Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk
Originally published February, 1975
Version being read and reviewed: Original Dungeons & Dragons RPG - Original Edition Premium Reprint (November 2013)
"Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames: Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures" by Gary Gygax & Rob Kuntz
We start with a Foreword by Gygax which notes two things of importance. One, the supplement doesn't stand on its own and requires the Dungeons & Dragons Three Volume Set and two, the supplement is organized such that information pertaining to the original three booklets appears in the order of those booklets. That is, new character info first, then new treasures and monsters, and finally advice for the DM on wilderness and dungeon adventures. There's also a note about potential future supplements, with Blackmoor already in the works.
And so, the Thief enters the game. In this version, the Thief is the only class that all races can take and that has no level limits for any race. So, if your dwarves, elves, and halflings want to keep earning levels along with their human friends, thief is their go-to class. The thief abilities that the class is known for are relatively the same here as they appear in AD&D 1E, BECMI, and AD&D 2E. We are also introduced to the half-elf whose main claim to fame here is their versatility when it comes to multi-classing.
In the section that expands and clarifies ability scores is where we find the Paladin, a subclass of Fighter, described under Charisma since a character needs a 17 Charisma to qualify for the class. As with the Thief, the Paladin didn't change much between its introduction here and the version found in AD&D 1st Edition. Alternate hit dice and maximum hit dice values are presented, apparently as a means of balancing fighters and magic-users (we also see the fighting class referred to here as "fighter" instead of "fighting man" for the first time).
Combat is expanded and clarified, specifically the alternate system to the Chainmail rules, making the game a bit more complete. Weapon type vs armor tables show up here, which make my eyes cross a bit.
There is a plethora of new spells, including some of the more powerful and infamous 9th level spells like Gate and Wish.
Monsters are again presented in a big table, with some of the critters mentioned briefly in the original set now having statistics (like the Gelatinous Cube). Dragons get some expansion including the metallic dragons and some words about the Platinum Dragon, King of Lawful Dragons and the Chromatic Dragon, Queen of Chaotic Dragons (no names as of yet). The authors were evidently quite aware of gender issues even then, as the following note appears concerning the Chromatic Dragon - "Women's Lib may make whatever they wish of the foregoing." From a game history standpoint, the Chromatic Dragon is presented as dwelling in a "stupendous cavern far beneath the earth" - her presence on the first layer of Hell apparently comes along a bit later (a Dragon Magazine article if I remember correctly). The Beholder debuts here, also known as the Sphere of Many Eyes or Eye Tyrant. Other monsters we now consider classic, iconic D&D monsters are also present, like the Rust Monster and the Owlbear.
Magic items get a major expansion with an extensive number of new miscellaneous items. Some highlights include the Vorpal Sword which began life as a holy sword variant and more powerful version of the sword of sharpness, Portable Hole, Sphere of Annihilation, the Book of Vile Darkness (and its counterpart, the Book of Exalted Deeds), the Deck of Many Things, and a number of cursed items, mostly masquerading as normal items (bag of devouring looks like the bag of holding, bowl of watery death looks like the bowl of commanding water elementals, etc). The Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity makes its debut here as well.
The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures section is short and contains a few new traps and tricks. After a brief list of monsters by hit die, the version I have then has one page of errata.
As other reviews have noted over the years, the Greyhawk supplement doesn't actually contain any information on the world of Greyhawk or Castle Greyhawk at all. It does, however, expand the game considerably, adding a significant amount of material that we now consider to be iconic and part of what makes D&D the game we know and love.
Next up: Supplement II: Blackmoor
(Apologies for the delay, I've been job hunting since getting laid off on the 17th.)