Dungeons and DragonsDungeons and Dragons (D&D) began way back in the 1970s and spawned the phenomenom that became the fantasy role-playing (FRP) hobby. Even though the crest of the wave has now long passed, FRP and D&D and other role-playing games (RPG) remain highly popular.
HistoryD&D was initially closer to a tabletop wargame than to what we consider FRP today. It evolved from the "Chainmail" gaming rules deeloped by E. Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren. D&D itself consisted of a boxed set of three hard to read and harder to understand booklets: Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. These were written by Gygax and Dave Arneson.I was in my teens at the time and a friend obtained a copy of this wonderous new game from the US. As mutually agreed Dungeon Master (DM) I took the books home to read when I should have been doing my homework. I remember my initial enthusiasm quickly turning to disappointment as I realised that the "game" was incomplete and almost incomprehensible. Eventually I ended up doing what most people did back then: used the rules as inspiration and made the rest up as I went along. Perhaps this is why old-time role-players such as myself are often so keen on free-form FRP that resembles improvisational theatre more than a game. Gygax himself is reputed to once have said that a good DM only rolls the dice for the sound they make. Original D&D was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules - which later went on to become the legendary TSR. In 1975 TSR published the first of many, many supplements: Greyhawk. Dragons were, of course, an essential part of D&D, with the Golden Dragon and Tiamat the Chromatic Dragon being amongst the most powerful. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons1978 saw D&D moving into the big time commercially. As well as a "basic" version, TSR published Advanced D&D. The first part of this was the Players' Handbook, although in keeping with the tradition of the original set this was of limited use - only when the first Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) was published in 1979 did AD&D become a coherent game.By now the role-playing hobby was sufficiently established to start receiving criticism from those who failed to give us credit for distinguishing between fantasy and reality. The 1970s and 1980s also saw the start of the Golden Age of the FRP "fanzine" - amateur hobby magazines such as Alarums and Excursions, Trollcrusher and The Beholder. FRP fandom was big. In the UK, the FRP "Hobby Elite" was beginning to form. This was a group of gamers universally recognised by the Hobby Elite as being the most influential figures in fandom. I was lucky enough to be part of this elite group having been selected by myself. A revised second edition of AD&D was published in the late 1980s. By 1997 the glory days of the FRP hobby had passed. TSR was bought by Wizards of the Coast which released the Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition (D&D3). This moved from the traditional assortment of polyhedral dice to a system based around d20s. Wizards is today owned by Hasbro.
TodayD&D today has moved on a long way in the last 30 years with an estimated 20 million players worldwide. The sophisticated, highly detailed rule sets you can buy now bear little resemblence to the tatty, incomprehensible originals.Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, but I miss the old pioneering days.
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