Questions about the various incarnations of D&D

[AFGNCAAP]

This seems to be the perfect place to ask these questions, so here goes:

I have a few questions regarding the original version of D&D. I got into the game near the end of 1st ed. AD&D and during the "reign" of the multi-box sets for "basic/expert/companion/master/immortal" D&D. Any info you could provide will help greatly.

1) What, exactly, were the original races &/or classes of the original version of D&D? IIRC, from what info I have been able to find, it was:
* Fighting Man
* Magic-User
* Cleric

Also, IIRC, dwarves could only be fighting men; elves had to choose to act as a fighting man or a magic-user before the start of play; and halflings/hobbits could only be fighting men. Is this right?

2) Other classes for this edition appeared later, in Gazetteers, right? I think I heard the Thief appeared in Greyhawk. What about the other classes?

3) How close/similar is the Rules Cyclopedia version of D&D to the original/first version of D&D?

4) How close/different is AD&D to the original version of D&D? (I know how dramatically different it is from the Rules Cyclopedia version.)

5) When did gnomes, half-elves, and half-orcs debut as PC races?

6) I know that the barbarian, cavalier, thief-acrobat, & other classes from 1st ed.'s UA, along with a bunch of NPC classes, originally premiered in Dragon magazine. Other than the core 4 classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, thief), did AD&D classes have counterparts in original D&D? Where/how did they "debut"?

7) Was Dragon magazine/1st ed.'s UA where the concept of subraces premiered? (I mean subraces w/ different stat modifiers, racial abilities, class/level limits, etc., & not just "flavor text," if you will.)

8) Did the 9-fold alignment system "debut" in AD&D, or did it exist in previous versions?

I"d appreciate any info/answers/links/etc. that you could provide. Thanks!

 

[cildarith]

This seems to be the perfect place to ask these questions, so here goes:

I have a few questions regarding the original version of D&D. I got into the game near the end of 1st ed. AD&D and during the "reign" of the multi-box sets for "basic/expert/companion/master/immortal" D&D. Any info you could provide will help greatly.

1) What, exactly, were the original races &/or classes of the original version of D&D? IIRC, from what info I have been able to find, it was:
* Fighting Man
* Magic-User
* Cleric

Correct!

Also, IIRC, dwarves could only be fighting men; elves had to choose to act as a fighting man or a magic-user before the start of play; and halflings/hobbits could only be fighting men. Is this right?

Basically right. IIRC, elves were F/Mus but had to choose which class (F or MU) they wished to use for a particular adventure and were prohibited from making any use of the other class.

2) Other classes for this edition appeared later, in Gazetteers, right? I think I heard the Thief appeared in Greyhawk. What about the other classes?

They were called Supplements not Gazetteers.

Paladin and Thief appeared in Supplement I: Greyhawk.

Monk and Assassin appeared in Supplement II: Blackmoor

Druid appeared in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry (though they were mentioned in Greyhawk as a monster)

3) How close/similar is the Rules Cyclopedia version of D&D to the original/first version of D&D?

4) How close/different is AD&D to the original version of D&D? (I know how dramatically different it is from the Rules Cyclopedia version.)

The original rules are significantly different than either, but as the various Supplements were added the game began to look more and more like AD&D.

5) When did gnomes, half-elves, and half-orcs debut as PC races?

I don’t recall, honestly. They may well have been introduced in the AD&D PHB.

6) I know that the barbarian, cavalier, thief-acrobat, & other classes from 1st ed.'s UA, along with a bunch of NPC classes, originally premiered in Dragon magazine. Other than the core 4 classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, thief), did AD&D classes have counterparts in original D&D? Where/how did they "debut"?

For Thief, Paladin, Monk, Assassin and Druid, see above.

Rangers appeared in The Strategic Review #2.

Illusionists appeared in The Strategic Review #4.

Bards appeared in The Strategic Review #6.

7) Was Dragon magazine/1st ed.'s UA where the concept of subraces premiered? (I mean subraces w/ different stat modifiers, racial abilities, class/level limits, etc., & not just "flavor text," if you will.)

Yes, I think so.

8) Did the 9-fold alignment system "debut" in AD&D, or did it exist in previous versions?

The original version had five alignments: LG, CG, N, LE, CE.

Hope that helps. Diaglo will correct me if I messed anything up

 

[Samothdm]

Holy cow! How did you know all of that so quickly? I've played through various versions of the game and could have given general information, but you had specifics like issue numbers of "The Strategic Review" which probably most people don't know was the predecessor to "The Dragon"(TM).

