Can someone list all versions of D&D and explain their differences to me?

[jmucchiello]

Well maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I have a strong recollection of module B1 having pregenerated characters in the back and they were things like "1st level hafling" etc. And that was definitely for the old blue set (what johnsemlak more correctly calls OD&D).

B1 is a Basic D&D module. It came with the Blue book I refer to. It is NOT OD&D. OD&D is the white box. They are very different in layout.

Originally posted by diaglo
you forgot Don Kaye. i realized he died early, but he was still a part.

His name is not on the cover of the collector's box I have.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Well maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I have a strong recollection of module B1 having pregenerated characters in the back and they were things like "1st level hafling" etc. And that was definitely for the old blue set (what johnsemlak more correctly calls OD&D).

I haven't had a copy of B1 for, well, literally decades. So I don't know.

I do have a copy of the book fromt he D&D boxed set circa 1979. I dragged it off the shelf for the first time in years, and...I'm wrong. Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings are their own class, with Dwarves and Halflings progressing as "fighting men," except halflings use a d6 for hit points, and Elves progress as both a "fighting man and magic user," using a d6 for hit points.

 

[EricNoah]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1977) 1st edition
- MM, PHB (1978), DMG (1979), FF, MM2


Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1978) Blue book with dragon

Ah, see, there's why it gets so confusing. They publish the hardcover AD&D MM, then the next year they publish both the AD&D PHB and the blue Basic D&D box, and then the DMG doesn't come out until the year after that! No wonder we're having trouble...

 

[jmucchiello]

btw, does anybody know a convenient and standard way to refer to the Basic/Expert/Companion/Masters (Immortal?) line? I see a lot of people say Basic D&D, which is misleading, since the basic set was only the first set of the line.

You can call it 2nd Edition D&D as long as you make sure you are misinterpreted. Otherwise people will think you mean 1989 2nd edition AD&D.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

you are wrong.

Original D&D published in 1974 had the Halfling, Dwarf, and Elf classes. also had Fighting Man, Magic-user, and Cleric. Later added Thief.

3 alignments: Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic.

i played a Lawful Dwarf for many years.

it was never Basic to me.

Relax. If you'd waited, you'd have seen my post above. Plus, you're wrong too - the book from 1979 I have has Evil and Good alignments.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Let me quote from the book I was referring to, which is from 1979 - not a reprint; it's the third printing of the book (they call it "3rd edition" on the title page ):

"Characters may be lawful (good or evil), neutral or chaotic (good or evil."

EDIT: By the way, I know this doesn't mean an earlier edition did or didn't have the Good/Evil aspect of alignment. But, it seems the concept was around right at the same time as AD&D was coming out - not all the core books for 1e were out by 1979.

 

[diaglo]

Let me quote from the book I was referring to, which is from 1979 - not a reprint; it's the third printing of the book (they call it "3rd edition" on the title page ):

"Characters may be lawful (good or evil), neutral or chaotic (good or evil."

that's the Holmes version. i have that one too.

check out the reference for the witch class. LOL.

edit: but that is not the one i was referencing. my version had only 3 alignments.

 

[johnsemlak]

- 7 classes: Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Thief, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling (yes, the races were classes: Elfs were ftr/wiz, Dwarves were Fighters and halflings were ftr/thf)

Actually, in Basic/expert, Halflings were only fighters. But I suspect nobody actually played it that way. However, they may have added a varient Halfling class in the Five Shires Gazatter. I never had that.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

What was the version that came in a large black box (a similar size box to most board games) with a big red dragon on the front? That's what I started with. Then I got the Rules Cyclopedia shortly thereafter...which I traded in to a gaming store for like 5 bucks Man, I wish I had that book back. I dunno what I did with the boxed set though.

 

[maddman75]

I do have a copy of the book fromt he D&D boxed set circa 1979. I dragged it off the shelf for the first time in years, and...I'm wrong. Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings are their own class, with Dwarves and Halflings progressing as "fighting men," except halflings use a d6 for hit points, and Elves progress as both a "fighting man and magic user," using a d6 for hit points.

So it appears that elves have always been for powergaming twinks then