Player's Handbook
The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition '' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). It does not contain the complete set of rules for the game, and only includes rules for use by players of the game. Additional rules, for use by Dungeon Masters (DMs), who referee the game, can be found in the ''Dungeon Master's Guide''. Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources. Since the first edition, the ''Player's Handbook'' has contained tables and rules for creating characters, lists of the abilities of the different character classes, the properties and costs of equipment, descriptions of spells that magic-using character classes (such as wizards or clerics) can cast, and numerous other rules governing gameplay. Both the ''Dungeon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an organization of wargaming clubs and founded the Gen Con gaming convention. In 1971, he helped develop ''Chainmail'', a miniatures wargame based on medieval warfare. He co-founded the company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR, Inc.) with childhood friend Don Kaye in 1973. The following year, he and Arneson created ''D&D'', which expanded on Gygax's ''Chainmail'' and included elements of the fantasy stories he loved as a child. In the same year, he founded '' The Dragon'', a magazine based around the new game. In 1977, Gygax began work on a more comprehensive version of the game, called ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons''. Gygax designed numerous manuals for the game system, as well as several pre-packaged adventures called "modules" that gave a pers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (game designer), John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (UK), Steve Jackson, Games Workshop was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon, mancala, nine men's morris and Go (board game), Go. It later became an importer of the U.S. role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and then a publisher of wargames and role-playing games in its own right, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process. It expanded into Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia in the early 1990s. All UK-based operations were relocated to the current headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham in 1997. It started promoting games associated with The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy in 2001. It al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Monk (Dungeons & Dragons)
The monk (also mystic) is a playable character class in most editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. A D&D monk is a fantasy martial artist, specializing in unarmed combat. Publication history Original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' In the ''Men & Magic'' (1974) booklet from the original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' set, "clerics with the right combination of attributes could become monks — implying a religious calling for the monk class. ..The pinnacle of the monk's power was the quivering palm". The monk as a character class was introduced in 1975's ''Blackmoor'' supplement. Shannon Appelcline, author of the ''Designers & Dragons'' series, wrote that "Brian Blume is believed to have contributed to ''Blackmoor'', primarily due to one statement by Gary Gygax. In his forward to ''Oriental Adventures'' (1985), written ten years after the production of ''Blackmoor'', Gygax claimed that the monk character class was 'inspired by Brian Blume and the book series called ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Assassin (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by their class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes to create a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' player character. A character's class affects a character's available skills and abilities. A well-rounded party of characters requires a variety of abilities offered by the classes found within the game. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' was the first game to introduce the usage of character classes to role-playing. Many other traditional role-playing games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games have since adopted the concept as well. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' classes have generally been defined in the ''Player's Handbook'', one of the three core rulebooks; a variety of alternate classes have also been defined in supplemental sourcebooks. Classes by type Principal base c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rogue (Dungeons & Dragons)
The rogue or thief is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks. The rogue is stealthy and dexterous, and in early editions was the only official base class from the ''Player's Handbook'' capable of finding and disarming traps and picking locks. The rogue also has the ability to "sneak attack" ("backstab" in previous editions) enemies who are caught off-guard or taken by surprise, inflicting extra damage. Publication history Creative origins The abilities of the thief class were drawn from various archetypes from history and myth, but clear debts from modern fantasy literature can be traced to characters such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins, Fritz Leiber's The Gray Mouser, and Jack Vance's Cugel the Clever. In his article "Jack Vance and the D&D Game", Gary Gygax stresses the influence that Vance's Cugel and also Zelaz ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paladin (Dungeons & Dragons)
The paladin is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. The paladin is a holy knight, crusading in the name of good and order, and is a divine spellcaster. From 1st through 3rd edition, paladins were required to maintain the Lawful Good alignment. In addition, compared with other classes the paladin class has one of the most restrictive codes of conduct and paladin characters are expected to demonstrate and embody goodness. Failure to maintain a lawful good alignment or adhere to the code of conduct causes paladins to lose their paladin status and many of their special abilities until they are able to atone. With the introduction of the 4th edition of ''D&D'', paladins become champions of a chosen deity instead of just righteous warriors, paladins can be of any alignment, and can no longer fall in disgrace and lose their paladinhood. Publication history Creative origins The development of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)
