50 Years of D&D

Alrik Fassbauer

Alrik Fassbauer

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Hello,

according to this DDO article https://www.ddo.com/news/ddo-producer-letter-2024 , D&D turns 50 this year !

The article in Wikipedia about D&D says this :

Dungeons & Dragons (commonly abbreviated as D&D or DnD)[2] is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.[3][4][5] The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR).[5] It has been published by Wizards of the Coast, now a subsidiary of Hasbro, since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system.[4][6]
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I believe I was still playing Chainmail when Dungeons and Dragons actually launched. I didn't make the transition for another year or so and even then we often still switched between playing both games, and then even more came along a few years later. Man, how those times sped past!
 
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I never really got into the PnP version of the game. Tried playing it a few times as a kid, but my friends that were interested could never seem to agree when to meet up. I didn't even know what THACO meant until I played Baldur's Gate. I was hooked after that though.
 
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Computer games and D&D have been two of the greatest joys of my life. I will add my wife, dogs, and lifting weights to make a top 5 list. :)
 
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I started playing AD&D when I was 13 (1983 ;)...at that point it was looked at as diabolical by religious establishment. It was amazing - our 2nd DM was really creative esp after we shifted to Forgotten Realms. He ran some pretty fun campaigns...he loved sending notes on paper that you couldn't reveal to other party members..up to no good. Lots of plotting and subterfuge, and chips and coke/fanta. We used to play in this small backroom, with him sitting behind this half beer barrel 'bar counter' doodad - we'd all be sitting on the floor with dice and rolling surface and figurines etc. Would only get home after midnight - ah nostagia....
 
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Yup, if I had people nearby or maybe even online, I'd love to play again. It's all about the people first and the activity second, at least that's how it was for me. I'm not certain if it could be replicated these days yet I know I'd be willing to give it a shot.
 
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I played a lot as a kid; I too have many fond memories of playing with friends to all hours of the night. If you can find a group, it is still a great way to spend an evening! I DM so it's a lot of work, but well worth it. Think Carnifex is right though...Need a good group.
 
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Yep, got to have a good group. You especially need a good GM. Like @clemford said, that takes a lot of time. I'm hoping to find a group once I retire. Maybe more than one! (Maybe I could even find one to play Star Fleet Battles with me. I haven't gotten to play a game of that since the 80's, but I still keep reading the rules.)

I first started playing around when the AD&D DM's Guide was first published. Had fun with it all through college, plus a "Ski & D" reunion a couple of years after out in Denver.
 
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Soon a part of my old gang will come together for an online-group playing DnD5. Yay! :giggle:
Well try roll20.net. I'm curious to see what and how that will actually be.
 
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Have fun! My group did TOEE online during the pandemic, which was fun...Nothing compares to live though. Anyone going to buy the new one when it comes out? I will, but likely won't play it. I have all editions, including the "originals," so I'll get it just to have them all...
 
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In DDO, they have announced that they will be giving away special dragon-themed "things" throughout the year : https://www.ddo.com/year-of-the-dragon
If you scroll down there, you'll see that they plan to do several things for this game throughout the year.
For February, they have a new class : "Dragon Lord" : https://www.ddo.com/news/ddo-year-of-the-dragon-february
The page says that it is

Inspired by the legendary Dragon Lord prestige class from the 3.5e Dragon Magic book
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I'm currently browsing through the official D&D pages ...
I found a tiny article called "What is an Owlbear" : https://dnd.wizards.com/news/what-is-owlbear

Anyway, it seems that the digital magazine has ben put to rest. Such a shame ! I liked reading through it.

There still is a chain of podcasts available : https://dnd.wizards.com/podcasts

Their comics are often ... a funny read : https://dnd.wizards.com/media-gallery?category=comics The links don't seem to work anymore, though.
The wallpapers are looking nice, too. Maybe I should set up a circulating wallpaper changer with them for me ?
dnd.wizards.com

Wallpaper & Media Gallery | Dungeons & Dragons

Browse images, art, and wallpapers from the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons!
dnd.wizards.com dnd.wizards.com

Also found :

"How to make D&D scary" : https://dnd.wizards.com/news/how-to-make-dnd-scary
"D&D and Canon" : https://dnd.wizards.com/news/dnd-canon
"What is a Demogorgon" : https://dnd.wizards.com/lore/demogorgon
Some bits about Vecna : https://dnd.wizards.com/lore/vecna

Something interactive : https://www.dndbeyond.com/begin/en
 
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I still have some classic Dragon magazines, what I'd give to own the entire run of that journal from days gone by. They had lots of informative write-ups about creatures, towns, magic items, tweaks to current classes or new ones, and so much more. They often became almost as much a bible for playing the pen and paper game as the actual manuals were.
 
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basharran said:
We still play D&D PnP with a group of friends, each thursday for over 20 years now. Started with 3.0 and are now playing 5E and sometimes some Pathfinder. Still good fun!
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Me too. I've been playing D&D on Wednesdays with a group of friends for ~5 years, and I played in a Pathfinder campaign for around 10 (it ended last year). Right now we're going through a "Warlock of Firetop Mountain" adaptation.

I'm 52 and have been aware of D&D since its inception, but it has never been my preferred system. As a kid, I was fascinated by it and loved flipping through books like the Fiend Folio, but I soon gravitated to systems I liked better, like Runequest. These days I play D&D because it's what my friends play.
 
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