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (a hardback manual which included the material from the Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master sets). In 1994 the introductory boxed set was renamed the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game. In 1999 the introductory box set was revised and released as the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game.

Image:DungeonMasterGuide4Cover.jpg
The cover, a painting by David C. Sutherland III, of the 4th printing of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide shows an efrit grasping a damsel while engaged in combat with a fighter and a magic-user. Scenarios such as this one were common for the game during the era when the manual was released.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (or AD&D) was a more complicated version of the game, designed to collect, revise, and expand on the rules from the original version and its supplements. Between 1977 and 1979, three hardcover rulebooks, commonly referred to as the "core rulebooks", were released: The Player's Handbook (PHB), the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), and the Monster Manual (MM).

In 1989, AD&D was revised for a 2nd Edition (sometimes referred to as AD&D2). The game was once again published as three core rulebooks, incorporating the expansions and revisions which had been published in various supplements over the previous decade. The Monster Manual was replaced by the Monstrous Compendium, a loose leaf-binder which was later replaced by the hardcover Monstrous Manual in 1993.

The release of AD&D2 also corresponded with a change in editorial policy at TSR. An effort was made to remove aspects of the game which some considered objectionable and which had attracted negative publicity. Character classes such as the assassin and monk were eliminated, heroic roleplaying and player teamwork were stressed, demons and devils were removed from the game, and the product artwork became less racy. The target age of the game was also lowered, with most 2nd editon products being aimed more at teenagers than adults.

In 1995, the core rulebooks were slightly revised and a series of Player's Option manuals were released as "optional core rulebooks". Although still referred to by TSR as the 2nd Edition, this revision is seen by some fans as a distinct edition of the game and is sometimes referred to as AD&D 2.5.

In 1997, a near-bankrupt TSR was bought by Wizards of the Coast. The new company almost immediately began designing a new version of the game, which would be released in 2000 as Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition (also referred to as D&D3 or 3E). 3rd Edition, although the largest revision of the D&D rules to date, was designed to follow the 2nd Edition of AD&D, while the previously independent line of Dungeon & Dragons games were eliminated. 3rd Edition also served as the basis for a broader role-playing system designed around 20-sided dice, called the d20 system.

The D&D3 rules were more internally consistent and significantly less restrictive than previous editions of the game, allowing players much more flexibility in creating the characters they wanted to play. Skills and feats were introduced into the core rules to encourage players to further customize their characters. The new rules also standardized the mechanics of action resolution and combat. 3rd Edition also introduced the concepts of "Prestige Classes" (high-level classes which characters can only enter upon meeting certain character-design prerequisites or fulfilling certain in-game goals) and expanded the idea of high-level campaigns with the Epic Level Handbook (a supplementary core rulebook).

In 2003, the 3rd Edition rules were revised as Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 (also known as Revised 3rd Edition or D&D3.5). This release incorporated numerous minor rule changes and expanded the core rulebooks.

A wide variety of optional supplements have been published for every edition of D&D. These supplements commonly include new rules, items, spells, and creatures. Other supplements include new adventures or detail entire fantasy worlds.

The various editions of Dungeons & Dragons have won many Origins Awards, including All Time Best Roleplaying Rules of 1977, Best Roleplaying Rules of 1989 and Best Roleplaying Game of 2000 for the three flagship editions of the game.

See: Differences between editions of Dungeons & Dragons.
[edit]

Legacy

Dungeons & Dragons was the first modern role-playing game, establishing many of the conventions which have dominated the genre. Particularly notable are the use of dice as a resolution mechanic, character record sheets, progressive character development, and game-master-centered group dynamics.

The elements which made up D&D can be seen in many hobbies of the time. Character-based roleplaying, for example, can be seen in historical reenactment and improvisational theatre. Game world simulations had been well-developed in wargaming. Fantasy milieus specifically designed for gaming could be seen in Glorantha's board games and M.A.R. Barker's Tekumel, among others. Ultimately, however, D&D represented a unique blending of these elements, creating its own niche and leading to the development of a multitude of role-playing games. Science fiction, horror, superheroes, cartoons, westerns, spies and espionage, and many other fictional settings were adapted to role-playing games.

