\\!
!bW!!
~
Preface
This is a game that is fun. It helps youimagine.
“As
you whirl around, your sword ready, thehuge, red, fire-breathing dragon swoopstoward you with a
ROAR!”
See? Your imagination woke up already.Now imagine: This game may be morefun than any other game you have everplayed!The DUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS@game is a way for
us
to imagine together
-
ike watching the same movie, orreading the same book.
Butyou
can writethe stories, without putting a word onpaper -just by playing the D&D@game.You, along with your friends,
will
create a great fantasy story, you will put
it
away after each game, and go back toschool or work, but
-
ike a book
-
headventure will wait. It’s better than abook, though;
it
will
keep going as longas you like.It
is
nearly the most popular game
How
to
use this
book
You
can learn how to play the DUN-GEONS
&
DRAGONS@game by your-self, simply by reading the next sectionsof this booklet.
You
don’t have to memo-rize everything as you read; the first twoadventures are designed to teach youwhile you play. If you are ready to learn,begin reading at
Start here.
The game is usually played in groupsof
3
or more people.
If
you want to learnwith others, it’s best if one person al-ready knows how to play, and can teachthe others. If not, you (or one of theothers) may read the first adventurealoud, while everyone follows along, tolearn the basics of the game. However,
it’s
better if each person can read theadventures separately.When you all know how
to
play char-acters, read the sections
“DUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS Characters”
and
“Play-ing with a Group”.
One person mustalso learn how to be a Dungeon Master(or DM)
-
he person who plays theroles of the Monsters. The other bookletever made. And you
will
see why, in justa bit.When you bought some other gameor book, did you ever think, “Gee, that’snice, but it’s not quite what I thought
it
would be”? Well, your D&D adventureswill be just what you want, becauseyou’re the one making them up!And it’s not hard. It takes a little read-ing and
a
little thinking, but most of all,it’s fun.It’s fun when you discover that no-body loses, and everybody wins!It’s fun when you get good at thegame
. . .
for example, knowing what toexpect in a kobold cave, and which drag-ons are on your side.And you don’t have to put in a coineach time, like many other games. Onceyou have these rules, you don’t needanything else.There’s more, of course, if you want it:exciting adventures to play, miniature fig-ures of monsters and characters, expertrules for more experienced players, andlots more. But you already have every-thing you need to start: this package, andyour imagination. That will do it.Ah, yes;
it
does cost one more thing,which you also have right now
-
bit oftime. It takes a few minutes to learn thebasic rules, and another hour or two toplay a full game. You will probably wantto spend more time, and might evenmake it a hobby; millions of people have.But for now, just sit back and imagine.
“Your character stands atop a grassy hill
. .
.
the sun glints off your golden hair, rippling
in
the warm breeze
. . .
you absent-mindedly rubthe gem-studded hilt of your magac sword, andglance over at the dwarf and elf, bickering asusual about how to load the horses
.
.
.
themagic-user has memorized her spells, and saysshe’s ready to go
. .
.
a dangerous dungeonentrance gapes at you from the mountainnearby, and inside, a fearsome dragon awaits.Time to get moving.
. .
Have Fun!Frank MentzerFebruary, 1983in this set is the
DUNGEON MASTERSRULEBOOK,
and explains everythingthe DM needs to know.
Acknowledgements
The following individuals have madeThis set gives all the details for playing aDUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS game. Withthese rules, your characters can reachthe 3rd level of experience. (These andother terms are explained later in thisbooklet.) Other sets are available, withmore magic items and spells, monsters,and rules for bigger and better games.Set
#2
is
the
D&D@EXPERT Rules,
for character levels 4th through 14th.The
D&D@COMPANION Rules
is Set#3, for characters levels 15th through25th; and the
D&D@ MASTERS Set
gives the remaining: details for characterthis work po&ble through its years ofevolution: Dave Arneson, Brian Blume,Dave
Cook,
Anne
C.
Gray, Ernie Gygax,E. Gary Gygax, Allen Hammack, KevinHendryx, John Eric Holmes, HaroldJohnson, Tim Kask, Jeff Key, RobKuntz, Alan Lucien, Steve Marsh, TomMoldvay, Mike Mornard, Jon Pickens,Brian Pitzer, Michael Price, Patrick L.Price, Paul Reiche, Evan Robinson, Gor-don Schick, Lawrence Schick, DonSnow, Edward G. Sollers, Garry Spiegle,Stephen
D.
Sullivan, Ralph Wagner, JimWard, Jean Wells, and Bill Wilkerson.kvels 26th throughv 36th.Thanks also to Donald Paterson, for
opening
my
own
door
to the
D&~
verything in these sets fits togetherto
forma
D&D
fantasy
playing games. Johnson, who escorted me in.forPlayingworld, and special thanks to Haroldmay use all or part of these rules. Theyoften include several ways of playingand running the game.
You
may createnew rules, monsters, and magic, usingthese rules as guidelines.
Players
Manual
by Gary Gygax and
Dave
Arneson
Revised
by
Frank Mentzer
Illustrations
by
Larry Elmoreand Jeff Easley
0
1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1983TSR Hobbies, Inc.
All
Rights Reserved
Dedication
This game has undergone a startlingmetamorphosis from its earliest forms,written for hobbyists, to the currentrevision, usable and understandable bynearly anyone. The original
flavor
andintent has been carefully preserved.With the greatest admiration, respect,and thanks, this edition is dedicated tothe president and founder of TSRHobbies:
E.
GARY GYGAX.
DUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS@
and
D&D@
are registered trademarks owned byTSR Hobbies, Inc.This book is protected under thecopyright
laws
of
the United States
of
America. Any reproduction
or
otherunauthorized use
of
the material
or
artwork contained herein is prohibitedwithout the express written consent
of
TSR
Hobbies, Inc.Distributed to the book trade in theUnited States by Random House, Inc.and in Canada by Random House
of
Canada,Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobbvtrade by regional distributors.Printed in the U.S.A.First Printing
-
May,
1983
TM
TSR
Hobbies.
Inc
Table
of
ContentsLearning to play DUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS@games
....................
2
Start here
What is “role playing”?What role will I play?Your first adventure
.................................
Alignment: How characters and monsters behaveNow where do you go?The character sheetAbility scoresSaving throwsSpecial abilitiesCombat chartNormal itemsOther notesMoney and treasure
Your character
...............................................
.....
djustments
.................................
Magic items
...................
.............
Experience
..................................
Solo
adventure
.............
.............................
Part
1:
Town businessPart
2:
Battles
...............................
Dice
This is very important. Be sure to read it carefully.More damageThe monstersCombat checklistRecord keepingGetting killedMappingAfter the adventure..
...................
........
DUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS@ haracters.
.......................
Part
3:
Into the caves
...........................
What comes next?Character classes
Prime requisitesSaving throwsCleric
Character class: human
..................................
..
....
..
..
........
3
.......
9
........
10
........
11
........
12
.......
13
........
14
.........
15
........
22
.......
23
........
24
Fighter
..........................................
............
28
Magic-user
..........
........................
Thief
......................................... ..............
43
Character class: demi-human
.............
Dwarf
...................................
..................
Players are not characters!
........................
Playing with a group
..................................................
Character alignment
.................
...................
How to prepareAdventuring rules
......................................
Encounter rules
.............
......................
Additional rules.
.............
......................
59
.................
60
Missile weaponsCombat maneuversVariable weapon damage
....................
nce
...................
......................
.........
62
...............
ingGlossary
...........................................
.............
63
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01 Basic [Red Set]
Rules for the old Dungeons & Dragons featuring characters of 1st to 3rd level.
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