Explan DMG First Ed. to me!

[soulforge]

I've heard from many people, and from a lot of threads on this site just how great a resource the DMG is from first edition. Well, I grew up and played 2nd edition as the system of my "time" and have recently purchased the old first ed. DMG. That said can someone please explain to me what I should be looking at, and what exactly makes it still a great refrence?

 

[Beckett]

Wandering prostitute table. Need I say more?

 

[Beckett]

A more serious answer, the 1st Edition DMG had everything you needed to run the rules, tons of stuff you never thought you'd need, and (imho) was written a heck of a lot better than the 2nd Edition; better in, I like the style more, and I think it has more detail. Aging tables, disease table, the barebones stats of every creature from the Monster Manual. All sorts of random encounter tables, including city encounters (of which harlots is a subtable of). The hireling section is wonderful, along with the sage, and I'm now considering seeing how easily I can port it over to my 3E games.

I think the major advantage it had was, there was nothing before it. Gary was creating it from whole cloth, and to make sure everything that was needed was included, he put in everything including the kitchen sink. I'm sure there are parts which I never used, but it's nice to know they're there.

 

[pogre]

I like the random dungeon generator.

 

[jasper]

End fllypage morale checks and associated charts
Page 156+ artifacts where the dm chooses the artifact, powers, curses and method of destruction
Potion Miscibility table page 119 01 you get a bad tummy ache 00 permanent potion in effect.
Handling Troublesome players pate 110
Page 68 the cartoon drawing of adventurer pounding on a door as water is filling the room about to be attack by a skeleton who is up to it neck in water. Nice mood setter.
page 44 one false move

 

[Starglim]

Hoo boy, depends what you need really. It's worth reading the whole thing and marking useful pages. Some classic resources (page numbers from the brown cover with red efreet, I don't know if they changed with other printings):

p 13-14 disease and parasitic infestation
p 25-27 value and reputed magical properties of gemstones
p 28-34 hirelings including mercenaries
p 38 acquisition of cleric spells
p 40 theory of spellcasting, shamans and witchdoctors
p 53-55 ships
p 71 combat example
p 82-83 intoxication
p 83-84 insanity
p 89-90 government, social classes, taxes
p 93-94 territory development, peasant revolts
p 94-100 example dungeon (you'll find this very familiar)
p 104-110 monster organisation, nonhuman troops, castles, siege engines
p 112-118 Boot Hill and Gamma World conversions, creation of holy water, spell research, creation of magic items
p 136-155 miscellaneous magic items
p 155-164 artifacts
p 166-168 unusual and intelligent swords
p 169 onwards - Appendices
p 237-240 collected tables.

 

[Turanil]

The prices indicated p.107 to build a castle do make sense IMO. Otherwise, when you use the prices given later (such as the 2e Castles Handbook), it is an absolute nonsense and nobody would be able to afford a castle; nobles (at 150 gp per months on the average) would just be able to afford a simple stone house, while peasants would live outdoors.

After D&D 1e, prices of castles were made to get PCs rid of the inane amounts of money given to them by unthinking DMs. Think about it: a mercenary should hardly be paid more than 1 gp per day. However, an adventurer is ususally paid 500 (if not 1000) gp to rescue the local peasant girl, a couple of days mission, and who will pay that enormous sum of money absolutely doesn't matter...

 

[Wormwood]

I can pick up the 1eDMG, open to a random page, and just read for pleasure. The writing is dense, purple, idiosyncratic, and delightful.

The 3e DMG, on the other hand, is clear, concise, and as boring as stereo instructions.

But that's not a slam against 3e. The two games are entirely different---with different goals and audiences.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If nothing else, I would love to get all the great Gygaxian flavor text from the magic items and artifacts descriptions back. Most of it never actually showed up in WoG (well, some of it has recently), but it really just reeked of ancient lore. Fun stuff.

And top-rate art. Nothing's better than the full-page illo of the chaotic magic user racing down a city street on horseback, firing off a spell, as he passes the Green Dragon Inn. Is that online anywhere? I'd love to have a poster of that -- that was terribly evocative and set a certain tone for my AD&D games for years.

 

[Wormwood]

Nothing's better than the full-page illo of the chaotic magic user racing down a city street on horseback, firing off a spell, as he passes the Green Dragon Inn. Is that online anywhere?

Ah, Emirikol the Chaotic