Over the years, many gamers have criticized various aspects of the D&D rules. In previous editions, clunky and inconsistent mechanics were often seen as inefficient and confusing. The rapid climbing of levels by the characters, with its accompanying accumulation of power, is considered artificial and unrealistic by many. Trying to find solutions to these problems led to other game developers expanded on and improved aspects of the game. Within only months of D&D's release, new RPG writers and publishers began releasing their own role-playing games. The first arrivals to achieve lasting influence were the Gloranthan RuneQuest, released by Chaosium in 1976, and the science fiction role-playing game Traveller, released by Game Designers Workshop in 1978. Some of the later systems include Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu, Champions by Hero Games, GURPS by Steve Jackson Games and Vampire: The Masquerade by White Wolf Game Studio. These games also fed back into the genre's origin, miniatures wargames, with combat strategy games like Battletech and Warhammer 40,000. Collectable card games, like Magic: The Gathering, were also heavily influenced by D&D and its legacy.

With the launch of D&D's 3rd Edition, Wizards made available the d20 System under the Open Gaming License (OGL) and d20 Trademark License. Under these licenses, authors are free to use the d20 System when writing their own games and game supplements. The OGL and d20 Trademark License are also responsible for making possible new versions of older games, such as Call of Cthulhu, using the new system.

[edit]

Related products

[edit]

Magazines

In 1975, TSR began publishing The Strategic Review. At the time, roleplaying games were still seen as a sub-genre of the wargaming industry, and the magazine was designed not only to support D&D and TSR's other games, but also to cover wargaming in general. In short order, however, the popularity and growth of D&D made it clear that the game had not only separated itself from its wargaming origins, but had launched an entirely new industry unto itself. After only seven issues, TSR cancelled The Strategic Review and replaced it with The Dragon (later Dragon Magazine) in 1976.

Although Dragon Magazine was originally designed to support the roleplaying industry in general, it has always been primarily a house organ for TSR's (or more recently Wizards of the Coast's) role-playing games with a particular focus on D&D. Most of the magazine's articles provide supplementary material for the game, including new races, classes, spells, traps, monsters, skills, and rules. Other articles will provide tips and suggestions for players and DMs. The magazine has also published a number of well-known, gamer-oriented comic strips over the years, including Wormy, SnarfQuest, Yamara, Knights of the Dinner Table, Nodwick, and Dork Tower.

In 1986, TSR launched a new magazine to complement Dragon. Dungeon Adventures, published bimonthly, published nothing but adventure modules for DMs. While Dungeon now publishes other kinds of material as well, Dungeons & Dragons adventures remain its main focus.

Although many other magazines have partially or fully devoted themselves to supporting Dungeons & Dragons, Dragon and Dungeon remain the only two official publications for the game. In 2002, Wizards of the Coast licensed the two magazines to Paizo Publishing.

[edit]

Films and TV

A popular Dungeons & Dragons animated series was produced in 1983.

A Dungeons & Dragons movie was released in 2000. Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God, a made-for-TV sequel, was first aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on October 8th, 2005. (This sequel is also known by the alternate title Dungeons & Dragons 2: The Elemental Might.)

In 2003, a computer animated motion picture entitled Scourge of Worlds was produced for DVD, featuring iconic characters created for the 3rd Edition. This is an interactive movie that asks viewers to decide what actions the heroes should take at crucial points in the story, allowing hundreds of different story-telling combinations.

[edit]

Computer and video games

Fifty-three computer games and sixteen video games (ten for consoles, four for handheld devices, and two arcade games) had been released and sold under the D&D license as of October 2004. Almost half of these games were developed by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI). Most, but not all, are computer role-playing games that use rules derived from some version of the D&D rules. Notable titles include

For a full list of licensed D&D computer and video games, see List of Dungeons & Dragons computer and video games. Many other CRPGs, such as the numerous Roguelike games, are directly or indirectly based on the D&D game.

