Revision after Revision - Evolution of Classic Dungeons and Dragons

The Classic or non-Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game had a remarkably long life. Arguably first introduced with the Basic Set in July, 1977, products were made for the Classic game line until 1996. Unlike other editions of the game, the Classic game did not remain almost immutable and unchanged throughout its lifetime. In this blog article we will consider how the game evolved over time.

There were five major publications of the Classic D&D Rules, the 1977 Basic Set, the 1981 Basic and Expert Sets, the 1983-86 Basic, Expert, Companion, Master and Immortals Sets, the 1991-1992  Rules Cyclopedia and Wrath of the Immortals Set and the later introductory D&D sets from 1991-96.

Reprinting and Republishing versus Revisioning

Most successful RPG core rulebooks are reprinted to satisfy demand for them. TSR's early years were ones of rapid change and books were frequently reprinted and sometimes minor changes or errata were incorporated. Famously, all of TSRs earliest books were reprinted in 1977 to remove or change references to J. R. R. Tolkien's work (references to balrogs removed, hobbits and ents changed to halflings and treants).

TSR republished the original four AD&D hardback books, originally published from 1977-1980 with new covers beginning in 1983. The new covers featured new cover art and a uniform orange spine but the content of these books were identical to the old books with the wraparound artwork in their later printings. In some of these "orange spine" printings, David Sutherland and David Trampier are still being credited for the new cover artwork done by Jeff Easley!

The AD&D 2nd Edition Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide had been originally published in 1989 and TSR republished them with new cover and interior artwork in 1995. While there was a foreword explaining that these books were not a third edition, the content, organization and the text remained the same except for some minor corrections and clarifications. Only the Monstrous Manual, as a hardcover republication of the first two Monstrous Compendiums (which were collections of 3-hole printed cards) added anything significant in terms of new material to the basic 

The Classic D&D line was completely different in its approach of refreshing the material over the years. Many able editors took their own approaches to the material when determining how to present it and how to explain it. Some text was cut and pasted but over time as the game developed the rules had to fit the needs of the product.

I.     Basic Dungeons & Dragons

Basic Set (1977)

• Edited by J. Eric Holmes
• Contents:
• 48-page Rulebook (1st-3rd Printings, no edition notation) with:
• Dungeon Geomorphs Set 1 - Basic Dungeon and
• Monster & Treasure Assortment Set 1: Levels 1-3
• 48-page Rulebook Second Edition, Nov 1978 (4th-6th Printings) with:
• B1 - In Search of the Unknown (4th-6th Printings) or
• B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands (6th Printing)
• 48-page Rulebook Third Edition, Dec 1979 (6th-7th Printings) with:
• B1 - In Search of the Unknown (6th Printing) or 
• B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands (7th Printings)
• 5 pre-inked die (no d10), 6 uncolored die & crayon, or die chit sheet (depending on printing)
• Levels Covered: 1-3

The 1977 Basic Set was D&D's first serious attempt to reach new players and teach them the game. Much of the content was copied over from the Original Dungeons and Dragons box set (OD&D, the three little brown books) with an improved organization. Some material, most notably the Thief class, was adapted from Supplement I - Greyhawk. Other ideas like the five-axis alignment system (one neutral instead of five) were added from Gary Gygax's evolution of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons while that game still under development. More details are here. The stated intent of the book was that once players had a few adventures under their belt and understood how role playing games worked, they would move on to the flagship product, Advanced D&D, to play higher level adventures. The Basic Set only covered levels 1-3 as a result. (Originally the text told the player to go to OD&D and the Supplements, but this was changed prior to publication).

The contents of this set vary the most compared to later versions of the Classic D&D game. The earliest printings came with Dungeon Geomorphs, a set of room tiles which you could arrange in any number of ways to make a dungeon map. They also came with Monster & Treasure Assortment Set 1 so you had ready-made encounters and treasures to stock your dungeon rooms. The idea was that you could use these tools to assist you in making your own dungeon. The Basic Rulebook came with a sample dungeon, the well-regarded Zenopus' ruins, so new players were not left wholly unguided as to how a dungeon should be designed.

Middle printings came with one of D&D's first adventure modules, B1 - In Search of the Unknown. This was a beginner's module by Mike Carr which provided a pair of set dungeon maps and descriptions for every room. It required the Dungeon Master to stock the rooms with monsters and treasures randomly from lists given later in the booklet. It did give more assistance in getting an adventure up and running quickly by giving the Dungeon Master a ready-made backstory, a table of legends and rooms in the dungeon with tricks and traps.

