Dungeons and Dragons: Altering the Course of the Fantasy Genre

Abstract

Although myths and folktales have always contained fantastic elements, literary scholars often date the origins of the modern “fantasy” genre to the 19th century and works such as The King of the Golden River 1851 by John Ruskin, The Princess and the Goblin 1872 by George MacDonald, and The Well at the World’s End 1896 written and illustrated by William Morris. In the 20th century, one of the most influential works, if not the most influential, is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. With The Hobbit, Tolkien introduced readers to a vision of a fantasy world that continues to influence the genre today. Dungeons & Dragons, a table-top role-playing game published by Tactical Studies Rules in 1973, primarily under the guidance of Gary Gygax, derives many of its features from works that were popular when Gygax was growing up such as The Hobbit, as well as pulp fictions such as Conan the Conqueror by Robert E. Howard. With the origins of D&D being so explicitly rooted in notable works of modern fantasy, D&D provides a revealing interpretation of the genre. Indeed, although not a conventional literary text, D&D now arguably has a central place in the development of the genre. By studying the history and construction of the game, and the various controversies over its development and tropes, we can discover both the depth of influence it has had, both on the conventions and the public perception of the fantasy genre more broadly.