Everyone knows about D&D. Back in the eighties, people who played D&D were considered suicidal, homicidal, devil-worshipping, dangers to themselves and to society. Whole organizations (namely Bothered about Dungeons and Dragons, or B.A.D.D.) were founded on this principle.i But times have changed and now the people who play D&D are chiefly considered nerds, harmless losers who have nothing better to do in their free time than to roll dice and talk about such obscure concepts as “AC” (Armor Class, not Air Conditioning) and “Feats.” No one really understands the game or why people play it and frankly, no one really cares. But if you were to ask someone who plays D&D about the game, their response will automatically fall into one of two categories: combat or character. Combat is crucial to the game. You go through dungeons and fight dragons. Or goblins, orcs, kobolds, tarasques, dire badgers, liches, ghosts, extraplanar beings, humans, demons, water elementals, gelatinous cubes, etc. In other words, combat is central to D&D. Random encounters usually help move the plot along and without combat, very little can be accomplished.
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