The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [39]
Swords and Spells was the last in the series. It picked up where Chainmail left off (Gygax called it the “grandson of Chainmail” in the introduction), providing miniature-scale battle rules more compatible with Dungeons &Dragons. And thus Dungeons & Dragons, just a few years old, came full circle, returning to its miniature roots.
The fan movement continued to grow, generating considerable debate as to how to improve the game. That spirit of review and improvement led to several Dungeons & Dragons competitors. In gaming parlance, these types of Dungeons & Dragons variants would be known as “Fantasy Heartbreakers,” a phrase coined by Ron Edwards. As Edwards explained, Fantasy Heartbreakers are “truly impressive in terms of the drive, commitment, and personal joy that’s evident in both their existence and in their details—yet they are also teeth-grindingly frustrating ... they represent but a single creative step from their source: old-style D&D” (Edwards 2002).
One of the first attempts to simplify Dungeons & Dragons was Tunnels &Trolls by Ken St. Andre (Astinus 1998). Released in 1975, Tunnels & Trolls has similar statistics, classes, and adventures. It did introduce a points-based magic system, used six-sided dice exclusively, and presented a better explanation of its rules overall. It also brought a sense of impish fun to the genre.
In response to the accusation that Dungeons & Dragons was only about dragons and dungeons, Fantasy Games Unlimited released Chivalry & Sorcery in 1976. Created by Ed Simbalist and Wilf Backhaus, Chivalry & Sorcery embraced a realistic approach to medieval France in the 12th century, complete with feudalism and the Catholic Church. Chivalry & Sorcery was most noteworthy for creating the term “game master.” It was one of the first games to place the setting at utmost importance over the mechanics of the game.
The year 1977 was a turning point for Dungeons & Dragons. This year saw the creation of Basic Dungeons & Dragons, edited by J. Eric Holmes, which drew its lineage primarily from the original boxed set but was marketed for younger players. It also was sold in a box and suitable for distribution in toy stores. One year later, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was published in hardcover format, filled with clarifications by Gygax to further the game.
The distinction between the two games confused many players, myself included. What did “advanced” mean precisely? My mother purchased the Basic Dungeons & Dragons boxed set for me for my birthday, and I struggled to learn how to play at age seven. The next year, my aunt purchased the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons hardcover books for me, not understanding the distinction between the two games. To my disappointment, I realized the two games weren’t entirely compatible.
The first hardcover edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the Monster Manual, was released in 1977. The Player’s Handbook followed in 1978 and the Dungeon Master’s Guide in 1979.
My gaming group played our way up through the master set of the basic rules. The master (black box) set was released at around the same time as Unearthed Arcana for the advanced rules. At this point we had to make a decision; I had all the hardcover rules, with the assumption that when I was sufficiently “advanced” we would switch. But the agreement as to whether or not we were “advanced” enough lingered, and the switchover caused a considerable rift in my gaming group. Eventually, we all switched to the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
The Dungeons & Dragons brand was tarnished with the disappearance in 1979 of James Dallas Egbert III, a Michigan State University student. A Dungeons & Dragons–like game was blamed for his disappearance. Jack Chick’s tract Dark Dungeons and Pat Pulling of Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (BADD) both spread propaganda that closely tied Dungeons & Dragons to cult activities that they believed were a threat to young people across America. Pulling went so far as to provide pamphlets and guides to police and appeared