I saw some debates about Dungeon and Dragons (also called D&D or DnD) on the CBI forum. They are still the same old ones as DIABLO, Might and Magic, Heroes, Paradise, EQ, Legend, Yamaguchiyama... is it DND? I have talked about the Lord of the Rings, fantasy, rules, orthodoxy, history and origins countless times, plus the indispensable "DND fetishism" vs. "fantasy allergy" almost every time "The confrontation between patient, novice vs. nymphomaniac ended with another round of chaos and confusion as usual, and the post was blocked...

I said there is nothing wrong with having this time and energy, and it must be wasted on On such a non-nutritious topic? But since I have to see this kind of thing every time, every time, every time, then I will give it a try and see if I can put an end to it. So the topic this time is "putting aside history and origins, what exactly is "Dungeons and Dragons"?"

Why not talk about history?

First of all, those things have a history of at least twenty or thirty years, and many of them happened before you and I were born. To discuss this kind of thing is to fight for seniority. Whoever is born earlier and lives longer has the final say. .

Secondly, most of the historical materials are in English, which is neither easy to find nor Chinese-speaking. My English is so bad that I neither understand nor bother to translate.

In the end, those are all trivial matters. For us, we only need to consider the game we are facing now, and let the past be in the past.

So even if this article involves history, I don’t intend to list too much data. I’ll leave the research and verification to the veterans. It is recommended to read all 8 chapters of "The History of Role Playing" translated by Zechs.

Why are there always debates about whether a certain game/novel/movie/comic is DND? DND is an overall title, which can be divided into several levels from the inside to the outside. A work may only use part of it, but this part may not be original or representative. There may be other similar relatives, or even imitation and learning opponents. Sometimes different works use different levels of DND, and there is no direct connection between them in appearance.

Different mothers may have similar children, and the children born from the same breast may be different - this is the source of the dispute.

The innermost layer of DND is the core mathematical rules, which is "how the world works." This is actually something that "doesn't exist" for the game characters, but it is very important for the players. Is the basis for determining whether an action can be successful and what the effect is, inevitable or random? (For example, KOF's attack judgment is very strict, and Contra's enemies' bullet damage is also very certain - one shot kills one life).

In other words, it is the mathematical basis of this game world. The mathematical structure used by DND is based on the random numbers generated by 7 (6 types) dice. The most important one is the 20-sided die, which is used for most "success rate tests" (mainly combat, because DND is a role-playing game with combat components as the main component, and most of the non-combat parts can be judged through common sense) . Whenever you attempt an action that has a certain chance of failure, roll a die (this reflects the uncertainty of the objective world) and add any relevant modifiers to the result (this reflects known abilities, skills, environment and other factors), compared with the target value (that is, difficulty, the probability of failure caused by various adverse factors). If the final result is equal to or greater than the target value, the action is completed successfully; otherwise, if the final result is less than the target value, the action fails.

This is also called the D20 system, which is the rule system with D20 as the core. The D20 system includes D12, D10 (2 dice, used for rolling percentages), D8, D6 and D4, a total of 7 dice, which can summarize almost all events in the entire world. Features of the D20 System also include a level-based HD/HP system, linear growth of character abilities, etc.

To be precise, the history of "D20 system" is not long, and it is much younger than the entire DND. Until 1995, TSR's second edition of "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" (ADND) was still Various dice are mixed, such as D100 for rogue skills, D10 for initiative, and non-combat proficiency only for levels without rolling dice, which is quite similar to a skill-based game system. The concept of D20 System was officially launched after the third edition of the rules. After WOTC (Wizards of the Coast) took over, it streamlined and refined the original overly complicated "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" to create a "Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition" that is relatively simpler and easier for novices to understand and accept. , the simplified D20 System gradually took shape. Then WOTC issued a series of related rules, including D20 starwar (D20 Star Wars), D20 anime (D20 animation hero), D20 modern (D20 modern), and also Open Game License (OGL, open game license), open authorization Use this D20 system for everything. Therefore, most unofficial DND-like games are called so-and-so D20, such as COC D20. They are all legal publications authorized by WOTC to use the d20 system.

