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Line 171: − ==Game play== − ''Dungeons & Dragons'' is a free-form game in which a referee (the Dungeon Master) describes a situational problem to the players and then the players reply with any imaginable response. The exploits of players can occur in any fantasy setting but at some point the adventure often occurs in a ''dungeon'' or subterranean locale not unlike ''[[Moria]]'' in [[Tolkien]]'s [[Lord of the Rings]]. For example a DM might say to the players, "You have arrived the edge of a deep pit. The pit is so deep as to prevent you from seeing the bottom and so wide as to look impossible to jump. Far below you hear hissing and rustling as if a thousand poisonous snakes await you in the darkness." − − Depending upon how motivated the players are to continue in this direction, the players might ask the DM various interrogatories such as "Is it possible to walk along the edge of the pit and continue down the passage?" or "Is there anything on the opposite side of the pit to which we might be able to tie a rope?" − − Next the players will decide what course of actions their characters will take. Each player tries to take advantage of his character's unique talents. For example, the player of the rogue will know that his character is skilled at climbing walls. By jamming his fingers and toes into the cracks in the mortar, the rogue can negotiate along the wall to the opposite side. If the character's actions are reasonable and relatively easy to accomplish the DM allows for them to happen without further comment. If the action is more outrageous, or risky, the DM consults rules and conventions to determine which dice will govern the success of the action. − − At the end of each gaming sessions, the DM grants all players a number of Experience Points (XP's) to represent the player accomplishments. When the character has acquired enough Experience Points, the character can gain more powers and abilities. − − ===Alignment System=== − Because D&D players can basically do "anything" there are moral implications to the choices players make. To provide a frame of reference and to help the game make sense Gygax devised an alignment system. All characters are required to choose an ''alignment'' and the character must adhere to the beliefs of that alignment. Similarly, all monsters have alignments and thus their actions can be predictable and make sense. − − "Good" characters strive to do acts of goodness and while avoiding actions which are hurtful to others. "Evil" characters think only of their own needs. Animals and certain other creatures don't care much about good or evil. At the same time "Lawful" characters believe that it is important to adhere to the rule of law, while "Chaotic" characters are more concerned with personal freedoms than with laws. Some characters do not care whether an action is lawful or chaotic, but only whether it is good or evil. By combining these two frameworks, we arrive at the nine alignments: lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, true neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, or chaotic evil. − − These alignments help a player separate what the player or referee would do in a given situation from how the character or monster might react in the same situation. Some DMs forbid evil characters as they are often disruptive to the game, though the rules do not expressly require that players choose good characters. − − ===Components of a Character=== − A character is described in detail on a "character sheet" where the player records important facts about the character. This includes the character's "race", vocation, unique skills, and numerical ratings of the character's attributes. − − In this case, "race" refers to a race from fantasy such as an elf, dwarf, gnome or halfling. The races which are allowed in the game vary from DM to DM according to the tastes of players and the setting that the DM has devised. The vocation or "class" of the character refers to the fantasy archetype the player wishes to play, i.e. wizard, barbarian, rogue, or cleric. The selection of race and class will impact skills and attributes which are available to the character as well as the strengths and weaknesses the character. − − === The Magic System === − The magic system used in Dungeons & Dragons was adopted very roughly from the writing of fantasy and science fiction author [[Jack Vance]]. In the Vancian system, magic-users such as wizards must prepare all of their spells in advance for that day by memorizing them and a spell leaves the wizard's memory upon being cast. To cast the spell again, the magic-user must once again memorize the spell. The Vancian system was chosen for a variety of reasons such as its originality compared to pre-existing magical systems, its avoidance any connection with systems of magic described in any religion or occult theory, and it being the creation one of Gygax's favorite authors.<ref>Forum discussion: [http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/printthread.php?t=182603 "Is D&D magic purely Vancian?"]</ref><ref>RPGnet: [http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10222.phtml Review of "The Primer of Practical Magic"]</ref> − − === The Combat System === − In combat there are three different ways that a character can damage another character: melee, ranged, or magical. Attacking another Player Character (PC) is often an evil act that will get you tossed out of that group, but PC-vs-PC combat is sometimes entered by mutual agreement of the players as part of a plot, or due to magical influence (such as a ''dominate'' spell) affecting a character.
no edit summary
::* ''Experience Points'' --- Experience Points or XP are a metric representing the number of the heroic actions of a player character has achieved in a given campaign. The more XP a character acquires, the more powers and abilities the character has in the game. [[Image:dnddice.jpg|thumb|right|Some of the unusual dice required to play Dungeons & Dragons.]]
::* ''Experience Points'' --- Experience Points or XP are a metric representing the number of the heroic actions of a player character has achieved in a given campaign. The more XP a character acquires, the more powers and abilities the character has in the game. [[Image:dnddice.jpg|thumb|right|Some of the unusual dice required to play Dungeons & Dragons.]]
::* ''d20'' --- Actions and combat in D&D are most often resolved by rolling polyhedral [[dice]]. While standard dice are six-sided cubes, polyhedral dice have can have 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, or 4 sides. To distinguish between dice the standard nomenclature is ''d#'' where the # indicates the number of sides on the die. The d20 is the most commonly rolled die in D&D.
