The Controller role gives players access to the entire battle map. They aren’t restricted to opponents located within a move action. Controllers can change terrain, summon additional creatures, as well as launch attacks to the far edges of the battle map. This role’s combat contribution comes with a minimum of engagement. In fact, Controllers are often glass jaw characters–one good hit drops them. They should stick close to a Defender. Understanding range is vital to playing a Controller. They specialize in burst and blast attacks. However, a Controller’s player must be aware that some powers affect only enemies while others damage everyone within an area-of-effect. Using the latter can lead to harming fellow Player Character allies!

Playing a striker is a balance between dealing as much damage as you can, and getting out of the way of any counter attack. Strikers can take some damage though not as much as a defender class, so avoiding damage is a necessity. This can be done by keeping your distance from the enemy and using a ranged weapon like a bow or sling. Getting away from the attack is also a good way. Some striker classes have movements attached to their attacks, gaining some distance from a threat.

Players need to keep the balance between damage and avoidance to play well.

• Improvisational theatre dating back to Italian commedia dell’arte served as an inspiration for the role-playing element of the game, in which players took on the persona of their own fantasy adventurer.
• Early 20^th-century wargaming was the first to simulate battle with rules that were published in “manuals,” such as Fred T. Jane’s Jane’s Fighting Ships (1905/6 ed.) or H.G. Wells’s Floor Games (1911).
• Although Gygax denies a major influence, J.R.R. Tolkien’s touch can be seen in the different character races of the game, including elves, dwarves, and orcs. The game originally included “hobbit,” “ent,” and “balrog” races, which the Tolkien copyright-holders forced the duo to change.
• Jack Vance’s Dying Earth (1950-1984) stories were the source for a large part of the magic system in D&D, most notably the fact that only a certain amount of spells can be remembered at once. In addition, each spell can only be cast once before it’s forgotten. The game also includes the series’ ioun stones, which grant magical benefits.
• Different character classes come from different mythological sources. For example, the barbarian is based on the “Conan the Barbarian” stories, while the bard is comes from Celtic tradition. The cleric is modeled after the Templar priests, and the monk is based off of Asian martial artists.
• The alignment system (in which characters are grouped based on their devotion to Law or Chaos) is based off of the 1961 novel Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson.
• The weapon “vorpal sword” comes from Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky.”
• The Book of Genesis in the Bible inspired the spell “Blade Barrier,” based off of the flaming sword which guarded the garden of Eden.