Braunstein → Blackmoor → D&D 1974

Historical milestones: Braunstein — David Wesely, 1969 · Blackmoor — Dave Arneson, first sessions in 1971 · Dungeons & Dragons — Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson, 1974.

Nearby question

What constitutes the activity of role-playing independently of the instruments that historically accompanied it?

Jon Peterson's historical work documents a trajectory including David Wesely's Braunstein games, Dave Arneson's experiments around Blackmoor, and the 1974 publication of Dungeons & Dragons.

Historical solution

Something shifts inside wargaming: participants occupy individual positions in an adjudicated world, make decisions beyond a closed list of maneuvers, and discover consequences that may persist.

What it makes possible

Role-playing appears as an activity broader than features later made emblematic by D&D: classes, levels, particular dice, combat structures, campaigns, or detailed sheets.

For Resonance

This case offers a research method: vary components of the apparatus without assuming each belongs to the essence of the medium. Removing the GM, synchronous speech, dice, or campaign does not answer the question by definition; it lets us observe what functions those forms were actually carrying.

Sources: Jon Peterson — History of D&D in 12 Treasures, The Making of Original D&D: 1970–1977.