About the alignment, though, I seem to recall that alignment in Basic D&D had only Lawful (which assumed "good"), Neutral, and Chaotic (which assumed "evil").

I don't have my original brown books handy here at work - but did they have a five-part alignment system?

 

[Xeriar]

This seems to be the perfect place to ask these questions, so here goes:

5) When did gnomes, half-elves, and half-orcs debut as PC races?

Half-elves are strictly AD&D unless they show up in the Rules Cyclopedia - they aren't in 2nd Edition D&D.

Gnomes and half-orcs debutted in AD&D as well.

6) I know that the barbarian, cavalier, thief-acrobat, & other classes from 1st ed.'s UA, along with a bunch of NPC classes, originally premiered in Dragon magazine. Other than the core 4 classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, thief), did AD&D classes have counterparts in original D&D? Where/how did they "debut"?

There was the monk 'class/race' as presented in the Master DM's guide (or was it companion).

However in 2nd edition you could branch out your core class. Fighters could become knights, paladins, or avengers. Clerics could become druids (and gaining a completely new spell list)... I forget the rest.

8) Did the 9-fold alignment system "debut" in AD&D, or did it exist in previous versions?

Not in any main edition of D&D that I own. 2nd edition D&D (the one I'm most familiar with) had only law, neutrality, and chaos, but as the GM guides progressed they talked about monsters whose attitudes were good/evil outside of the law/chaos 'norm'.

 

[Samothdm]

Edit: Double post. Slow connection today.

 

[cildarith]

I don't have my original brown books handy here at work - but did they have a five-part alignment system?

Initially, no. There was only L, N, C. There were hints of an expansion in Greyhawk, which was subsequently explained in The Strategic Review #6 in an article by EGG entitled: "The Meaning of Law and Chaos in Dungeons & Dragons and their Relationship to Good and Evil."

Interestingly, if you dust off your AD&D Monster Manual you will find that it also makes use of only five alignments (LG, CG, N, LE, CE). There are no monsters in that book with NG, LN, CN, or NE alignment.

The nine-alignment system was not adopted until the release of the PHB.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone!

If you'll indulge me, here are a few more questions for ya:

9) I know AD&D had percentile Strength, but I did stumble across some old Dragon mags were other 18 value stats also had percentile values. Was this a regular rule in original D&D that had been (mostly) dropped from AD&D (w/ the obvious exception of Strength), or was it a supplemental rule that was used & then dropped/modified for later use?

10) Speaking of stats, was original D&D like AD&D regarding stat bonuses (that is, receiving no bonuses to a stat unless it was 15-16 or higher)? Or was it more like the Rules Cyclopedia D&D, with 9-12 being average, 13-15 at +1, 16-17 at +2, and 18 at +3 (and a similar point spread for lower stats & penalties)?

11) I know AD&D had a full set of Nehwon character & deity stats in various editions of Deities & Demigods/Legends & Lore. Did original D&D have this info (or at least for some or any literary characters)? Was it in 1 of the 3 original books? A Strategic Review or Dragon article?

And, a few questions about the Rules Cyclopedia-style D&D:

1) IIRC, paladins/knights/avengers and druids appeared in the Companion set D&D rules. Where did mystics originate? Also, were there any other classes that appeared in the rules expansions (Expert/Master/etc.)? IIRC, I think there was a Thug NPC class (sort of like the Assassin class) at least.

2) Were there any new classes/races that appeared in the D&D Gazetteers? Any variants of existing ones?

3) IIRC, the Dragon magazine series of themed articles, "Voyage of the Princess Ark" provided "basic" D&D versions of the half-elf and bard premiered in these articles, right? Did any other "basic" D&D versions of AD&D races/classes appear (like rangers, gnomes, barbarians, etc.)?

Once again, thanks for all the info!

 

[diaglo]

crap i go to lunch and look what happens.

11. Supplement IV Gods, Demigods, & Heroes by Kuntz & Ward had the "extras" you might find in OD&D.

 

[Gunter]

In the books Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldrich Wichery some of the classes were:

Elf (yes a class)
Dwarf(same here)
Assassin
Monk
Fighter
Wizard
Cleric
Halfling

There may have been others these are the one that I remember.

11) Yes

 

[johnsemlak]

The D&D mystic first appeared in the Black Masters Boxed Set. It was in the monster section, IIRC, and there were optional rules allowing it to be a PC class

BTW, the Masters set also presented the Thug/Headsman (EDIT--as you mentioned), as an NPC only, which was basically the D&D version of the AD&D assassin. I allowed it as a class, though no one ever played it.