During the publication of the Holmes Basic Set, TSR had difficulty supplying dice for the box set. Non-six-sided polyhedral dice were not common and were typically sold through specialty stores by mail order during the 1970s. The explosion of D&D's popularity meant that the few suppliers of polyhedral dice around at that time simply could not keep up with demand. As a result TSR included a sheet of numbers which could be cut out and randomly selected from a cup or bag along with a coupon to buy a set of dice from TSR at a discount. The d10 had yet to catch on and was generally not included with dice in this Basic Set. I discuss early dice in more detail here.

The final printings came with B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands, one of Gary Gygax's most famous modules and the only one he wrote for Classic D&D. Unlike the previous module, this one has set monster and treasure placements. It also provides, in the form of the Keep, a model of a starting town or base for player characters where they could safely return after a trek to the Caves of Chaos. The NPCs of this keep were given full stats but no names.

You could buy a copy of the Basic Rulebook without buying the boxset for half the cost but you would not receive dice or any kind of module or supplementary material. The box itself contained a full-color and full-cover piece of art from David Sutherland, the side borders of the top of the box were in black. The Rulebook has the same artwork in monochromatic blue and white.

II.    B/X Dungeons & Dragons 

Basic Set (1981)

• Edited by Tom Moldvay
• Contents: 
• 64-page Basic Rulebook
• B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands (revised)
• 6 uncolored die & crayon or 6 pre-inked die
• Levels Covered: 1-3

Expert Set (1981)

• Edited by Dave Cook with Steve Marsh
• Contents: 
• 64-page Expert Rulebook
• X1 - Isle of Dread
• 6 uncolored die & crayon
• Levels Covered: 4-14

B/X Dungeons and Dragons came about due to a variety of factors. The first was that Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, filed lawsuits because he was not credited or given royalties for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. As part of a settlement with Arneson, Gygax and TSR agreed to publish a separate Dungeons and Dragons line of game materials which would give him credit and royalties.

The second factor was that many players were dissatisfied with the limited character progression given in the Holmes Basic Set and wanted to develop their characters further. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons took a long time for its three core rulebooks to see a release and when they did they were not a model of organization or ideally designed to teach people how to play the new game. They were also a bit pricey. There was that "prestige" issue of being good enough to play the Advanced game.

Original D&D and its supplements had no level caps, but Holmes Basic had caps so low that the only dragons you were likely to fight would be young white dragons. Holmes Basic was also looking a little dated visually as TSR had hired more professional artists. Finally the Holmes Basic rules were a little too unstructured and a bit too unsophisticated for a long-term campaign.

Tom Moldvay and Dave Cook were tasked with turning non-Advanced D&D into a system suitable for a full campaign. They recognized that most play occurred at the early to mid-levels and divided their efforts into a Basic Set which would cover levels 1-3, as did its predecessor, and an Expert Set which covered levels 4-14. Each set would come with a module geared toward the the party levels covered by that set. In this case, a revised version of B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands was included with all copies of this Basic Set and X1 - The Isle of Dread was included with all copies of the Expert Set.

Before 1981 there was only one official TSR campaign setting, Greyhawk, and defined in any detail by some articles in The Dragon magazine and by the 32-page World of Greyhawk folio released the prior year. The Expert Set and X1 - The Isle of Dread began describing and mapping the lands and political entities which would later be more fleshed out into a different campaign setting called "The Known World" and later "The World of Mystara". Thus the Known World predates better known campaign settings like Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms.

It should be noted that you could by a standalone copy of the Basic Rulebook and Expert Rulebook for half the cost of the boxset but they did not come with dice or a module. The Rulebooks had red (Basic) and blue (Expert) covers around the artwork, both done by Erol Otus. The box for the Basic Set had purple on its four shorter sides while Expert had blue. Both Box Sets included a set of polyhedral die, this time including a d10. These die had indentations for the numbers and included a crayon so you could fill in the numbers.

The organization and presentation of the Basic and Expert Sets was so well-thought out that they became the standards by how later RPGs, whether D&D or not, would be judged. Moldvay's Basic added enough "meat on the bone" to Holmes Basic to define how Classic D&D would be played for the next fifteen years. Cook's Expert did the same for the mid levels and gave players a chance to explore the wilderness as well as the dungeon. The Expert Set contemplated a Companion Set which would take characters to the 36th level and provided suggestions on how to handle character advancement until that product was released. 

