As an avid gamer for almost two decades, I disagree with Erik Sofge. I've played a number of role playing games from Vampire to various LARPs, but I've always returned to D&D. Amoung my roll-playing friends, I know of no other system where the games will go on for years. This is because D&D has structure, yet within that structure there is a lot of room for innovation. Too much structure, and creativity is killed. Too little structure, and games become arguements about what people can and can't do.

It is certainly true that it can become a points grind where you go around killing green creatures, but that is the sign of a bad DM. This is something D&D has in common with all roleplaying games. If your DM lacks imagination, the game will lack imagination. The rules of D&D are more like guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules. But killing green creatures is not the only way to gain experience points. One can gain experience by roll-playing as well, provided the DM is smart.

Personally I think the experience points/leveling part of D&D is part of what makes it exciting. After all, how else can you claim that the newbie wizard can't kill the large dragon? Gaining levels and figuring out where you want to go next is part of what turns a cookie-cutter character into someone with personality. The rogue may take a few levels in fighter to use the cool sword she found. The wizard may take decide to concentrate on divination in his quest to find his deity of choice. Who knows? I think having a concrete reward for various actions makes the game better as well. This way a good DM can control her players without having to use the "hand of god", which really wrecks the game. You want more roleplaying? Reward roleplaying. You want less killing of the green creatures? Go strictly by the point values in the books. Or better yet, find some way to show them the riches they've lost by not trying to cooperate the first time.

Gary Gygax gets credit for all this, because he was the first innovator who thought of bringing a game like this to the masses. D&D was the first tabletop roleplaying game of this nature. All these other games might never have come along if it weren't for Gary. Now I would agree that some of the settings and expansions that came out for D&D that were written by other people were more enjoyable. But Gary was first....