Dungeons & Dragons First Edition Gets Deluxe Re-Release

[StewShearerOld]

Dungeons & Dragons First Edition Gets Deluxe Re-Release

Wizards of the Coast is producing a special edition of the original Dungeons & Dragons White Box that will retail for $149.99.

If you've ever played an RPG of any variety you can generally bet that there's a bit of Dungeons & Dragons tucked into it somewhere. Whether you're talking about tabletop RPGs or videogames there's simply no way to exaggerate how important D&D has been to role-playing.

That in mind, Dungeons & Dragons is now nearing its 40th birthday and, in celebration Wizards of the Coast has produced a <a href=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/dndacc/45390000>deluxe reprint of the original D&D first edition White Box. The premium set, which will retail for $149.99, will contain all the same content from the game's original release in 1974. This will include seven booklets detailing the game's mechanics as well as reference sheets. While they'll retain the same internal art as the original release, each booklet will come with new cover art. The set itself will come packaged in a gorgeous wooden storage case and will, of course, include a set of polyhedral dice for use in the gameplay.

We're going to put it right out and say that we want this. Granted, you can buy all the same content digitally for a fraction of what Wizard of the Coast wants for this. That being said, the deluxe edition has a really pretty box, and we're betting the nerd cred we'd get for busting this out would far supplant that of a mere PDF. In the least we can say that this reprint is a bargain when compared to trying to buy the <a href=http://www.ebay.com/itm/TSR-Basic-D-D-D-D-Original-White-Box-Collectors-Edition-NEW-/151116988186?pt=Games_US&hash=item232f463f1a>original White Box.

Source: Wired


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[Gitty101]

The logical side of me says there's free PDFs for it online. The Nerd and collector in me desires it at the expense of food and/or heated water. What to do...

 

[Deathlyphil]

I understand why people get nerdgasms for D&D, since it most likely was the first RPG they ever played, but there are many games and systems out there that deserve way more recognition.

 

[JamesBr]

I understand why people get nerdgasms for D&D, since it most likely was the first RPG they ever played, but there are many games and systems out there that deserve way more recognition.

"Recognition" is probably not the word your looking for. As the original table-top roleplaying game, it deserve all the recognition it gets. Now, does it deserve to be hyped as the "best game ever"? No, but then again, it doesn't. When you start a gaming revolution that has been going strong for over 40 years, you're allowed recognition.

OT: Considering this has been announced on WotC's product page for over six months, I don't think this qualifies as news. But as a collector of gaming books, this will look fantastic beside my 1st Ed reprints, 2nd Ed reprints, 3.5 black leather special editions and 4th Ed special editions ^^

 

[JamesBr]

Er, my memory ain't what it used to be, but I recall the evolution of D&D to be:

Chainmail
Basic
Expert
Advanced
2.0
yadda
yadda

Am I missing a step here?

Basically, though Chainmail was a war game, not an RPG; OD&D (the White Box) was released after that, then Basic and Advanced were released together as separate games. Expert was the continuation of the Basic track while 2nd Ed was the continuation of the Advanced track.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editions_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons D&D Edition history is...complicated.

Edited for accuracy.

 

[JamesBr]

Not sure what your getting at though.

I guess I'm saying I've never even heard of the "reprint" that WotC is offering.

I've known one person who owned Chainmail. I own Basic, Expert, some Advanced, and some 3.5.

But this "three rulebook set" is completely foreign to me. I started with Basic D&D in 1981 and it was just one, red book. Expert was one blue book. Advanced was a bunch of hardbacks...

*shrugs*

Edit: Thanks for the link! Was a bit different than the one I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_Basic_Set

ah, well interesting factoid then, this year, WotC reprinted AD&D through 3.5. Since 4th is still in print and this is coming out, every edition of D&D (except for the Basic track) will be for sale all at once. Which should be "fun" for newcomers, but awesome for us collectors ^^

 

[Lotet]

isn't 1st edition the one where females had a -2 Strength cap and no benefits? not even Dexterity, heck, Charisma even.
http://1d4chan.org/images/4/40/AD%26D_page16.png
sorry, I know it's silly to bring it up but I didn't have anything to say about this subject.

 

[Signa]

I played 1st Ed. once. I made a Dwarfen Cleric because the DM wasn't paying attention. Dwarfs aren't allowed to be Clerics in 1st Ed unless they are NPCs. What the hell?

 

[delroland]

Er, my memory ain't what it used to be, but I recall the evolution of D&D to be:

Chainmail
Basic
Expert
Advanced
2.0
yadda
yadda

Am I missing a step here?

Basically, though Chainmail was a war game, not an RPG; OD&D (the White Box) was released after that, then Basic and Advanced were released together as separate games. Expert was the continuation of the Basic track while 2nd Ed was the continuation of the Advanced track.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editions_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons D&D Edition history is...complicated.

Edited for accuracy.

Close, but not quite.

Dungeons & Dragons

Spoiler

Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortal was "Basic" Dungeons & Dragons (or Original D&D), with each book raising the level cap. This was back when there were only three alignments (lawful/neutral/chaotic) and elf/halfling/dwarf were classes. The rules supported a very basic dungeon exploration gameplay where you fought monsters and got their treasure, allowing you to fight the harder monsters in the lower levels of the dungeon.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

Spoiler

Then came "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" (1st Ed), which was a stand alone product and later became known as "First Edition" when "Second Edition" came out. This edition increased significantly the complexity of the game, separating race and class (so that you could have elf mages or dwarf clerics or w/e) and adding the second axis of alignment (good/neutral/evil).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition

Spoiler

Second Edition (2nd Ed) was an attempt to streamline the rules as well as remove some of the content deemed "offensive" by the religious whackjobs who were crusading that D&D was "satanic".

Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition

Spoiler

Third Edition (3E) was launched to modernize the rules and bring back much of the content omitted in 2nd Ed, and this was by far the most popular edition of the game. This was also the birth of the Open Gaming License, which allowed any third party to make officially compatible material without purchasing a license, as the core rules were made publicly accessible. This led to an explosion of content for D&D, some of it really good, some of it really bad, and a lot of it quite mediocre.

Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, Revised (v3.5)

Spoiler

Third Edition, Revised (i.e. v3.5 or 3.5E) sought to bring the power level of the so-viewed weaker classes (ranger, rogue, bard; essentially non-casters) up, granting much more interesting abilities to many of them. Spellcasters, on the other hand, had many of their more overpowered and abusive spells toned significantly down in power. A lot of people complained about this edition being a money grab by Wizards of the Coast (as TSR had been purchased by WotC after the launch of 3E), but soon after launch the vast majority of D&D players had adopted the revised rules. The core rules were still made open source in this edition as well.

Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition

Spoiler

Fourth Edition (4E), in my opinion, created the largest rift in the hobby to date. The new rules were vastly streamlined so as to make play faster and less intimidating to the new player. Those who craved more simulationist gameplay abandoned 4E in droves, whereas players who felt the over-complication of 3E/3.5 hampered gameplay and scared away new players in the hobby embraced the new edition. So-called "Edition Wars", where the old-school players of the previous edition argued (usually quite vehemently and offensively) against the early-adopters of the new edition about which edition was best, had existed prior to the release of 4E, but this edition BY FAR had the worst, nastiest occurence of an Edition War. 4E also had a much more restrictive licensing policy, meaning very little third party content was released.

In response to an observed need for a game still supporting the old version of the rules, Paizo (which had previously been under contract with Wizards of the Coast to produce the official Dungeons & Dragons magazines) launched its own take on the third edition rules, named Pathfinder. As with the switch to 3.5 before it, the vast majority of players still interested in third edition (approximately half of the total D&D player base; the other half playing 4E) made the switch to Pathfinder, to the point where anyone going to a gaming convention found two groups of "D&D" players: those playing Fourth Edition and those playing Pathfinder. There existed very little crossover between the two.

(Full disclosure: I felt WotC had dropped the ball with 4E and I switched to Pathfinder, though I do feel I gave 4E a fair shake, having played it for almost two years after it released before making the switch.)

Dungeons & Dragons Next

Spoiler

D&D Next (not sure if this will be referred to as DDN or 5E yet) is the upcoming edition which seeks to close the rift between 3E and 4E players by keeping some of the streamlined mechanics of 4E and combining some of the customization options of 3E. I've run it, and it seems decent, though it is not perfect by any means. I haven't decided if it will bring me back to Dungeons & Dragons yet, though even if I don't wholly embrace it, I do think I will play it at least on the side.

 

[delroland]

isn't 1st edition the one where females had a -2 Strength cap and no benefits? not even Dexterity, heck, Charisma even.
http://1d4chan.org/images/4/40/AD%26D_page16.png
sorry, I know it's silly to bring it up but I didn't have anything to say about this subject.

First Edition was very bent on being simulationist, and towards that end, since in real life women tend to be physically weaker than men, the writers incorporated this into the rules. I don't agree with it, as 1) being a fantasy game, female PC's should be able to break the norms, 2) the writers neglected to consider possible deficiencies in males, for example giving males a lower constitution representing that males don't live as long, and 3) from a gameplay standpoint, it doesn't make sense to handicap one character choice over another "just because".

I played 1st Ed. once. I made a Dwarfen Cleric because the DM wasn't paying attention. Dwarfs aren't allowed to be Clerics in 1st Ed unless they are NPCs. What the hell?

The original logic was that demihuman clerics wouldn't adventure because their gods weren't concerned with anything beyond the realm of their own race. Eventually, TSR changed their minds with the release of Unearthed Arcana which had significantly revamped race/class rules.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

I'm not much for this, but then again, I'm not a D&D person.

I know a lot of people that would squee over this.

 

[Psychobabble]

Now if only Wizards of the Coast hadn't spent the past few years cutting D&Ds nuts off I might have actually been nostalgic enough to buy this just as a collectable. Though I've got a dogeared copy of the originals along with most of the first Traveler stuff in storage. Personally I think I'll stick with my ripped torn and coffee stained originals.

 

[Neta]

$150 really? For something worth about $30?

Way to scrape the bottom of the barrel there TSR.

 

[JamesBr]

snip

Not close, accurate. Click on the link. Chainmail was originally released, then Dungeons & Dragons (what we now call OD&D, the White Box), then Basic and AD&D were released as two separate products, entirely unconnected game lines AT THE SAME TIME. Expert etc was additional content for Basic released 4 years later, while AD&D got it's own books and eventually got 2nd Ed in 1989, 3rd in 2000, etc...

How can AD&D come after Expert if Expert was printed in 1981, and AD&D in 1977?

 

[Milanezi]

This is bullshit... This is the kind of bullshit that I'll never play, never get to read, but buy it anyway o.o I hate this sort of product lol

 

[delroland]

snip

Not close, accurate. Click on the link. Chainmail was originally released, then Dungeons & Dragons (what we now call OD&D, the White Box), then Basic and AD&D were released as two separate products, entirely unconnected game lines AT THE SAME TIME. Expert etc was additional content for Basic released 4 years later, while AD&D got it's own books and eventually got 2nd Ed in 1989, 3rd in 2000, etc...

How can AD&D come after Expert if Expert was printed in 1981, and AD&D in 1977?

Basic was a reprint/update of OD&D, which served to raise the level cap inherent in the original white box. We're also arguing minutiae; my original post was more concerned with clarifying the link between basic/expert/etc., which was not made clear in your original post.