It can be seen that DND (D20) is also constantly evolving in the process of evolution. From the early "Chain Armor" (the predecessor of DND's combat rules) to the current version 3.5, the difference is indescribable. Not big. Games made using rules from different periods feel completely useless. But the core of DND has not changed. It still determines the success or failure or effect of things through (a random number and several adjustment values), simulating several random components and adjustment values ??that exist due to uncertain factors in the real world.

Of course, this is still just the surface. The more core ones include those "invisible rules", often called the "XX system". For example, the attribute system divides the character's abilities into strength, There are several major attributes such as agility, physique, intelligence, perception, and charm; the career system has designed a unique ability promotion process for different professions such as warriors, mages, priests, and thieves; the skill system allows characters to have opportunities (obtaining/consuming skills) with their levels (in the form of points) to gradually improve one's professional skills; the spell system stipulates strict casting processes, prerequisites and strange effects for the mage's arcane spells and the priest's divine spells; the turn-based combat system gives everyone the opportunity to take turns Your own actions (completely opposite to games such as CS "Counter-Strike", "Need for Speed", "StarCraft", etc., in which reaction speed and key frequency determine the efficiency of actions), etc., and what is happening in the world according to a certain framework Or process, run it step by step by category.

A person who is familiar with the DND system can apply almost everything to the D20. For example: "I push the door and enter the house". If the door is not locked, it will not be possible for a normal person. If there is no difficulty at all, it can be directly judged as a success; if the door is stuck and requires some effort to succeed, it can be assumed that this is not too difficult. The difficulty of pushing the door is 5 (for ordinary people, a successful push) The chance is very high), then I can push it open in most cases, and occasionally I need to try twice more; if the door is locked, it is quite difficult to open the wooden door, and it can be assumed that the difficulty of doing so is 20 (unless ordinary people I am very lucky, otherwise it will be difficult to succeed), then I may have to try many times, and even add a run-up, before I can kick it open; if this is a stainless steel security door, the door lock is very strong and requires extremely clever technology. To open it, the difficulty is over 20, and only a professionally trained locksmith can do it. This is a typical "D20" process.

The principles for setting difficulty, how attributes work, and the manifestation of levels and abilities are all core calculation formulas that cannot be changed easily, as one move can affect the whole body.

Is the "Fallout" series also produced by Black Island Company DND? Of course not. "Fallout" uses skill proficiency, a Skills base system with skills as the core.

"DIABLO", right? Even less so. Regardless of attribute settings, career settings, attack and defense tests, combat procedures, or even internal formula calculations, the "DIABLO" series is completely different from DND.

The middle layer of DND is various data and settings, that is, "there is something in this world." This thing that many players are most keen to study is actually just a compromise solution simulated based on core mathematical laws - this sentence is scary, in ordinary words, it is "game balance".

The so-called data means mathematical quantification of everything in the world that may be used in the game. The damage of the long sword is 1~8, the damage of the great ax is 1~12, the damage of the fireball is 1~6 points per level, the hit rate of the warrior is improved after upgrading, etc., all belong to data. Data is the quantification of rules. When necessary, Adjust as needed.

This is also a distinctive feature of DND. "Dungeons and Dragons" is first and foremost a tabletop game. It must allow the host and players to have a calculation method that is generally recognized as relatively fair, and only requires simple manual calculations. Can work. As a game, every possible use must be digitized in order to facilitate processing.

The digitalization process must take into account three aspects at the same time:

Authenticity, simulating a relatively real world can make it easier for new players to get started, and they can use common sense to judge most things. It can save more time and energy and invest in the real game process;

Gameplay, maintain a certain degree of balance in the game (relative balance is enough, DND is not a purely competitive chess and card game after all) game), so that players with different preferences can have fun, and there is a random component within a certain range, so that players can always expect the results;

Operationability, after all, the original intention of DND is to It is designed for desktop games, unlike computer games that can hand over a large number of complex calculations to computers (but DND’s random number architecture also provided extraordinary convenience for early computer game design, greatly promoting the development of DND) . "The probability of elite = (100*(ilvl-qlvl)/4 1)/100 * (the probability of 1-exceptional)" (one of the item generation formulas of "DIABLO II") This level of calculation process can be found in computer games It sounds like a piece of cake, but if you ask the game host of a tabletop game to spend half a day checking tables and several minutes pressing a calculator before he can hand out the loot for an encounter, he will go crazy.