III.    BECMI Dungeons & Dragons 

Set 1: Basic Rules/Basic Rules Set 1 (1983)

• Revised by Frank Mentzer
• Contents:
• 64-page Players Manual
• 48-page Dungeon Masters Rulebook
• 6 uncolored die & crayon
• Levels Covered: 1-3

Set 2: Expert Rules/Expert Rules Set 2 (1983)

• Revised by Frank Mentzer
• Contents: 
• 64-page Expert Rulebook (with Player's Information and Dungeon Masters Section)
• X1 - Isle of Dread (revised)
• 6 uncolored die & crayon
• Levels Covered:  4-14

Set 3: Companion Rules (1984)

• By Frank Mentzer
• Contents:
• 32-page Player's Companion: Book One
• 62-page Dungeon Masters Companion: Book Two
• Levels Covered: 15-25

Set 4: Master Rules (1985)

• Compiled by Frank Mentzer
• Contents:
• 32-page Master Players' Book
• 64-page Master DM's Book/Dungeon Masters' Book
• Levels Covered: 26-36

Set 5: Immortals Rules (1986)

• By Frank Mentzer
• Contents: 
• 32-page Players' Guide to Immortals
• 52-page Dungeon Masters' Guide to Immortals
• Levels Covered: Immortal Rankings 1-30

B/X was very popular but D&D was still growing in popularity. Only two years after the B/X sets were released they were replaced by a new pair of box sets. Both these sets, and the next three to follow, were edited and developed by Frank Mentzer, forming a complete game system unrivaled in its scope. Coincidentally or not, all five box sets of the BECMI line had cover art by Larry Elmore. 

The new Basic Rules Set 1 Box Set, later renamed to Set 1: Basic Rules, took a good deal of rules text from Moldvay Basic but completely revamped the format. The content was split into two rulebooks instead of one rulebook and a module. The emphasis on this Basic Set was on teaching younger players how to play the game. It guided players on a description of an adventure, explaining concepts like ability scores, classes and magic spells along the way. At times it would give the reader a choice on how to proceed, choose-your-own-adventure style. The player would meet a pair of memorable NPC characters, Aleena, a helpful cleric and Bargle, an evil wizard. Once the descriptive adventure was concluded, the rules were presented in a format not unlike the prior Basic Set. Information for Dungeon Masters such as the monsters, magical items and traps, were put into a separate booklet. The organization is nowhere nearly as efficient as Moldvay Basic.

Set 1 used a red border on both its box and its rulebooks while Set 2 used a blue border, keeping more or less in line with what BX used for its books. Set 1 and Set 2 each included an unmarked set of die with the crayon. While there are some minor changes between the two Basic Sets and you can easily use Moldvay Basic with Mentzer Expert or vice versa.

The new Expert Rules Set 2 Box Set were significantly closer to Cook Expert in its structure and content than Set 1 was to Moldvay Basic. Very little new material was added to the revised Rulebook. There was only one Rulebook contained in this Box Set and it had a Players Section and a Dungeon Masters Section. The other book in the box set was X1 - The Isle of Dread with new artwork. There some revisions to the material when the Box Set was renamed to Set 2: Expert Rules, which I will detail below.

The long-awaited Set 3: Companion Rules (Green Box) returned to the separate Players and Dungeon Masters book format. Initially promised in 1981, it was published almost a year after Mentzer began his revision of the D&D game. Original D&D had not been limited to any particular level and had in Supplement I - Greyhawk spell levels up to 9th for Magic-Users and 7th for Clerics. The Companion Rules took characters from levels 15-25, allowed for spells up to those levels and introduced concepts such as dominion play, fleshed out strongholds and introduced the war machine mechanics for mass fantasy combat. Demi-humans were increasingly left behind with their relatively low level caps, so the Companion Set rules gave them options to improve some of their abilities with more experience. A new character class, the Druid, was introduced with its own set of spells but could not be played until a Cleric reached 9th level. (Druids were first introduced with Supplement III - Eldritch Wizardry.) Characters could opt to become a land owner or continue to travel with different options open to each. Traveling Fighters could opt to become Paladins, Knights or Avengers, depending on alignment, which gave special powers or privileges and responsibilities. More combat options were described. Immortality was previewed.

