Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD)[1] is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game is currently published by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro. It was derived from miniature wargames with a variation of the Chainmail game serving as the initial rule system.[2] D&D's publication is widely regarded as the beginning of modern role-playing games and, by extension, the entire role-playing game industry.[3]

Players of D&D create characters that embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (abbreviated as DM, also known as a Game Master or GM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while also maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur. During each game session, the players listen to descriptions of their characters' surroundings, as well as additional information and potential choices from the DM, then describe their actions in response. The characters form a party that interacts with the setting's inhabitants (and each other). Together they solve dilemmas, engage in battles and gather treasure and knowledge.[3] In the process the characters earn experience points to become increasingly powerful over a series of sessions. D&D departs from traditional wargaming and assigns each player a specific character to play instead of a military formation. Miniature figures or markers, placed on a grid, are sometimes used to represent these characters.

The early success of Dungeons & Dragons led to a proliferation of similar game systems, such as Tunnels and Trolls,[4] Traveller and RuneQuest.[5] Despite this competition, D&D dominates the role-playing game industry, enjoying a nearly unassailable market position.[6] In 1977, the game was split into two versions: the simpler Dungeons & Dragons and the more complex Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as AD&D or ADnD).[1][7] AD&D 2nd Edition was published in 1989. In 2000, the simpler version of the game was discontinued and the complex version was renamed simply Dungeons & Dragons with the release of its 3rd edition.[8] Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 was released in June 2003, with a 4th edition in June 2008.[9]

As of 2006, Dungeons & Dragons remains the best-known[10] and best-selling[11] role-playing game, with an estimated 20 million people having played the game and more than US$1 billion in book and equipment sales.[12] Dungeons & Dragons is known beyond the game for other D&D-branded products, references in popular culture and some of the controversies that have surrounded it, particularly a moral panic in the 1980s falsely linking it to Satanism and suicide.[13]

Dungeons & Dragons is a structured yet open-ended role-playing game. It is normally played indoors with the participants seated around a table-top. Typically, each player controls only a single character, which represents an individual in a fictional setting.[14][15] As a group, these player characters (PCs) are often described as a ‘party’ of adventurers, with each member often having his or her own areas of specialty.[16] During the course of play, each player directs the actions of his or her character and its interactions with the other characters in the game.[17][18] A game often continues over a series of meetings to complete a single adventure, and longer into a series of related gaming adventures, called a ‘campaign’.[19]

The results of the party's choices and the overall storyline for the game are determined by the Dungeon Master (DM) according to the rules of the game and the DM's interpretation of those rules.[20] The DM selects and describes the various non-player characters (NPCs) the party encounters, the settings in which these interactions occur, and the outcomes of those encounters based on the players' choices and actions.[18][21] Encounters often take the form of battles with 'monsters' – a generic term used in D&D to describe potentially hostile beings such as animals or mythical creatures. The game's extensive rules – which cover diverse subjects such as social interactions,[22] magic use,[23] combat,[24] and the effect of the environment on PCs[25] – help the DM to make these decisions. The Dungeon Master may choose to deviate from the published rules[20] or make up new ones as he or she feels necessary.[26]

Release 3.5 of the three core rulebooksThe most recent versions of the game's rules are detailed in three core rulebooks: The Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. A Basic Game boxed set contains abbreviated rules to help beginners learn the game.[27]

The only items required to play the game are the rulebooks, a character sheet for each player and a number of polyhedral dice. The current editions also assume, but do not require, the use of miniature figures or markers on a gridded surface. Earlier editions did not make this assumption.[28] Many optional accessories are available to enhance the game, such as expansion rulebooks, pre-designed adventures and various campaign settings.[29]

Before the game begins, each player creates his or her player character and records the details (described below) on a character sheet. First, a player determines his or her character's ability scores,[30] which consist of Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each edition of the game has offered differing methods of determining these statistics; as of 4th Edition, players generally assign their ability scores from a list or use points to "buy" them.[31] The player then chooses a race (species) such as Human or Elf, a character class (occupation) such as Fighter or Wizard, an alignment (a moral and ethical outlook which may have a Good or Evil component, a Lawful or Chaotic component, or something in between), and a number of powers, skills and feats to enhance the character's basic abilities.[32] Additional background history, not covered by specific rules, is often also used to further develop the character.[33]