Many European, American and even Japanese games also use data similar to DND. For example, the "Magic and Magic" series is full of 1D6, 1D8, etc., but these are only "part of the data" similar, unless you get Authorization, otherwise you will definitely have to pay for copying the entire set of data.

Settings include specific standards for quantifying things, specific abilities of planes, races, professions, spells, items, and even special things unique to this world, especially those that have been registered. Settings It is the embodiment of rules. For example, beholders and mind flayers are unique things that have been registered (in fact, so are 20-sided dice, but WOTC has opened up the "right to use" D20). You can't see these two things in the open D20 OGL. A monster exists. You can use all or part of the content in D20 SRD (a public document authorized by WOTC) to construct your own game world, including dragons, orcs, fireballs, lightning and "Holy Avengers".

There are dragons and dungeons, but it may not be "Dungeons and Dragons"; there are goblins, dwarves, and elves, and it may not be "Dungeons and Dragons"; there are warriors, mages, priests, thieves, and thieves It can "backstab", and the mage must rest before preparing the spell of the day. It may not be "Dungeons and Dragons" - but if it includes beholders and mind flayers, you must be careful.

In order to solve its financial difficulties, TSR issued many licenses to other companies. For example, the beholder mentioned in this article first appeared in "Eye of the Eye", and you can also meet it in the "Invincible Heroes" series.

The money was shared among everyone, and colleagues followed suit and published many third-party products. Typical examples include a series of gothic-style adventure settings produced by White Wolf. Seeing the success of DND, some companies even directly imitated its designs without permission. For example, the island country where Japanese pirates resided has always been famous for its imitation and absorption. Anyway, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, no one can care about it.

Yes, even though it looks nothing like it, the arcade side-scrolling action game "Dungeon and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara" is indeed "Dragon" and dungeons”. Did you ever play in an arcade when you were a kid? There are dwarf warriors, elf archers, human barbarians and red-robed wizards. During battle, a circular menu can be cut out with many options for changing weapons and spells. It can be said that at that era, "Dark Shadows" stood at the pinnacle of almost all action games and was one of the most dazzling stars, sweeping the Japanese and American (and Chinese) markets. Later, "Journey to the West" and "War of the Three Kingdoms" "200% copied from "Dark Shadows". Especially "War of the Three Kingdoms", it can be said that it is completely copied, even the special swords are exactly the same. The design of "Dark Shadows" has been inherited in one continuous line, and its shadow can be found in many details of the popular "Swallowing Heaven and Earth" (the one in which Guan Zhang, Zhao, Huang and Wei teamed up to defeat Cao Cao).

Unfortunately, although the race and monster settings can almost be copied, and many designs including mathematical foundations have traces of reference to DND, the "EQ" and "Might and Magic" series are indeed not "Dungeons and Dragons" ". There is "D20 EQ", which is a "D20-based EQ setting". The D20 system is applied to the EQ and belongs to D20. Neither is "Rhodes Island". "Rhodes Island" (to be precise, the SW setting - "Sword world", not the SW of "Star War") is said to have two versions: D6 and D20. I The Japanese is not good enough, and the research on this is not deep, so it is no wonder that I am wrong.

What needs special mention is WOW ("World of Warcraft"). As one of the online games with a world view setting very similar to that of DND, WOW has also launched a corresponding desktop role-playing game setting "DND Warcraft" - this is the authorized "Dungeons and Dragons: "World of Warcraft""!

The outermost layer of DND is the background of the story, which is "what happened in this world." By extension, it can also be considered a set of philosophy that includes the entire world, universe, heaven, earth, and everything in it. This is a very broad scope. To put it bluntly, this thing is packaging, packaging boring rules and settings into something beautiful and easy to sell.

