I received my 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide yesterday. I should note that I have never previously owned the book, but have heard for years that it is a must-own for any real RPG aficionado. I'd probably flipped through a copy at some point in the past, but it didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me, so it was with some excitement that I cracked it open and began to read.I think I hate it.
I've read Gygax before, but his writing style here is pedantic to the point of incomprehensibility. This is no Monster Manual - the artwork consists primarily of cartoons and Sutherland stuff, which is not to my taste. The DMing advice, as far as I can tell, is almost exclusively negative. The author tells you not to change the rules, not to allow monster player characters, not to alter the tone of the game... well, not to do lots of things. I didn't see much in the way of telling a DM what he or she should do, but plenty of reflexive "if you do this, you're playing my game wrong" admonishments.
What you do get are exhaustive sections on subjects as esoteric as casting spells underwater, footnotes telling you that a roll of "mastodon" on the Pleistocene marsh encounter table actually indicates a shovel-toothed relative of the mastodon, and charts telling you how much damage a wereboar takes if he changes into boar form while wearing plate mail. There's a certain insane appeal to the bewildering degree of attention paid to the pointless minutiae of situations that will probably never occur in the typical D&D game, but I'm afraid that for me, it's not enough. Except for the sections on generating wilderness environments, settlements, and dungeons, this thing is almost completely useless to me. Still, I know a lot of people love this book, and that's great. Maybe one of them will want to buy my copy.
(To be clear, I'm not taking a dump on AD&D 1st edition or Gary Gygax. I own plenty of AD&D stuff, much of it written by Gygax, and have enjoyed reading it. I just strongly dislike this particular book.)
In happier news, I like the fun, freewheeling attitude of the D&D Basic and Expert Rulebooks a lot. So, what I've learned is that if I'm going to go for "old school" D&D, I should probably stay away from AD&D and stick to Basic.
Okay... now that I have probably enraged or alienated most of my readers, I am going to prepare for the onslaught.
Yeah, purest Old High Gygaxian is definitely an acquired taste. No discredit to you if it's a taste you don't see the appeal of.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm still a sucker for the DMG. Let it fall open at any page and *bam* instant adventure fodder. It's like the Magic 8 Ball of gaming.
"Let it fall open at any page and *bam* instant adventure fodder."
ReplyDeleteAny page? Well, I did like the artifacts. I could see those being adventure fodder.
The AD&D DMG should be treated as a grab bag rather than as a Bible. I still find more useful stuff in its pages, particularly the appendices, than in most other RPG products published since. A lot of Gary's refereeing advice should be taken with a big grain of salt, though. It's as much a reflection of TSR's desire to put the genie back in the bottle -- so they alone can command its powers -- as it is based on Gygax's own style as a referee. I certainly don't blame you for being turned off by its tone at all, even though I still love this book to death.
ReplyDelete"I still find more useful stuff in its pages, particularly the appendices, than in most other RPG products published since."
ReplyDeleteI will have to take a closer look at them, then. My reading of the book last night was admittedly cursory, so I hope I didn't just skip over the good parts.
The magic item listings are wonderful, I think, and there are some excellent charts scattered around: Potion Miscibilty, NPC personality generator, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs James says, drop the notion that it is a book of additional rules and consider it a compilation of articles on various gaming topics. This is how a decided majority of DMs have ever used it anyway.
To use your example, instead of taking page(s?) on using spells underwater as new rules think of them as a glimpse of arcane physics as they work in this one dude's game. I love how Otiluke's freezing sphere bobs to the surface!
I can sympathize---I simply couldn't read it when I was younger. I tried, OH how I tried, but I ended up simply using it for the charts and appendices.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as someone interested in the origins of the hobby and insight into how the game was originally envisioned (here I'm talking about explicated holdover from ODD, not all the proscriptive stuff), there's plenty to think about. For instance, read the section on Time in the Campaign. I forget what page it's on, maybe in the 80s?, but man, we NEVER played like that. I'm only just grokking the possibilities now...
I love the DMG, but mostly for the appendices, which I've used extensively for nearly every campaign I've ever run. The gem and other precious item tables are also useful, and there are flashes of genius throughout. But I get very little use out of the vast majority of the book since bashing together my own version of the 3LB and supplements.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for the appendices. I switched to AD&D from Basic back in 1991 based on the numerous references in my back issues of Dragon to all the cool charts (random castles, diseases, etc.) in the DMG. Little did I know that the 2e DMG I picked up was a shadow of its former self. I finally plunked down for the 1e DMG about 6 or 8 years ago, and I've gotten plenty of use out of it. It just takes some sifting...
ReplyDeleteJason "Grey Elf" Vey is actually running an infrequently updated chapter-by-chapter dissection of the DMG over on the RPG.net forums. It's worth a read for sure.
Some of the Good Stuff: The section on artifacts is a classic (although its largely cribbed right out of the earlier Eldritch Wizardry--which I didn't realize until recently), and make sure to check out the Random Dungeon Generator towards the back.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel guilty about being put off by the DMG. It took me until LAST YEAR to figure out how I wanted to use AD&D, and I've owned the books since 1982!
And yes, Basic D&D rocks. (So go with that!)
"Jason "Grey Elf" Vey is actually running an infrequently updated chapter-by-chapter dissection of the DMG over on the RPG.net forums. It's worth a read for sure."
ReplyDeleteOh, trust me, I'm very well-acquainted with that thread. I think I got into a near-flamewar with somebody who gamed with Gary Gygax in that one.
From one "Old-School Newb" to another, I'd also recommend to stick with the Basic and Expert sets. I plan on paying a lot of attention to Labyrinth Lord (retroclone of B/X) in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI'm Blizack, 'Complain, complain complain. I don't like nothing. Your music sucks. I like stuff from the eighties but not the stuff You like from the eighties. Blarg!'
ReplyDeleteOh, and Tallulah has something to say as well.
ReplyDeletePaul, thanks for coming over to play with my dad because I just like it when I get to watch a movie.
I've been using 1st ed. AD&D books right up to this day. Of course, I only use around 40% of whats in there. I haven't even opened a page for pure reading joy for around 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI guess I run a sort of 1st ed. AD&D "light," but I'm still proud to use those books. Plus I've always had at least two copies of DM Guide, PH, UA, and MM - another reason I never traded up to a new edition.
After having a peek at 4th ed, I'm even happier that I stuck with 1st ed.
"I'm Blizack, 'Complain, complain complain. I don't like nothing. Your music sucks. I like stuff from the eighties but not the stuff You like from the eighties. Blarg!'"
ReplyDeleteYou're right, my blog is totally about how I think everything sucks.
Oh, and even your kid daughter is hatin'? "Dick move!"
And if I here you say 'blarg' one more time... I mean, what is it with you and that word, huh?
ReplyDeleteBut.
T. wasn't hatin', that's just how her syntax rolls.
thank you, clever Herr Bonifield, for summing up Blizack's personality so succinctly. i could not have put it better myself.
ReplyDelete