Skip to main content

Encyclopedia of Role-Playing Games

Encyclopedia of Role-Playing Games cover

Description

Spanning from the earliest iterations like Dungeons & Dragons to modern indie and mainstream titles, this encyclopedia offers detailed entries on game systems, mechanics, designers, publishers, and cultural impact.
Encyclopedia of Role-Playing Games offers a sweeping overview of the history and cultural significance of role-playing games across tabletop and digital platforms. Beginning with Dungeons & Dragons in the mid-1970s and continuing today, this reference work explores game systems, narrative structures, and the evolution of player communities. It highlights the creative and collaborative nature of RPGs, their educational potential, and their influence on storytelling, identity, and social interaction, celebrating the enduring power of imagination in interactive play.
It includes historical timelines, genre classifications, and thematic analyses, making it an essential resource for educators, game designers, and enthusiasts alike. Each entry provides context on gameplay style, narrative structure, and community reception, while also highlighting innovations that shaped the evolution of RPGs. With extensively cross-referenced topics, the encyclopedia celebrates the creativity and collaborative spirit that define role-playing games. This volume offers both depth and accessibility to the student, scholar, or layperson interested in the development and impact of role-playing games.

Accessibility Information

Additional accessibility information

  • EPUB 3.0
  • Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
  • WCAG level AA
  • WCAG v2.2 compliant
  • accessibility@bloomsbury.com

Hazards

The publication contains no hazards

Support for non-visual reading

  • No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
  • Has alternative text descriptions for images

Visual adjustments

Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and size, spaces, as well as color of background and text)

Navigation

  • Page list to go to pages from the print source version
  • Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
  • All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
  • Content is enhanced with ARIA roles to optimize organization and facilitate navigation
  • Purposes of all links are made clear

Rich content

Language tagging provided

Table of Contents

Preface
Abbreviations
Chronology
Introduction
THE DICTIONARY
Bibliography
About the Author

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 12 Nov 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 352
ISBN 9781538197417
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Related Titles

Environment: Staging