From the formation of the heaven and earth and the universe, the birth of gods and ghosts, to the geographical and racial changes of the kingdom, humanities, society, technology and religion, to the wedding of a short GG and Paladin MM in front of the Knights Templar. A few pieces of cake were thrown in. These are all background settings and are the parts that fans talk about the most. Talk to a DND hardcore fan about terms like "everything is three", "all things return", "bloody battle", "cataclysm", etc., and they can tell you that they won't be the same for three days and three nights.

This layer is basically a purely historical, religious and humanistic society, which can be completely separated from "games" and form its own unity in the form of novels, poems, paintings, animations, movies... etc. Speaking of which, I have to mention "The Lord of the Rings". The originator of the "imaginary fantasy world" is Mr. Tuo. This work he wrote has a profound influence on later generations of fantasy literature and fantasy games, and indirectly gave birth to the entertainment form of "role-playing games". And Ernest (Gary) Gygax and Dave Arneson, the creators of "Dungeons and Dragons", the ancestor of role-playing games, are said to dislike "Lord of the Rings" very much (?!), but the things they designed are more like "Lord of the Rings" than anyone else. "The Lord of the Rings" (!!!), so later generations have two sayings: "DND originated from "The Lord of the Rings"" and ""The Lord of the Rings" originated from DND" - strictly speaking, both are rumors.

First, the grand setting of "Lord of the Rings" attracted war chess enthusiasts, making them dissatisfied with existing products; and "Dungeons and Dragons" came at the right time, proposing a new gameplay for war chess enthusiasts, and The skeleton of the war chess game is filled with the flesh and blood of fantasy adventure, satisfying the new needs of players who are never satisfied. One creates the market and the other occupies the market. It is like dry firewood meeting a fierce fire. No matter how unwilling it is, it must be burned together. In the end, it will always be compared with others. When talking about one, it is inevitable to think of the other.

Rules, setting and background, the three influence each other and complement each other. Generally speaking, the "core rules" we refer to include the first two, while the "campaign setting set" mainly includes the latter two. Various The expansion book also contains endless variant rules, career settings and legendary chronology. Just like building a church, rules are used as the foundation and pillars, the setting is carved beams and painted pillars, and the background is beautiful decoration.

In the evolution of DND for more than thirty years, rules, settings and backgrounds have been constantly changed and separated, just like the mythical Hydra. ) are the same, growing on the same body, they can attack simultaneously, and they can fight independently. If one head is cut off here, two more will grow there. In response to market changes and investor intentions, DND has spawned a variety of completely different products. Don’t think that “Dungeons and Dragons” are all dice games. DND has things like Magic: The Gathering, side-scrolling action games from Capcom (famous for producing “Street Fighter”), and countless anime. Novels, films, music, and even pure war games from Minitures are all under the DND umbrella. DND is very successful in some places (note: what is mentioned here is "commercial success", which is different from "artistic success"), such as tabletop games, animations, novels, action games, including golden boxes, and infinite engines. of these RPG games. But it failed in some areas, such as the role-playing theory, which was criticized as "scum" - as a representative of "role-playing games", this is so ironic that people can't help but sigh.

In a narrow sense, DND is a trademark, and it must be authorized, otherwise it is not. For example, the movie "Dragon" is completely incompatible with DND in terms of script, setting, and actors (the male protagonist claims to know nothing about DND). "Dungeons and Dragons" is indeed "Dungeons and Dragons"; in a broad sense, DND is the pioneer of modern role-playing and has influenced the design ideas of an entire generation of gamers. It can be said that any RPG game can be found here to a greater or lesser extent. For example, the defense of Japanese games is usually represented by reducing the degree of damage received, while the defense of European and American games is usually represented by reducing the probability of injury. These can be traced back to DND and even its predecessor "Chain Armor". To exaggerate a little, as long as it is a "role-playing game", even if you can't play it, you can call DND "Grandmaster". This is due to the great achievements of DND and the way it continues to operate today. For example, the most obvious "dungeonization of stories", dungeons are the greatest invention, and their significance is no less than role-playing games. Without dungeons, there would be no RPG. The dungeon environment that places the greatest constraints on players allows players to have the greatest autonomy. This is a very genius creation. Modern games have basically followed this point, except for "Ultima" - "Ultima Online". Their ideal is for players to interact with their own thoughts/other players, rather than locking people in cells to do this. Do that. "Questification of stories" is obviously also a creation of DND. Continuous stories are divided into different paragraphs and chapters, described in the form of quests.

