The 1e ADnD Dungeon Masters guide may be the best DnD book ever written

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I have been re-reading the 1e ADnD Dungeon Masters guide for the umpteenth time. To me this book represents all that is good and fun about our hobby. There is hardly a page that doesn't have something interesting, fun or just plain weird on it, and even now the sheer bulk of information found in this tome staggers my imagination.

I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't read this book, but I feel especially sorry for those who disregard it as some primitive relic of gaming past not worth the read. You are missing out on some of the best work ever written in RPG history, and even if you play 3e or 4e the advice and ideas from the DMG can still enlighten and inspire.

Although the ADnD DMG may not fully represent the golden age of the hobby, to me it represents the hobby at its best and loftiest. It still astounds me that I can open this book to any random page and find something that I can use in my campaigns, or find something that is just plain awesome.

So if you've read 1e DMG, read it again and enjoy, and if you haven't read it you should.

What do you think about the 1e ADnD DMG?

Comments

  1. Aaron E. SteeleApril 18, 2010

    Completely and utterly agree with you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tom AllmanApril 18, 2010

    Sage advice. When I had problems with my 4th Ed campaign I would skim this ancient tome. I wonder if it comes in a scroll, I'll check ebay.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John BApril 18, 2010

    @Paladin - I had a feeling you might agree with me on this one.

    @Yoo-Hoo Tom - I wish I was a Sage they make pretty good money (see page 31-33)

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownApril 18, 2010

    I actually refer back to the 2nd edition quite often. I find 3.5 and 4th to be deviations that have lost a certain something that both 1st and 2nd had. Perhaps it's clarity, information, or just a sense of spirit, but the older editions are far richer in ideas and inspiration.

    Sure, the rules are antiquated and some are even downright weird (why THAC0 and AC were never positive bonuses to begin with is beyond me), but the rest of the text is brilliant. There's this sense of references and historical links, mythological and otherwise, in the older books. The Complete Handbooks come to mind; I got a lot of use out of the Bard and Ninja.

    ReplyDelete
  5. CyricApril 19, 2010

    I re-read the Dungeoneers and Wilderness Survival Guides just some days ago and in my opinion these guides are much better then many people would admit, too. Just like the DM Guide of the 1st Ed. Comparing these books to current publications just adds to their strength and fame. Golden times, indeed...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gothridge ManorApril 19, 2010

    To me its the book all other RPG books are measured against. Any genre.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tim ShortsJanuary 19, 2011

    To me its the book all other RPG books are measured against. Any genre.

    ReplyDelete
  8. John WilliamsJanuary 19, 2011

    @Paladin - I had a feeling you might agree with me on this one.

    @Yoo-Hoo Tom - I wish I was a Sage they make pretty good money (see page 31-33)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yoo-Hoo TomJanuary 19, 2011

    Sage advice. When I had problems with my 4th Ed campaign I would skim this ancient tome. I wonder if it comes in a scroll, I'll check ebay.

    ReplyDelete

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