Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
[COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8233141" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>An interesting bit of trivia accompanies this next book: insofar as I can tell, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/113391/DMGR3-Arms-and-Equipment-Guide-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide</em></a> is the first sourcebook of its kind in D&D's history.</p><p></p><p>That was a bit of a surprise to me, since equipment books are part and parcel of so many tabletop RPGs now. But some checking seems to bear out that this was where it began as far as D&D was concerned. While AD&D 1st Edition's <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170096/Unearthed-Arcana-1e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Unearthed Arcana</em></a> had its infamous "pole arm section," and <em>The Complete Fighter's Handbook</em> likewise introduced a bunch of new weapons and armor, this was the first time we'd get a book wholly dedicated to the subject.</p><p></p><p>Subsequently, we'd get equipment books with regularity. <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16834/Auroras-Whole-Realms-Catalogue-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue</em></a> would follow DMGR3, describing everything that <em>wasn't</em> weapons and armor. Third Edition would recycle the title with its own <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3726/Arms-and-Equipment-Guide-3e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Arms and Equipment Guide</em></a>, and 4E would have not only the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/110209/Adventurers-Vault-4e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Adventurer's Vault</em></a>, but would follow it up with the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/144972/Adventurers-Vault-2-4e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Adventurer's Vault 2</em></a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/165544/Mordenkainens-Magnificent-Emporium-4e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium</em></a>.</p><p></p><p>On a tangential note, a conceptual overlap between "equipment books" and "magic item books" would be introduced after AD&D 2nd Edition. While DMGR3 and <em>Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue</em> stuck to mundane items, leaving the magical ones to things like the two-volume <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17397/The-Magic-Encyclopedia-Volume-I-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>The Magic Encyclopedia</em></a> set (which was essentially a big index of magic items in the game) and the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/120126/Encyclopedia-Magica-Series-2e-BUNDLE?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Encyclopedia Magica</em></a> series, 3E and 4E would be more liberal with mixing magical items alongside the mundane ones, though books like the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/54389/Magic-Item-Compendium-35?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Magic Item Compendium</em></a> would, as it says on the tin, deal with enchanted goods only.</p><p></p><p>Having said all of that, this first foray into the area of equipment-specific sourcebooks is <em>very</em> unlike what came later. I know I already played the "wow did I misremember this!" card, but I honestly thought this was more in line with its descendants in describing a truckload of new equipment for AD&D 2E characters.</p><p></p><p>Nope.</p><p></p><p>Rather, this book is chock-full of flavor text and illustrations describing the equipment that's already in the AD&D 2E <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16868/Players-Handbook-Revised-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Player's Handbook</em></a>. Very little in the way of new mechanics are here, mostly in the way of minor expansions for things like helmets and the odd optional rule (the tables for barding, i.e. armor for mounts, are the exception). It's staggering how much this runs counter to contemporary expectations.</p><p></p><p>Each suit of armor (which, rather than alphabetically, are listed in order of how much they improve your Armor Class), for instance, is given a full page of descriptive text <strong>and</strong> a full-page illustration. So we not only get details of how leather armor can come from animals other than cows, for instance, but also get a picture of an adventurer stitching their leather armor up by the campfire.</p><p></p><p>That's not to say that what's here isn't useful; the pictures and expanded descriptions are helpful in fleshing out little details about some of the most ubiquitous parts of the game world. But make no mistake: that's this sourcebook's only major goal, and I find myself questioning if this was the best format for such an undertaking. As handy as this can be, did we really need a stand-alone supplement to let us know how long a long sword is, compared to how short a short sword? It's like seeing the world's most exquisite doormat; at some point you have to wonder if the utility of the thing warranted the level of effort that went into making it.</p><p></p><p>Overall, it's not hard to see why this format was abandoned in future supplements, and equipment guidebooks became about <em>new</em> equipment. It's a change that I heartily prefer.