thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
Purchased in 1979 at White Elephant, this book is still in great shape. Read cover to cover more than once, though it is most frequently used for reference. Plenty of pencil marks and notes over the years. Incomplete as a system without the DMG and MM, unlike many Players Handbooks today.
I was thinking about history on this read through, and connecting the dots between gaming today and the wargames that Gygax was running before this. Level titles and limitations, weapon and armor descriptions and the combat system all connect quite closely. One of the best things about this (for me) was the art. Illustrations by Dave Sutherland and David Trampier all directed the reader to future adventure. It's impossible to look at that cover and not wonder what battle came before - and what comes after.
This book was solid and useful, but really needed information from the DMG and Monster Manual to be complete. Spells had clarifications, the methods for rolling up ability scores - heck, even the movement rate of Dwarves and Gnomes were all located in other books. At the time, this seemed okay, but I think players today wouldn't be quite as accepting. D&D 5E adventures can be played with the PHB alone if necessary.
Rating - 4 stars for the history and imagination available in this slim tome.
I was thinking about history on this read through, and connecting the dots between gaming today and the wargames that Gygax was running before this. Level titles and limitations, weapon and armor descriptions and the combat system all connect quite closely. One of the best things about this (for me) was the art. Illustrations by Dave Sutherland and David Trampier all directed the reader to future adventure. It's impossible to look at that cover and not wonder what battle came before - and what comes after.
This book was solid and useful, but really needed information from the DMG and Monster Manual to be complete. Spells had clarifications, the methods for rolling up ability scores - heck, even the movement rate of Dwarves and Gnomes were all located in other books. At the time, this seemed okay, but I think players today wouldn't be quite as accepting. D&D 5E adventures can be played with the PHB alone if necessary.
Rating - 4 stars for the history and imagination available in this slim tome.
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