Let’s answer the question: What is Advanced Dungeons & Dragons? And find out why it is the best version of Dungeons & Dragons in this How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons series. Buy the AD&D Monster Manual: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17002/monster-manual-1e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
AD&D was initially introduced in The Dragon #11 (December 1977)
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to provide an introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Monster Manual, Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Unearthed Arcana for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
I have never understood why so many people consider Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, or AD&D, to be so difficult to play or learn. It’s a simple game that was originally created by Gary Gygax as a means of cleaning up the errors and filling in the holes of Dungeons & Dragons, according to Gary Gygax in his guest editorial ‘View from the Telescope Wondering which end is which’ from The Dragon #11, December 1977. This process began in late 1975, and was initially realized by the release of Basic Dungeons & Dragons, or BD&D by J. Eric Holmes, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Monster Manual in the same year. Gygax felt like the fans of Dungeons & Dragons rushed him to put out new releases and content, so he decided to take his time with AD&D. The initial intention was to have AD&D be composed of four books including the Monster Manual in December 1977, Players Handbook in 1978, Dungeon Masters Guide in 1979, and Deities & Demigods in 1980. However Gygax was busy writing modules delaying the later releases of the core AD&D books.
Gygax believed that Original Dungeons & Dragons, or OD&D, and AD&D served different audiences, so there was no reason to retire the original. The first printing of the Players Handbook was in June 1978 which provided the first look at the more complex AD&D game, but surprisingly didn’t present methods for rolling your abilities, rules for combat or saving throws. This is because the Dungeon Master, or DM, was responsible for being the arbiter of the rules, not the players, so it was unimportant for them to know the rules. While there are similarities in OD&D and AD&D, Gygax insisted there is a big difference. In Dragon #26 (June 1979) and Dragon #28 (August 1979). He said that “D&D is only a loose structure … [while] AD&D is a much tighter structure which follows, in part, the same format D&D does, but it is a much stronger, more rigid, more extensive framework …” This was done for three primary reasons: 1. To cut down on house-rules. 2. To be a better platform in which to launch tournaments. And 3. That a more structured game would appeal to a larger audience.
What is even more interesting is that there were modules released for AD&D before the rules were ever released with the Dungeon Masters Guide in August 1979. This forced players to play hybrid games between OD&D and AD&D, something I am very familiar with, as I did the same in addition to AD&D and AD&D 2nd Edition! The Dungeon Masters Guide contained all of the rules for playing the AD&D system except character creation. This was an intentional choice again, by its creator. While D&D was co created between Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, AD&D was all Gygax’s, so Arneson’s name was wholly absent. This caused the initial rift and lawsuit between them. The initial lawsuit was settled in March of 1981, but it wouldn’t be the last filed.
With Gygax busy running TSR Hobbies and TSR Entertainment, he simply did not have time to write whole books for AD&D, and instead reverted to his ‘The Sorcerer’s Scroll’ articles in The Dragon from 1981-1983 in order to extrapolate on and explain AD&D rules. As TSR began to flounder in his absence, Gygax insisted that a number of products bearing his name be released, and in June 1985, Unearthed Arcana was the first byproduct. It was wildly successful but since Gygax was incredibly busy, the volume was a collaboration of many writers including collaborator Frank Mentzer, design consultant Jeff Grubb, and editor Kim Mohan, though Gygax’s work is clearly predominant. This volume offers Gygax’s final version of the D&D game, and the last days with the company he founded.
While AD&D had more rigid rules, it also left a lot open to the players. Non-Weapon Proficiencies weren’t introduced until Oriental Adventures in October 1985, the same year as Unearthed Arcana, a first for TSR, Inc. These were seen as core books for AD&D 1.5 as they vastly expanded on the AD&D game in addition to Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide, and Wilderness Survival Guide, both in 1986. Other Tabletop Roleplaying Games, or TTRPG’s, already featured secondary skill systems, so in this AD&D was playing catch up. The Oriental Adventures non-weapon proficiencies were focused on the campaign setting and were germain to the characters outlined therein. However Douglas Niles revamped them in the Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide, tying them to Character Attributes and the western settings. Gygax later wrote that he didn’t agree with having skills in an archetypical/class-based game like AD&D, and I have to agree. While it can help newer players come up with ideas or actions, it is inherently limiting, by showcasing what you can do, and highlighting what you can’t, which is antithetical to the AD&D game or imagination and ingenuity. It’s yet another reason I think AD&D is superior to AD&D 2nd Edition where non weapon proficiencies were an even larger staple to the Player Character or PC.
So while OD&D and Basic D&D, or BD&D, were looser products geared toward miniatures players who already had a strong basis in wargaming, AD&D had a broader appeal and thus became an easy target for religious fundamentalists in the Satanic Panic Era. This ironically propelled the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons into the public consciousness and laid the groundwork for revisions in AD&D and later AD&D 2nd Edition. I cut my teeth on AD&D with my middle school friends and played it off and on even to this day. It’s a game that is thought of as clunky and challenging to play, but having run it a number of times recently, it is no more complex than Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, and I hope this series exploring the rules of AD&D proves that to other players. For I genuinely believe that by having an understanding of and experience in playing AD&D, you are a better player in general and it will help you play other games like 5th Edition more creatively and with more ingenuity.
Future episodes in this series will include Character Creation, Combat, Saving Throws, Race and Class highlights and more. Feel free to include suggestions in the comments below with aspects of the game you are curious about, and I will consider including them as well.
Outro
And that is all the time I have to provide an introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. What do you think of the evolution of the game? Do you believe it is too complex of a system? And finally, when was the last time you ran or played in an AD&D game? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a game that is demanding for players and Dungeon Masters alike, but the rewards in terms of enjoyment are vast.
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