Recaps & Roundups part 10: Supplement 1 - Greyhawk

In The Strategic Review #1, it was noted that the first of a series of D&D supplements was on the way. Supplement I - Greyhawk would be published in March of 1975. Written by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, it was heavily drawn from material used in their home campaign. In many ways, it's probably the most historically important D&D product outside of the original boxed set; so many of the new rules and game elements introduced here become integrated into the core game that it's almost unrecognisable without them. Dungeons & Dragons, as the vast majority of its players would recognise it, is born here.

New Rules Introduced

• Strength now provides bonuses to attack and damage for Fighting-Men only.
• Strength now affects encumbrance, and a character's chance to open doors.
• Exceptional Strength for Fighting-Men.
• Intelligence now affects a Magic-User's chance to learn a spell, how many spells they can learn, and the highest spell level they can learn.
• Dexterity now provides an AC bonus for Fighting-Men only.
• Constitution now grants higher hit point bonuses.
• A limit is imposed on the number of times a PC can be resurrected, based on Constitution.
• Character classes now have differing Hit Dice, and monsters roll 1d8 per HD.
• NPCs now suffer a loyalty penalty when working for Chaotic characters.
• A different method of calculating XP is introduced.
• NPCs working for PCs now earn 50% XP.
• Weapon Type vs. AC
• Ranges and range penalties for missile weapons.
• Attack bonuses for whacking someone who is lying prone.
• Varying damage by weapon type, and varying monster attack damage
• Magic armor and shields now stack all their bonuses
• Rear and right flank attacks now ignore shields
• Cleric spells of 6th and 7th level, and Magic-User spells of 7th to 9th level.
• New Monster Level Tables replace those in D&D Vol. 3.

New Classes Introduced

• Thief
• Paladin

New Races Introduced

• Half-Elves
• Dwarves are split into Hill Dwarves, Mountain Dwarves, and "Burrowers". "Burrowers" seems to be another term for Gnomes, which suggests a relationship between these two races.
• Elves are split into Wood Elves, High Elves, and Meadow Elves (otherwise known as Fairies).

New Spells Introduced

Magic-User Level 1

• Shield
• Magic Missile
• Ventriliquism (sic)

Magic-User Level 2

• Darkness, 5' radius
• Strength
• Web (previously seen as an ability of the staff of power, in D&D Vol. 2)
• Mirror Image
• Magic Mouth
• Pyrotechnics

Magic-User Level 3

• Explosive Runes
• Rope Trick
• Suggestion
• Monster Summoning I

Magic-User Level 4

• Ice Storm
• Fear
• Monster Summoning II
• Extension I

Magic-User Level 5

• Monster Summoning III
• Extension II

Magic-User Level 6

• Legend Lore
• Repulsion
• Monster Summoning IV
• Extension III

Magic-User Level 7

• Delayed Blast Fire Ball
• Reverse Gravity
• Limited Wish
• Power Word - Stun
• Phase Door
• Charm Plants
• Mass Invisibility
• Simulacrum
• Monster Summoning V

Magic-User Level 8

• Mass Charm
• Clone
• Power Word - Blind
• Symbol
• Permanent Spell
• Mind Blank
• Polymorph Any Object
• Monster Summoning VI

Magic-User Level 9

• Meteor Swarm
• Shape Change
• Time Stop
• Power Word - Kill
• Gate
• Wish
• Astral Spell
• Prismatic Wall
• Maze
• Monster Summoning VII

Cleric Level 2

• Silence, 15' r.
• Snake Charm

Cleric Level 3

• Prayer
• Speak With Dead

Cleric Level 6

• Animate Objects
• Find the Path
• Blade Barrier
• Word of Recall
• Speak With Monsters
• Conjure Animals

Cleric Level 7

• Earthquake
• Aerial Servant
• Wind Walk
• Holy Word
• Astral Spell
• Symbol
• Part Water
• Control Weather
• Raise Dead Fully
• Restoration

New Monsters

• Druids
• Tritons
• Bugbears
• Ogre Magi
• Storm Giants
• Shadows (previously mentioned in D&D Vol. 3)
• Titans (previously mentioned in D&D Vol. 2)
• Will o' Wisps
• Liches
• Harpies
• Brass Dragons
• Copper Dragons
• Bronze Dragons
• Silver Dragons
• The Platinum Dragon
• The Chromatic Dragon
• Lizard Men
• Dopplegangers (previously mentioned in D&D Vol. 3)
• Wererats
• Lammasu
• Salamanders (previously mentioned in D&D Vol. 2)
• Beholders
• Umber Hulks
• Displacer Beasts
• Blink Dogs
• Hell Hounds
• Phase Spiders
• Rust Monsters
• Stirges
• Giant Ticks
• Owl Bears
• Carrion Crawlers
• Gelatinous Cubes (previously mentioned in D&D Vol. 2)
• Giant Slugs
• Homonculous
• Flesh Golems
• Stone Golems
• Iron Golems (previously mentioned in OD&D Vol. 2)
• Rot Grubs (alluded to only, not given stats or named)
• Ettins (alluded to only, not given stats or named)
• Carnivorous Apes (mentioned in the Monster Level Tables, possibly as a replacement for Martian White Apes)
• Fire-Breathing Hydras (mentioned in the Monster Level Tables)

Magic Swords Introduced

• Swords +4 and +5
• Sword +2, Nine Steps Draining Ability
• Holy Sword +5
• Sword of Cold
• Dragon Slaying Sword +2
• Sword +1, Cursed
• Dancing Sword
• Sword of Sharpness
• Vorpal Blade

Miscellaneous Weapons Introduced

• Magic Arrows +2 and +3
• Arrow of Slaying
• Magic Crossbow Bolts +2
• Crossbow of Accuracy
• Crossbow of Speed
• Crossbow of Distance
• Axe +2 and +3
• Mace of Disruption
• Cursed Spear of Backbiting

Armor Introduced

• Shields +4 and +5
• Armor +4 and +5
• Shield of Missile Attraction
• Armor of Vulnerability
• Armor of Etherealness

Potions Introduced

• Extra-Healing
• Oil of Slipperiness
• Super-Heroism
• Oil of Etherealness

Rings Introduced

• Protection +3
• Shooting Stars
• Contrariness

Rods Introduced

• Rod of Cancellation
• Rod of Beguiling
• Rod of Absorption
• Rod of Lordly Might
• Rod of Rulership
• Rod of Resurrection

