history of the universe
History of Dungeons and Dragons
The history of Dungeons and Dragons has been around just over 40 years and has become one of the most influential and controversial games of all time. The lovechild of hobby wargames and fantasy fiction, Dungeons and Dragons brings the challenge of strategy with the thrill of adventurous storytelling to all who love to play this game. Initially being inspired by Tolkien-like fantasy and strategy war games, Dungeons and Dragons has spread out of the realm of simply just being a game into literature, film, television and the Internet. It has become a source of inspiration for some, but has offered an escape from everyday life and given players the chance to become something they couldn’t be in real life, enriching the lives of tens of millions of people.
Source: http://dnd.wizards.com/dungeons-and-dragons/what-dd/history/history-forty-years-adventure
The history of Dungeons and Dragons has been around just over 40 years and has become one of the most influential and controversial games of all time. The lovechild of hobby wargames and fantasy fiction, Dungeons and Dragons brings the challenge of strategy with the thrill of adventurous storytelling to all who love to play this game. Initially being inspired by Tolkien-like fantasy and strategy war games, Dungeons and Dragons has spread out of the realm of simply just being a game into literature, film, television and the Internet. It has become a source of inspiration for some, but has offered an escape from everyday life and given players the chance to become something they couldn’t be in real life, enriching the lives of tens of millions of people.
- 1967-70 - Gary Gygax, followed by Don Kaye and Dave Arneson, collaborate in making a couple strategy wargaming clubs like the International Federation of Wargaming and start a convention called Lake Geneva Wargames Convention or Gen Con.
- 1971 - Gygax and Jeff Parren publish Chainmail, which details fantastical medieval warfare including wizards, dragons, and heroes alike.
- 1971 - Dave Arneson uses Chainmail rules for his Blackmoor campaign and includes his players explore dungeons with treasure and dragons.
- 1972-73 - Arneson publishes facts about his campaign in a national, fantasy wargaming newsletter and brings Chainmail to a wider audience. Gygax and Arneson begin to collaborate on drafts of Dungeons and Dragons; Gygax and Kaye form a membership called Tactical Studies Rules (TSR).
- 1974 - The first edition of Dungeons and Dragons is published in January in a hand-assembled, three-booklet format called Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, and Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. Within eleven months, all 1,000 games sold out.
- 1975 - TSR dissolves into TSR Hobbies, Inc. The second 1000 copy printing of Dungeons & Dragons sells out in less than six months and a third 2000 copy printing sells out before the end of the year. D&D classes of thief, paladin, monk and assassin are introduced.
- 1976-77 - The Dragon, the first professional, monthly magazine dedicated to fantasy wargaming is published. The fourth, 5000 copy printing comes out. D&D suppliments 3 and 4 are released. Dungeons and Dragons is separated into basic and advanced editions. The Monster Manual is also published, which includes 350 monsters and detailed descriptions of each one.
- 1978 - The Player's Handbook, the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is released. TSR Hobbies publishes a series of six supplemental materials, introducing new kinds of monsters like fire giants and drow elves.
- 1979 - Dungeon Master's Guidebook, the third and final core Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rulebook is published.
- 1980-1983 - D&D grows to international popularity; shortages for the game in stores occur; Revisions of the Basic Set occur, taking out demonic monsters. TSR releases its first video game products and Monster Manual II. An animated series of the game comes out in September of 83. French is the first language D&D is translated into and is eventually translated into over 10 different languages.
- 1984-1986 - TSR publishes the first fantasy novel of the Dragonlance saga and becomes the number one publisher of fantasy and science fiction novels in the nation. New AD&D titles are released; some are updated and reissued. A survival guide for Dungeoneers and Wilderness adventures are published.
- 1987-1989 - The Forgotten Realms campaign is released, which will be the setting for many novels, video games, etc. Pool of Radiance, the first licensed computer adaptation of AD&D is also released. The Second Edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons is released and includes The Dungeon Masters Handbook; Player's Handbook, three volumes of Monster Manuals, a Complete Fighters' Handbook and a Complete Thiefs' Handbook.
- 1990-1993 - An introductory edition of D&D is released, targeted at beginners of the game. Several new video games are released; Arabian Adventures, a new campaign setting is released; TSR's first hardcover novel, The Legacy, is released and makes it onto the New York Times Bestseller List.
- 1994-1995 - Spellfire: Master the Magic, a trading card game, is published due to the popularity of the trading card fad in the 90s; Planescape, a rich and dark campaign setting is released. In order to mark TSR's 20th Anniversary, they decide to release new revised versions of the Second Edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master Guide; the Birthright campaign is introduced and also introduces new concepts like blood magic, the power of the land, and the divine right of kings.
Source: http://dnd.wizards.com/dungeons-and-dragons/what-dd/history/history-forty-years-adventure
The Year was 1995... Remember?
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1995.html
- The average income per year was $35,900.00.
- One gallon of gas cost $1.09.
- A US Postage stamp cost 32 cents.
- A new car cost around $15,500.00.
- A loaf of bread was $2.02.
- A dozen eggs cost 87 cents.
- The President of the United States was Bill Clinton with his Vice President being Al Gore Jr.
- Grammy-winning singer Selena was shot and killed by the former head of her fan club on March 31st.
- The Oklahoma City Bombing took place on April 29th where 168 people were killed, including more than a dozen children at the building's day-care center. At the time it was the nation's deadliest terrorist bombing in history.
- Toy Story premiered in theaters on November 22.
- Other movies to premiere this year were: Pocahontas, Billy Madison, Clueless, Friday, Batman Forever, and Showgirls.
- Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill won Album of the Year and included hits such as Ironic and You Oughta Know (which also won Best Rock Song that year.)
- Other noteworthy songs that did well in 1995 was TLC's Waterfalls, Radiohead's Creep, Seal's Kiss From a Rose, and Coolio's Gangster's Paradise.
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1995.html
LGBTQ Rights in the 1990s
The 1990s were a turbulent time for the LGBT community, particularly because of pieces of legislation such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act. There was a mixture of attitudes about the issue, ranging from extreme anti-gay acts of violence to a complete embrace of the culture, opening minds of straight people to a whole other lifestyle of their fellow human beings. This timeline documents significant events that focus on or affected the LGBTQ culture of the 90s.
Despite so much legislation against the LGBTQ community, the culture continued to grow and flourish during this complex time in history. The nineties saw the emergence of the LGBTQ youth centers, gay-straight alliances, and youth specific activism (ex. National Day of Silence). The National Day of Silence is April 15th and is observed by typically young people through silence in honor of LGBTQ youth who are forced to be silent about their sexual orientation. It is also a day to reflect on these youth that may be bullied, called names or victimized for being who they are. Colleges in the 90s became places of activism and support for the LGBTQ community. Youth also began to refer to themselves as "queer" to defy statements of all sexual minorities and also because "gay and lesbian" became an "increasingly normative and politically conservative." Gays and lesbians, as well as generally "queer" people and transgenders began to come into their own as a culture, having more pride events like protests to governmental backlash and parades. By the end of the 90s, the general social aspect of LGBTQ culture seemed to finally relax, even just a little bit.
The 1990s were a turbulent time for the LGBT community, particularly because of pieces of legislation such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act. There was a mixture of attitudes about the issue, ranging from extreme anti-gay acts of violence to a complete embrace of the culture, opening minds of straight people to a whole other lifestyle of their fellow human beings. This timeline documents significant events that focus on or affected the LGBTQ culture of the 90s.
- 1990 - LGBTQ organizations such as BiNet USA and Queer Nation are founded.
- 1991 - The first lesbian kiss appears on the TV show L.A. Law between characters C.J. Lamb and Abby.
- December 1993 - "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law is passed and "prohibits the U.S. Military from barring applicants from service based on their sexual orientation and also forbade applicants from engaging in homosexual acts or making a statement that he or she was homosexual. In other words, the military could not ask about a solider's sexual orientation, but if they discovered the solider engaging in homosexual behavior or heard the solider make the statement that they were a homosexual, they would be expelled from the military.
- 1994 - Homosexuality is no longer recognized as a formal "illness" according to the American Medical Association.
- May 1996 - The Supreme Court overturns Colorado's 2nd Amendment of their state constitution declaring that denying gay and lesbian protection from discrimination is unconstitutional after the case of Romer v. Evans.
- September 1996 - President Bill Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, denying federal benefits to same-sex couples. This act declares that the law defines marriage as a legal union between a man and woman and no state is required to recognize a same-sex marriage out of state. This piece of legislation was expedited by Congress, justifying that same-sex marriage was "immoral" and "illegitimate."
- 1996 - Rent debuted on Broadway on April 29, 1996 and brought LGBT culture and AIDS to the forefront of society, opening a lot of people's eyes to the issues of the culture they were blind to.
- 1997 - Ellen DeGeneres comes out as a lesbian as well as her character on the TV show "Ellen", making her the first openly lesbian woman to play an openly lesbian character on television.
- President Clinton nominated James C. Hormel to be U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, Hormel being the first openly gay U.S. Ambassador. Hormel received endless backlash; Senator Chuck Hagel commented that "Ambassadors are representing our lifestyles, values and standards. I think it is an inhibiting factor to be gay - openly aggressively gay like Mr. Hormel - to do an effective job."
- November 1998 - Matthew Shepard, an openly gay 21-year-old college student is beaten, tortured, and left for dead by two fellow students during "Gay Awareness Week" in Laramie, Wyoming as an act of anti-gay violence. Years later, a play would be written about the young man called The Laramie Project; President Obama passes an act against anti-gay hate crimes in 2012, titled the Matthew Shepard Act.
Despite so much legislation against the LGBTQ community, the culture continued to grow and flourish during this complex time in history. The nineties saw the emergence of the LGBTQ youth centers, gay-straight alliances, and youth specific activism (ex. National Day of Silence). The National Day of Silence is April 15th and is observed by typically young people through silence in honor of LGBTQ youth who are forced to be silent about their sexual orientation. It is also a day to reflect on these youth that may be bullied, called names or victimized for being who they are. Colleges in the 90s became places of activism and support for the LGBTQ community. Youth also began to refer to themselves as "queer" to defy statements of all sexual minorities and also because "gay and lesbian" became an "increasingly normative and politically conservative." Gays and lesbians, as well as generally "queer" people and transgenders began to come into their own as a culture, having more pride events like protests to governmental backlash and parades. By the end of the 90s, the general social aspect of LGBTQ culture seemed to finally relax, even just a little bit.
Sources
- http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sexual-politics-in-the-90s-gay-and-lesbian-the-rainbow-alliance-comes-of-age-1262133.html
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/stonewall/
- http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/how-america-got-past-the-anti-gay-politics-of-the-90s/266976/
- https://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/soin/enhancingCurricula/timeline.html
- http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/21/us/witnesses-trace-brutal-killing-of-gay-student.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FShepard%2C%20Matthew&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=12&pgtype=collection
- https://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/soin/enhancingCurricula/timeline.html