How 'Dungeons' changed the world

[HawkerHurricane]

PETER BEBERGAL
How 'Dungeons' changed the world
By Peter Bebergal | November 15, 2004

FOR A WHILE, it seemed, I was part of a generation with no discernable qualities, no great contribution to American culture. Too young to be boomers, too old to be "Gen X," this generation was a product of the burned out excess of the seventies married to the surface glow of the eighties. But here in 2004, I realize I belong to the luckiest generation, and not only that, I am part of the luckiest sub-culture within. Maybe we didn't give the world the Beatles or John Updike, but we gave the world Dungeons and Dragons.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the beloved, much maligned, often misunderstood role playing game developed in 1974 by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax. Without CGI graphics, surround sound, or flat screens, they invented an immense and complex gaming system that requires only pencils, graph paper, and some oddly configured dice. Arneson and Gygax paved the way, but let's face it, my friends and I changed the world.

It started innocently enough. With a copy of "The Fellowship of the Ring" at my side and Styx on the record player, I was looking for something to help me rise above being bored, lonely, and unfulfilled. One day at school, a kid approached me. Having sensed in me an ally -- the same urgent need to avoid getting beat up that day -- he timidly asked if I wanted to play "D&D" after school.

continued at link http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/11/15/dungeons_and_dragons_we_love_you/

[Worst Username Ever]

1. I went to a Catholic gradeschool, and no joke, we used to stay after

school and play D&D with a NUN. Sister Chris. Good times. God I was a dork.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. YAY for D&D!!

Man, my friends and I, starting in 8th grade in 1979, played shitloads of hours upon hours, all through junior high, high school, and college, and then until I left for NYC in 1992. Though by then, we were pretty much pure Rolemaster in terms of fantasy RPGs, having left D&D behind a few years before that. We found Rolemaster much better. But I still have a soft place in my heart for D&D, and still have all my old books (the first editions of the player's handbook, DM guide, monster manual, etc. - I even have the Dieties and Demigods with the Cthulhu gods, before the lovecraft estate made them take them out)

[Book Lover]

6. YES! Rolemaster!

You are totally the first person on DU I've encountered who knows what Rolemaster is! I am so excited I'm going to end every sentence here with an exclaimation point! Wow!

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Good exclamation point usage!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!

We really like Rolemaster. We loved D&D but were often challenged by the limitations of the d20 for combat and the stupid level advancement and lack of specific skills, and, most importantly, it's utterly useless and bullshit magic system (which, from day one when I first opened the Basic D&D boxed set, I thought the magic system was bullshit). Once we found Rolemaster, with it's percentage basis, and the critical charts, and the far more realistic weapons damage and to-hit rolling and defense bonuses, etc., AND especially a magic system that actually makes sense and WORKS, we were hooked.

[Book Lover]

9. Well, I missed out on your all-caps thread

so I had to pick up somewhere...

RM was more entertaining and realistic, absolutely, particularly when it came to weapons damage. Plus, you gotta love those crit charts, especially as how they were obviously hand scribed in the early days.

[DrWeird]

11. I've got that Dieties and Demigods.

I didn't know they took out the Lovecraft stuff. That's a shame. I loved that artwork. Especially Shub-niggurath.

I myself was a little to young for the golden days of D&D. But my brother was old enough. I used to love the artwork in all those books. Watched the cartoon, collected the toys.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

3. P&P RPG really rocks

and its kinda addictive. But the stories going on in the real world begin to catch up with spicyness.

Why want to destry the ring, fight bhaal-cultists or borbaradians in fictive stories when ya got the Pharisean States of Babylon in real.

Reallity outclasses fiction in "Epic" nowadays. Perhaps i should get some post-apocalyptic mad-max-style rpg just to prepare my mind on whats to come.

Anyway you might want to take a look on the fiction of "SHADOWRUN" playing Earth 2040~60 somewhen. Especially the parts about the corporations. Kind of prophetic..

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Shadowrun - great game!

We played that a fair amount as well. I had a bitchin magic using guy - whatever they were called. Had a nasty ass fireball thingy I could send around - the one that killed people and also blew up cop cars. Friend of mine had a fantastic hacker character as well.

That's a pretty darn cool game.

But it's been almost a good 12-13 years since I've played it, so the memory is a little vague.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

10. yeppa

Played a Hacker char as well for a long time. now its the germany based DSA (The Black Eye) which i play. the sixt world...i^d like to see chimpy turned into a real ugly dumbass troll. o wait he is allready...

[UncleSepp]

5. Waiting for the Sixth World...

I'm just counting down the years. The line developers for SR are some kind of prophets ;-)

[starroute]

8. My son's upstairs playing Eburron (D&D 3.5) online right now

He's never liked AD&D as much as White Wolf games, but he says Eburron looks like it's going to be fun. D&D minus the hack'n'slash and the derivative Tolkienness. Instead, plenty of room for pulp swashbucking and Maltese Falcon-like deceptions and intrigues.

Also, you can't just kill things randomly and take their stuff any more -- or at least if you do, you'll probably wind up dead. You have to role-play as though you're dealing with actual people and not with faceless game tokens.

Sounds good to me.