...It is a long tale...
| Roleplaying game | |
| Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Designer | Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson |
| Publisher | TSR (before 1997), Wizards of the Coast (since 1997) |
| Release date | 1974 |
Dungeons & Dragons is a popular fantasy role-playing game that was first published by TSR in 1974. While unrelated to J.R.R. Tolkien's works, it took inspiration from it. Since 1997 it is owned and published by Wizards of the Coast, who also publish the card game Magic: The Gathering.
Branching off from war games as the first published tabletop role-playing game, it paved the way for later games such as Middle-earth Role Playing. Until 2013, Dragon Magazine served as one of its official periodicals.
Inspiration from Tolkien
Dungeons & Dragons, especially in its early days, borrowed liberally from various sources.[1] [2] Its use of terms from Tolkien's works specifically came under scrutiny in 1977 when TSR was threatened with a lawsuit by Elan Merchandising or Tolkien Enterprises. Their primary objection concerned TSR's board game The Battle of the Five Armies, though they also targeted terminology within Dungeons & Dragons, leading to some name changes in subsequent releases after the suit was settled:
Other names, like Elves, Half-elves, Dwarves and Dragons, are so common, and not necessarily related to Tolkien's works, that they still stand.
Adaptations
Adventures in Middle-earth and its successor The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying are licensed role-playing games for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons.
Fans also adapted older editions to the setting as the Eä d20 RPG.[5]
References
- ↑ Rob Kuntz, "Tolkien in Dungeons & Dragons", Dragon, #13, May 1978, p. 8
- ↑ Gary Gygax, "The influence of J.R.R. Tolkien on the D&D and AD&D games", Dragon, #95, March 1985, pp. 12-13
- ↑ . "Q&A with Gary Gygax". En World
- ↑ Drout; "J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia", p. 229
- ↑ "Eä d20 RPG". Eä RPG