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Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

“Alternative reality” adventure role-play game

dice.jpgAmplified by the almost permanent presence of The Hobbit on ‘70s and ‘80s English Lit. syllabuses, Dungeons & Dragons offered those who were unpopular in the playground some solace in an imaginary Tolkein-esque world that they could control.

Manufactured in Standard and Advanced D&D flavours by US company TSR, and based on an original premise by Chicago-born college dropout E. Gary Gygax, it mixed medieval Britain with magical folklore and monsters to create a fantasy magpie’s nest in which an unlimited number of pretend, non-cardiovascular, but meticulously detailed battles and adventures could take place. Despite, or perhaps due to, a target audience primarily comprising those for whom competitive sport was a no-go, the existence of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons betrayed the inherent “survival of the brainiest” appeal to the asthmatic, astigmatised or Aspergers.

How to play? Extensive rule books (but no board) and fiendishly complicated challenges (requiring the appointment of a “Dungeon Master” to preside over events) made it difficult to get to grips with, but AD&D soon established itself as a sort of lunchtime school club sub-culture in much the same way as chess, astronomy and orchestra rehearsals (largely due to it being legitimised by an allocation of early-lunch tickets). A typical game exposition: “Your attempt to cast a spell on the Orc fails and he strikes a blow with his axe. You lose three stamina points”. Much talk of druids, clerics and the Call of Cthulhu; players would most likely grow up to drink real ale and join Marillion-aping folk pub bands labouring under monikers such as Moon Runelight or Arcadian Pentangle.

The game could also be expanded into a hobby with trips to Games Workshop to purchase Citadel Miniatures (an assortment of pewter figurines to collect and paint) and magazines such as White Dwarf. For the less dedicated, the Fighting Fantasy books by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson were a portable alternative. For the totally disinterested, there were at least the multi-coloured, translucent resin dice with an unexpectedly large number of sides (our favourite was the tangerine dodecahedron).



Posted on March 31, 2006 by Registered CommenterSteve in , | Comments12 Comments

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Reader Comments (12)

I never really understood how those strange dice were meant to fall but the game was interesting (for teenagers as young kids would never have the paitence). You could buy figures of orcs, dwarfs, wizards etc.first in ultra expensive silver than dangerous lead. Filling in government forms is better like game books - "If you are claiming ths rebate to to pg16 "(whic probably says "you have been killed by an orc and can no longer claim"

Tom Hanks starred in a cautionery tale of not getting too involved in these games called "Mazes and Monnsters"
Mar 31, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterPaul Jones
About the same time the Marvel / Hanna Barbera catoon was a CBBC regular there were loads of ads on CITV for the actual games. Towards the end of the 80s there was MB's Hero Quest which was a D&D light, though the one time & played it it didn't seem particularly catchy, even with a board & various figures & props.
Mar 31, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterRichard Davies
By the way, there wasn't a final espisode of the cartoon where the kids went home. This was an "illusion" epsisode a few years before red Dwarf's "Back To Reality".
Apr 5, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterPaul Jones
I remember they had a few near misses, normally Venger would turn up & sabotage things at a crucial moment. One he follwed them through a porthole to the theme park, but they had to go back or risk destroying the real world or something like that.
Apr 7, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterRichard Davies
Oh, lord. Like ripples in a pond, the impact of (A)D&D ever widens. Most role-playing games on yer computer or console are based on the model this whole thing set up, from Rogue/Nethack and the like to the recent Diablo and Neverwinter Nights. All the odds are done via random integer selection, which takes out the fun of throwing those funny-shaped, flamboyantly-colored dice about, but it's still your d10 initialization and d20 to hit and d8 to damage and d6 to dodge and d4 to see if you noticed the boulder breaking your legs and whatnot. Only, it's much quicker.

In 2001, there was another 'Dungeons and Dragons' movie in America, and it failed horribly. I didn't see it, but the review at allmovie.com echoes the reviews I remember from when it first came out. (http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:227129)

Oddly enough, after taking a part in one such group for a couple weeks, my fiance claimed I was acting antisocial and...well, nerdier. Do the nerds make the game, or does the game make the nerds?
Apr 10, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterJeremy
I had the misfortune to see the Movie version and despite having Richard O'Brien and Tom Baker in it, it really was bloody awful -the cartoon was much better.I am wondering about your last question, Jeremy. Were there any girls into D+D by the way?
Apr 10, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterPaul Jones
AD&D players generally fell into five categories:

1. The nerdy, geeky one who always knew all the rules, combat tables, etc. Usually spotty and annoying.
2. The cloddish 'kill first, ask later' one who waded into battle at every opportunity. Usually played fighters, barbarians, etc and played a sport in real life.
3. The cowardly one, who always refused to fight.
4. The greedy one, always out for first shares of gold and magic items.
5. The stupid one, who usually meets with an unpleasant end due to his own idiocy - tries to negotiate with trolls, picks up the skull from the altar of the evil god, opens coffins, etc.
May 2, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterUncle Feedle
I feel like a misfit. I didn't see myself as falling into any of those. I tended to crack jokes about my 10-foot pole (which came standard with adventuring kits, apparently), and likely drove the DM up a wall.

And re: Paul, there was a girl involved...and she struck me as a bit odd with how absorbed she was with her character. Outside the realm of the game, as well. There were a couple...erm, I'm not sure what, but they were girls. They always seemed to be there, but they themselves never played. All of them struck me as at least slightly odd, ranging from a practicing eccentric to a couple of the more antisocial type.
May 6, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterJeremy
My brother and I used to play AD&D for hours on end...I was such a gaming geek, attending various conventions and suchlike. I remember wanting to appear on Knightmare but a girl wouldn't have been allowed on the show as part of a boy's team!

We played various campaigns such as Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, etc. and once my invincible fighter cleric got to level 15 it was decided that he should 'bow out gracefully'. I felt like I'd been bereaved and it wasn't quite the same for me after that!
Jun 30, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterMartina
Knightmare -what a classic show -it seemed to be speciaslly designed for us D+D fans (but even those who never played the game could enjoy it). A mate wrote off for an application form but couldn't quite find enough interested people to form a team..
Jul 4, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterPaul Jones
My name is Jason Anger. I have always had an interest in Dungeons and Dragons, although I must say my emphasis has always been about live action. I am a very compassionate person who believes strongly in what I believe. I believe in expressing myself through swords and swordfighting and witchcraft. To do so, I often summon the powers that I, and my fellow sorcerors and witches, have instilled in my D&D cards. But as you know, all cards are not created equal, and I need the most powerful cards to instill with the most powerful REAL magic. I am independently wealthy and I can assure a very fair price for any such special, powerful cards that can be provided to me. If someone has the right cards, and/or has an interest in learning the REAL power through these cards and has the passion to manifest that power, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Jason James Anger
jjanger82@yahoo.com
May 21, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterJason Anger
Jason - it's only a game, you know!

Never knew anyone who played this when I was a kid, though I did get bought both the standard and advanced D&D basic sets.

I was mad about collecting and painting the lead miniatures produced for this though.
Aug 21, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterGary

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