Hobbies And Interests
History
The first Dungeons and Dragon game was released in 1976 as an alternative to current strategy and figurine based war games. The original Dungeons and Dragons only consisted of a three meager rulebooks, but several devout fans early in the game's life made many supplements that were later included in the game. Dungeons and Dragons was one of the first games to implement flexible character statistics, and account for the possibility of random events and statistics-based battle. Because of these game play elements, many people consider Dungeons and Dragons to be the first modern role-playing game and the basis for many modern video game titles. Although Dungeons and Dragons was marred by controversy in the late 1980s and 1990s, the title remains hugely popular, and TV shows like The Simpsons and Futurama reference the game often. A movie was also made in 2000, and a sequel is in the works.
Features
There are several signature game play elements of the Dungeons and Dragons game, some of which have extended into other role-playing franchises. The game begins when a dungeon master is chosen. This person oversees the action and ensures that rules are followed during every turn, and is responsible for deciding a character's fate in battle. Each person playing who is not Dungeon Master creates a character. They can set different ability statistics, decide on a job (which comes with various abilities) and choose a moral alignment. Once characters are set, the game is generally set up with a custom made board and polyhedral die to determine random events. Since nearly every aspect of Dungeons and Dragons is customizable, no two games will play out the same way.
Time Frame
Like most other aspects of Dungeons and Dragons, play length is also customizable. Most games take place over a period of days, and can take as long as 40 hours. Typical games, however, take around 5 hours. Shortened versions of the game are possible, with altered rules, and these can generally take 2 to 3 hours.
Types
There have been several editions of the core Dungeons and Dragons game over the years. The very fist edition only consisted of three booklets. It was criticized at first for it's war game-like approach, but soon developed a devout fan following which enhanced the game with fan-made zines and other enhancements. The second version of Dungeons and Dragons was released in 1977 and featured a two-pronged strategy, which became the basis of the D&D format for the next 20 years. Basic and advanced versions of the game were released, each with specific rule sets that appealed to different styles of play. A revised edition was released in the 1980s in response to some controversy involving the presence of demonic creatures and witchcraft. Many people responded negatively to these special editions, and they were quietly discontinued. When Dungeons and Dragon production company came very close to bankruptcy, and was purchased by Wizards of the Coast, a third edition was published. The new edition unified the basic and advanced editions and had more flexible rules for character creation. The third edition released an update in 2003, Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, which only featured minor changes to the rulebook. The most current Dungeons and Dragons game is version 4, and this game had substantial rule changes, especially in regards to non-magical classes. A companion online mode has been added which includes a virtual tabletop interface to facilitate online play.
Misconceptions
During the 1980s there was a rather large controversy involving the Dungeons and Dragons franchise in the 1980s. Many people mistakenly believed that Dungeons and Dragons was connected to satanism and modern day witchcraft. In the 1990s Dungeons and Dragons was also blamed for a young man's murder of his stepfather, although it was later found that the game had nothing to do with the murder.