by David Smith

Created on: August 28, 2009   Last Updated: August 30, 2009

Dungeons and Dragons is a very popular role playing game. The appeal that this game has is truly an escape from reality. While playing the game, the player can essentially become his character. As there are a multitude of character classes, the players can become people that society today will not allow them to be.

The character classes that people can play greatly adds to the allure of the game. Characters can play as Paladins, Rangers, Clerics, Barbarians, Wizards, and even thieves. Paladins can be described by many historic and fantasy figures. Lancelot and Gawain are people that could be seen as Paladins. Rangers are depicted in fantasy and history as well with people such as Robinhood. Clerics are religious people in the game, touted largely as healers. Barbarians figure largely throughout history as the Mongols, Hunns, and Vikings, to name a few. Wizards figure prominently throughout history and fantasy with such names as Merlin. Thieves are rather popular classes in Dungeons and Dragons as they are accepted by the players in the game, and they are not accepted by the society that we live in.

Another aspect of the game's allure is the comaraderie of the playing sessions. A playing session can be from two people to as many as you like. The number of people should be limited to a number that the dungeon master can easily manage. Game sessions are usually done once a week so players get together at least once a week and socialize for hours.

Many people who don't exactly understand Dungeons and Dragons will say that you can get the same camaraderie from other games, like Monopoly and Scrabble. However, with games like the latter, you start a new game each time that you play. With Dungeons and Dragons, you start the same game each session with established characters and parameters. The game can go on for years with the same characters and parameters, and the characters grow as the game progresses.

Another great aspect of the game is, by appointing a new dungeon master, the game can start anew, often with the same parameters, or world, and new characters. With all of the similarities, one would think that Dungeons and Dragons would get boring, but game play has so many variables, it is never the same from session to session. All of these things are taken into account when the allure of the game is considered.

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