BMK BMK The Bitmap Kid Presents ----------------------------- Becoming the Ultimate ----------------------- Part III - Dungeons & Dragons 1 - Introduction. Dungeons & Dragons, as I am very much sure you know, is the original and in some people's eyes still the very best RPG around. D&D comes in three main sets, the Basic version, the Expert version and also Advanced D&D (there is also an Original version, but this is no longer commonly in use). In this article I'll mainly home in on the Basic version, as it is, of course, the best for beginners. As you would expect, players normally progress through the different sets as they get more and more experienced with the game, although it has been known for players to stick with the set they know best forever, perhaps changing the rules themselves to suit their advanced needs. (Please note: Advanced players are normally ALWAYS found in a world of their own and live in hospitals. Ha ha ha!) 2 - The basics. There are two main rulebooks for the Basic set. The first is the Player's Manual which is a guide to RPG and also (almost) everything players need to play the game. The other rulebook is the Dungeon Master's Rulebook, this is to only be read by the Dungeon Master, of whom there is always one in a game. As I said before a RPG is played in the mind, but since we don't all think like computers (eg remember everything at all times) we need other things like paper and pencils. These help us to keep track of what is going on and remember what has happened before. The following passages are a mixture from the Player's Manual and my own mind, I will explain about D&D from a COMPLETE beginners level. _oOo_ 1 - Basic Life. A dungeon is a group of rooms and corridors in which the commonest adventures of all take place - a sort of medieval fantasy. In the 'dungeon', in which monsters, treasures, traps and secret passages can be found by YOU, you play the role of a character. There are many kinds of monsters, many kinds of treasures - will YOU fight the mighty dragon for the best treasure? Or will YOU fight a smaller creature like an Orc for a few gold coins? In the end, it really is up to you. In a way you have been playing an adventure all your life - adventure IS life. The thing is, life doesn't always seem like an adventure with bills, work, kids and parents. So we have RPGs and computers - worlds where you can be anywhere and do anything without really having to face the consequences of your actions in real life - and adults can see the attraction of computers and role playing games! Pha! In a RPG you must basically become an actor - with a little bit of something else. Actors read from a script, do their thing and go home. A role-playing gamer has no script, only a character and a "stage". 2 - Who Am I?! Who are any of us, really?! Imagine, another place, another time, another form. Who would you be? An orc? A human? A dwarf, Halfling or Elf? You're in a time before TV, or even radio. Before guns or aeroplanes. Where would you go? England? France? Or even another world? Dragons, swords and sorcery are REAL! Evil Orcs roam the lands and fair maidens drop silken hankies for bold knights to pick up. Sick making - isn't it? Okay, so RPGs aren't QUITE like that, thank god, but then again, they could be if you wish.... 3 - The World is but a Stage.... As I said, in a RPG, whether you take the place of the Dungeon Master (DM) or a Player Character (PC) you act out a role that has not yet been written. This may sound tricky, and so it can be for a beginner, but remember the most basic tool you need is imagination. In a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game there are always at least two players. One, the Dungeon Master, controls the game and basically acts as a sort of neutral God around players. The other players, of whom there can be also any number (four or five is ideal) simply play themselves, or at least the people they WANT to be. Although at first glance it may seem less fun for the "poor old" DM, especially when you think that he, or she, is normally the one who not only keeps the game going, but must also set the whole thing up - and this can take a lot of organisation. In fact, I think it is just as fun being a DM. True, it can be hard work, but also it can be very rewarding - and generally enjoyable too, I sometimes think there are few better feelings in the world than seeing some pals really enjoy a Dungeons & Dragons world YOU have created. Of course it is easier being a PC (no computer jokes here, please...) but don't expect to just sit back - PCs (even dead ones!) must work just as hard in a game to make it work, and even before the game begins a PC must create his or her character (his/her self!), which is almost a game in itself! An RPG isn't just 'there' like a game of chess. In an RPG you must CREATE the game between all of the players, this may be quite hard if all the players are inexperienced at role-playing, but it is something the most advanced players could do climbing a mountain (I have known this to happen...)! 4 - Physical Equipment. (Oh, and you really would be low if you saw a joke in that...!) The basic things you need to play a game of D&D are: The rules (of course), role-playing dice, pencils, a tabletop, 2-5 players (for a beginners group), character record sheets and any other playing aid you would like (like miniatures). Basic role-playing dice normally consist of these: Name of dice Referred to as -------------------------------------------- A SIX-SIDED DIE 1d6 (One dee six) A PERCENTAGE / TEN-SIDED DIE 1d10 (One dee ten) AN EIGHT-SIDED DIE 1d8 (One dee eight...) A TWENTY SIDED DIE 1d20 A TWELVE SIDED DIE 1d12 A FOUR SIDED DIE 1d4 The d bit of the dice name is easy - so what about the 1? - you may ask. The 1 means the number of times you should throw it, for example, if you are told to throw a 2d20 to see what the result of swallowing a potion is, then you would throw the 20-sided dice twice and add the two numbers together. Simple. 5 - Creating a Player Character. In every game of Dungeons and Dragons each PC player gets a Character Record Sheet. This holds all the valuable information a player must have about his or her character, including stats details like Strength and Constitution, the character's name, alignment (if the PC is good or bad etc), equipment and experience. Choosing a name for your character is the easy bit, your next problem is to roll the right dice to determine how wise and strong you are etc. Once that is done you are just a few steps away from creating a being all of your own. 6 - Creating a Dungeons & Dragons Game. Creating a D&D game, while quite fun and satisfying, can be quite tricky and is ALWAYS quite a lot of work. It involves drawing maps and writing room descriptions, stocking rooms with creatures, treasure and other features and generally creating a believable world. As beginners probably won't care for this at the start, there is always the choice of buying a Dungeon game from a suitable shop. Normally these are of a very high quality - not only will the DM get printed maps and, of course, his own guide to the game, but quite often there will be items, such as "reproduced" maps for the players to see for themselves. 