Dungeons & Dragons

3-Volume Set

Credits

Written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson

Art by Keenan Powell, Greg Bell, C. Corey, D. Arneson, T. Keogh, and David Sutherland

Version

The product listing on drivethrurpg includes four PDFs – Book I: Men & Magic, Book II Monsters & Treasure, Book III: The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, and a set of reference sheets with the various tables and such in the booklets. The PDFs for the booklets include bookmarks. The reference sheets do not. The three PDFs for the main booklets are from the Original Edition Premium Reprint released in 2013 by Wizards of the Coast. The reference sheets PDF appears to be a scan from an early printing, but it’s impossible to tell which one.

History and Trivia

The one that started it all. Originally released in January, 1974 by TSR (Tactical Studies Rules), the original version of Dungeons & Dragons was an outgrowth of miniatures wargames like Chainmail. Its history has been extensively covered elsewhere, most notably by Shannon Appelcline in his Designers & Dragons series. The premium reprint that these PDFs are taken from was packaged in a gorgeous wood box along with the four OD&D supplements and a set of dice. I very much regret selling my copy.

Is it Pretty?

The cover art for the three booklets is new for the 2013 reprint and thus has a decidedly more modern flair to it than the original cover art from the ‘70s. The interior art from the original printings is preserved (including a topless amazon) in this edition and is a bit, well, less professional looking than the new covers.

½ star.

Is it Professional?

The layout of all three main booklets was completely revamped for the reprint. I don’t have any interior pages of older printings to compare it to, but it was quite well done. The reference sheets are a bit less polished but still look pretty decent.

The organization of the booklets sets up the Player’s Handbook (Men & Magic), Monster Manual (Monsters & Treasure), and Dungeon Master’s Guide (Underworld & Wilderness Adventures) triad of core books that most later editions would follow. That said, the organization of the booklets themselves is scattershot, making it difficult to create a character or find a certain rule during play. The list of monsters isn’t even alphabetical.

½ star.

Is it Useful?

Its clear from the onset that this game is not beginner friendly. Like Chainmail (which is listed as one of the required items for play), this game assumes some level of familiarity with wargames. There are no patient explanations as the game dives right in from the get-go.

The original edition only included three classes – Fighting Men, Magic-Users, and Clerics. Races include dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans. The non-human races are limited in their advancement, making them a bit less appealing to play.

Monsters are presented in a large table with descriptions following. That isn’t exactly user friendly compared to the monster formats of later editions. The descriptions are mostly limited to game details and composition of forces, offering little to no explanation of what the monsters actually are, what they look like, etc.

Dungeon design, at least according to the advice given in the third booklet, borders on the bizarre. I guess the idea of coherent ecosystems and logical reasons for dungeons to exist hadn’t emerged, yet.

The rules are unclear in most places and/or involve difficult math. I’m not exactly stupid, but, for example, calculating experience points looks like a nightmare with this version. It should also be noted that the original D&D was not a complete game. Chainmail is referenced in several sections, as is Outdoor Survival, a board game published by Avalon Hill in 1972.

So, would I play it? Nope. Zero stars.

Is it Affordable?

Given that original printings of OD&D are often several hundred dollars or more and the premium reprint, also now out of print, is now just as pricey, getting this historical artifact for $9.99 in digital form is an absolute steal. One star.

Is it Fun?

I have tried to run this version of D&D a couple of times and it was a bit of a disaster. I imagine it was fun for folks playing it in 1974 but to a modern audience there just isn’t much fun factor. That said, it is interesting to see D&D’s roots and, from that perspective, it’s a fun read. One more fun little sidenote – the game includes references to Mars as portrayed by Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as to robots and androids. There was very much a science fantasy element to the original D&D. So, we’ll go with a ½ star here.

Where to find it

The PDF version of Original Dungeons & Dragons 3-Volume Set can be found on drivethrurpg.com as OD&D Dungeons & Dragons Original Edition (0e). Print versions (both original and reprint) can be found on ebay and similar sites but prepare to pay a bucketload of money for them.