The Ranger is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Rangers are skilled bushcraft Bushcraft is the use and practice of skills, thereby acquiring and developing knowledge and understanding, in order to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Bushcraft skills provide for the basic physiological necessities for human lif ...smen/woodcraftsmen, and often lived reclusive lives as hermits. Publication history Creative origins The ranger was primarily based on the character Aragorn, and the Rangers of the North of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos, as warriors who use tracking and other wilderness skills to hunt down their enemies. The ''AD&D'' second edition handbook mentions several other inspirations from myth and legend, such as Robin Hood, Jack the Giant Killer, the huntress Diana (mythology), Diana, and the Greek hero Orion (mythology), Orion. Other notable rangers in the literat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fighter (Dungeons & Dragons)
The fighter is one of the standard playable character classes in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics. Fighter is a generic and broad class; individual fighters have diverse backgrounds and different styles. Bodyguards, adventurers, former soldiers, invading bandit kings, or master swordsmen are all fighters, yet they come from all walks of life and backgrounds and often find themselves on very different alignments, goals, and sides in a conflict. Publication history ''Dungeons & Dragons'' The "Fighting Man" was one of the three classes in the original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game; the other two classes were Magic-User and Cleric. The paladin was introduced in '' Supplement I - Greyhawk'' (1975), as a subclass of Fighting Man. ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 1st edition The fighter was one of the standard character classes available in the original ''Player's Han ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Druid (Dungeons & Dragons)
The druid is a playable character class in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Druids wield nature-themed magic. Unlike clerics, druids do not have special powers against undead and, in some editions, cannot use metal armor. Druids have a unique ability that allows them to change into various animal forms, and various other qualities that assist them in natural settings. Publication history Creative origins The druid is named for the pre-Christian Celtic priests called druids. In the book ''The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games'' (2014), Michael Tresca highlighted that "historically, druids did revere trees as nature spirits. ..Zoomorphism was common enough to justify druids transforming into all kinds of animals. ..Conspicuously lacking from Dungeons & Dragons is the role of sacrifices in druidic rituals". Original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' Druids appeared, but not as player characters, in the original ''Greyhawk'' supplement from 1974. They were prese ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Character Class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by their class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes to create a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' player character. A character's class affects a character's available skills and abilities. A well-rounded party of characters requires a variety of abilities offered by the classes found within the game. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' was the first game to introduce the usage of character classes to role-playing. Many other traditional role-playing games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games have since adopted the concept as well. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' classes have generally been defined in the ''Player's Handbook'', one of the three core rulebooks; a variety of alternate classes have also been defined in supplemental sourcebooks. Classes by type Principal base c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wizards Of The Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidiary of Hasbro, which acquired the company in 1999. During a February 2021 reorganization at Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast became the lead part of the new "Wizards & Digital" division. Originally a role-playing game publisher, the company originated and popularized the collectible card game genre with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in the mid-1990s. It also acquired the popular ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game by buying TSR (company), TSR and increased its success by publishing the licensed ''Pokémon Trading Card Game''. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Renton, Washington, Renton, Washington (state), Washington, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. Wizards of the Coast publishes role-pl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gamemaster
A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are more common in co-operative games in which players work together than in competitive games in which players oppose each other. The act performed by a gamemaster is sometimes referred to as "Gamemastering" or simply "GM-ing". The role of a gamemaster in a traditional table-top role-playing game (pencil-and-paper role-playing game) is to weave the other participants' player-character stories together, control the non-player aspects of the game, create environments in which the players can interact, and solve any player disputes. The basic role of the gamemaster is the same in almost all traditional role-playing games, although differing rule sets make the specific duties of the gamemaster unique to that system. The role of a gamemaster in an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |