The Dungeon Masters Guide is a 240-page sourcebook for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition released in August 1979. It is one of three core rulebooks for AD&D 1st edition, following the Monster Manual (1e) (1977) and Players Handbook (1e) (1978).
Official synopsis[]
Dungeon Masters everywhere, rejoice! Too long have you had to suffer along with crucial charts and tables spread through many works. Too long have you had to use makeshift references trying to solve the problem. You now have a complete compilation of the most valuable material for your refereeing, the Dungeon Masters Guide. Herein you will find:
- Combat matrices
- Encounter tables
- Monster attacks alphabetically listed
- Treasure and magic tables and descriptions
- Gem values by type
- Random wilderness terrain generation
- Random dungeon generation
- Suggestions on game mastering
- And a whole lot more!
It is a must for every Dungeon Master!
Content[]
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Development and release[]
Development[]
The book was written by Gary Gygax. Art was provided by David C. Sutherland III, Dave Trampier, Darlene Pekul, Will McLean and David S. La Force.
James Ward was one of the book's proofreaders. He felt it was poorly organized, but Gygax was resistant to edits to the layout of his work. Given the success of the previous two AD&D rulebooks, Ward opted to defer to Gygax.[1]
Mike Carr, TSR's Games & Rules Editor, was the DMG's editor, penning his editorial to the work on on May 16, 1979. Dragon Magazine editor Tim Kask would later suggest that Carr's lack of fantasy roleplaying experience may have hindered his ability to fully understand the rules he was editing, leading to a few inconsistencies in the text.[2] However, Carr in fact once played in Dave Arneson's campaign.[3]
Harold Johnson developed the list of ways for destroying artifacts, originally 100, but cut for space. He also influenced the rules for surviving on negative hit points.[4] Jake Jaquet began working on the project in 1978, originally receiving manuscripts via the mail, before later joining TSR as an employee. Lawrence Schick wrote several sections, including the example of play and some DM advice.[5] Jean Wells criticized the description of of elves as flighty and dwarven women as bearded, but was outvoted on the latter. Allan Hammack criticized the lack of an apostrophe in "Masters", presaging its eventual inclusion in future books. James M. Ward and Jeff Leason also worked on the book. Despite various individual criticisms, staff opinions on the book were overall highly positive.[3]
Announcement and previews[]
In Dragon #11 (Dec 1977), Gary Gygax announced the second and third Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks, following the Monster Manual (1e) (1977) that month. Gygax planned to write both books himself, and speculated on a release date of the summer of 1978 for both books. Dragon #14 (May 1978) clarified that the two books would be a player's book and a referee's book. This was to be accompanied by an AD&D revision of Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976).
While the Players Handbook (1e) (1978) was released as planned in the summer of 1978, the referee's book—now identified in the PHB as the Dungeon Masters Guide—would not be complete for around another year.
A substantial preview of the Dungeon Masters Guide was printed in Dragon #22 (Feb 1979), p.33-43. It was announced for release in Gen Con XII, from August 16-19, 1979. The preview revealed a substantial number of magic items, rules for creatures who can only be struck by magic weapons, rules for grenade-like weapons, attack matrices, psionics rules, and rules for saving throws.
Another preview appeared in From the Sorcerer's Scroll: Random Generation of Creatures from the Lower Planes, Dragon #23 (Mar 1979), p.15-18.
In Dragon #25 (May 1979), p.13, Gygax announced that the manuscript for the Dungeon Masters Guide was complete, save for an editing process.
Release[]
The Dungeon Masters Guide was released by TSR in August 1979 for $18.00 US. It was first available at Gen Con XII, held from August 16-19, 1979.
The DMG originally featured cover art of large red efreet, drawn by David Sutherland. It is identified as such in the editorial, which describes an encounter between three adventurers and an efreet in the Elemental Plane of Fire, with the City of Brass on the rear cover.