Conclusion

Very cool to have as a historical artifact but not really a playable game. 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

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Where it all started and a really good copy to browse, although it looks like the recent reprint rather than the actual original. Original DnD has problems with production standards and a clear set of rules but is very playable and everything you need is right here in one of the three books that made up the white box edition. At a bargain price as well.... buy it, print it and play it

You guys already know how good an idea this was to bring this book back to life. What a great rendition of a classic piece of nerd history. Thank you for bringing us this book in two formats! Can't wait to run my next adventure!

Aside from the typo, that this was advertised as the Original Edition Supp I, but I received Suppl IV. instead, the quality of the scan is great, the clarity of the images, are more than I could have hoped for. I’m very pleased with the scan, only wish I got what I thought I was ordering and that this and other classic mods/classic booklets were available in soft cover print, and not just as a PDF.

TL;DR: Old school D&D in it's full glory, exactly the way its creator (Gygax) played. Sacrifice those two cups of Starbucks coffee and pick this bundle up, you are in for a great time!

Full Review:

This is a PDF copy of what's referred to as the "white box" or "3 brown booklets" or "OD&D", the game that kicked off the entire D&D craze back in 1974. Nothing has been altered, these booklets have everything you and your friends need to begin playing D&D the way Gygax played. Contrary to popular belief, Gygax didn't really use the Advanced D&D rules that much. In fact, the final campaign he ran for his players before his death in 2008 was using these 3 booklets. You'll find strange conventions here, such as Fighting Men (fighters), constant references to the Chainmail ruleset (not required), and the fact that every player class uses a d6 for hit points and all weapons/monsters deal a d6 for damage on a hit. As strange as all this sounds, the rules are very workable and allow for truly amazing games of dungeon delving and exploration. No feats, no rules-lawyers arguing about X rule, just you & your character against a very deadly and hostile dungeon that will eat you alive if you're not careful. Fun times, can't recommend this enough!!

Love it was Waiting for it forever,,,now I can play the game the way it was originally designed

This is the heavily censored 2013 version, which does have the benefit of being a modern digital copy which allows copy/paste to work. Making it easy to personalize for you own use. It is disappointing that the reference sheets are not a modern digital copy, but the older low quality scan which is hard to read and does not allow copy/paste. That is why I can only give this four stars out of five, since it would have required very little effort to have provided the updated reference sheets too.

In any event, with the ability to copy/paste the text, add back the censored material, format and print your personal copy, it is a great value.

As always, they should be deeply ashamed that they watermarked the product. This is called insulting the customer.

Really happy to see these being re-released. Hopefully this means we will see Greyhawk, Blackmoor and the other OD&D booklets released over the coming weeks.

When was relaesad i was 1 year old, and i´ve started playing in the 90´s, so i´ve played it several years ago after realeas, And i can tell that despite the years and editions this is the most maleable of all editions, its undoubtly the best. And Ive played at least once all the editions including the 4th edition. Dave And Gary were an invencible couple in game disaign. Sorry for my english, i could red better than write or speak.

So great to have these finally available again in PDF!

Looking forward to the supplements and perhaps even Chainmail and a PDF version of Outdoor Survival!

Hi, Great pdf for the 3 booklets! However, reference sheets are messed up (a bad scan, definitly not the premium reprints pdf files). Future buyer should take notice and should wait for the upload of the correct files before buying. Cheers, Ivan

My download was very good quality. I am happy to have a copy of the Game That Started It All!. Thanks!

I was glad to see that I got the reference sheets and box cover as well as the three main booklets.

My mistake, the game does indeed include a combat system. So it is a complete game.

Scan Quality: I've bought/downloaded several of the older D&D books, and this is the highest quality scan by far. The background is white, the text is black, and it is very clear.

Content: It is what it is. If you're here, you probably already have a good idea if you're interested in buying this or not. It is a piece of history. It is great for those who are interested in seeing how D&D (and RPGs in general) have evolved. If you want to play some old school D&D, it doesn't get more old school than this!

If you're looking for a polished game with all the latest bells and whistles, or if you're picky about art, then this isn't for you.

Great to have this finally - and at such a reasonable price! It is true that my computer was unable to read the download completely, BUT, my mom's work computer had no trouble, the document printed out complete. I was using the suggested adobe reader 6, so perhaps that is not recent enough to properly read this? In any case, I was ultimately very satisfied with this purchase.