by Rob Kentworth

Created on: August 24, 2010

Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) is a game that’s quite complex, but over time, the game has become easier for casuals and people new to D&D to get into the game. With this in mind and with the move to a free to play model, there’s never been a better time for newcomers to try the game.

Even before the move to a free to play model, the game was good. The fact that people can play free of charge is just the icing on the cake. And the business model for Turbine seems to be working, with there being quite a lot of active and new players joining the game. However, despite the game being good, is it for you? And is it a faithful representation of the pen and paper game?

Well, to start with, the game doesn’t use an entirely faithful reproduction of the pen and paper’s game rules. But that’s to be expected, as some concessions need to be made to make the transition from a pen and paper game to a computer game. In the pen and paper game, combat is turn based replete with dice rolls determining whether an attack lands or not and how much damage is dealt. In Dungeons and Dragons Online, the combat is more or less real-time though dice are still rolled behind the scenes to determine whether you hit an enemy or not. To sum the gameplay up, it’s more involving and fast paced than you’d expect from a Dungeons and Dragons game that follows the pen and paper rules. Some people may like the change and some may not. Personally, I like the change.

Another change that has been made for the online game concerns spells. In the pen and paper game, players have to memorise spells. For instance, they might have access to three level two spells and they’d need to decide what spells to take. Like, you could take two of the same spell and one of another level two spell. Players still memorise spells in this game, but it’s a bit different. Memorising spells only determines what spells can be used in dungeons and instead, a player’s spell-points determines how many spells can be cast. It’s like a traditional mana system, but the mana doesn’t recharge therefore forcing players to think about when to cast and which spell to use, as higher level spells cost more spell-points.

The dungeons/quests, which are most likely the reason you’ll play the game, are good. They’re even narrated by a dungeon master and in some special cases, they’re narrated by people who’ve been involved with the pen and

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