Set 4: Masters Rules (Black Box) was released the following year and completed the experience levels from 26-36. These volumes covered weapon mastery, added more spells, introduced the siege machine mechanic, described artifacts and outlined the paths to immortality. It also introduced an optional new class, the Mystic, a Monk-style character who was best in unarmored combat. The description of the class was rather awkwardly placed in the DM's Book. The Monk was introduced in Supplement II - Blackmoor, so Classic D&D had almost come full circle in terms of character classes to Original D&D, excepting the Assassin. Curiously, unlike every other D&D Rulebook which had come before this set, the Masters Rulebooks do not say "by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson", just "by Gary Gygax."

Classic D&D was one of the few RPGs which ever attempted to tackle immortality and those who were successful on the path, or were just curious, could buy Set 5: Immortals Rules (Silver Box) to play the game where the threat of death was no longer a constant companion. The Immortals Rules change up the game in that experience points become "power points" and their accumulation signifies increases in rank and power and their depletion comes with a loss of said rank and power. The Immortal Rulebooks  and Wrath of the Immortals do not give authorship credit to Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

IV.    Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia & Wrath of the Immortals

Rules Cyclopedia (1991)

• Rules Compilation and Development by Aaron Allston
• Contents: 304-page Hardcover Book
• Levels Covered: 1-36

Wrath of the Immortals (1992)

• By Aaron Allston
• Contents: 
• 128-page Codex of the Immortals
• 96-page The Immortals' Fury
• 2 maps of the Known World
• Levels Covered: Immortal Levels 1-36

Soon after Gary Gygax was relieved of his executive responsibilities at the company in 1985 Mentzer left TSR and was no longer in a position to develop the classic game. Until the release of BECMI, the Classic D&D line comprised of Rulebooks and Modules with a few player aids. AD&D had been expanding with Campaign Settings, Greyhawk, Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. The D&D "Known World" had been first given descriptive in X1 - The Isle of Dread and the Cook Expert Set and had been supplemented with later Rulebook Box Sets and Modules to an extent. After Mentzer left there were new supplemental books, the Gazetteer series, which gave information about the various regions of the Known World. These Gazetteer series helped develop the Classic D&D game, mainly through the introduction of a skill system.

The core Classic D&D rules had been spread out over seven separate books which was rather inconvenient when one wanted a quick reference. Aaron Allston had written several of the Gazetteer series and was selected to compile and edit the rules of the Basic, Expert, Companion and Master Sets into one hardback volume, the D&D Rules Cyclopedia. He was able to get almost all of them in there, classes, spells, monsters, magic items, equipment, weapons mastery, war and siege machines, transportation, unarmed combat and the paths to immortality. Artifacts from the Masters Rules and Jousting Tournaments from the Companion Rules were the most notable omissions. Skills, while optional, were formally introduced in this volume. Many of the various lands and states that made up Known World was summarized and given maps in the book.

Allston also took up the task of revising Set 5: Immortals Rules into the Wrath of the Immortals Box Set. This box set's booklets used the same layout and styling as the Rules Cyclopedia and were intended to be used alongside that book. There were changes between the two rulesets, which will be discussed below. The full pantheon of D&D Known World deities were detailed in this book. The section on artifacts brought back much of the material on artifacts from the Master Rules and expanded on it. The second book detailed an epic adventure for characters involving immortals.

V.    The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game & The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game

The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991)

• Product Design by Troy Denning, Rulebook by Timothy B. Brown
• Contents: 
• 64-page Rulebook,
• 1-page "Read This Sheet First"
• 48 numbered Dragon Cards
• 4 four-page folders entitled "Escape from Zanzer's Dungeon" Parts I-IV
• 2 sheets of cardstock fold up figures (48 figures total)
• Map of Zanzer's Dungeon, 
• 6 pre-inked dice
• Tri-fold Dungeon Masters Screen (6 panels with charts, pouch to hold Dragon Cards)
• Poster of cover art
• Levels Covered: 1-5

The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game (1994-1996)

• Development and Editing by Doug Stewart
• Contents: 
• 128-page Rules and Adventures Book,
• 1 sheet of cardstock fold up figures (24 figures total)
• Map of Zanzer's Dungeon, 
• 7 pre-inked dice (2 x d10s)
• 6 molded plastic character figures
• Tri-fold Dungeon Masters Screen (3 panels with charts)
• Levels Covered: 1-5

The Rules Cyclopedia comes the closest to an epitome of the "full" Classic D&D game as you could find in one volume. The book was intended as a reference, not a teaching tutorial. A new introductory box set, labeled "The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game" was released alongside the Rules Cyclopedia in 1991 to introduce new players to the game.

