Dungeon Masters Guide (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons)

by Gary Gygax and E. Gary Gygax

Special Reference Work: a Compiled Volume of Information Primarily Used by Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game Referees, Including Combat Tables, Monster Lists and Encounters, Treasure and Magic Tables... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0935696024
• ISBN13: 9780935696028
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: TSR
• Length: 236 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An AD & D Gamer...

I have seen many RPG throughout time, those of which have succeeded in being good PRG's, and those that have not. This is one of them that is not only a good RPG, but one that will last a lifetime. This book, in adition to ones like the Dungeon Master's guide, was really the start of it all, and other RPG's to come. This book is extremely helpful in many areas that people may not have knowledge in. It is good for notes, or for people who want to design their own character from scratch. It tells you how to do this from the beginning, like scoring character abilities, to classes and spells, and much more. This book is a MUST HAVE for players interested in serious AD & D, and is definitely a timeless classic.

Play 3rd edition all you want...but this is the best...

Yes I roleplay 3rd edition, but I know that this ... the 1st edition AD & D is the best there is. The rules are simple but strong enough to provide hours and hours of games. I would suggest that you get this and the player's manual (and the Monster manual 1 and 2 from G.G.). Have hours of fun in this game.What's good about this game manual for DMs is that there are so many suggestions, explorations of the different faces of the game, enough to make the DM ready for most anything the players might throw at him.

Gary Gygax is the Master.

I have been roleplaying for years, many many years. I have seen games come and go, I have seen the white box set of G. Gygax. I have seen games like RuneQuest, Warhammer FRP, MERP, Torg, so many games.Yet this is the real start, the real truth of how great roleplaying can be. You might find 3rd edition more intricate, more things to do in it, but the original AD & D players manual and DM manual were the best in my humble opinion.This book shows how to create characters quick and just start roaming the worlds that the DM makes. GET IT. and the Dungeon Master Manual by G. Gygax. You will love it better than almost anything else the roleplaying world has to offer.

1979 printing is one of Gygax's finest

Here's the ultimate version of the DMG for Gygax purists. You get all of the charm, advice, and "dark stuff" that was frowned upon as being "too esoteric" in the cleaner versions to come... Highlights include classic illustrations, using monsters as PCs, assassins and the use of poison, tribal spell casters (makes those giants and orcs a lot more interesting!), magic items with XP AND GOLD PIECE values (WHY did they stop doing this? WHY? ), old school psionics (for all those Illithids in GDQ1-7), the original "down to the last hit point" monster XP value charts, building NPCs and evocative dungeon settings the "Gygax way," player creation of spells and magic items, and much more; my personal favorite touch is the endless extolling of the virtues of encouraging the PCs in the early levels, while only a few pages later, we're treated to a graphic depiction of a game in progress that STRONGLY implies it's good to kill the PCs at 1st level, even if they do everything right... :) (see pp. 97-100) Hehe! A highly recommended pride piece for your retro-AD & D collection.

Players Handbook (AD & D 1st Edition) is a masterpiece.

From the unusual and intrigueing cover art, to the huge lists of spells and other tables, the Player's Handbook is a masterpiece - and requisite for smooth character creation and game play. Of course, 1st edition (possibly used more that 2nd edition), is a dream to play, and this book aids the player (and referee!) during game play, but will later be read like a novel - you'll be lingering over grand prose and illustrations for hours. I strongly recommend that if you are interested in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, either as a gamer or a critic, you locate and purchase this book - it will add life to your library and intense enjoyment to your life.