What makes D&D, well, D&D?

[MonsterMash]

I'd pretty much end up reiterating what Altalazar, Nikosandros, and Pants have said.

Summed up:
6 ability scores
Classes based on archetypes
Level based advancement
Vancian magic - both spell names and the memorisation of spells
Dungeon based adventuring
Random encounters
Abstract combat system

 

[Cyberhawk]

For me D&D is class-based Heroic High Fantasy. That's the feel of the system no matter what world is used.

Classic DnD has the Vancian magic, the usual stats and the classic classes. Those all feel like DnD to me but not all worlds use them... the same for the classic monsters like Beholders and the color-based dragons.

Instead what I mean by DnD feel is this:
"heroic" equals Hit points. Your character is a step above normal people. At high levels you can take amounts of damage that would obliterate a house. You keep fighting at full strength until you drop dead (or unconscious). It is not terribly realistic and ranged weapons won't kill anybody above 3rd level.

Class-based: characters use classes and gain additional abilities primarily through gaining levels. A low-level character and a high-level character are radically different. Going up in levels may grant major abilities, it is not a gradual steady increase of already possessed abilities.

"High fantasy" means magic and fantastic ideas/creatures or locations are relatively common. Anybody can, theoretically, be a spellcaster of some sort. Magic items exist. Magic creatures exist in great variety.


Anyways, that's what I tend to think of when I think DnD.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

It's easy to define distinctiveness in the rules. The only thing that's been omitted from the above is, in 1e, Gygax's unique prose style. Nobody writes like EGG...

What makes 1e distinctive in play from its competitors is:

• Abstract, quickly-resolved combat system
• Many spells with arbitrary effects as opposed to a saving-throw mechanism
• Healing only by touch (huge tactical differences compared with, say, Rolemaster)
• Many monsters with extremely lethal combat effects (save-or-die; lose-two-levels-with-no-save; etc.)
• Character can suffer permanent, irreversible deleterious effects in play (you can only be raised a certain number of times; casting certain spells causes irreversible age gain; etc.)

 

[Alhazred]

Mountain Dew. Plus most of what the others have said. (Not terribly constructive, I know, but I'm too anxious about an upcoming job interview to be constructive.)

 

[Dark Jezter]

Mountain Dew. Plus most of what the others have said. (Not terribly constructive, I know, but I'm too anxious about an upcoming job interview to be constructive.)

Correction: Mountain Dew and Cheetoes (although Funions can be used if Cheetoes aren't available).

 

[Cyberhawk]

Mountain Dew. Plus most of what the others have said. (Not terribly constructive, I know, but I'm too anxious about an upcoming job interview to be constructive.)

I must concur...Mountain Dew is very DnD

 

[vortex]

I must concur...Mountain Dew is very DnD

What is the connection with DnD and Mountain Dew?

 

[Altalazar]

What is the connection with DnD and Mountain Dew?

Perhaps very late nights around the gaming table... though that was Dr. Pepper for my cousin...

Maybe the stimulant rush is what allows you to REALLY feel heroic as you slay dragons with powerful magic - which is another good thing for D&D for me - it was always a very magical world. Even first level adventures always end up with some sort of magic items for treasure, though they are often rather minor. There was something always exciting about seeing that item description in the old modules written by Gary that had all magic items in bold letters - that dagger +1 with the mini-hoard of the crazy hermit... or whatever.

 

[Dark Jezter]

What is the connection with DnD and Mountain Dew?

In the first Dead Alewives D&D comedy sketch, Mountain Dew is mentioned by one of the gamers in the kitchen looking for snacks.

In the second Dead Alewives D&D sketch, the same player arrives at the gaming session and the DM introduces him by saying "You see a halfling thief, and he's carrying a 12-pack of Mountain Dew!"

That, at least, is how I believe Mountain Dew and D&D came to be synonymous with each other, although I could be wrong. In any case, though, I think that it would be awesome if Mountain Dew started running some D&D-related advertisements in Dragon Magazine. Something like Tordek the Dwarf fighter charging into a pack of hobgoblins with an axe in one hand and a can of mountain dew in the other, and the line "Do the Dew!" at the bottom.

 

[Wombat]

What is D&D?

Impossible kingdoms, improbable dungeons, silly monsters, a superabundance of magic and magical items that somehow do not affect society at large, convenient currency accepted everywhere (and an all-cash economy based on extensive gold coinage), language same, whittling combat, character classes, levels, spell levels (that specifically do not correspond to character levels), "fire-n-forget" magic, several hundred planes of existence, adventuring accepted as an occupation, High Middle Ages society meets upward mobility and meritocracy, magic that is great at maiming and destroying yet cannot ease birth pangs or truly aid crops, high level characters running around with abandon while kingdoms remain stable and have precise histories often going back 1000+ years, elves at 100 not knowing as much as a human at 18, monster overpopulation, many core races living together in peace and harmony, a "mirror world" underground that has neither peace nor harmony and is much tougher than the world above...

I think this is why I play rpgs and D20, rather than D&D...