The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [36]
Miniature wargames have a long and proud pedigree of teaching valuable lessons about important battles and, in some cases, even laying claim to the success of real commanders who were unable to field regular troops. When it debuted, Dungeons & Dragons caused considerable tension between historical wargamers and tabletop role-players. The industry would be further pushed into the mainstream with the advent of prepainted miniatures, which allowed younger and less affluent players to collect affordable miniatures and understand the rules without referring to arcane tomes.
Not everyone sees role-playing as a mature evolution of the medium, however. As Barton put it in Dungeons & Desktops, “It’s one thing ... to saunter past a few wargamers engaged in a heated discussion of the Battle of Gettysburg—even if the sight of grown men moving painted miniatures may seem childish to some. However, it’s quite another matter when people are displaying the same sort of passion for sorcery and dragons, much less for demons and priests of darkness” (2008:18).
In the next chapter, we examine how Dungeons & Dragons returned to its miniature roots in the third edition of the game and its impact on the structure of the Fellowship.
THREE
TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING GAMES
This is a fantasy RPG predicated on the assumption that the human race, by and large, is made up of good people. Humans, with the help of their demi-human allies, are and should remain the predominant force in the world. They have achieved and continue to hold on to this status, despite the ever-present threat of evil, mainly because of the dedication, honor, and unselfishness of the most heroic humans and demi-humans—the characters whose roles are taken by the players of the game [Gygax 1987:26].
Introduction
Of the basic forms of games for entertainment over thousands of years, including table games, board games, card games, and parlor games, role-playing games are a recent addition (Gygax 1989:151). Role-playing games consist of a set of rules by which players engage in role play. There is usually a core set of rulebooks which contain the game’s mechanics and overall setting, sometimes divided between player books and game master books. Sourcebooks elaborate on the game world through new classes or advanced rules. Scenario books, sometimes called adventures or modules, are storylines for the game master to use with his players (Harrigan and Wardrip-Fruin 2007:1).
My early initial experience with Dungeons & Dragons was confusing. I had difficulty with by the math—To Hit Armor Class 0 (THAC0) never made much sense to me, nor did hit point progression charts. The confusion I experienced was shared by my playmates:
I do remember playing D&D. When we first started we played in your room with the board on the bed and we rolled dice on the floor. I was a cleric. I am quite sure I had no idea what a cleric was at that point ... there were dice to roll, there were scenarios that we encountered. I think there were attack points, magic points, spells and I was usually confused. I am not sure that I grasped the “role playing” part of it back then. I was used to games that had a purpose and a goal that could be achieved within an hour or so [Herriman 2010].
Dungeons & Dragons has had several editions, more than nine since 1974 (Mona 2007:25). For our purposes, we will primarily focus on the impact of original boxed set of Dungeons &Dragons (OD&D) and the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons editions (AD&D). Following this path will help us trace a direct line of evolution from Middle-earth to Dungeons & Dragons to computer role-playing