Tabletop GamingDungeons and DragonsThe first edition of D&D conjured magic from a mess, and changed gaming foreverWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Tabletop GamingDungeons and DragonsThe first edition of D&D conjured magic from a mess, and changed gaming foreverWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: TSR, Wizards of the Coast)
Dungeons & Dragons is such a presence on our bookshelves, in our cinemas and podcasts, and on Twitch andYouTubethrough the likes of Dimension 20 and Critical Role, that it’s hard to believe D&D is a mighty 50 years old.
One explanation for Dungeons & Dragons' longevity is that the RPG isn’t really a single game; it’s a sprawling collection of rules, mechanics, and stories that have evolved so thoroughly over the past five decades that the original edition would be almost unrecognizable to those playing today, even if a number of core aspects of the game still persist, alongside its iconic name. But what if I told you that D&D itself initially started as a supplement for another game entirely?
“Improv, math, and softcore gambling”
Early D&D was a little more rough and ready than we may be used to now(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast, TSR)
Gygaxreportedlydiscovered the potential for such a mash-up in his weekly wargaming club, when he “turned a plastic dinosaur into a dragon and mixed in wizards and trolls among the men-at-arms.” But while Chainmail went through several iterations, its main legacy is how it laid the groundwork for Dungeons & Dragons, launched in 1974 as the debut product of Gygax and co-founder Dave Arneson’s gaming company TSR (Tactical Studies Rules). The game, however, assumed players already owned Chainmail, as well as one of the then-best board gamesfor exploration and adventure, called Outdoor Survival.
As you can see, D&D’s three pillars of combat, roleplay, and exploration were already coming into focus.
Status change(Image credit: TSR, Wizards of the Coast)The next edition really started to solidify what the game was -D&D second edition cleaned up the game’s act, for better or worse.
Status change
(Image credit: TSR, Wizards of the Coast)The next edition really started to solidify what the game was -D&D second edition cleaned up the game’s act, for better or worse.
(Image credit: TSR, Wizards of the Coast)
The next edition really started to solidify what the game was -D&D second edition cleaned up the game’s act, for better or worse.
Players chose one of three character classes, which became the archetypes for most classes that followed. There was the ‘Fighting-Man,’ a weapons-user good for combat and not much else; the ‘Magic-User,’ a low-health, armor-free wizard with access to powerful spells; and an in-between class ‘Cleric’ that offered a little of both. You could play as a human, elf, dwarf, or Tolkienesque hobbit. This initial version also laid out the basic idea of a moral alignment, with players choosing to be lawful, neutral, or chaotic. That affected their choices and risk aversion in the game.
Crucially, players rolled to determine their ability scores – still Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity, and Charisma –beforemaking a character, and they would calculate these scores in order and be stuck with the result. Rolled low for intelligence? Good luck playing a Magic-User, Greg.
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Other core D&D mechanics like Armor Class (the number rolled to hit something) and classic spells (Light, Detect Magic, Charm Person) from that initial 1974 document will still be recognisable to many playing Fifth Edition today, as well as the ‘Vancian’ magic system based on Jack Vance’s Dying Earth novels, in which spells were carefully memorized and then forgotten after casting, ensuring some level of resource-management for reality-bending abilities.
Ambitious but unpolished
The very original Player’s handbook, alongside a first-edition adventure module in the classic style(Image credit: TSR, Wizards of the Coast)
Despite somecopyright worriesand unpolished materials, the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons achieved an incredible feat: mixing up wargame mechanics with character roleplay and fantasy tropes in order to transport players into memorable stories, embodying a single hero in dungeons full of arcane traps, treasures, and monsters instead of presiding over a historically-accurate battlefield as a tactical commander in charge of many different troops.
Art attack
(Image credit: Benjamin Abbott)
On the one hand, Gygax was keen to add more mechanics, tables, classes, and situation-specific rules that hadn’t been covered in the initial release. Follow-up supplements added the sneaky, trap-picking ‘Thief’ class (now known as the Rogue) and the holy knight Paladin alongside the Assassin, Monk, Druid, and Ranger, as well as other supplements covering demonic enemies, pantheons of gods, more monsters, and specific rules for using miniatures.
These extensive errata and extensions were brought together in a single edition called Advanced D&D. This was the ‘serious,’ technical version of the game, and it introduced a host of specifications for each spell being cast, including required components and specific duration and casting times, alongside plenty more numerical tables. When you see the term ‘1E,’ meaning First Edition, this is what that refers to – like a formal launch after a game’s messy beta test.
But there was a simultaneous push towards simplifying the product rather than increasing its complexity. In the same year, TSR also released the Basic Set, a streamlined 50-page D&D system that focused on drawing in players who weren’t familiar with traditional wargaming.
The Advanced D&D Player’s Handbook and Monster Manual added complexity to the early game(Image credit: TSR, Wizards of the Coast)
This edition catered to the first three levels of play, and acted as an introduction to AD&D’s more complex mechanics, broadly encompassing the original ruleset and Greyhawk supplement with a few quirks – including a rework of races so that elves, dwarves, and halflings were actually classes with their own designated abilities (the elf being a mix of Fighter and Magic-User), simplifying choices a little.
In other words, the early editions of D&D were a potent mix of conflicting and complementary systems, blending together communal roleplay and improv with the rule-heavy wargaming tradition to create something both messy and magical.
DisclaimerThis is the first article in our five-part celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. You can find our overview of Advanced D&D 2E (Second Edition) and the development of D&D throughout the ‘90sright here.
DisclaimerThis is the first article in our five-part celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. You can find our overview of Advanced D&D 2E (Second Edition) and the development of D&D throughout the ‘90sright here.
Disclaimer
This is the first article in our five-part celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. You can find our overview of Advanced D&D 2E (Second Edition) and the development of D&D throughout the ‘90sright here.
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This new indie D&D campaign setting brings Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the Wild aesthetics and worldbuilding to the tabletop RPG, and I’m already scheming hard as a DMD&D Monster Manual 2025 is going to pack a serious punch thanks to a family of monsters descended from gods, and frankly I’m terrified
This new indie D&D campaign setting brings Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the Wild aesthetics and worldbuilding to the tabletop RPG, and I’m already scheming hard as a DM
This new indie D&D campaign setting brings Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the Wild aesthetics and worldbuilding to the tabletop RPG, and I’m already scheming hard as a DM
D&D Monster Manual 2025 is going to pack a serious punch thanks to a family of monsters descended from gods, and frankly I’m terrified
D&D Monster Manual 2025 is going to pack a serious punch thanks to a family of monsters descended from gods, and frankly I’m terrified
Latest26 years later, Codemasters’ Chris Southall talks Colin McRae Rally: “We wanted to do something that was an authentic rally experience for the hardware of the time"See more latest►
Latest
26 years later, Codemasters' Chris Southall talks Colin McRae Rally: “We wanted to do something that was an authentic rally experience for the hardware of the time”
26 years later, Codemasters' Chris Southall talks Colin McRae Rally: “We wanted to do something that was an authentic rally experience for the hardware of the time”
26 years later, Codemasters' Chris Southall talks Colin McRae Rally: “We wanted to do something that was an authentic rally experience for the hardware of the time”
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5
Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
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2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”