During the game, players describe their PC's intended actions, such as punching an opponent or picking a lock, and converse with the DM in character – who then describes the result or response.[34] Trivial actions, such as picking up a letter or opening an unlocked door, are usually automatically successful. The outcomes of more complex or risky actions are determined by rolling dice.[18] Factors contributing to the outcome include the character's ability scores, skills and the difficulty of the task.[35] In circumstances where a character does not have control of an event, such as when a trap or magical effect is triggered or a spell is cast, a saving throw can be used to determine whether the resulting damage is reduced or avoided.[36][37] In this case the odds of success are influenced by the character's class, levels and (with the 3rd edition) ability scores.[36][38]

As the game is played, each PC changes over time and generally increases in capability. Characters gain (or sometimes lose) experience, skills[39] and wealth, and may even alter their alignment[40] or add additional character classes.[41] The key way characters progress is by earning experience points (XP/EXP), which happens when they defeat an enemy or accomplish a difficult task.[42] Acquiring enough XP allows a PC to advance a level, which grants the character improved class features, abilities and skills.[43] XP can also be lost in some circumstances, such as encounters with creatures that drain life energy, or by use of certain magical powers that require payment of an XP cost.[44]

Hit points (HP) are a measure of a character's vitality and health and are determined by the class, level and constitution of each character. They can be temporarily lost when a character sustains wounds in combat or otherwise comes to harm, and loss of HP is the most common way for a character to die in the game.[45] Death can also result from the loss of key ability scores[46] or character levels.[47] When a PC dies, it is often possible for the dead character to be resurrected through magic, although some penalties may be imposed as a result. If resurrection is not possible or not desired, the player may instead create a new PC to resume playing the game.[48]

[edit] Adventures, campaigns and modules
Main article: Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
A typical Dungeons & Dragons game consists of an 'adventure', which is roughly equivalent to a single story.[49] The DM can either design an adventure on his or her own, or follow one of the many additional pre-made adventures (previously known as "modules") that have been published throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons. Published adventures typically include a background story, illustrations, maps and goals for PCs to achieve. Some also include location descriptions and handouts. Although a small adventure entitled 'Temple of the Frog' was included in the Blackmoor rules supplement in 1975, the first stand-alone D&D module published by TSR was 1978’s Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, written by Gygax.

A linked series of adventures is commonly referred to as a 'campaign'.[50] The locations where these adventures occur, such as a city, country, planet or an entire fictional universe, are also sometimes called 'campaigns' but are more correctly referred to as 'worlds' or 'campaign settings'.[51] D&D settings are based in various fantasy subgenres and feature varying levels of magic and technology.[52] Popular commercially published campaign settings for Dungeons & Dragons include Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Mystara, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Planescape, Birthright and Eberron.[53] Alternatively, DMs may develop their own fictional worlds to use as campaign settings.

The wargames from which Dungeons & Dragons evolved used miniature figures to represent combatants. D&D initially continued the use of miniatures in a fashion similar to its direct precursors. The original D&D set of 1974 required the use of the Chainmail miniatures game for combat resolution.[54] By the publication of the 1977 game editions, combat was mostly resolved verbally. Thus miniatures were no longer required for game play, although some players continued to use them as a visual reference.[55]

In the 1970s, numerous companies began to sell miniature figures specifically for Dungeons & Dragons and similar games. Licensed miniature manufacturers who produced official figures include Grenadier Miniatures (1980–1983),[56] Citadel Miniatures (1984–1986),[57] Ral Partha,[58] and TSR itself.[59] Most of these miniatures used the 25 mm scale, with the exception of Ral Partha’s 15 mm scale miniatures for the 1st edition Battlesystem.[60][61]

Periodically, Dungeons & Dragons has 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)[62] provided rule systems to handle battles between armies by using miniatures.

