Overview

For my final project, I would like to write a research paper that will investigate and explore the ways that Dungeons & Dragons has historically intersected with the fields of fantasy and political ideologies through its multiple editions. More specifically, I would like to analyze Dungeons & Dragons through the lens of critical race, queerness, and imperialism and how all the game has evolved through its 50-year history. This would be an extension of my class presentation in which I take a deeper dive through the game.

Throughout my study of these games, I want to take a much deeper look at the ways that Dungeons & Dragons has worked to perpetuate and exemplify ideologies of Western imperialism and contrast it with the attempts to address those ideas and evolve into more modern viewpoints. One of the first ways that I will do this is exploring the game’s relationship to wargaming and how the practice is both upheld and subverted by Dungeons and dragons. Afterwards, I seek to engage with how D&D presents ideas surrounding race, gender, and queerness within its character creation and the acts of mimicry that are essential to playing the game. Finally, I want to explore the ways that Dungeons and Dragons has intertwined with popular culture throughout history, moving from a game for “Satan-worship” to a much more mainstream format and what factors contributed to it.

Methodology

Dungeons and Dragons, first published in 1974, has had multiple editions in the last 50 years. To help keep my research paper more organized, I’ve decided to focus on the main editions of the game and exclude most other expansions. This means that I will be investigating the following sources:

• Dungeons & Dragons – Original Edition (1974)
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons – 1^st Edition (1977)
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons – 2^nd Edition (1989)
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons – Revised 2^nd Edition (1995)
• Dungeons & Dragons – 3^rd Edition (2000)
• Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 – Revised 3^rd Edition (2003)
• Dungeons & Dragons – 4^th Edition (2008)
• Dungeons & Dragons – 5^th Edition (2014)
• One Dungeons & Dragons (2024)

While looking at all these games, I will examine the mechanics and character creation processes for each edition and the thought process behind changing each of them with every edition. I also plan to read articles concerning how each of these editions were made and the purpose behind changing aspects of the game. Through this, I hope to gain a better understanding of the game through the lens of capital and culture.

As for sources to help me with my analysis, I found the following to help guide my studies with the intention of finding more.

• Michaud, Jon (November 2, 2015). “The Tangled Cultural Roots of Dungeons & Dragons”. The New Yorker. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
• “Foreign War Games”. Selected Professional Papers Translated from European Military Publications. Translated by H. O. S. Heistand. Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office. 1898. pp. 233–289.
• Reagan Yessler & Bethany Craig (31 May 2024): Dungeons and Dragons: Gender, Race, and Power in the Fantasy and Storytelling Space, GeoHumanities, DOI: 10.1080/2373566X.2024.2352528
• Atherton, Gray, et al. “A Critical Hit: Dungeons and Dragons as a Buff for Autistic People.” Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 2024, pp. 13623613241275260-, https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241275260.