D&D Culture part 5

History of Dungeons and Dragons Original 1974 D&D Basic Set 1st Revision 1977 AD&D 1977–1979 D&D Basic Set 2nd Revision 1981 D&D Basic Set 3rd Revision 1983–1986 AD&D 2nd Edition 1989 D&D 3rd Edition 2000 D&D v3.5 2003 D&D 4th edition 2008 4th Ed Red Box 2010 1974 changed the world. At the time people thought nothing of it. Now we have so much from both the geek and the non-geek worlds to thank for this one thing. It was not a completely new creation, but it did create a whole new culture. D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, the original RPG, role playing game. It has since created a culture completely unique to Dungeons and Dragons, but has also had major influences on education, board games, video games, helped people with social disorders, what more can you ask of a single three volume set. When Dungeons and Dragons first came out people who did not want to play a game that seemed to be the same every time, the people that had imagination, the outcasts were given something that was theirs, something designed for the way they think. Since its first creation there have been a total of 4 base editions, this does not include sets like original, 3.5, etc. The real downside to OD&D, Original Dungeons and Dragons, was that the math was very complicated, making it hard for the average person to access. Each set since than has made things more understandable, and in many ways easier to play, the latest set even has a way to sit down and start playing with almost no set up, or start up time needed. My own group of friends love the Dungeons and Dragons concept, but even in our little group the exact opinions vary. None prefer OD&D, 1st Ed, or 2nd Ed, but there are the 3rd Ed faction, v3.5 faction, and the 4th Ed faction, I do have other friends from outside my main crew that are a part of the 2nd Ed . I myself started with v3.5, so even though it is not my favorite anymore, I still defend it, and probably will for the rest of my life. Caroline has tried every Dungeons and Dragons set, she believes that v3.5 is the best, for her play style at least. “3.5 is not as complicated as earlier versions, but not so simple that you can just phone it in.” I have not dealt with the Red Box Set yet so I will use the words of one of the pair voted most influential geeks in the world, Mike Krahulik, known to most of the geek world as Johnathan "Gabe" Gabriel “The first thing I noticed about Essentials was its character creation process. I have honestly never filled in a character sheet with a pencil. Since I discovered Dungeons and Dragons with 4th Ed I have always had the benefit of the online character creator. I have to say there was something cool about filling in numbers and erasing mistakes. The Essentials Player’s Handbook does an incredible job of walking you through this process via a solo adventure. “It’s structured like an old choose your own adventure with questions at the end of each section. When your wagon is attacked by goblins in the beginning the story asks you if your first reaction is to draw a weapon, cast a spell, heal the driver or sneak around behind the attackers. From there you jump to the appropriate section and continue with the adventure. What kind of spell do you cast? do you offer to help or ask for a reward? By the end of the adventure you have completely filled out your character sheet with your class, defenses, skills, languages, gear and powers. I honestly found this part to be really smart and a lot of fun.”