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Unlike a story wherein a character’s fate is predetermined, the protagonists of a role-playing session have uncertain fates. It is entirely possible they will die ignominiously due to a simple spate of bad luck (Czege 2007:67). When it came to killing off characters that died through no fault of their own, Gygax advocated for arbitrating the situation in the player character’s favor. He encouraged instead that the character be maimed or knocked unconscious.

Gygax also stressed the importance of continuity (1989:57) and thereby the continuation of a character that a player invested in. To keep play relevant for the player, he explained three mechanics to continue play: the ability to avoid certain death through a luck mechanic (colloquially known as a “saving throw” in Dungeons & Dragons); the ability to return from death through resurrection, cloning, reincarnation, or replication; and an opportunity to replace a character with a close family member or associate.

Conversely, Gygax felt that characters who were untouchable and never at risk were not fun to play either. Death was not necessarily a risk at higher levels, thanks to powerful resurrection magic. In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, resurrection required a system shock roll. Failure meant the character was permanently dead.

If a character fails that roll, which he or she should make him or herself, he or she is FOREVER DEAD. There MUST be some final death or immortality will take over and again the game will become boring because the player characters will have 9+ lives each! [1979:110].

Contrast this with MMORPGs where characters die frequently.

In all editions of Dungeons & Dragons up to and including the third edition, the cleric was a key component of any healing strategy. Although other classes like druids had access to healing spells, most healing was in the hands of the cleric role. The third edition expanded access to healing through potions, which could be purchased in large quantities. Nevertheless, it was made clear that if a character needed to heal quickly, some outside agency would be necessary. This made clerics both an invaluable edition to a party and a hobbled role that still exists today in MMORPGs. The fourth edition changed all that.

The fourth edition features “healing surges.” Healing surges, usable once per encounter by every class, allow a recovery of one quarter health. No longer is the cleric solely occupied with keeping players alive. In addition, there are now two classes that can heal as part of their actions—clerics and warlords— so that they are not strictly limited in function during a fight (Smith 2008).

The fourth edition changed the assumption of a variable number of monsters to a party of five player characters facing off against four monsters. Each of the monsters has a role, and that role mimics the player class roles—brutes, soldiers, leaders, and controllers (Wilkes 2008:11). There are rules for handling monsters working together in the same way that the classes are balanced for players working together. Although this isn’t a new concept in gaming, it is new to Dungeons & Dragons.

In addition to monsters, traps are also integrated in the fourth edition as a challenge to a party. Many of these traps are location-based, and several of the class powers involve pushing and pulling targets on the battle grid or tabletop. In essence, the traps matter because the player characters can push or be pushed into them.

Roles

In Dungeons & Dragons, being a player or Dungeon Master has certain responsibilities and tasks that go with it. Through these tasks, players and Dungeon Masters contribute to the game, shaping the outcome. Traditionally, players create and control their characters, from physical appearance to the game’s quantified attributes. The player determines his character’s actions and rolls dice to determine the outcome of any uncertainty.

Creator Roles

Characters are the equivalent of