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition (2000) assumes the use of miniatures to represent combat situations in play, an aspect of the game that was further emphasized in the v3.5 revision. The Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (2003) is sold as sets of plastic, randomly assorted, pre-painted miniatures, and can be used as either part of a standard Dungeons & Dragons game or as a stand-alone collectible miniatures game.[63]

The immediate predecessor of Dungeons & Dragons was a set of medieval miniature rules written by Jeff Perren. These were expanded by Gary Gygax, whose additions included a fantasy supplement, before the game was published as Chainmail. Dave Arneson used Chainmail to run games where players controlled a single character instead of an army, an innovation that inspired D&D.[2] Developed with Arneson's help from his modified version of Chainmail for his Blackmoor campaign,[64] Gygax wrote "The Fantasy Game", the role-playing game (RPG) that became Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).[1][65]

Many Dungeons & Dragons elements also appear in hobbies of the mid- to late twentieth century (though these elements also existed previously). Character-based role playing, for example, can be seen in improvisational theatre.[66] Game-world simulations were well-developed in wargaming. Fantasy milieus specifically designed for gaming could be seen in Glorantha’s board games among others.[5] Ultimately, however, Dungeons & Dragons represents a unique blending of these elements.

The theme of D&D 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. Gygax maintained that he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings (although the owners of that work’s copyright forced the name changes of hobbit to 'halfling', ent to 'treant', and balrog to 'Type VI demon [balor]'), stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity of the work.[67][68]

The magic system, in which wizards memorize spells that are used up once cast (and must be re-memorized the next day), was heavily influenced by the Dying Earth stories and novels of Jack Vance.[69] The original alignment system (which grouped all players and creatures into ‘Law’, ‘Neutrality’ and ‘Chaos’) was derived from the novel Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson.[70] A troll described in this work also influenced the D&D definition of that monster.[68]

Other influences include the works of Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, H. P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, Roger Zelazny, and Michael Moorcock.[71] Monsters, spells, and magic items used in the game have been inspired by hundreds of individual works ranging from A. E. van Vogt’s “Black Destroyer”, Coeurl (the Displacer Beast), Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” (vorpal sword) to the Book of Genesis (the clerical spell ‘Blade Barrier’ was inspired by the “flaming sword which turned every way” at the gates of Eden).[70]

The immediate predecessor of Dungeons & Dragons was a set of medieval miniature rules written by Jeff Perren. These were expanded by Gary Gygax, whose additions included a fantasy supplement, before the game was published as Chainmail. Dave Arneson used Chainmail to run games where players controlled a single character instead of an army, an innovation that inspired D&D.[2] Developed with Arneson's help from his modified version of Chainmail for his Blackmoor campaign,[64] Gygax wrote "The Fantasy Game", the role-playing game (RPG) that became Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).[1][65]

Many Dungeons & Dragons elements also appear in hobbies of the mid- to late twentieth century (though these elements also existed previously). Character-based role playing, for example, can be seen in improvisational theatre.[66] Game-world simulations were well-developed in wargaming. Fantasy milieus specifically designed for gaming could be seen in Glorantha’s board games among others.[5] Ultimately, however, Dungeons & Dragons represents a unique blending of these elements.

The theme of D&D 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. Gygax maintained that he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings (although the owners of that work’s copyright forced the name changes of hobbit to 'halfling', ent to 'treant', and balrog to 'Type VI demon [balor]'), stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity of the work.[67][68]

The magic system, in which wizards memorize spells that are used up once cast (and must be re-memorized the next day), was heavily influenced by the Dying Earth stories and novels of Jack Vance.[69] The original alignment system (which grouped all players and creatures into ‘Law’, ‘Neutrality’ and ‘Chaos’) was derived from the novel Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson.[70] A troll described in this work also influenced the D&D definition of that monster.[68]

Other influences include the works of Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, H. P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, Roger Zelazny, and Michael Moorcock.[71] Monsters, spells, and magic items used in the game have been inspired by hundreds of individual works ranging from A. E. van Vogt’s “Black Destroyer”, Coeurl (the Displacer Beast), Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” (vorpal sword) to the Book of Genesis (the clerical spell ‘Blade Barrier’ was inspired by the “flaming sword which turned every way” at the gates of Eden).[70]