Dungeons and Dragons

[Zabka]

I never had the patience for this game. But with the creator having passed away this past week, some paid tribute:

[Phoenix]

Looks like Gary rolled a 1 on his 20-sided die and failed to make his saving throw.

...and yes, I played the living %$# out of this game. I was a kick ass DM back in the day.

Thanks Gary!

[Dioxin]

I never played, but appreciated the comic.

[Inlimbo]

ii think this says it all.

I always thought about the influence on modern games < but this just breaks it down to a level we all can relate 2.

http://www.gamesradar.com/f/10-things-videogames-learned-from-dd/a-20080306133536897049

I’d like to reflect on the profound influence Dungeons & Dragons has exerted on videogames. Dungeons & Dragons’ elaborate yet elegant game system is the bedrock upon which all modern videogames are built. Most of the gaming paradigms we know and love were forged on the anvil of TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. So-called “RPG elements” have infiltrated every genre under the sun from shooters to platformers to racing games. Each incorporate systems that are based on the design of the dice-based Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. Tired videogame genres routinely turn to Dungeons & Dragons and its role-playing design aesthetics when they need a shot in the arm. Many of these nuts-and-bolts game mechanics are obvious to the point of invisibility, but that only proves how deeply the game theories developed by Gygax and TSR in the 1970s have engrained themselves into the gaming community’s consciousness. These game design innovations will carry Gygax’s legacy long after the corny cartoons and movies are forgotten. Not convinced? Take a look at these examples and you’ll come around. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you’re a Satanist or a dweeb. It just means you know your roots.
Experience Points
Every creature in D&D has an Experience Point value attached to it. A Player Character need only slay the beastie to collect the points. In videogames, players receive experience points or their conceptual equivalent for any number of activities, from executing a perfect drift on a racetrack to nailing a headshot with a sniper rifle. Leveling Up
If you’ve ever leveled up anything in a videogame, be it your character, weapon or means of conveyance, you’re using one of the primary game mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons. When your experience points reach a preset total, your skills increase. In D&D, this meant more hit points, spells, weapon proficiencies, etc. so you were less likely to get brained by a lucky gnome with a spade.

Character Class
Believing that diversity is always more interesting for gameplay, D&D introduced character specializations called Classes. Your Class determines what types of weapons, magic spells and armor your character can use (sort of like a profession). It also sets your schedule for leveling up. When you’re choosing between a sniper, a heavy gunner and a commando, you’re participating in a rich lineage which began in the 1970s as "rolling up a new D&D character."Abilities
To generate a D&D character, the player rolls three 6-sided dice and adds the results to produce a number between 3 and 18 for each Ability. Classes have varying ability requirements (for example, to be a magic-user a character must have at least 9 for Intelligence). Variations on the six basic character Abilities introduced by D&D - Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma - recur in most videogames. When you boost your boxer’s Chin and Agility stats, you’re basically aping D&D’s Abilities system - and you thought the jock was the natural enemy of the geek!

Hit Points
Health, Stamina, Hearts, Overshields… whatever you call it, it began as Hit Points. D&D was the first game to attach a fluctuating numerical value to a character’s physical state of well being. Initially, a videogame character’s Life was a binary condition: alive (jumping over barrels) or dead (crushed by barrels). The life meter is standard issue in modern videogames, except in the case of the trendy retro throwback.

Critical Damage
A critical strike is achieved in D&D by rolling a 20 (aka “natural 20”) on a 20-sided die, resulting in twice the normal amount of damage. The operating principle is that it hurts more to get stabbed in the face than the shoulder. Extra damage for headshots and bosses with giant glowing weak points are just some of the ways this combat mechanism has been absorbed into videogames. D&D also had an assassination system for resolving attacks on unaware victims. A melee kill from behind in Halo 3 and a stealth kill in Assassin’s Creed are two modern implementations of D&D assassinations.

Melee
Especially popular in first-person shooters, the phrase ‘melee attack’ is rooted in D&D lore. A "melee round" in D&D consists of a one-minute period of time during which the participants of a combat scenario attack, defend, cast spells or flee like cowards. Further, "melee combat" refers to the use of a hand-held weapon or magical attack involving touch. Inventory and Items
Many an intrepid adventurer has risked life and limb in dungeons to collect swag and loot treasure chests. Inventory is not just for RPGs anymore: tried playing a Tiger Woods game lately? How many pairs of khakis does one golfer need? And how the hell do Special Pants improve a man’s Putt? D&D’s elegant Abilities system created a framework in which the use of magic items and armor could improve a character’s performance of feats within the game. The practice is commonly, if not logically, applied to the whole spectrum of videogames. So don your Bowling Shoes of +5% Pin Action and glide to sweet victory!

Variable Weapon Damage
In D&D, a dagger deals 1-4 damage, an arrow 1-6, and a scimitar 1-8. In most early videogames, every attack delivered the same amount of damage every time. Games like Galaga and Defender had little riffs on mono-damage (double ships, the smart bomb) but it was real Dark Ages stuff compared to how D&D players measured their destructive aptitudes. Thanks to Moore’s Law, computer games can now keep up with and even surpass the variable-generating prowess of men with bags of dice. Next time you scrounge a P90 off a corpse-littered battlefield, say a little prayer for Gary Gygax, for without him your sub-machine gun would be the equal of a mere pistol.

Weapon Upgrades
Whether you’re looking for your Blades of Chaos to deal more damage or to stick an ACOG scope on your M-16, the upgrading of basic gear was introduced in - you guessed it - Dungeons & Dragons. One of the greatest lures of the magic-user class was the ability to take a normal broadsword and forge it into a +3 Broadsword of Turning Undead. The search for the proper components is that much more quest-fodder.

You have given us allot. Rest in peace.

[jcwicked]

yes

Good old D&D i always enjoyed playing it. Dont have the time for it anymore though.

[Ditch]

back when I was younger 12 to 15 my bro, cousin aunt and some of my bro's friends would do all nighters, so much fun, but I havent played in at least 14 years

[Taco_assassin]

I used to play the living hell outta this. Ironically enough, on Tuesdays when our bf2 practice was held. For the longest time we used the 2nd gen rules but when we switched to 3rd gen everyone stopped playing. Funny how i left one game on Tuesdays for another.