Miscellaneous Magic Introduced

• Crystal Hypnosis Ball
• Medallion of ESP (3" and 9" ranges)
• Medallion of Thought Projection
• Amulet of Inescapable Locating
• Scarab of Enraging Enemies
• Scarab of Insanity
• Scarab of Death
• Bag of Tricks
• Bean Bag
• Bag of Transmuting
• Bag of Devouring
• Censor of Summoning Hostile Air Elementals
• Luckstone
• Loadstone
• Brazier of Sleep Smoke
• Bowl of Watery Death
• Boots of Dancing
• Flask of Curses
• Jug of Alchemy
• Decanter of Endless Water
• Beaker of Plentiful Potions
• Animated Broom
• Helm of Brilliance
• Rug of Smothering
• Drums of Deafness
• Horn of Collapsing
• Horn of Valhalla (Silver, Bronze and Iron)
• Horn of Bubbles
• Gauntlets of Swimming and Climbing
• Gauntlets of Dexterity
• Gauntlets of Fumbling
• Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity
• Necklace of Missiles
• Necklace of Strangulation
• Cloak of Protection +1 to +3
• Poisonous Cloak
• Mirror of Mental Prowess
• Mirror of Opposition
• Trident of Warning
• Trident of Commanding Water Creatures
• Trident of Submission
• Trident of Yearning
• Eyes of Charming
• Eyes of Petrification
• Gem of Brightness
• Gem of Seeing
• Jewel of Attacks Upon the Owner
• Bracers of Defense AC 6, 4 & 2
• Bracers of Defenselessness
• Rope of Entanglement
• Rope of Climbing
• Rope of Constriction
• Dust of Appearance
• Disappearance Dust
• Dust of Sneezing and Choking
• Talisman of Lawfulness
• Talisman of Chaos Supreme
• Talisman of the Sphere
• Javelins of Lightning
• Arrow of Direction
• Saw of Mighty Cutting
• Mattock of the Titans
• Spade of Colossal Excavation
• Wings of Flying
• Cube of Force
• Portable Hole
• Horseshoes of Speed
• Sphere of Annihilation
• Chime of Opening
• Pipes of the Sewers
• Lyre of Building
• Figurines of Wondrous Power (Ebony Fly, Onyx Dog, Marble Elephant, Golden Lions, Ivory Goats)
• Wizard's Robe
• Robe of Blending
• Robe of Eyes
• Robe of Powerlessness
• Manual of Puissant Skill at Arms
• Manual of Gainful Exercise
• Manual of Bodily Health
• Manual of Stealthy Pilfering
• Manual of Golems
• Manual of Quickness of Action
• Book of Exalted Deeds
• Book of Vile Darkness
• Book of Infinite Spells
• Libram of Silver Magic
• Libram of Gainful Conjurations
• Libram of Ineffable Damnation
• Tome of Understanding
• Tome of Clear Thought
• Tome of Leadership and Influence
• Deck of Many Things

Details and conjecture relevant to the Ultimate Sandbox

• Dwarves are split into two sub-races: Mountain Dwarves and Hill Dwarves.
• Gnomes are related to Dwarves, and sometimes referred to as "burrowers".
• Elves are split into three sub-races: High Elves, Wood Elves and Meadow Elves (also known as Fairies).
• There are Dwarven and Elven clerics that do not venture outside of their homelands.
• Strictly by the book, it can be interpreted that demi-human PCs can all become paladins. In the interests of compatibility with AD&D, I'm going to interpret it so that only humans can become paladins.
• Odin, Crom, Set, Cthulhu, the Shining One, and other unspecified demi-gods are mentioned as beings that might be summoned by a Gate spell. The Shining One might refer to the Greyhawk deity known as Pelor, but it's more likely to be a reference to the entity from A. Merritt's novel The Moon Pool.
• Mars and Talos are also mentioned as a possible monster encounter.
• The Astral Plane is specifically mentioned for the first time, as a place a spellcaster may travel in their astral form.
• Hell is mentioned, both in the Astral Spell description, and the name of the Hell Hound.
• Flubbit the Wizard is mentioned in the spell description for the magic mouth spell. Being a Wizard he (or she I suppose) should be at least 11th level. I'll add the character as an NPC somewhere around Greyhawk city, or in the dungeons.
• Vampires from the "Middle East" are mentioned, as are"Japanese" Ogres and "Sumatran" Giant Rats. The last of those is no doubt a reference to Sherlock Holmes, but all of them point to Oerth having similarities to Earth, and having regions culturally similar to those listed.
• Druids are a type of neutral priest, attuned to nature. Their followers are mostly barbaric fighters.
• Bugbears are said to be "goblin-giants".
• The Platinum Dragon is the King of Lawful Dragons. He lives in a palace behind the east wind, and is served by a host of seven gold dragons. His main goal is to oppose the Dragon Queen.
• The Chromatic Dragon is the Queen of Chaotic Dragons. She lives in a stupendous cavern far beneath the earth, and is accompanied by one of each type of Chaotic dragon. Her main goal is to spread evil.
• Displacer Beasts hate Blink Dogs, and vice versa.
• A bunch of items can allow a PC to become ethereal, and Phase Spiders can do so as well. It's the first hint of the Ethereal Plane, though it's not specifically mentioned.
• Armor with a +4 bonus is said to me made from "mithral", while +5 armor is made from a strange alloy known as "adamantite".
• Valhalla is mentioned, as a place from which berserk warriors can be summoned.
• All of the magical tomes appear to be identical, which indicates that they were all created by the same culture, or that something about the process of creating them makes this inevitable.
• There's a long list of tricks and traps near the back of the book. Given the name of this supplement, I'll try to squeeze them all into Greyhawk Castle.
• The "Living Room" is a specific room in Greyhawk Castle, where "furniture is animated to trip, confine, and smother (rugs and carpets) or move about and hug and kick (stools, chairs, divans) or blinds and throws down (tapestries and wall hangings)".
• The 2nd level of Castle Greyhawk's dungeon had a fountain which issued an endless number of snakes.
• As well as tricks and traps, there are a load of special monsters and monster combinations that should be found in Castle Greyhawk.
• The Great Stone Face, also known as the Enigma of Greyhawk. This is a giant head, similar to the heads on Easter Island, that can be found in the dungeons of Castle Greyhawk.

• The following image shows a weird pumpkin-headed Bugbear, which I attribute to them wearing carved pumpkins as ceremonial battle masks.

Recaps & Roundups part 9: Chainmail 3rd edition

After Guidon Games folded in 1973, TSR were able to acquire the rights to Chainmail. In early 1975 they republished the game, making some minor updates to the rules for its 3rd edition. There's not a lot to discuss, but I'll quickly go over the additions that were made.

• Hobgoblins are added at the end of the Goblin entry, but nothing is said about them except that they are stronger in battle than regular goblins.
• Rangers are mentioned for the first time in a D&D-related product, in a single sentence at the end of the entry for Heroes. They are simply Heroes with a +1 bonus. No other description is given, so one has to assume that the reference here is to Tolkien.
• Seers are added as the lowest level of Wizard, below Sorcerers, Warlocks and Magicians.
• Eight new spells are added: Levitate, Slowness, Haste, Polymorph, Confusion, Hallucinatory Terrain, Cloudkill, and Anti-Magic Shell. All of these are based on spells in the D&D boxed set, and any differences in implementation can be chalked up to specialist battle magic.
• An optional rule is added for spell complexity. Spells are given a complexity between 1 and 6, which corresponds to the spell's level in D&D. Now when a spell is cast, 2d6 must be rolled to determine if the spell will be cast immediately, delayed, or ineffective. The introduction of this rule will be explained by the destructive nature of battle magic; with it being used frequently, reality has become strained and the spells are harder to cast.
• An entry is added for Giant Wolves, which includes Wargs and Dire Wolves. They are said to be able to carry Goblins into combat.
• Zombies are added at the end of the Wight entry.

I'm not sure if that's comprehensive, but it should cover most of the changes to the Fantasy Supplement. I didn't go through the medieval rules, but they're of less relevance to this project. Most of these additions I will introduce to any mass battles at around the same time as I bring in the material from Supplement I: Greyhawk (which is the next post.)

Recaps & Roundups part 8: Early D&D Articles by Gary Gygax

In addition to recapping the various D&D products that I've covered so far, I wanted to use this series to slot in some other products and related articles in their proper chronological place. Well, I was bound to miss something. Early D&D is nothing if not disparate, and Gary Gygax's writings about it were printed in a lot of different sources. I'll try here to cover all of the articles that would have seen publication before Supplement I: Greyhawk.

"Battle for the Brown Hills", from Wargamer's Newsletter (March 1971, just as Chainmail was being first published)

This article is a play report from an early Chainmail scenario that Gary moderated. The forces of Chaos have invaded the Meadowlands of the Great Kingdom, and the forces of Law have rode out from Great Keep to meet them in the field. The battle was won by the forces of Chaos, but not decisively enough for them to take the field; the end result was that both forces retreated to lick their wounds and gather reinforcements, with another battle soon to come. The whole account can be read here.