As far as the game itself is concerned, the success of DND is obvious to all. For example, dice games, a few friends gathering together and eating together, and cosplay, these are all important parts of DND, and some are even the first of its kind. In the field of computer games, DND is unique and powerful, and one system dominates the world.

This is different from ordinary "XX game sequels". After a player is familiar with one of the works, he can easily adapt to all other games using the same system (with completely different story backgrounds). This is a great benefit to both game designers and players. This is a huge benefit, as both parties don’t have to waste too much time exploring the rules of the system, and can instead focus on the playability of the game itself. For example, DND's status in RPG games is equivalent to the 3D engine designed by ID soft, or even Microsoft's DirectX - any programmer understands how great and important the concept of "interface universalization" is. Qin Shihuang's "book" "Same article, same train, same track" is nothing more than that! DND also paved the way for newcomers to RPG games - a way to design the world from the top down. The world of DND includes physics, faith, and philosophy. It creates an entire "ready-to-use" world construction method from the heaven, earth, universe, gods, history and humanities. The settings of the planes, the intervention of gods, the confrontation between good and evil, chaos and order, are all unique and thought-provoking. Thinkers throughout the ages can almost find their final destination among the 15 factions in Sigil City.

Besides games, DND has promoted the integration of different art forms, which is indispensable and must be mentioned. However, some fans may be disappointed. Most of the movies and literary works available in China, especially the more famous ones, are not in the DND system. In addition to a few official and unofficial works such as Dragonlance ("Dragonlance Chronicles") and the Forgotten Realms ("Icewind Dale" and "Dark Elf" series) that are clearly marked with trademarks, there are many more movies and literary works. It belongs to the fantasy category (if you want to belong to this aspect). What's even worse is that although DND novels (such as "Dragonlance" and "Dark Elf") are well-known among domestic fantasy fans, their reputation in the international literary world is... not very good. It's an okay introductory book to the fantasy world, but it's still difficult to reach the level of elegance. If you are interested, you may want to search for a book review called "The Best and Worst Fantasy Novels" and calmly see how other people read.

There are two common arguments in the domestic fantasy circle: one is the "pan-DND theory", no matter what RPG games or even fantasy literary works are based on DND, there is a saying that "the world's martial arts originated from Shaolin" " means; the other is the "DND only theory", which believes that only DND is the supreme elegant game, and strongly rejects other different game design concepts, especially "Legend" and "Kimchi". Some people hold both views.

I personally do not support this. A game is a game, it doesn’t matter whether you are of pure blood or high or low, there is only “fun/not fun”, “suitable for me/not suitable for me”, it’s that simple.

DND's seeds have produced good grain, such as "Baldur's Gate", and bad grain, such as "Pond of Light". Nothing in this world is immortal, and nothing remains unchanged. DND has also failed, made mistakes, had various shortcomings, ups and downs, but now life is still okay. It is also moisturizing (WOTC’s business operation model is indispensable). DND's design method is simple (don't be surprised, any RPG game is no less complex than DND, the difference is that they are not open to players), exquisite and easy to expand, with a clear view of good and evil, a unique HD system, and many changes These are the advantages that have allowed it to stand firm after more than thirty years of ups and downs.

DND also has a lot of criticisms, such as who explains the "charm" of who is confused, such as the super monster of a superhero, and veteran players have more or less their own variations. Rules, but we also often say: "The authenticity of the system is directly proportional to the complexity of the rules and inversely proportional to the ease of operation." Things that have been tried and tested have their own rationality, and of course there is room for improvement.

What is DND? At its core, it is a game engine that does not involve specific plots, programs, or art, nothing more. "Dungeons and Dragons" can even feature no dragons at all, and no dungeons at all.

As for which car this engine is installed on and how fast it can drive, it is up to the car manufacturer and the driver.

