Editing Dungeons & Dragons (section)

== Sources and influences ==
An immediate predecessor of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' was a set of medieval miniature rules written by [[Jeff Perren]]. These were expanded by [[Gary Gygax]], whose additions included a fantasy supplement, before the game was published as ''[[Chainmail (game)|Chainmail]]''. When [[Dave Wesely]] entered the Army in 1970, his friend and fellow Napoleonics wargamer [[Dave Arneson]] began a medieval variation of Wesely's [[Braunstein (wargame)|Braunstein]] games, where players control individuals instead of armies.<ref name="DW3">Arneson; "My Life and Role Playing" in ''Different Worlds'' #3</ref> Arneson used ''Chainmail'' to resolve combat.<ref name="Banshee_Gygax">{{Harvnb|Birnbaum|2004}}</ref> As play progressed, Arneson added such innovations as character classes, experience points, level advancement, armor class, and others.<ref name="DW3"/> Having partnered previously with Gygax on ''[[Don't Give Up the Ship!]]'', Arneson introduced Gygax to his Blackmoor game and the two then collaborated on developing "The Fantasy Game", the game that became ''Dungeons & Dragons'', with the final writing and preparation of the text being done by Gygax.<ref name="D&Dfaq">[[#refMead|Mead, Malcomson; ''Dungeons & Dragons'' FAQ]]</ref><ref name="Wired">Kushner; Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax</ref><ref name="history">Wizards of the Coast; The History of TSR</ref> The name was chosen by Gygax's two-year-old daughter Cindy; upon being presented with a number of choices of possible names, she exclaimed, "Oh Daddy, I like Dungeons & Dragons best!", although less prevalent versions of the story gave credit to his then wife Mary Jo.<ref name=witwer>{{cite book | last = Witwer | first = Michael | title = Empire of the Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing | date = 2015 | location = New York | isbn = 978-1-63286-279-2}}</ref>{{rp|101}}

Many ''Dungeons & Dragons'' elements appear in hobbies of the mid-to-late 20th century. For example, character-based role-playing can be seen in [[improvisational theater]].<ref>Grigg; Albert Goes Narrative Contracting</ref> Game-world simulations were well developed in wargaming. Fantasy milieux specifically designed for gaming could be seen in [[Glorantha]]'s board games, among others.<ref name="Schick 17-34">Schick; ''Heroic Worlds'', pp. 17–34</ref> Ultimately, however, ''Dungeons & Dragons'' represents a unique blending of these elements.

The world of ''D&D'' was influenced by world mythology, history, [[pulp magazine|pulp fiction]], and contemporary fantasy novels, as listed by Gygax in the [[Appendix N]] of the original ''[[Dungeon Master's Guide]]''. The importance of Tolkien's works ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Hobbit]]'' as an influence on ''D&D'' is controversial. The presence in the game of [[Halfling (Dungeons & Dragons)|halflings]], [[Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|elves]], [[Half-elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|half-elves]], [[Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)|dwarves]], [[Orc (Dungeons & Dragons)|orcs]], [[Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)|rangers]], and the like, as well as the convention of diverse adventurers forming a group,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ewalt |first=David M. |author-link=David M. Ewalt |title=Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It |location=New York |publisher=Scribner |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4516-4050-2 |oclc=800031925 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTtoAAAAQBAJ |pages=103–104}}</ref> draw comparisons to these works. The resemblance was even closer before the threat of copyright action from [[Middle-earth Enterprises|Tolkien Enterprises]] prompted the name changes of [[hobbit]] to 'halfling', [[ent]] to '[[treant]]', and [[balrog]] to '[[Balor (Dungeons & Dragons)|balor]]'. For many years, Gygax played down the influence of Tolkien on the development of the game.<ref>Kuntz; "Tolkien in Dungeons & Dragons" in ''Dragon'' #13</ref><ref name="Dragon95">Gygax; "On the Influence of J. R. R. Tolkien on the D&D and AD&D games" in ''Dragon'' #95</ref><ref>Drout; "J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia", p 229</ref> However, in an interview in 2000, he acknowledged that Tolkien's work had a "strong impact" though he also said that the list of other influential authors was long.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.theonering.net/features/interviews/gary_gygax.html|title=Gary Gygax - Creator of Dungeons & Dragons|work=TheOneRing|access-date=January 10, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206212135/http://archives.theonering.net/features/interviews/gary_gygax.html|archive-date=December 6, 2013}}</ref>

The [[Magic in Dungeons & Dragons|''D&D'' magic system]], in which wizards memorize spells that are used up once cast and must be re-memorized the next day, was heavily influenced by the ''[[Dying Earth series|Dying Earth]]'' stories and novels of [[Jack Vance]].<ref>Gygax; "The Dungeons and Dragons Magic System" in ''The Strategic Review'', Vol. 2, No. 2</ref> The original alignment system (which grouped all characters and creatures into 'Law', 'Neutrality' and 'Chaos') was derived from the novel ''[[Three Hearts and Three Lions]]'' by [[Poul Anderson]].<ref name="lit_source"/><ref>{{cite conference |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02910410/document |title=La mythologie nordique dans Donjons & Dragons - Entre réception et stéréotypes |last=Di Filippo |first=Laurent |date=2018 |publisher=Didaskalie |book-title=Les clichés dans l'histoire |page=83 |location=Chazey-sur-Ain |conference=Fest'Ain d'Histoire |language=fr |trans-title=Norse mythology in Dungeons & Dragons - Between reception and stereotypes |access-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106181659/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02910410/document |url-status=live }}</ref> A troll described in this work influenced the ''D&D'' definition of that monster.<ref name="Dragon95"/> Writer and game designer [[Graeme Davis (game designer)|Graeme Davis]] saw the [[Labyrinth]] of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[Minotaur#Theseus myth|myth of the Minotaur]] as an inspiration for the game's use of dungeons as monster lairs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Graeme |author-link=Graeme Davis (game designer) |date=2014 |title=Theseus and the Minotaur |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |pages=34–35 |isbn=978-1-4728-0405-1}}</ref>

Other influences include the works of [[Robert E. Howard]], [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]], [[A. Merritt]], [[H. P. Lovecraft]], [[Fritz Leiber]], [[L. Sprague de Camp]], [[Fletcher Pratt]], [[Roger Zelazny]], and [[Michael Moorcock]].<ref>The first seven listed here are the "most immediate influences". (Gygax; ''Dungeon Masters Guide'', p. 224)</ref> Monsters, spells, and magic items used in the game have been inspired by hundreds of individual works such as [[Van vogt|A. E. van Vogt's]] "Black Destroyer", [[Coeurl]] (the [[Displacer Beast]]), [[Lewis Carroll]]'s "[[Jabberwocky]]" ([[vorpal]] sword) and the [[Book of Genesis]] (the clerical spell 'Blade Barrier' was inspired by the "[[Flaming sword (mythology)|flaming sword]] which turned every way" at the gates of [[Garden of Eden|Eden]]).<ref name="lit_source">DeVarque; Literary Sources of D&D</ref>