Dungeons and Dragons

The most iconic and recognizable tabletop RPG is enjoying a boom in popularity. Dungeons and Dragons has become mainstream once again with legions of people partying up to play online and at home. The game has come a long way from its humble origins.

Dungeons and Dragons was first created in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The original D&D bears little resemblance to the modern version in all of its filtered complexities, but the central ideas remain the same. D&D is a role-playing game that allows players flexibility and creativity in how they play and proceed.

Typically, a traditional game of Dungeons and Dragons involves one player serving as a Dungeon Master, or DM. This player is in charge of running the game for the other players, and doesn’t actually have a character to role-play for themselves. Instead, the DM assumes the role of the world the other players are participating in, and the characters those players meet during the course of their adventures.

Dungeons and Dragons was originally conceived as a “pen and paper” game, something that was played in-person with results tracked by writing down the outcomes of combat and other interactions. Today, the advent of the internet has dramatically changed what’s possible, and many D&D games are played entirely online. There are numerous services that automate much of the tracking required to play D&D, making it more approachable for newcomers than ever before.

The game itself also continues to evolve. There are various editions of Dungeons and Dragons that are played, ranging from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons to the game’s fifth edition. Each has its own rules and quirks, and changes are instituted by D&D owner Wizards of the Coast.