This article is perhaps one of the most detailed descriptions we have of Gygax's original campaign setting. I'm just going to reproduce the opening here in full:

"East of the Desert of Sorrow stretches the nearly unbroken barrier of forbidding mountains. Furthest south, dipping into the place where the Gnyxyg Sea meets The Ocean, they are called Mountains of Bitter Cold. At the place where the Broken Land joins them they become known as the Home of Dragons, and it is somewhere within their vast area that is hidden the Cave of Shifting Runes. Furthest north they are known as the Giant Mountains, due not to the stature of their peaks - albeit this is undiminished, but rather for the creatures who inhabit the labyrinthine caverns therein. A spur of the chain first turns eastward, then circles north again, to enclose the hidden and unwholesome valley of Lake Iuz. The lesser peaks of the spur are the Dwarfrealm.

On the coast north of the Giant Mountains are the lands called Drearshore, and the peninsula of Lands End. It was from here that Chaos armed its host, swarmed into the Valley of Iuz, and began to harry the Dwarves, causing them to flee southwards into the Brown Hills and bringing news of the massing evil to the men of the Old Kingdom. From the town of Yon to the city of Hither the news travelled, and the paladins at Great Keep were called forth by the Count of Aerll. All of Law was to meet in solemn council at the hamlet of Lea. In a short time the men of the Meadowlands were joined by a band of the warlike elves from the wood near the Cairnstones, as well as a large band of horsemen from beyond the Silent Forest, the eastern border of all the land.

The encampment of the Count was made in the Cloverfields, between Lea and the Brown Hills. It was here that intelligence reached them that the Horde of Chaos had debouched from the pass at the headwaters of the Darkling River, skirted the Marshes of Oozing Slime, and now were only a few days from him. Despite the fact that only three-quarters of his forces had been marshalled, the Count marched at once due west across the narrow waist of hills, and took up strong position to await the enemy."

That is a lot to take in, and as with much of Gygax's writing it's not the most straightforward. Looking ahead somewhat, I can see that it doesn't match up with the published World of Greyhawk maps, although there are some familiar names in there. Dave Megarry, inventor of the boardgame Dungeon!, has made available a map of Gary's original world from circa 1971. It's hard to say if it matches that either, because we don't have a lot of geographical detail to go on.

For the moment, I'm content to say that the above map represents the World of Greyhawk as it was, and that some cataclysm or event will reshape the land into its configuration as seen in official TSR products. As such, it looks like the Battle of the Brown Hills will be one that was fought in the ancient past. The article mentions the forces of Chaos invading the "remains of the Old Kingdom", so it's possible this might be set after the fall of the Great Kingdom.

The forces of Chaos were led by the Warlock Huldor ap Kree, and the Giant King Verdurmir. They were also comprised of Ogres of Iuz, human troops from Lands End and Drearshore, and a number of Orc tribes. The tribes given are the Orcs of the Mountain, Orcs of the Vile Rune, and Orcs of the Longspear. The first was one of the example tribes given in Chainmail,

The forces of Law were led by Count Aerll (a super-hero), and the Magician of the Cairn. In addition there were knights and other men from the Meadowlands, horsemen from the lands to the east, and elves. Both Count Aerll and the Magician of the Cairn were slain in battle, the latter by a randomly passing dragon. The count's magic sword was lost on the field of battle, and it's fate is unrevealed.

A map of the battlefield is below:

"The Giant's Bag", from Great Plains Game Players Newsletter #7 (April 1974, a few months after D&D is first published)

This article relates a wilderness adventure that was being DMed by Rob Kuntz, with Ernie and Gary Gygax as players. In this adventure, the sorcerer Nestre (played by Ernie, I assume, given the anagrammatical name) and some fighter henchmen were following a map to some treasure hidden in the wilderness southeast of the walled city of Greyhawk. They encountered a giant, who accompanied them through the greenwood and along a turgid river, to a bank infested with giant crabs. The giant helped them smash the crabs, and retrieve a treasure chest from the river bed.

Following that there are some hi-jinks where the giant inadvertently tricks the players into diving into the river to retrieve some "round things" (actually worthless rocks), and claims most of the treasure himself. The greedy Nestre tries to get a look inside the giant's bag, and in doing so loses a crystal ball and two valuable gems, only to find that the bag is full of worthless junk.

It's a mildly amusing tale, with perhaps a few anachronisms too many for my taste. It's greatest value is the insight that it gives into the tone of the original Greyhawk campaign. I'll keep this giant around as an NPC perhaps, and have Nestre as one of the previous generation of adventurers in and around Greyhawk, with these events as just one of the tales about him.

Addendum: I see that Gary asked Jeff Talanian to include a Hill Giant of similar temperament to this in Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works. I might make it the same giant.

"Swords & Sorcery in Wargaming" from Wargamer's Digest #7 (May 1974, a few months after D&D is first published)

This article begins (which can be read here) with a very brief over-view of fantasy wargaming, before launching into an account of a D&D session played by Gygax (and presumably run by Rob Kuntz). It follows Mordenkainen (said to be a 13th level wizard) and his one-time apprentice Bigby (11th level), as they explore the 4th level of a dungeon. In a previous adventure they had descended some dozen levels, and found a key and some lines of verse; after some research and divination, they were now searching level 4 for the door that the key would unlock.

Somewhere north and east of the entrance to the level, past a portcullis that crashed behind them, they found a room with four chests and a disembodied voice telling them to "choose from the four chests before you". One chest held a hydra (which they polymorphed into a slug), and the other granted them a wish of limited power. They used the wish to get directions to the door, which was past some iron portals to the east, and then north to the gates to the Great Hall.

There they found three granite thrones, upon which were seated three iron statues. One held a dagger, and one held a broadsword, but the central one was an iron golem wielding a poisonous sword and a whip of cockatrice feathers, and possessed of a fiery breath. It defeated an efreeti that the wizards summoned, and turned Mordenkainen to stone with its whip, forcing Bigby to retreat to Mordenkainen's stronghold.

Bigby quickly returned with Lords Yrag and Felnorith, as well as the Bishop Raunalf. After restoring Mordenkainen to flesh, they looted the weapons from the two statues and used them to destroy the golem. Unfortunately, Bigby was now turned to stone, and Yrag was killed by its poisoned sword, but the others were able to loot the statues, which were hollow and full of gems, and also to find a tiny coral miniature of the surrounding dungeon. Presumably the two felled characters were later restored.

This golem was mentioned in D&D Vol. 3: The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, and the adventure recounted above was from Kuntz's El Raja Key dungeon. It appears in altered form in dungeon WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, in what is now Castle Maure. In order to make both adventures viable, I might have it that Castle Maure is one of those dungeon that periodically changes its layout, much like Castle Greyhawk.

*

That brings me up to date with roughly March of 1975, which sees the approximate publication dates of Supplement I: Greyhawk and Chainmail 3rd edition. I have a number of other early D&D articles by Gygax, and I'll intersperse them with the regular posts in the series

Recaps & Roundups part 7: The Strategic Review #1

In early 1975, TSR launched its first magazine, The Strategic Review. It was intended not only to support Dungeons & Dragons and TSR's other game lines, but also to cover the wargaming hobby in general. The first issue is only six pages in length, so it shouldn't take too long to cover. I'll tackle it article by article, ignoring those that have no relevance to D&D.

TSR News: It's noted that TSR has just acquired the rights to Don't Give Up the Ship, Tractics and (most importantly to this blog) Chainmail. A third edition of Chainmail is said to be arriving soon.

Supplements for D&D are also said to be a high priority, and the first will be arriving some time before GenCon (held in August). Supplement I: Greyhawk is believed to have been first printed in March, so they made the date handily.

Creature Feature: The Mind Flayer makes its first appearance.