</p><p></p><p><em>Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8233141, member: 8461"] An interesting bit of trivia accompanies this next book: insofar as I can tell, [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/113391/DMGR3-Arms-and-Equipment-Guide-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide[/I][/URL] is the first sourcebook of its kind in D&D's history. That was a bit of a surprise to me, since equipment books are part and parcel of so many tabletop RPGs now. But some checking seems to bear out that this was where it began as far as D&D was concerned. While AD&D 1st Edition's [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170096/Unearthed-Arcana-1e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Unearthed Arcana[/I][/URL] had its infamous "pole arm section," and [I]The Complete Fighter's Handbook[/I] likewise introduced a bunch of new weapons and armor, this was the first time we'd get a book wholly dedicated to the subject. Subsequently, we'd get equipment books with regularity. [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16834/Auroras-Whole-Realms-Catalogue-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue[/I][/URL] would follow DMGR3, describing everything that [I]wasn't[/I] weapons and armor. Third Edition would recycle the title with its own [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3726/Arms-and-Equipment-Guide-3e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Arms and Equipment Guide[/I][/URL], and 4E would have not only the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/110209/Adventurers-Vault-4e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Adventurer's Vault[/I][/URL], but would follow it up with the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/144972/Adventurers-Vault-2-4e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Adventurer's Vault 2[/I][/URL] and [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/165544/Mordenkainens-Magnificent-Emporium-4e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium[/I][/URL]. On a tangential note, a conceptual overlap between "equipment books" and "magic item books" would be introduced after AD&D 2nd Edition. While DMGR3 and [I]Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue[/I] stuck to mundane items, leaving the magical ones to things like the two-volume [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17397/The-Magic-Encyclopedia-Volume-I-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]The Magic Encyclopedia[/I][/URL] set (which was essentially a big index of magic items in the game) and the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/120126/Encyclopedia-Magica-Series-2e-BUNDLE?affiliate_id=820'][I]Encyclopedia Magica[/I][/URL] series, 3E and 4E would be more liberal with mixing magical items alongside the mundane ones, though books like the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/54389/Magic-Item-Compendium-35?affiliate_id=820'][I]Magic Item Compendium[/I][/URL] would, as it says on the tin, deal with enchanted goods only. Having said all of that, this first foray into the area of equipment-specific sourcebooks is [I]very[/I] unlike what came later. I know I already played the "wow did I misremember this!" card, but I honestly thought this was more in line with its descendants in describing a truckload of new equipment for AD&D 2E characters. Nope. Rather, this book is chock-full of flavor text and illustrations describing the equipment that's already in the AD&D 2E [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16868/Players-Handbook-Revised-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Player's Handbook[/I][/URL]. Very little in the way of new mechanics are here, mostly in the way of minor expansions for things like helmets and the odd optional rule (the tables for barding, i.e. armor for mounts, are the exception). It's staggering how much this runs counter to contemporary expectations. Each suit of armor (which, rather than alphabetically, are listed in order of how much they improve your Armor Class), for instance, is given a full page of descriptive text [B]and[/B] a full-page illustration. So we not only get details of how leather armor can come from animals other than cows, for instance, but also get a picture of an adventurer stitching their leather armor up by the campfire. That's not to say that what's here isn't useful; the pictures and expanded descriptions are helpful in fleshing out little details about some of the most ubiquitous parts of the game world. But make no mistake: that's this sourcebook's only major goal, and I find myself questioning if this was the best format for such an undertaking. As handy as this can be, did we really need a stand-alone supplement to let us know how long a long sword is, compared to how short a short sword? It's like seeing the world's most exquisite doormat; at some point you have to wonder if the utility of the thing warranted the level of effort that went into making it. Overall, it's not hard to see why this format was abandoned in future supplements, and equipment guidebooks became about [I]new[/I] equipment. It's a change that I heartily prefer. [I]Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.[/I] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
[COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!
Top