Dungeons and Dragons. These three words bring many thoughts to many different people. People think of nerds, geeks, dorks. Others think of fun, adventurous, exhilarating. Some people think of live action role playing games (LARPing). The bottom line is that Dungeons and Dragons has been around for quite some time and has entertained millions of people around the world because of its open world, open imagination based gameplay. Dungeons and Dragons has expanded into a multi-million dollar idea that has spawned many copies of the D20 system.

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was first published in 1974. The game quickly grew in popularity, and demand for the basic book skyrocketed. D&D is a D20 system. D20 systems are role-playing games where each player has a character sheet with stats, equipment, spells, race, age, class, and other abilities. Players play on a mat or some other type of board with which the Dungeon Master (DM) shapes his story for the players’ enjoyment. It is called the D20 system because most actions require the player to roll a 20-sided die. D stands for die, 20 the number of sides on the die. In D&D, the D20 is used to attack, make saving throws to avoid spell damage, or use an ability like stealth or intimidation. Damage rolls on successful attack rolls usually use D6, D8, D10, or D12. The main focus that players have on their characters is the skills and attacks that they can perform. Skills and attacks largely depend on the character’s class.

Dungeons and Dragons has a plethora of classes for players to choose from. They can choose from a basic fighter, barbarian, sorcerer, wizard, bard, cleric, monk, paladin, even a druid. There are over 40 different classes for players to choose from and even more prestige (expansion) classes. Each class has different abilities and plays a different role in the group. Players can choose to be a melee damage (rogue), ranged damage (archer, mage), support character (bard), healer (cleric), or a tank (barbarian) type of character. Dungeons and Dragons was created to be a team game that required each player to take their role seriously. As the common phrase goes, “You are only as strong as your weakest link.” If a party healer is playing in the fight, the whole team can suffer. Using roles ensures that everyone is on a level playing field in terms of their importance to the party.

Perhaps the biggest part of D&D is the length of the games. A D&D game consists of sessions. Each session can last anywhere from an hour to a whole day depending on how dedicated and free the players and DM are. Games consist of these sessions and certain games can last for several years, even up to 10+ years of gameplay. Personally, I have played in games that have been going on for 3 years now and have grown fond of my character. Dungeons and Dragons is perhaps the only game where people become attached to their characters in a normal way. Although it may take several play sessions, many people start to get invested in their character and every decision they make.

Many people believe that D&D sessions are always a dungeon crawl that ends with either slaying dragons or saving the princess. Luckily for most gamers though, the man behind D&D, Gary Gygax, added alignments to every character. Your character can be Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic. Various DMs make their adventures just chaotic, leading many characters to do what they want, when they want. Several of my sessions have focused on internal issues of our party rather than external ones, like what has red eyes and stares at us as we set up camp for the night.

In my experience, the easiest characters to start playing Dungeons and Dragons are the fighters. Fighters need to know their Armor Class (AC), Health Points (HP), and what attacks they can perform. Fighters have the least amount of material that needs to be memorized in order to play effectively. Although they are an easy class to play, they can play a great role in any group. By learning the basics of the game, players can explore experiences in the arcane or diving classes, such as the cleric, druid, or mage. These classes must know the same information as the fighters, but they must also pay attention to their spells. A good wizard knows which spells to use and when. Casting classes are limited in their spellcasting abilities and if they run out of spells they must resort to melee combat. A wizard fighting in hand-to-hand combat is a lot like a quarterback trying to take down a linebacker in football.

Dungeons and Dragons is a game meant to be played by anyone. The game is only limited by your imagination. I’ve played D&D with a wide range of characters. From 16 year old punks to 65 year old grandpas and everything in between. It takes an open mind to try Dungeon and Dragons for the first time, but you don’t need to be a nerd or geek to enjoy playing it. I consider Dungeons and Dragons to be the equivalent of a video game, except that it was first created when video games were barely known. Today, everyone knows what video games are and most citizens enjoy playing them. If people tried D&D just once, I’m sure they would have a nice experience. Dungeons and Dragons games can be found in many places. You can find groups that play games online, or you can even walk into a comic book store and ask if they host games. D&D is more popular than most people expect. Through the use of the imagination and collective thoughts of many willing participants, Dungeons and Dragons has grown from a home gathering in a basement to a worldwide game enjoyed by millions.