Castle & Crusade by Gary Gygax: Gary defends to ineffectiveness of the spear in Chainmail with some historical context. He also promises a more detailed breakdown of polearms.

Solo Dungeon Adventures by Gary Gygax (with special thanks to George Lord): This is a series of random tables for creating solo dungeon adventures. I may use this in the Ultimate Sandbox as a dungeon that is always random, or perhaps a cursed demi-plane that is one huge, ever-shifting labyrinth.

Recaps & Roundups part 6: D&D Correction Sheet

The second printing of the original Dungeons & Dragons set - released in January of 1975 - included a sheet with some corrections to the rules. It was also present in the third printing, released in April 1975. Mostly it clears up some typos, but it also makes some rules changes and clarifications that I thought I'd note.

• In the first printing, the sleep spell affected 1d6 creatures of 4 Hit Dice. It's changed here so that it now only affects a single 4 HD creature.
• The Hit Dice for skeletons and zombies were unclear in the first printing. They were shown as having HD 1/2, which could have meant two things: either both creatures had half a Hit Die, or skeletons had 1 and zombies had 2. It's changed here so that skeletons get half a Hit Die and zombies get 1.
• Balrogs in the first printing did just 2d6 damage with their flaming bodies. It's corrected here so that they can now do 3d6 or 4d6 depending on size.
• It wasn't mentioned in the first printing that gargoyles can only be damaged by magic weapons, but that rule is added here.
• Similarly, a rule is added here so that lycanthropes can only be damaged by silver or magic weapons.
• Elementals are changed here so that only magic weapons can damage them as well.
• In the first printing, all spell scrolls are for magic-users. This sheet changes the rule so that a quarter of scrolls will feature clerical spells.
• In the first edition, the potion of heroism was quite literal, in that it transformed a normal man into a Hero (a 4th level fighter). This sheet adds some lines so that the potion is useful for characters of levels 5+.
• This sheet clarifies that a spell written on a scroll can only be used once before it disappears, something that wasn't mentioned in the first printing.

I usually try to rationalise these kinds of rule changes for this project, but in this case I'm going to treat them as exactly what they are: errata. These are all things that should have been in the rules in the first place, so I feel no need to explain them.

Recaps & Roundups part 5: D&D Vol. III - The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures

Another entry in my recaps of the D&D products I've covered thus far. For this post it's the third booklet of the original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. In the most basic terms, this book is the equivalent of what would eventually become the Dungeon Master's Guide.

New Rules Introduced

• Random determination of dungeon room contents (monsters, traps, treasure)
• Movement in the underworld
• Detection of secret passages
• Forcing doors
• Listening at doors
• Surprise
• Wandering monsters
• Avoiding monsters in the underworld
• Monster reactions
• Random determination of castle inhabitants
• Wilderness movement
• Encounters and pursuit in the wilderness
• Getting lost in the wilderness
• Wilderness wandering monsters
• Construction of castles and strongholds
• Hiring of specialists and men-at-arms
• PC upkeep and support
• Baronies
• Aerial combat
• Naval combat
• Swimming
• Healing

Monsters that get stats for the first time

• Dragon Turtles
• Giant Leeches
• Crocodiles and Giant Crocodiles
• Giant Snakes (aquatic variety)
• Giant Octopi
• Giant Squids
• Giant Crabs
• Giant Fish

Monsters mentioned that didn't get stats in Vol. II or III

• Giant rats
• Giant Centipedes
• Giant Spiders
• Giant Lizards
• Giant Toads
• Giant Hogs
• Giant Ants
• Giant Weasels
• Giant Beetles
• Giant Scorpions
• White Apes (from Barsoom)
• Pterodactyls
• Cyborgs
• Robots
• Androids
• Shadows
• Dopplegangers
• Red Martians (from Barsoom)
• Tharks (from Barsoom)
• Black Martians (from Barsoom)
• Yellow Martians (from Barsoom)
• White Martians (from Barsoom)
• Lions
• Bears
• Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Triceratops
• Brontosaurus
• Stegosaurus
• Apts (from Barsoom)
• Banths (from Barsoom)
• Thoats (from Barsoom)
• Calots (from Barsoom)
• Orluks (from Barsoom)
• Sith (from Barsoom)
• Darseen (from Barsoom)
• Cave Bears
• Dire Wolves
• Sabretooth Tigers
• Mastodons
• Spotted Lions
• Wooly Rhinos
• Titanotheres

NPC Specialists introduced

• Alchemists
• Armorers
• Assassins
• Animal Trainers
• Engineers
• Sages
• Seamen
• Ship Captains
• Smiths
• Spies

Details and conjecture relevant to the Ultimate Sandbox

• The book begins with a sample cross-section of a dungeon, as shown below. I plan on placing this dungeon somewhere not far from the City of Greyhawk.

• Later on a sample level is included. It's more of a way to demonstrate various tricks and traps than a genuine level, but I'm going to include it as part of one of the dungeon above. The level in question needs a chute and a slanting passage, which doesn't match anything in the sample, so it'll have to be one of the levels below 6th (the cavern). The map for this area is below:

• There's a sample of play that features some adventurers (including an elf and a magic-user who can cast hold portal) exploring a dungeon and fighting some gnolls. I've mapped out the dungeon described as shown below. These adventurers will be dead bodies deeper into the dungeon, and found with them will be their gnoll treasure: 2,000 copper pieces, an onyx case worth 1,000 gp, a jeweled necklace worth 5,000 gp, and a pair of elven boots.

• It's noted that Greyhawk Castle has "over a dozen levels in succession downwards, and more than that branching from these, and not less than two new levels under construction at any given time. These levels contain such things as a museum from another age, an underground lake, a series of caverns filled with giant fungi, a bowling alley for 20' high giants, an arena of evil, crypts, and so on".
• There are some rules that I plan to apply only as special circumstances for "megadungeons": doors are usually stuck for PCs, but will always open for monsters; the dungeon layout may change between visits; monsters all have infravision, but will not benefit from it if serving a PC. Mythic megadungeons such as Blackmoor or Castle Greyhawk are actively hostile towards the PCs.
• Blackmoor is described as "a village of small size (a one-horse town)".
• The City of Greyhawk (written as "Grayhawk" here, but we all know better) is a large city. It's said to have bazaars, inns, taverns, shops, temples, and a risky Thieves' Quarter.
• The board from Outdoor Survival was used in the original Greyhawk campaign for wilderness exploration.  I'll be using it in the Ultimate Sandbox as a nearby wilderness area. Here it is below:

• There must be a lot of unclaimed wilderness around Greyhawk, as PCs are free to clear areas out and build their own strongholds. The region is also dotted with small castles ruled by fickle NPCs. The Outdoor Survival map is about 215 miles (43 hexes) x 210 miles (42 hexes), and it contains (I think) 18 different castles. Anyone in charge of a castle is considered to have their own barony, and can start collecting taxes, but they also seem to be pretty autonomous. I guess that there is a ruling authority around Greyhawk that governs these things and hands out baronies, but that they're fairly hands off unless someone starts causing them too much trouble.
• Based on the wilderness wandering monster tables, there must be somewhere in the campaign setting a "lost world" swamp or jungle that's full of dinosaurs, and a mountain range inhabited by prehistoric mammals.
• There are many references to Barsoom, the setting of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter novels, so there should be some way of getting there in the campaign.
• Sages won't work for clerics or magic-users, which I'm going to chalk up to some sort of guild rivalry or professional jealousy.
• Vikings are mentioned. I won't have actual Vikings in the campaign, but there should be some sort of equivalent.
• Apparently orcs are readily available to be hired as men-at-arms by chaotic character.
• It's noted that ships might sail off the edge of the world. Is the World of Greyhawk flat? I'm not altogether opposed to the idea.

Recaps & Roundups part 4: D&D Vol. II - Monsters & Treasure

This post continues my quick round-up of what's in every Dungeons & Dragons product I've covered so far, and my ideas for incorporating it all into a single campaign.  Today I'm covering the second booklet of the original D&D boxed set, Monsters & Treasure.

This book lists all of the monsters and magic items in the original game. Obviously, everything listed here is appearing in D&D for the first time. I'll make a note of the things that were already included in Chainmail.

Monsters That Get Stats For the First Time

• Man, Bandit
• Man, Berserker
• Man, Brigand
• Man, Dervish
• Man, Nomad
• Man, Buccaneer
• Man, Pirate
• Man, Caveman
• Man, Merman
• Goblin (in Chainmail)
• Kobold (in Chainmail)
• Orc (in Chainmail)
• Hobgoblin
• Gnoll
• Ogre (in Chainmail)
• Troll (in Chainmail)
• Hill Giant
• Stone Giant (There is a giant in Chainmail, and it fits the Stone Giant better than the others)
• Frost Giant
• Fire Giant
• Cloud Giant
• Skeleton
• Zombie
• Ghoul (in Chainmail)
• Wight (in Chainmail)
• Wraith (in Chainmail)
• Mummy
• Spectre
• Vampire
• Cockatrice (in Chainmail)
• Basilisk (in Chainmail)
• Medusa
• Gorgon
• Manticora
• Hydra
• Chimera (in Chainmail as a general category rather than a specific monster)
• Wyvern (in Chainmail)
• White Dragon (in Chainmail)
• Black Dragon (in Chainmail)
• Green Dragon (in Chainmail)
• Blue Dragon (in Chainmail)
• Red Dragon (in Chainmail)
• Golden Dragon
• Balrog (in Chainmail)
• Gargoyle
• Lycanthrope, Werewolf (in Chainmail)
• Lycanthrope, Wereboar
• Lycanthrope, Weretiger
• Lycanthrope, Werebear (in Chainmail)
• Purple Worm (in Chainmail)
• Sea Monster (doesn't really get stats, but does get its own description)
• Minotaur
• Centaur
• Unicorn
• Nixie
• Pixie (in Chainmail)
• Dryad
• Gnome (in Chainmail)
• Dwarf (in Chainmail)
• Elf (in Chainmail)
• Ent (in Chainmail)
• Pegasus
• Hippogriff (in Chainmail)
• Roc (in Chainmail)
• Griffon (in Chainmail)
• Invisible Stalker
• Air Elemental (in Chainmail)
• Earth Elemental (in Chainmail)
• Fire Elemental (in Chainmail)
• Water Elemental (in Chainmail)
• Djinn (in Chainmail)
• Efreet (in Chainmail)
• Ochre Jelly
• Black (or Grey) Pudding
• Green Slime
• Grey Ooze
• Yellow Mold
• Light Horse
• Medium Horse
• Heavy Horse
• Draft Horse
• Mule
• Insects or Small Animals (a general category)
• Large Insects or Animals (another general category)

Monsters That Get Mentioned But Don't Get Stats

• Wolf
• Centipede
• Snake
• Spider
• Giant Ant
• Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Apt (from Barsoom, setting of the John Carter novels)
• Banth (from Barsoom)
• Thoat (from Barsoom)
• Titan
• Cyclops
• Juggernaut
• Living Statue
• Salamander
• Gelatinous Cube
• Robot
• Golem
• Android
• Dragon Turtle (shown in an illustration)

Magic Swords

Magic swords were in Chainmail, with bonuses ranging from +1 to +3.

• Swords +1 to +3
• Sword +1, +2 vs. Lycanthropes
• Sword +1, +2 vs. Magic-Users and Enchanted Monsters
• Sword +1, Locating Objects Ability
• Sword +1, +3 vs. Trolls
• Sword +1, +3 vs. Clerics
• Sword, Flaming
• Sword +1, Wishes Included
• Sword +1, +3 vs. Dragons
• Sword +2, Charm Person Ability
• Sword, One Life Energy Draining Ability (catchy name)
• Cursed Sword -2

Magic Armor

• Shields +1 to +3
• Armor +1 to +3 (+1 armor was in Chainmail)

Miscellaneous Magic Weapons

• Magic Arrows (in Chainmail)
• Dagger +1 vs. Man-Sized Opponents, +2 vs. Goblins and Kobolds
• Dagger +2 vs. Man-Sized Opponents, +3 vs. Orcs, Goblins and Kobolds
• Magic Bow
• Axe +1
• Mace +2
• War Hammer +1 to +3 (+3 will return if thrown)
• Spear +1 to +3

Potions

• Growth
• Dimenuation (eventually becomes Diminution)
• Giant Strength
• Invisibility
• Gaseous Form
• Polymorph Self
• Speed
• Levitation
• Flying
• ESP
• Delusion
• Healing
• Longevity
• Clairvoyance
• Clairaudience
• Animal Control
• Undead Control
• Plant Control
• Human Control
• Giant Control
• Dragon Control
• Poison
• Invulnerability
• Fire Resistance
• Treasure Finding
• Heroism

Scrolls

• Scrolls with 1-3 spells, or with 7
• Cursed Scroll
• Protection from Lycanthropes
• Protection from Undead
• Protection from Elementals
• Protection from Magic

Rings

• Invisibility
• Mammal Control
• Human Control
• Weakness
• Protection
• Three Wishes
• Delusion
• Water Walking
• Fire Resistance
• Protection, 5' radius
• Regeneration
• Djinn Summoning
• Telekinesis
• X-Ray Vision
• Spell Turning
• Spell Storing
• Many Wishes (4-24)

Wands

• Metal Detection
• Enemy Detection
• Magic Detection
• Secret Door and Trap Detection
• Illusion
• Fear
• Cold
• Paralyzation
• Fire Balls
• Lightning Bolts
• Polymorph
• Negation

Staves

• Healing
• Commanding
• Snake Staff
• Striking
• Withering
• Power
• Wizardry

Miscellaneous Magic

• Crystal Ball
• Crystal Ball with Clairaudience
• Crystal Ball with ESP
• Amulet vs. Crystal Balls and ESP
• Scarab of Protection from Evil High Priests
• Bag of Holding
• Censor of Controlling Air Elementals
• Stone of Controlling Earth Elementals
• Brazier of Commanding Fire Elementals
• Bowl of Commanding Water Elementals
• Efreet Bottle
• Displacer Cloak
• Elven Cloak and Boots
• Boots of Speed
• Boots of Levitation
• Boots of Traveling and Leaping
• Broom of Flying
• Helm of Reading Magic and Languages
• Helm of Telepathy
• Helm of Teleportation
• Helm of Chaos (or Helm of Law)
• Flying Carpet
• Drums of Panic
• Horn of Blasting
• Gauntlets of Ogre Power
• Girdle of Giant Strength
• Mirror of Life Trapping

Artifacts

• Teleportation Machine
• Fighter's Crown, Orb and Sceptre
• Magic-User's Crown, Orb and Sceptre
• Cleric's Crown, Orb and Sceptre
• Stone Crystalization Projector

Rules Introduced

• Saving throws for the destruction of magic items

Details and conjecture relevant to the Ultimate Sandbox

• The rules state that all men and monsters in the dungeon can see in the dark, except for the PCs. This makes little sense as a general rule, so I'm narrowing it down to mythic "megadungeons" such as Castles Greyhawk and Blackmoor. It's possible those dungeons have sentience or magic working against the PCs.
• If the monster lineup is anything to go by, there are a lot of lawless bands roaming around the default D&D campaign setting: bandits, brigands, pirates, etc.
• Berserkers roam around in bands up to 300 strong, and so are probably a people or a culture rather than a "character class".
• Dervishes are nomadic residents of the desert or steppes, and a are fanatical religious zealots.
• Nomads are raiders that also hail from the desert or the steppes.
• The presence of cavemen implies that evolution has worked similarly in the D&D world to the way it did in our world (although there are other possible explanations, of course).
• Goblins hate dwarves, as noted in Chainmail.
• Orcs are split into tribes that all hate each other, although no specific tribes are given. I'll be using those from Chainmail.
• Goblins, kobolds, hobgoblins, and gnolls when in their lairs are ruled over by a "king". Pretty much every leader of a goblinoid tribe, no matter how minor, considers itself a king.
• Gnolls are said to be a hybrid of gnomes and trolls. This is a strange fit with the hyena-headed gnolls of later editions.
• Ghouls are subject to damage from normal missiles, whereas they were immune in Chainmail. Perhaps those in Chainmail are deliberately created by dark magic, rather than whatever creates the ghouls that roam dungeons, and are thus a little stronger.
• The existence of mummies as a widespread monster implies the existence of an ancient, widespread civilisation that practiced embalming.
• Crosses affect Vampires, and are thus a powerful symbol of Law. They might even represent a specific god.
• The Nazgul are now said to be spectres, whereas in Chainmail they were said to be wraiths.
• The chimera is now a specific monster, rather than a category including a whole range of monsters as it was in Chainmail. In the game world I'll say that scholars used the term as a category, but the name eventually stuck to the specific monster until the former meaning fell out of use.
• Dragon's age really quickly in this version of D&D compared to later editions. This suggests that dragons have waned in recent years. But perhaps the greater dragons still slumber, and will eventually reawaken...
• It's specifically said that purple worms lurk everywhere, just beneath the surface. It's a sobering thought.
• Lycanthropy can be passed on via being clawed or bitten, but lycanthropes also travel around in family packs with two adults and a number of children. I figure the "disease" is also passed on to offspring, which has resulted in these lycanthropes becoming distinct species.
• Elves are said to have the ability to move silently, and are also "nearly invisible in their grey-green cloaks". This suggests to me that pretty much all elves are equipped with elven boots and cloaks. I'm fine with this, though I'm reluctant to let PC elves begin with them at 1st level - I figure that these cloaks and boots are for those elves operating out of the elven homeland, and that wandering adventurer types generally don't get issued them. Could they possibly be part of a military uniform?
• Elves are split into two types, those that live in the woods and those that live in remote meadows. There are also the "fairies" of Chainmail, which were lumped into the elf category.
• Elves get a bonus when using magic weapons, which to me suggests that the making of magic weapons was originally an elvish craft.
• Hippogriffs hate pegasi.
• The City of Brass is the fabled home of the efreet.
• Barsoom is referenced, the setting of the John Carter novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The original Greyhawk campaign featured adventures in this setting, so I should make it somehow accessible.
• Mention is made of a living statue that was made of iron, impervious to all weapons save two special ones he guarded, had a fiery breath, a poison sword, and a whip of cockatrice feathers that turned victims to stone. This is a reference to the iron golem of Castle Maure, which I believe is a part of the module Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure.
• The majority of the human-types encountered will have slaves, so there should be a roaring slave trade going.
• All magic swords are intelligent. Eventually this will become a rarity, which needs an explanation. I'm going with the idea that these swords were forged in antiquity, and are losing their sentience and power over time.
• The artifacts named are given no abilities, and no background. I'll have to keep an eye out to see if they pop up again, otherwise I'll need to make some things up.
• Electrum is said to be optionally either half or double the value of gold. I'll go with it being a rarer coin, with there being some dispute as to its actual value.

Recaps & Roundups part 3: D&D Vol. I - Men & Magic

Chainmail may not have set the world alight (although it did perform respectably for Guidon Games), but it did well enough to reach Minneapolis, and the hands of a gamer named Dave Arneson.  Arneson was inspired by Chainmail's Fantasy Supplement to create a game where players would each control a single adventurer, braving the dangers of an underground labyrinth beneath Castle Blackmoor.  (Actually, it's not clear whether the supplement inspired Arneson's game, or if he was playing the game already and just adapted some rules; I'm pretty sure I've seen both accounts.)

In the fall of 1972, Arneson showed his Blackmoor game to Gary Gygax, who was enamored with it and asked to see Arneson's notes.  He was soon running his own version, set in the ruins of Castle Greyhawk.  The two collaborated on the game, with Gygax writing the final version of the rules and manuscript.  The name Dungeons & Dragons was coined, apparently chosen from a number of alternatives by Gygax's two-year-old daughter Cindy.

Gygax and Arneson were unable to find a publisher for D&D, so in October 1973 Gygax decided to form a company with friend Don Kaye, which they called Tactical Studies Rules.  Brian Blume, a fellow gamer whose father was willing to finance the company, was brought in as an equal partner in December.  In January 1974, the first Dungeons & Dragons boxed sets were published.

The original set was contained in a woodgrain box, with the cover art pasted on the front.  The rules were contained in three booklets: Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure and The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures.  It also included a booklet of reference sheets, and the 2nd and 3rd prints (available in January and April 1975, respectively) had a corrections sheet.

Today I'll be covering D&D Vol I: Men & Magic, which mostly covers everything relevant to player characters.

New Character Types

• Fighting-Men, or Fighters (previously included in Chainmail as Heroes, Super-heroes and Anti-heroes).
• Magic-Users (previously included in Chainmail as Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks and Magicians).
• Clerics and Anti-Clerics
• Dwarves (included in Chainmail)
• Elves (included in Chainmail)
• Hobbits (included in Chainmail)

Monsters Mentioned

Those previously included in the Chainmail 1st or 2nd edition rules marked with an asterisk

• Man*
• Hobbit*
• Ent*
• Unicorn
• Pegasus
• Hippogriff*
• Elf*
• Lycanthrope*
• Roc*
• Dwarf*
• Gnome*
• Centaur
• Nixie
• Pixie*
• Dryad
• Orc*
• Ogre*
• Dragon*
• Wyvern*
• Hydra
• Purple Worm* (called purple or mottled dragon in Chainmail)
• Sea Monster
• Chimera* (not a specific monster in Chainmail, but a category)
• Minotaur
• Giant*
• Balrog*
• Goblin*
• Kobold*
• Hobgoblin
• Gnoll
• Troll*
• Wight*
• Wraith*
• Mummy
• Spectre
• Vampire
• Medusa
• Manticore
• Gargoyle
• Gorgon
• Witch
• Mule
• Draft Horse
• Light Horse*
• Medium Warhorse*
• Heavy Warhorse*
• Invisible Stalker
• Air Elemental*
• Earth Elemental*
• Fire Elemental*
• Water Elemental*

Weapons and Armor Introduced

All of these can be assumed to have shown up in Chainmail, but here they're appearing in D&D proper for the first time.  These are the arms and armor most commonly available in and around the City of Greyhawk.

• Dagger
• Hand Axe
• Mace
• Sword
• Battle Axe
• Morning Star
• Flail
• Spear
• Pole Arm
• Halberd
• Two-Handed Sword
• Lance
• Pike
• Short Bow
• Long Bow
• Composite Bow
• Light Crossbow
• Heavy Crossbow
• Arrows
• Quarrels
• Silver Arrow
• Leather Armor
• Chain-type Mail
• Plate Mail
• Helmet
• Shield
• Barding

Other Equipment Introduced

• Saddle
• Saddle Bags
• Cart
• Wagon
• Raft
• Small Boat
• Small Merchant Ship
• Large Merchant Ship
• Small Galley
• Large Galley
• Rope
• 10' Pole
• Iron Spikes
• Small Sack
• Large Sack
• Backpack
• Waterskin/wineskin
• Torch
• Lantern
• Flask of Oil
• Mallet and Stakes
• Steel Mirror
• Silver Mirror
• Wooden Cross
• Silver Cross
• Holy Water
• Wolvesbane
• Belladonna
• Garlic
• Wine
• Iron Rations
• Standard Rations

Rules Introduced

• Race and class
• Alignment (Law, Neutrality and Chaos)
• Forms of multi-classing and dual-classing are present
• Ability scores (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity, Charisma), ranging from 3 to 18.
• Languages
• NPCs, and the influencing and hiring thereof
• The ability to bequeath wealth and items to a relative
• Buying equipment
• Encumbrance
• Experience points, and levels
• Hit Dice and hit points
• Armor Class
• The attack roll (using 1d20 and a chart)
• Saving Throws
• Magic and spellcasting for magic-users and clerics
• Turning Undead

Spells Introduced

Magic-User level 1

• Detect Magic (included in Chainmail as part of the Detection spell)
• Hold Portal
• Read Magic
• Read Languages
• Protection from Evil (included in Chainmail 2nd edition)
• Light (included in Chainmail as Wizard Light)
• Charm Person
• Sleep

Magic-User level 2

• Detect Invisible (included in Chainmail as part of the Detection spell)
• Levitate
• Phantasmal Forces (included in Chainmail)
• Locate Object
• Invisibility (included in Chainmail as an innate Wizard ability)
• Wizard Lock
• Detect Evil
• ESP
• Continual Light
• Knock

Magic-User level 3

• Fly
• Hold Person
• Dispell Magic (possibly used in Chainmail as the Wizard's counter-spell ability)
• Clairvoyance
• Clairaudience
• Fire Ball (included in Chainmail)
• Lightning Bolt (included in Chainmail)
• Protection from Evil, 10' Radius
• Invisibility, 10' Radius (possibly represented in Chainmail as the Concealment spell)
• Infravision (included in Chainmail as an innate Wizard ability)
• Slow Spell
• Haste Spell
• Protection from Normal Missiles (included in Chainmail as an innate Wizard ability)
• Water Breathing

Magic-User level 4

• Polymorph Self
• Polymorph Others
• Remove Curse
• Wall of Fire
• Wall of Ice
• Confusion
• Charm Monster
• Growth of Plants
• Dimension Door
• Wizard Eye
• Massmorph
• Hallucinatory Terrain

Magic-User level 5

• Teleport
• Hold Monster
• Conjure Elemental (included in Chainmail)
• Telekenesis
• Transmute Rock to Mud
• Wall of Stone
• Wall of Iron
• Animate Dead
• Magic Jar
• Contact Higher Plane
• Pass-Wall
• Cloudkill
• Feeblemind
• Growth of Animals

Magic-User level 6

• Stone to Flesh
• Reincarnation
• Invisible Stalker
• Lower Water
• Part Water
• Projected Image
• Anti-Magic Shell
• Death Spell
• Geas
• Disintegrate
• Move Earth (included in Chainmail 2nd edition as Moving Terrain)
• Control Weather

Cleric level 1

• Cure Light Wounds/Cause Light Wounds
• Purify Food & Water/Putrefy Food & Water
• Detect Magic
• Detect Evil/Detect Good
• Protection from Evil/Protection from Good
• Light/Darkness

Cleric level 2

• Find Traps
• Hold Person
• Bless/Curse
• Speak with Animals

Cleric level 3

• Remove Curse
• Cure Disease/Cause Disease
• Locate Object
• Continual Light/Continual Darkness

Cleric level 4

• Neutralize Poison
• Cure Serious Wounds/Cause Serious Wounds
• Protection from Evil, 10' Radius/Protection from Good, 10' Radius
• Turn Sticks to Snakes
• Speak with Plants
• Create Water

Cleric level 5

• Dispell Evil/Dispell Good
• Raise Dead/Finger of Death
• Commune
• Quest
• Insect Plague
• Create Food

Cleric spells after the / are for Chaotic clerics only, but aren't specifically named in this product, except for the Finger of Death.

Details and conjecture relevant to the Ultimate Sandbox

• The Great Kingdom is mentioned, as follows: 'From the map of the "land" of the "Great Kingdom" and environs - the territory of the C&C Society - Dave (Arneson) located a nice bog wherein to nest the weird enclave of "Blackmoor", a spot between the "Great Kingdom" and the fearsome "Egg of Coot".'
• The following are mentioned as inspirations: Burroughs' Martian adventures, Howard's Conan saga, the de Camp and Pratt fantasies, and Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
• An archetypal D&D dungeon is described in the introduction as follows: 'the dungeons beneath the "huge ruined pile, a vast castle built by generations of mad wizards and insane geniuses"'.  This could more or less describe Castle Greyhawk.
• The possibility for PCs to claim land, build castles and become barons would indicate that there's a decent amount of unclaimed wilderness in the areas surrounding the campaign area (which will probably be the City of Greyhawk).
• High-level clerics are dedicated to either Law or Chaos, indicating that this allegiance is at this point more important and common than the worship of singular deities, at least as far as clerics are concerned.
• Demi-human level limits could indicate that demi-humans simply lack human potential, or that in the areas ruled over by humans there's a prejudice against them that stops higher-level NPCs from training them above a certain level.
• Xylarthen the magic-user is given as a sample character, and will be present as an adventurer in Greyhawk when my campaign begins.
• There is a "common" tongue spoken by most humans in the campaign world.  Each race has its own language, and about 20% can speak common as well.
• Each of the alignments has its own special language, probably handed down from the gods or another powerful force at the dawn of time.
• Based on languages known, dwarves would be friendly with gnomes and antagonistic towards goblins and kobolds.
• Elves speak the orc, hobgoblin and gnoll languages, and so have probably been at war with those races.
• Along humans, the places that dwarves and elves hail from are called 'Dwarf-land' and 'Elf-land'.
• Every character class has a different title for each level; these titles are accepted ranks and marks of skill, and their use is widespread.
• The spell Contact Higher Plane allows a magic-user to seek advice and knowledge from creatures inhabiting a higher plane of existence.  These planes are numbered 3rd through 12th, and contacting them brings a chance of being driven insane.  (I've pegged this as the Abyss, as it's the only one of the Outer Planes with enough levels, but it's not clear.  Even AD&D doesn't codify which planes are being contacted.)
• The spell Invisible Stalker mentions that the creature is 'extra-dimensional', but doesn't specify what the dimension is like.
• The Raise Dead spell specifically only works on men, elves and dwarves.  This creates two contradictions with later editions: it doesn't work on hobbits, but it does work on elves, and both of these are the opposite in AD&D.  My rationale for hobbits is that their souls go to a realm that is currently beyond arcane knowledge, and that by AD&D that's changed. With elves it's harder.  I'm tying it to the Tolkienian idea of elves as a race on the wane, and as they grow weaker in life, they are drawn more strongly to the realm they reside in after death.
• Using the Commune spell, clerics can ask for help from some unspecified 'powers above'.
• Based on the illustrations, somewhere in the world there are amazons who go into battle wearing very little.

• Also based on the illustrations, elves can grow beards.  This fits with Tolkien, or at least his description of Cirdan the Shipwright, the most ancient elf to appear in The Lord of the Rings.

Recaps & Roundups part 2: Chainmail 2nd edition

Cover still by Don Lowry

The first edition of Chainmail was Guidon Games' biggest hit, selling about 100 copies a month.  In July 1972, about a year-and-a-half after its publication, a 2nd edition saw print.  It was revised and expanded, with a number of additions to the rules.  (Most of these new rules first saw print in the January 1972 issue of International Wargamer, but I don't have a copy.)

From this point forward I'm working with PDFs or physical copies of the material, so any information given should be accurate.