7 - The Cruel Face of Fate. In all RPGs fate and luck are represented with rolls of the many different dice. All actions have a reaction and it's the reaction that is almost always calculated with dice rolls. A good, experienced DM will almost certainly know what rolls should be made and then what the consequence of that roll is for almost any action off by heart. For lesser RPG gods, however, most of the actions are calculated using tables and charts, which the DM will constantly refer to during the game, basing the die rolls on them and then finding out the consequence, simple. However, fate and luck are not an adventure - the adventure is really based in the mind. 8 - How, When and Where? Once a group of suitable players who know the rules have been brought together, their characters at the ready and a dungeon game set, it is time for a whole world to be created in a quiet neighbourhood anywhere in the world. First the DM will set the scene, perhaps a dark forest in mid fall, four hardened adventure-seekers listen for the slightest of sounds. Each has cold steel at their side, for the halfling his lockpicks, for the warrior his long broadsword, for the wizard his steel-decorated staff, and for the elf, his long dagger and bow. At this point the DM will probably also give a hint on what the adventurers will be trying to do, perhaps he may say something like: "As you stand in the cold night air, the thoughts of entering the caverns to the north hang in your minds. An owl hoots nearby, your adventure has truly begun." Then the players will half BECOME their characters, the game begins - just like the adventure. 9 - More on the 'How'. From here the players are in a truly freeform world. Or are they? A DM has a massive amount on control over the players. If he wishes he could have them all swallowed up by the earth at that point, but of course he doesn't because he is fair, and he wants to get a good game in himself! The players can now, at least try to, do whatever they want. They could, if they wanted (or were just very thick) ignore the DM's clue to head north for the caverns, and travel, say east. In this case, one of four things will happen: 1) The DM may have prepared in his notes and map the game in that direction (eg going east may take them to a town where the players could buy extra equipment, if they had the money) and so the game would just continue like that. 2) The DM, even though he hasn't got any notes for that direction, may like to follow that path, straight from his head, anyway, or perhaps taking the players north without them knowing it! 3) The DM can prevent, perhaps saying "the forest is too thick in that direction", and if the one of the players comes up with "I'll try and cut down some foliage with my sword" then the DM could make a few 'dummy' dice rolls, pretended to refer to a table and say "the forest is just too thick to pass, with any amount of hacking". 4) The DM can curb, or discourage, by saying something like "yes, you could go in that direction, but you really are eager to get into the caverns to the north". 10 - Programming by Example. Let's listen in on that particular adventure, as if we were hiding under the table where another world is being created.... Greg: The DM. Sam: Flint the Dwarven Warrior, and also party leader. Alix: Alixenta, the Elven Wizardess. Rob: Richard the Human Warrior. Pete: Tass, the Halfling Thief. DM: "An Owl hoots nearby, your adventure has truly begun..." SAM: "Okay, we're going to travel east." DM: "The forest is too thick to travel in that direction." SAM: "I'll try and cut down some foliage with my sword." DM: "Okay, then..." [Greg looks down at his hidden books as if reading something from a chart or table.] "...throw a 3d6 to find out how thick the forest is." SAM: [Sam scores 10 (6+1+3).] "I got 10!" DM: "Sorry, after several moments of intense hacking you fail to move so much as a foot." SAM: "Damn. Well, team, what do we do?" Alix: "You fools!" [Alix says putting on what she sees as a Wizardess's voice.] "Let's just get out of here, I'm heading north." SAM: "Okay, okay, we'll go north, Miss Snooty! We'll go after her." DM: "Your path through the forest in that direction is a swift and easy one. Within minutes you come to a clearing at the edge at a high cliff soaring up into the night sky. A few feet away is an even darker disk in the low light - it seems to be the entrance to the caverns." ROB: "I'll go in first, we don't know what's in there." PETE: "Exactly why we should go in together." SAM: "No, Tass, Richard is right, someone should scout ahead first." ROB: "I'm going in." DM: "As you approach the cave, a deep growling startles you...." ....and so the adventure goes on. A RPG may seem very complex at first, but once you get into it, when your experience grows after several games, you'll be able to do it with your eyes closed - I certainly do - honest! 11 - The World You Live In. The D&D manual, as I said, has everything you need to play a game. For beginners there are ready-made Characters for you to play. For Wizards there are some spells to cast. There are notes on weapons, equipment and money. And for all the different races and alignments there are notes on who you are and how you should act. Generally the player's manual is highly stocked with information and guides on the world you may adventure in. The present D&D has been many years in the making, having now grown for almost any possible situation. 12 - Other Than Dungeons. Of course, even though the game D&D is mainly designed for tunnels in a medieval-like world, there is no reason why a game set on a spaceship in the distant future should not be played using exactly the same rules. Of course, if you're mad keen on sci-fi, then it is probably better to go for a game like Traveller, but for the odd change now and then, the highly supported D&D will do fine. 13 - That's All? I, here, have merely scratched the surface of D&D and RPG in general. If you like the sound of D&D then I suggest you go down to your local adventure hobby shop and buy a basic set to find out more about the game. It does take something for one to play a RPG, but if you have what it takes and you are interested, the only thing stopping you from going down the road of REAL role-playing, something that even the most square-eyed adventure freak (me) can say just can't be created, in full, on a TV screen or monitor, is YOU and your mates. Next SynTax month, I'll have a look at Tunnels & Trolls and Runequest. See 'ya then. BMK BMK - o -