The grand pappy of roleplaying, D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) has
survived all these years to be known as one of the best systems out
there. It is set in medieval times and any fantasy setting has been
used. If you don’t know what a fantasy roleplaying setting is, just
think of the new Fellowship of the Rings movies and that will give
you a good idea. Or if you get a chance to see it, check out the
D&D movie, which came out in the early 90’s. It was very true
to the original flavor of D&D.
D&D was the brainchild of Gary Gygax. As a matter of fact, the
first Gen Con was held at his house. It was said that 14 people
attended, though I could be wrong. I wasn’t there. With the success
of D&D, Gary asked for help. Thus was formed TSR Enterprises.
Murphy’s Rules (a spoof book on roleplaying and its players) had
many different meanings for the acronym TSR, such as Totally Stupid
Rules, Total Staff Resignation, and Tough Sh*t Readers, but it was
all in fun. The initials TSR stands for Tactical Studies Rules.
Gary’s first wife Mary actually gave D&D its name. It was
originally going to be called The Fantasy Game. TSR was the
undisputed king of roleplaying games for nearly two decades. But,
Wizards of the Coast, makers of the wildly successful Magic: The
Gathering card game, bought TSR. D&D currently is on its 3d
edition, the first being D&D, and the second and third being
AD&D. Strangely enough, the 3d edition of D&D has several
similarities to Rolemaster.
The only version of D&D we have played with any frequency is
2d edition AD&D. We usually use it as a start to Rolemaster for
new gamers. We start out in AD&D then convert the characters
over to Rolemaster. Since nearly everyone knows AD&D, it’s a
logical place to start.
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