New Character Types

• Wizards now incorporate three weaker sub-classes: Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Magicians (given here in order from strongest to weakest).  These match fairly well with the magic-user levels in D&D.  (The term "magic-user" is specifically used.)  The number of spells a caster can use per game is based on these levels, as is the range of those spells.  The former of these rules fits well with D&D, but the second doesn't and will have to be chalked up to battle magic being a little different (my catch-all explanation for all magical discrepancies between Chainmail and D&D).

New Spells

• Moving Terrain
• Protection from Evil

That's it for today. Just a short post, as there really wasn't much added to 2nd edition Chainmail as far as I'm aware. Next week's post, covering Men & Magic will be much longer.

Recaps & Roundups part 1: Chainmail 1st edition

Well, it's been a while.  I haven't posted since June of last year, in fact, mostly due to a commute that ate up about 30% of my day and 100% of my mental energy.  Now that's changed, and I have no commute, and my mental energy is... eeeeehhhhh let's just say it's middling.  I have enough to do some blogging every now and then so here I am.

I'm not going to jump right back into the Ultimate Sandbox though.  I figured that, with such a lengthy break, it would be a good time to quickly recap what I've covered so far, hit up some semi-official products that I've missed, and consolidate the various campaign details as they would stand as of the release of the Players Handbook (the last product I covered).  And so, onward, with a look at the 1st edition of Chainmail.

Cover by Don Lowry

Chainmail is not the first D&D product, but it's such an important foundational work that it needs to be covered.  It began as four pages of medieval wargame rules by Jeff Perren, a member of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (LGTSA).  He introduced the rules to fellow member Gary Gygax, who modified the rules for publication in the fanzine Panzerfaust (vol. 5 no. 1).  Gygax further modified and expanded the rules for publication in the newsletter of his own Castle & Crusade Society, Domesday Book (no. 5).  These rules also saw near-simultaneous publication in Spartan International Monthly.  There's an argument to be made that these three publications might be the true foundational beginning of D&D, and a better place for me to start this recap, but A) I'll probably never be able to get my hands on any of them, and B) none of them contain the all-important Fantasy Supplement.

All of this brought Gygax to the attention of Guidon Games, and they hired him to develop a medieval miniatures wargame for publication in March 1971.  During the process of rewriting the rules as Chainmail, Gygax added the Fantasy Supplement as an addendum, and Dungeons & Dragons was partway conceived.

At this point I'm going to run through the various fantasy elements that Chainmail introduces that were brought forward into D&D.  It should be noted here that I don't have any access to a copy of the 1st edition; I'm working purely on knowledge gleaned through research, so if anything here is incorrect or misleading, please let me know.

New Monsters and Races

• Hobbits (although it's noted that they have little place in a wargame)
• Sprites
• Pixies (identical to sprites)
• Dwarves
• Gnomes (equated with dwarves, although they have a special hatred for kobolds rather than goblins)
• Goblins
• Kobolds (equated with goblins, but with a hatred for gnomes rather than dwarves)
• Elves
• Fairies (equated with elves)
• Orcs
• Wraiths (Nazgul are included as a specific example)
• Werebears
• Werewolves
• Trolls
• Ogres
• Balrogs
• Giants
• Ents
• Dragons (red dragons are covered in detail, while white, black, blue and green are all mentioned as possibilities)
• Purple Worms (mentioned in passing as purple or mottled dragons, but the description fits the purple worm exactly)
• Rocs (said to be equal to the eagles of Tolkien)
• Wyverns (equated to Rocs)
• Griffons (equated to Rocs)
• Elementals (Air, Earth, Fire and Water)
• Djinn (equated to air elementals)
• Efreet (equated to fire elementals)
• Basilisks
• Cockatrices (equated to Basilisks; both creatures are recommended only under specific circumstances)
• Chimerea (not the specific monster, but a catch-all for similar types such as griffons, wyverns, hippogriffs, etc.)
• Hippogriffs (mentioned in passing under Chimerea)
• Giant Spiders and Insects
• Wights
• Ghouls (equated to wights)

New Character Types

• Heroes and Anti-Heroes (presented here as being equal to "four figures" in battle)
• Super Heroes (twice as powerful as heroes)
• Wizards
• Combination hero-wizards are mentioned as a possibility, with Elric of Melnibone given as an example.

New Spells

• Invisibility (extrapolated from the wizard's special ability to become invisible)
• Infravision (extrapolated from the wizard's ability to see in the dark)
• Protection from Normal Missiles (extrapolated from the wizard's immunity to non-magical missile fire)
• Dispel Magic (extrapolated from the wizard's counter-spell ability; it's not a perfect fit, bit it's the best option from early D&D)
• Fire Ball
• Lightning Bolt
• Phantasmal Forces
• Darkness
• Wizard Light (probably becomes Light, but at this point it only dispells darkness)
• Detection (a mash-up of Detect Invisibility and Detect Magic)
• Concealment
• Conjuration of an Elemental

New Magic Items

• Magic Swords
• Enchanted Arrows
• Magic Armor

Other Rule Elements

• The Law-Neutral-Chaos alignment axis is established, though only as a guide for which creature types fight for which side

Rules that could fill gaps in D&D

• Turn sequence/initiative
• Terrain effects on movement
• Movement in different types of armour
• Fatigue
• Missile fire rules
• Catapults
• Morale
• Weather
• Mass combat in general
• Sieges
• Jousting
• Parrying
• Multiple attacks when fighting with a much faster weapon than your opponent

Details and conjecture relevant to the Ultimate Sandbox

• Mass combat as a whole implies that there are wars being fought, and that PCs might get involved in them.
• The list of monsters and troop types are those most commonly found on D&D battlefields (though hobbits, basilisks and cockatrices are called out as being unusual).
• Wizards can use magic weapons (with swords and arrows given as the only examples), and their spell-casting doesn't line up exactly with D&D magic-users, so I've posited the existence of specialist battle-mages to cover those differences.
• Dwarves and goblins have a mutual hatred.
• Gnomes and kobolds have a mutual hatred.
• Elves have an invisibility power and are said to be armed with magic swords, so I'm going to say that elven hosts arrayed for war will always be wearing elven cloaks and wielding magic swords.
• Orcs are said to be over-grown goblins, so there's some relation there.
• Five clans of orcs are given here: Orcs of the Red Eye, Orcs of Mordor, Orcs of the Mountains, Orcs of the White Hand, and Isengarders.  These all have enmity with each other.  This is all very Tolkien, and I'm extrapolating from that to say that Middle Earth was in the distant past, and those were the five ancient clans that all orcs sprang from.
• Wraiths and wights paralyze rather than level drain, so I'm saying that they're a little weaker on battlefields than in dungeons and other places of evil power.
• The red dragon is classified in Latin as Draco Conflagratio or Draco Horribilis, so I'm positing the existence of a similar language of antiquity that was used to classify monsters.
• Dragons in Chainmail can refresh their breath weapons more often than their D&D counterparts, so they are probably more vital than their dungeon-dwelling, treasure-hoarding brethren.
• Purple worms being classified as dragons could be chalked up to a sage's error, or it could be the result of a dragon who has no treasure to sleep on.
• Werewolves and werebears generally don't fight alongside animals of their were-type in D&D, but it could be that the Chainmail variety are of a more ancient and powerful breed, or that it's due to the environment.  It's only possible in Chainmail when there are woods present, after all.
• Odin's spear and Thor's hammer are mentioned under magic weapons, pointing to the existence of at least the Norse pantheon
• Excalibur is also mentioned, which is perhaps trickier to incorporate.
• Magic weapons are listed as exclusive to the side of Law, which suggests that they're only available in large quantities to that side, probably via the elves.

I thought that post would be shorter, to be honest, but once I get going it's hard to stop me.  I'll be back shortly with another Recap & Roundup, this time for Chainmail 2nd edition.