The initial print run is estimated to have been 40,000 copies. The book sold quickly, and multiple print runs were necessary before the year was out. Early print runs were marred by printing errors necessitating recalls, including one run where pages of the Monster Manual (1e) (1977) were accidentally included, and another where half the books were scratched by a loose wire in the binding machine.[6] Frank Mentzer estimates that perhaps 3,200 copies of the DM with Monster Manual pages were ciruclated.[7]
A sixth print run, dated December 1979, was referred to as the Revised Edition, incorporating errata previously printed in Dragon #35 (Mar 1980). It added Appendix O: Encumberance of Standard Items, from that errata article; and Appendix P: Creating a Party on the Spur of the Moment, originally appearing in Dragon #26 (Jun 1979). This revision increased the numbered pagecount from 232 to 238.[6]
In 1983, an eighth printing changed the cover art to a robed figure, traditionally identified as a Dungeon Master, opening a pair of doors. Further printings were made up to a 14th printing in July 1990, despite the work being officially superceded a year earlier by the Dungeon Master Guide (2e) (1989).[6]
Various international printings were made: the French "Guide to Maitre", and the German "Handbuch für Spielleiter. The German version had several errors in the appendices, resulting in the release of a free 48-page addendum document.[6]
On July 21, 2015, it was re-released in digital format. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $9.99.
Reception and influence[]
Sales[]
Between its release in August 1979 and 1990, the AD&D 1st edition Dungeon Masters Guide sold a total of 1,331,368 copies.[8]
| Year | Sales |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 78,300 |
| 1980 | 183,548 |
| 1981 | 259,433 |
| 1982 | 206,019 |
| 1983 | 249,002 |
| 1984 | 103,436 |
| 1985 | 105,519 |
| 1986 | 45,750 |
| 1987 | 54,453 |
| 1988 | 36,402 |
| 1989 | 4,582 |
| 1990 | 4,924 |
After 1990, it was superceded by the Dungeon Master Guide (2e) (1989).
A surprising number of non-DM players also bought the Dungeon Master Guide, either out of enthusiasm for the game or to gain an advantage in the game.[9]
Critical reception[]
As of 2023, Dungeon Masters Guide (1e) reached the rank of Adamantine seller on DriveThruRPG, the site's highest rating.
Influence on other works[]
Tim Kask described the Dungeon Masters Guide as a "watershed event" which changed the way rules were interpreted. In OD&D, the tradition was for DMs to interpret the rules as they saw fit. The DMG encouraged DMs to adjudicate more often to rules as written, as had been the standard in tournament play for reasons of fairness. Many players also bought the DMG, and expected DMs to follow the rules.[10] Gary Gygax, speaking of the DMG at a Gen Con panel, once said: "I don't care what the book says. I wrote it, and I am not infalable. In the case just before us the material in the DMG is wrong--as it is anytime the DM over-rules it."[11]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ Q&A with James M. Ward, page 112. Dragonsfoot, January 26, 2019.
- ↑ Q&A with Tim Kask, page 51. Dragonsfoot, February 1, 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Dungeon Masters Guide Developers' Notes, Dragon #28 (Aug 1979), p.4-5,44,46.
- ↑ Episode 74 - Interview with Harold Johnson. GROGTALK, YouTube. Jan 9, 2021.
- ↑ An Interview with Lawrence Schick.Grognardia, May 16, 2009.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Dungeon Masters Guide - The Acaeum
- ↑ Q&A with Frank Mentzer. part 1, page 4. Dragonsfoot, April 16, 2005.
- ↑ Tweet. Ben Riggs, July 26, 2022.
- ↑ Q&A with Tim Kask, page 90. Dragonsfoot, October 7, 2010.
- ↑ Q&A with Tim Kask, page 79. Dragonsfoot, May 26, 2010.
- ↑ Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 137. ENWorld, Feb 24, 2005.
| Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guides |
|---|
| Dungeon Masters Guide (1e) • Dungeon Master Guide (2e) • Dungeon Master Guide (2e revised) Dungeon Master's Guide (3.0) • Dungeon Master's Guide (3.5) • Dungeon Master's Guide II (3.5) Dungeon Master's Guide (4e) • Dungeon Master's Guide 2 (4e) Dungeon Master's Guide (5e) • Dungeon Master's Guide (5e revised) |