[edit]

Novels

Several hundred novels have been published based upon Dungeons & Dragons.

[edit]

Comics

During the 1980s and 1990s, DC Comics published several licensed D&D comics, including: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Forgotten Realms, and Spelljammer.

After the release of the 3rd Edition, KenzerCo, better known for the popular Knights of the Dinner Table, secured the licensing rights to produce official D&D comics. Using the license, they produced a number of different mini-series. One noteable mini-series for this comic line entitled Tempest's Gate was authored by Sean Smith. It featured memorable iconic characters of D&D such as Zed Kraken, a powerful and influential magus.[1]

In 2005, the license passed to Devil's Due Productions. Starting in June of that year, Devil's Due began releasing official adaptations of D&D tie-in novels, starting with Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy.

[edit]

Board games

Several board games have been sold either under the Dungeons & Dragons trademark or in association with it:

  • The Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game (1980) was the first computer/board game hybrid and the first D&D licensed game that contained digital electronics.
  • DragonStrike (1993) used a simplified form of D&D and included an instructional video tape in which costumed actors, combined with computer-generated imagery, played the characters and monsters from the board game.
  • Dungeon, a board game published by TSR, featured similar gameplay and genre tropes to D&D and was frequently advertised in D&D products.
[edit]

References in popular culture

Main article: List of Dungeons & Dragons pop culture references

As the popularity of D&D grew throughout the late-'70s and '80s, references to the game often began to appear in popular culture. For example, in the movie E.T., several of the young characters are shown playing the game.

More typically, D&D players are seen as the epitome of geekdom, and references to the game are used as a shorthand to establish characterization (as in the movie Airheads) or provide the punchline of a joke (for example, on Saturday Night Live). Many players, unhappy with this type of popular stereotyping, embrace more positive references to the game. For example, the film stars Vin Diesel and Robin Williams are both D&D players. The TV Series Futurama also contained numerous references to Dungeons & Dragons, including an animated appearance by Gary Gygax himself.

It should also be noted that D&D is frequently parodied, with parodies of the game existing in nearly all media, including film, television, and cartoons, among others. Much of the potential for parody in Dungeons & Dragons may exist because, with its heroic millieu and imagination-based gameplay, it exaggerates the visibility of the gap between the actuality of the players' self-image and the personas they adopt when interacting with others [2] (PDF).

[edit]

Controversy and notoriety

Image:Jack chick dark dungeons.JPG
In Dark Dungeons by Jack Chick a girl gets involved in witchcraft through playing D&D. She later converts to Christianity and rejects the game. In these last frames of the comic D&D materials are burnt at a Christian gathering.

The game's commercial success led to lawsuits between Arneson and Gygax starting in 1979, over issues of royalties, particularly for AD&D for which Arneson was not given credit by TSR. Those suits were settled out of court by 1981.

The game also achieved notoriety, particularly in the 1980s, due to its alleged promotion of devil worship, witchcraft, suicide, and murder. Evangelical Christians have often criticized Dungeons & Dragons for encouraging interest in sorcery and demonic creatures. Many of these criticisms, though mentioning "Dungeons & Dragons" specifically, were actually aimed at RPG's or the fantasy genre in general and are covered in the Role-playing game article.

The controversy involving occult influences led TSR to remove lengthy references to demons, devils, and other supernatural monsters commonly associated with "sorcery" in the 2nd Edition of AD&D. Many of these aspects were returned to the game with the release of the 3rd Edition. A few products have gone into even further detail on the activities of demons and demon worshippers than those of previous editions; the more extreme, like the Book of Vile Darkness, bear a "For Mature Audiences Only" label.

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

External links

de:Dungeons & Dragons es:Dragones y Mazmorras fr:Donjons et Dragons it:Dungeons & Dragons

he:מבוכים ודרקונים nl:Dungeons & Dragons (RPG) ja:ダンジョンズ&ドラゴンズ no:Dungeons & Dragons pl:Dungeons & Dragons pt:Dungeons and Dragons fi:Dungeons & Dragons sv:Dungeons & Dragons zh:龙与地下城