This Box Set, popularly known as the "Black Box" used more of a board-game form factor and approach to the product's presentation. It reminds me of Hero Quest, released in 1989, in that it has a fold out map, counters for players and monsters and cards that give a walkthrough of an adventure in addition to a more formal Rulebook. It also comes with pre-inked dice and these are not monochromatic like the BX and BECMI dice sets were. The set raises the levels covered from 3rd level to 5th level, which allows allows spellcasting classes access to one spell level higher than in prior introductory sets.

Design features such as board-game size boxes, fold out dungeon maps and cardboard figure counters were seen in several other Classic D&D products from this period. 

This material was later repackaged in 1994 in a somewhat different, more cost reduced format. The same scenario, "Escape from Zanzer's Dungeon" was used to introduce the game to new players interleaved with the reference material in the Rules and Adventures Book as opposed to being split into a Rule Book and Dragon Cards as it was back in 1991. It was reprinted in 1996 with a different cover but same content and it was the last product published of any kind for the Classic D&D game.

Changes to the Basic Rules

Every major version of the rules made adjustments to how the rules worked for the lower levels. The most significant changes to the rules for basic levels came from Holmes to Moldvay, every ability score could give a bonus for high scores or a penalty for low scores, alignments were reduced from five to three (as they were in Original D&D), variable weapon damage was introduced as an option and all weapons attack once per round (Holmes daggers attacked twice per round). Initiative no longer relied on making up monster dexterities and individual initiative was an option affected by the character's dexterity score. Morale rules were added for monsters. Moldvay's reformulation of the rules stuck as there were relatively few changes to the rules at these levels after 1981. 

Mentzer made a few changes from Moldvay's edition but they are less obvious. Magic-Users get two spells to start with instead of one. Dwarves and Halflings received better saving throws. Mentzer omitted the rule for natural healing. Encumbrance movement rates and morale rules were modified. A description for the Detect Invisible spell was added. The generation system for magical items used a d20 for all categories instead of a die type specific to each table.

Both Moldvay/Cook and Mentzer used different magical item generation tables for their Basic and Expert sets. When Allston took to the Rules Cyclopedia, he introduced a unified system with percentile die rolls for determine the type of magical item and the item to be generated.

Changes to the Expert Rules

Every version after Holmes made encompassed the expert levels as well. This includes the later introductory sets because they go from levels 1-5 instead of 1-3.

When Expert Rules Set 2 was renamed to Set 2: Expert Rules, some changes were made to allow for a more natural progression to the higher levels of the Companion Set. Most notably the Thief Skills progression table made increases smaller so characters were not at or near 100% in every skill level by the 14th level. Elves and Magic-Users could cast more spells at higher levels. Demi-human saving throws were improved but Cleric and Fighters were made slightly higher.

Changes to the Higher Level Rules

Mentzer and Allston are the only versions which cover the Companion, Master and Immortals level rules. As for Companion and Masters level, there is really not much to say beyond what has been previously said because the rules at these levels become mainly about tables and additions or subtractions of spells, monsters or magic items. For some weird reason the Elf's spell progression was nerfed in the Rules Cyclopedia but differences are mainly miniscule between Rules Cyclopedia and Companion/Masters.

Wrath of the Immortals specifically refers to changes from Set 5: Immortal Rules and the Rules Cyclopedia and states that its rules should be used if there is conflict between it and the earlier products. The rules on Becoming an Immortal in the Rules Cyclopedia (which were mainly ported over from Set 4: Masters Rules) were expanded on in Wrath of the Immortals. The changes from Set 5: Immortals Rules mainly remove its restrictions and introduces a familiar 1-36 immortal level/ranking progression table compared to the 30-immortal ranking table of the old set. 

Module and Adventure Coverage

There were many adventure modules released for levels covered by the Basic and Expert sets. As the levels that Classic D&D supported increased, some adventure products had to be released catering to the higher levels. There were nine Companion-level Modules (CM1-9), five Master-level Modules (M1-5) and three Immortal-level Modules. The adventure included in the Wrath of the Immortals box set, unlike IM1-3, is an epic campaign but one for mortal characters who start at the early levels and work their way up to higher ones. 

A few additional official adventures catering to these levels could be found in other products like the Gazetteer series and Dungeon Magazine. Most RPG gamers tend to stop playing around the 14th level regardless of system, D&D, AD&D or its successors, as the challenge tends to drop sharply by the time characters achieve that level of power. As the years went on and Classic D&D began to one again be considered more of a teaching tool and a bridge into AD&D 2nd Edition, the adventures published increasingly catered to introductory levels again.

All the scans used in this article came from the marvelous TSR Archive.