::* ''d20'' --- Actions and combat in D&D are most often resolved by rolling polyhedral [[dice]]. While standard dice are six-sided cubes, polyhedral dice have can have 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, or 4 sides. To distinguish between dice the standard nomenclature is ''d#'' where the # indicates the number of sides on the die. The d20 is the most commonly rolled die in D&D.
==Game play==
''Dungeons & Dragons'' is a free-form game in which a referee (the Dungeon Master) describes a situational problem to the players and then the players reply with any imaginable response. The exploits of players can occur in any fantasy setting but at some point the adventure often occurs in a ''dungeon'' or subterranean locale not unlike ''[[Moria]]'' in [[Tolkien]]'s [[Lord of the Rings]]. For example a DM might say to the players, "You have arrived the edge of a deep pit. The pit is so deep as to prevent you from seeing the bottom and so wide as to look impossible to jump. Far below you hear hissing and rustling as if a thousand poisonous snakes await you in the darkness."
Depending upon how motivated the players are to continue in this direction, the players might ask the DM various interrogatories such as "Is it possible to walk along the edge of the pit and continue down the passage?" or "Is there anything on the opposite side of the pit to which we might be able to tie a rope?"
Next the players will decide what course of actions their characters will take. Each player tries to take advantage of his character's unique talents. For example, the player of the rogue will know that his character is skilled at climbing walls. By jamming his fingers and toes into the cracks in the mortar, the rogue can negotiate along the wall to the opposite side. If the character's actions are reasonable and relatively easy to accomplish the DM allows for them to happen without further comment. If the action is more outrageous, or risky, the DM consults rules and conventions to determine which dice will govern the success of the action.
At the end of each gaming sessions, the DM grants all players a number of Experience Points (XP's) to represent the player accomplishments. When the character has acquired enough Experience Points, the character can gain more powers and abilities.
===Alignment System===
Because D&D players can basically do "anything" there are moral implications to the choices players make. To provide a frame of reference and to help the game make sense Gygax devised an alignment system. All characters are required to choose an ''alignment'' and the character must adhere to the beliefs of that alignment. Similarly, all monsters have alignments and thus their actions can be predictable and make sense.
"Good" characters strive to do acts of goodness and while avoiding actions which are hurtful to others. "Evil" characters think only of their own needs. Animals and certain other creatures don't care much about good or evil. At the same time "Lawful" characters believe that it is important to adhere to the rule of law, while "Chaotic" characters are more concerned with personal freedoms than with laws. Some characters do not care whether an action is lawful or chaotic, but only whether it is good or evil. By combining these two frameworks, we arrive at the nine alignments: lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, true neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, or chaotic evil.
These alignments help a player separate what the player or referee would do in a given situation from how the character or monster might react in the same situation. Some DMs forbid evil characters as they are often disruptive to the game, though the rules do not expressly require that players choose good characters.
===Components of a Character===
A character is described in detail on a "character sheet" where the player records important facts about the character. This includes the character's "race", vocation, unique skills, and numerical ratings of the character's attributes.
In this case, "race" refers to a race from fantasy such as an elf, dwarf, gnome or halfling. The races which are allowed in the game vary from DM to DM according to the tastes of players and the setting that the DM has devised. The vocation or "class" of the character refers to the fantasy archetype the player wishes to play, i.e. wizard, barbarian, rogue, or cleric. The selection of race and class will impact skills and attributes which are available to the character as well as the strengths and weaknesses the character.
===The Magic System ===
The magic system used in Dungeons & Dragons was originally adopted very roughly from the writing of fantasy and science fiction author [[Jack Vance]]. In the Vancian system, magic-users such as wizards must prepare all of their spells in advance for that day by memorizing them and a spell leaves the wizard's memory upon being cast. To cast the spell again, the magic-user must once again memorize the spell. The Vancian system was chosen for a variety of reasons such as its originality compared to pre-existing magical systems, its avoidance any connection with systems of magic described in any religion or occult theory, and it being the creation one of Gygax's favorite authors.<ref>Forum discussion: [http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/printthread.php?t=182603 "Is D&D magic purely Vancian?"]</ref><ref>RPGnet: [http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10222.phtml Review of "The Primer of Practical Magic"]</ref> Novices and those who have never played the game should note that in this case, the player doesn't actually memorize anything. The character "memorization" is really just a mechanic to help limit the number of spells a player can use per gaming episode.
===The Combat System ===
To determine the outcome of combat, players roll dice to determine if an attack "hits" and then if the attack hits how much damage the attack does. Damage reduces the defender's "hit points". When a combatant's hit points are depleted that combatant is "dead" or incapacitated. This combat system was developed from a ship-to-ship naval combat game that Gygax adapted to describe medieval man-to-man combat.
==History and Development==
==History and Development==
Role-playing games are neither inherently evil nor good. Rather, role-playing games are emotional mental tools and toys. They can be used to build or they can be used to destroy. Parents who care about their children's spiritual well-being will not allow young or inexperienced children to play D&D without appropriate supervision.
Role-playing games are neither inherently evil nor good. Rather, role-playing games are emotional mental tools and toys. They can be used to build or they can be used to destroy. Parents who care about their children's spiritual well-being will not allow young or inexperienced children to play D&D without appropriate supervision.
==References==
==References==