As Gu Liu said "...save RPG? It has never lived" (to the effect) - if RPG is like this, what is DND? If it does well and is fun, we will play it; if it makes a mistake and is no longer fun, or someone else's is more fun, or even simply "I'm tired of playing it," we will change to something else. If you don't advance in market competition, you will retreat. No matter how good the game is, you can't play it for a lifetime. What's more, there are many more important things in life than games. Instead of wasting time arguing about "what is DND" and "what is DND?" Even in terms of verbal disputes such as "Is DND the best?", it would be more meaningful to accompany your girlfriend to "walk around the streets, watch movies, eat, and play karaoke."

Additional information: About "Dungeons and Dragons Online" (DDO), briefly.

(xie note: This paragraph has been written into an independent article "Abstraction and Embodiment - D&D, PC Game and Online Game", for details, please see the October 2005 issue of "Game Creation")

Special thanks: During the writing process of this article, I referred to the "History of Role Playing" translated by Zechs, and received great assistance and repeated guidance from seniors such as A.mage, Angelcat, and Xiong. I would like to express my special thanks.

Dice

The most important tool, determines all random numbers.

"DIABLO II"

Except for the "hit rate" used in attack and defense checks, there is almost no similarity with DND.

"DIABLO II Bloody Tombstone"

A simplified version of the tabletop role-playing game module, using the most common 6-sided dice to play the game.

"DND: DIABLO II"

Don't laugh! This is really DND, the DIABLO II campaign setting of Dungeons and Dragons... To be honest, I was dumbfounded when I first saw it.

"Magic and Magic"

The settings of race, occupation, weapon basic damage, and some monsters (beholder, petrified cow, etc.) are very close to those of DND, but the entire game system is different. Quite big

"DnD HEROES"

"Invincible Heroes" is originally a strategy game, but "DnD HEROES"... seems to have no content except a few screenshots? !

"Dark Elves"

This elegant and deadly race is so charming whether in EQ, Lineage II or DND - especially the figure~~

"EverQuest"

Although not all formulas have been disclosed, "EQ" undoubtedly refers to a large number of DND designs.

"D20 EQ"

"EQ" is EQ, DND is DND, "D20 EQ" is D20-based EQ, and D20 is not equal to DND.

"The Lord of the Rings"

The classic handed down by Mr. Tuo has established the "official" image of dwarves and elves in the fantasy world from now on.

"Barlow the Fire Demon Lasher"

From "The Lord of the Rings" to DND, wherever we go, our Barlow's trademarks are long whips and domineering!

"Legend" is a family

"DIABLO II" is not a copy of "Legend", and neither is DND... But why do I always hear this kind of copying of "Sanmao" from Siyi? What about such ridiculous remarks?

"StarCraft"

StarCraft's D20 settings can be found online, but unfortunately they are all made by the same person and are not the official version.

"World of Warcraft"

One of the games with a world view closest to DND. It was the most popular online game in the world in 2005 and was developed by Blizzard. Its basic design ideas are very different from DND.

"D20 WarCraft"

Although D20 WarCraft is not a direct army, it is a regular army of DND, so it is a legally authorized Dungeons and Dragons game.

"STAR WARS"

The Star Wars RPG game is divided into two types: D6 and D20. The D20 version is very close to the third edition DND rules.

"Dragonlance Chronicles"

The first Chinese version of fantasy novels, and the starting point for countless literature lovers to come into contact with DND.

"The Cataclysm of the Setting Sun"

The bloody and tragic scenes were painted by my favorite Gerald Brom, who is also one of Wizards of the Coast's MTG royal painters.

"Rhodes Island Battle"

It feels very similar to DND. In fact, it is part of the Japanese "Sword World" campaign setting, and there are two D6 and D20 Version

Celebrity: EPIC Old Goblin

Goblins also have their day!

Celebrity: Cui Tantou

His story tells us that as long as you dress yourself up as the coolest person, you can get the protagonist template and become the strongest person.

Star: Mind Flayer

This "brain eater" is one of DND's original monsters.

Star: Eye Demon

It is also an original monster of DND. The first monster that appeared in the game was "Eye of Death".

Exquisite models

The all-round integration and development of figures, movies, paintings, music, literature and other media is the key to DND's success.