The book takes the same format as the boxed set - one section for new character rules, one for new monsters and treasures, and one for dungeon-related material. This book adds such hallmarks of the game as the paladin and thief classes, the half-elf race, and the concept of multi-classing. We also see the first presentation of traditional ability score tables. Most notably, it adds 7th through 9th levels spells for mages (including the mighty Wish) and 6th and 7th level spells for clerics. Again, I'm just surprised by how old most of the spells in the game actually are. Not that there haven't been changes, however. For instance, Astral Spell first appears in this supplement, but it is far different from the Astral Spell that appears in later editions. Instead of letting the mage engage in planar travel (a concept not yet invented for the game), it instead acts more like a kind of Oil of Etherealness. However, for the most part spells are here in the same form as later editions - Meteor Swarm, Gate, Time Stop, and Power Word: Kill, just to give a few examples.
As far as creatures go, we get druids first appearing as an enemy instead of a class. Liches - one of D&D's best contributions to fantasy tropes in my opinion - make their first appearance as well (technically the concept had appeared prior to D&D, but D&D without doubt popularized it). We also get iconic monsters such as the rust monster, gelatinous cube, and the beholder. In fact, a beholder is pictured on the cover:
Okay, so maybe it's not quite as menacing as later conceptions, but we all have to start somewhere. This book was a little more sparse on artwork than the boxed set, but while we're at it, I might as well show you a couple more. Behold, the mighty carrion crawler!
Wow, just...wow. All is not hopeless, however, and there are signs of improvement, as shown by the ogre magi:
It might not be a masterpiece, but I wouldn't want to meet one walking down a dark alley, either.
This supplement also includes a hefty list of new magical items, including such staples as the Rod of Lordly Might, books such as the Book of Vile Darkness and the Manual of Gainful Exercise, and the Deck of Many Things. However, among these powerful items there are also a large number of what I call "screw you" magic items - cursed items with horrible effects. Among the worst: the Scarab of Death - pick up this item and it turns into a monster that burrows into your chest and kills you. No save! There's also the Bag of Devouring, which appears to be a Bag of Holding but destroys anything you put inside of it. And of course the Poisonous Cloak - put it on and you die instantly. No save!
To me this highlights the primitive philosophy of the game at its birth. As I commented in the last post on the original boxed set, there's still no concept in the game of roleplaying, in the sense of having a character with a personality that's taking part in a larger story. We're still in the hack-and-slash dungeon crawling phase, where life is "nasty, brutish, and short" to borrow a quote. The DM's role is very different here from modern day sensibilities. Instead of being a narrator who guides the players through the short story of an adventure or the novel of a campaign, the DM is the players' adversary. The players are attempting to level up and amass both wealth and power, and it's the DM's job to stop them by any means necessary. In such a scenario life is of course going to be cheap (keep in mind, the most infamous character-killing adventure of all time - The Tomb of Horrors - was the very first module TSR ever released). For the player's part, losing a character is never fun, but it's somewhat easier when your character is just a collection of stats and items, not a person with a personality, history, and a part in the larger story of the world.
What I'm learning from these first few products is that the evolution of the D&D game through 2nd edition was not primarily in the area of its mechanics, but rather more in the kind of game played with those mechanics - progressing from hack-and-slash treasure runs to the modern story-based RPG. I hope you're enjoying the journey still. Join me next time as we start diving into TSR's first magazine - The Strategic Review.
As far as creatures go, we get druids first appearing as an enemy instead of a class. Liches - one of D&D's best contributions to fantasy tropes in my opinion - make their first appearance as well (technically the concept had appeared prior to D&D, but D&D without doubt popularized it). We also get iconic monsters such as the rust monster, gelatinous cube, and the beholder. In fact, a beholder is pictured on the cover:
Okay, so maybe it's not quite as menacing as later conceptions, but we all have to start somewhere. This book was a little more sparse on artwork than the boxed set, but while we're at it, I might as well show you a couple more. Behold, the mighty carrion crawler!
Wow, just...wow. All is not hopeless, however, and there are signs of improvement, as shown by the ogre magi:
It might not be a masterpiece, but I wouldn't want to meet one walking down a dark alley, either.
This supplement also includes a hefty list of new magical items, including such staples as the Rod of Lordly Might, books such as the Book of Vile Darkness and the Manual of Gainful Exercise, and the Deck of Many Things. However, among these powerful items there are also a large number of what I call "screw you" magic items - cursed items with horrible effects. Among the worst: the Scarab of Death - pick up this item and it turns into a monster that burrows into your chest and kills you. No save! There's also the Bag of Devouring, which appears to be a Bag of Holding but destroys anything you put inside of it. And of course the Poisonous Cloak - put it on and you die instantly. No save!
To me this highlights the primitive philosophy of the game at its birth. As I commented in the last post on the original boxed set, there's still no concept in the game of roleplaying, in the sense of having a character with a personality that's taking part in a larger story. We're still in the hack-and-slash dungeon crawling phase, where life is "nasty, brutish, and short" to borrow a quote. The DM's role is very different here from modern day sensibilities. Instead of being a narrator who guides the players through the short story of an adventure or the novel of a campaign, the DM is the players' adversary. The players are attempting to level up and amass both wealth and power, and it's the DM's job to stop them by any means necessary. In such a scenario life is of course going to be cheap (keep in mind, the most infamous character-killing adventure of all time - The Tomb of Horrors - was the very first module TSR ever released). For the player's part, losing a character is never fun, but it's somewhat easier when your character is just a collection of stats and items, not a person with a personality, history, and a part in the larger story of the world.
What I'm learning from these first few products is that the evolution of the D&D game through 2nd edition was not primarily in the area of its mechanics, but rather more in the kind of game played with those mechanics - progressing from hack-and-slash treasure runs to the modern story-based RPG. I hope you're enjoying the journey still. Join me next time as we start diving into TSR's first magazine - The Strategic Review.
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