Dungeons & Dragons is considered by many to be the forefather of the modern-day MMO. With the recent release of Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, we are seeing evidence that new Dungeons and Dragons design is being informed by MMOs. In this article, Managing Editor Jon Wood discusses some of the specific elements of the new edition that draw in elements of our genre of video game.
There is little doubt that Dungeons and Dragons (and other early pen and paper games) helped to pave the way for the MMORPG genre. So much so that when co-creator Gary Gygax passed away, many MMORPGers mourned the loss.
It has always been easy to look at MMOs (and all RPGs, really) and find the influences that pen and paper game like Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) have had on them, but the most recent edition of the popular tabletop game turns all of that on its ear. It seems that the student had become the teacher, the circle of life is complete, and a number of other clich¨¦s that I could use to say that the recently released 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons looks less like the template for MMORPGs and more like a product of them.
Whether Wizards of the Coast (the current developers of Dungeons and Dragons) designed this new edition of the game to be more appealing to the MMORPG gamer crowd or whether it is simply being informed by a popular game type difficult to say, but there are a number of parallels that should be explored:
Character Roles
In Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, the developers have incorporated specific roles for characters into the design of the game. While character role has always been implied by the character's class in previous editions (wizard, cleric, fighter, etc.), this is the first time that the rules have allowed for more MMO-style definitions.
In DnD 4th Edition, characters are divided into one of four roles: Controller, Leader, Striker and Defender. The idea is that a well-rounded adventuring party (or group) should be made up of at least one character from each of the roles.
Controller: The controller role is filled by the game's wizards. Controllers have the ability to cause moderate damage to a large number of opponents. They are also good for hampering their enemies in some way (holding, slowing, etc.).
Leaders: The leader role is filled by Clerics and Warlords. Leaders have the ability to heal their party members and to provide other bonuses that help other players in their group.
Defender: The Paladin and the Fighter make up the classes that fill the Defender role. Defenders are your standard tank characters. They can take a good deal of damage and are heavily armoured. Their abilities focus on this and on keeping enemies engaged, allowing other characters to strike more effectively.
Striker: Rogues, Rangers and Warlocks are considered Strikers. Strikers are experts at causing single targets heavy damage. They move and strike quickly using stealth, magic and other means to strategically choose their targets.
MMOs have been using terms like these to describe the roles of the classes for quite some time. Rounding out a solid MMO group is almost always reliant on having characters that can fill each of these roles. While the same has been true of Dungeons and Dragons in the past in a passive way, 4th Edition marks the first time that the game's design has incorporated it and spelled it out in terms that are so familiar to online RPG players.
Combat Powers
Previous editions of DnD have relied on standard attacks for melee characters with spell casters having a wide variety of choice in the spells that they cast.
Standard melee and ranged attacks have traditionally been made on a hit or miss basis. For example, if I wanted to attack an enemy, I would tell the DM what I wanted to attack, and I would roll a die to see if my standard attack (in this case swinging a sword) would hit or miss. It wasn't about fancy moves and specific kinds of attack as much as it was a case of I have a sword, I swing my sword, I hit, I swing my sword again.
4th Edition has changed all of that by incorporating character powers into the mix. Non-spell casters can now take advantage of specific attack powers that are gained through level progression in much the same way that characters in a standard level-based MMO gain new attack powers.
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