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Dungeons and Dragons has got to be one of the biggest guilty pleasures of all time. So much so even Tom Hanks mad a really bad movie about it in the early 80′s. Yes, it’s true but we’re not doing an E! Hollywood story in this article, this is more about the mystical imaginary world of D&D.

Like anything else, knowing some history on the subject is helpful. DnD was first published in 1974 as a RPG or Role Playing Game- not Rocket Powered Grenade. (Had it been a rocket powered grenade, chances are your parents would have thrown even more of a fit over you playing with it.) The game’s reputation began to grow and by the mid to late 80s it was an icon.

DnD could best be described as a board game. It has a board, or map, and game pieces that players must move. It has a final objective (usually involving killing something and taking something else) and like most other board games, it has a set of dice. There is where the similarity ends though; at the dice.

The game is heavily dependent on the roll of the dice. Unlike other games your game piece- pardon me, character can only move so many spaces a turn, or round. The dice determine combat scores (roll for a hit) and success of spells and other factors, such as whether or not your character will be turned into a goat and for how long. By goat, we mean literally, a goat, it’s happened. The kicker is that the dice are not your standard 6 sided variety. They come in an amazing assortment of sides and colors.

The character race is another distinction of Dungeons and Dragons. The main races in the DnD world are Dwarves, Humans, Elves and Half-elves. There are other races to be played, but these are the main archetypes of the game and each has their own special list of abilities and character classes that can be played.

Class is the next major factor and entire websites have been dedicated to each class of character, but here’s a basic breakdown of the different classes. Warriors will have no magic but strong close combat (melee) aptitude and roughed endurance. Mages or Wizards are weaker physically and cannot take as much damage as the warrior, but they do have a few tricks up their sleeves. Priests tend to be the healers of the group and are desired as playing partners, though a lot of players prefer not to play this type of character. Typically a priest is on par physically with a magic user. Thieves would be the final basic class. What a thief does is fairly straightforward; they pick locks, take things and have an ability to detect traps. Combinations of these classes exist and keep the game lively. A Paladin for instance is a priest/warrior combo. Race restrictions apply though. Some races just can’t be certain types of classes.

The level and alignment of the character is usually the next things DnD players will ask about. Everything that happens in Dungeons and Dragons in the way of combat and “questing” has the potential to award the player’s character experience points of “XP”. These points will accumulate until they reach a certain total, at which time the character “levels”. Leveling means the character will gain additional skills and is another important element. Alignments in their basic form are Good, Evil and Neutral. This is the character’s disposition. Good and Evil characters can go on a quest together since players, in theory, work together against a common foe. The main advantage of the character’s alignment are more for the sake of playing a role than the sake of game play, since typically all level Xs of a class are on par with each other.

Part of the lure of Dungeons and Dragons has been its ability to adapt and how the game will allow players to adapt it to their specific tastes. This brief article is but a sliver of the options and game play of the D&D realm. What’s amazing is that the game is still alive in certain gaming circles and still played today, proving to not be a fad. So if you missed it at its pinnacle, you can still drop by the local comic book shop, check the bulletin board and buy what you need!

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