Tell me about the 1E AD&D DMG

[Ringan]

Please excuse my ignorance... I only started playing (in 3rd edition) a few years ago. I was thinking about getting the 1E AD&D DMG but I haven't been able to find reviews or much information on it anywhere.

How different is the 1E AD&D DMG from the 3.5 DMG? That is, do both books end up covering mostly the same sphere?

I've heard that it has good advice for building campaigns. How much of its content would be transferrable between systems (i. e. are many of its ideas usable for a 3.5 game)?

I really like the concept of random tables, and I thought I had heard this book had a lot of them...is this true?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Corrected book title.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I'd say 'Grab it' if it's not outrageously expensive. The how-to parts are still pretty relevant. The charts are fun if you like that sort of thing. There are some good parts that will help you through winging it when the party goes off the expected path. Plus, it's interesting to look at from an historical standpoint, to see where the hobby was and what it's become (or at least the D&D part of it).

 

[Gentlegamer]

You mean the original AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide. IMO, it's the best DM resource for the game of any edition. Back then, there was a greater seperation in the rules for DMs and players. For example, the detailed rules for combat and the combat matrices were only in the DMG.

Also, there is a wandering harlot table.

I'm not kidding.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Er, do you mean the 1E AD&D DMG? I think the terminology's gotten muddied here.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

If you mean OD&D, it is hard to describe since there were five DMGs, each in one of the orignal boxes.

I had a different edition of the first box (mine was red), then the blue second, aquamarine third box set, black fourth, and gold immortal rules box set. The first DMG talked about the basics, the second added rules for wilderness travel and strongholds, the third discussed things like political ranks and ground warfare, the fourth discussed epic adventuring and artifacts, and the last discussed godhood.

 

[Henry]

If you mean this book:

http://paizo.com/store/downloads/wizardsOfTheCoast/aDAndD1/rulebooks/v5748btpy7meo

I recommend it. (The paper book, preferably, rather than the PDF.) Beyond the rules set (which some people can find a bit more simplistic or convoluted when they're used to 3E), it has excellent material on dungeon dressings, running campaigns, being an impartial moderator, and many minor topics under their own separate short headings.

BE warned -- there is a slightly different mindset that the author takes with respect to the authority of the DM, compared to newer works. His vision is a little more... absolute, compared to current gaming trends. (Whether it's a good or bad thing, I leave to each person, because some love it, some hate it with great passion).

 

[Ringan]

Sorry, yeah I mean the 1E AD&D DMG. Thanks everyone for the info so far!

 

[Henry]

Oh, one other thing: If you're talking about the original White Box Original Dungeons and Dragons Published in 1974, there was no DMG. There were three pamphlets with some pretty loose rules (compared to today): Monsters, Men, and Magic; Treasures; and Wilderness Adventuring (or some titles like that). The game got a substantial rewrite between the introduction of it, and the polished version released in 1978-79.

 

[ghul]

Heh. Bought mine with my paper route money back in 1981 and consider it the finest book in my collection. Just this year I had the pleasure of getting it signed by the following:

* Frank Mentzer (yeah, he didn't work on this volume, but he is a D&D legend)
* Rob Kuntz (another D&D legend)
* Darlene (she even did a sketch in it for me of the Egyptian goddess, Lady Sekhmet!)
* Gary Gygax (he had something to do with the book, and I got him to sketch me a pole-arm inside!)

Needless to say, that DMG (City of Brass, 1979 version) is no longer for game play. I bought on eBay the later version with the cover of the sage in green robes. If you are jealous of my signed DMG, you're old school at heart!

--Ghul

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I love the 1E DMG, although I think the cult that has grown up around it, in a way, builds it up too much. But it reeks of a sword and sorcery atmosphere that the current edition doesn't quite evoke in the same way.

Great art, crazy tables and ideas, lots of little lore gems tossed out here and there.