Rank the OD&D Supplements

[Falconer]

I know we have had threads like this, but this one is a little different, and anyway I sense changing trends so I am curious. Here’s my question. Aside from the OD&D set itself, what 1970s supplements or accessories are you most likely to bring to your game table? Rank the following from most likely to least likely:

Best of The Dragon, Vol. 1, by Gary Gygax et al.
Blackmoor, by Dave Arneson
Chainmail, by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren
The Dungeoneer Compendium, by Paul Jaquays et al.
Dungeonmaster's Index, by Dave Arneson
Eldritch Wizardry, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume
Empire of the Petal Throne, by M.A.R. Barker
Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes, by Rob Kuntz and Jim Ward
Greyhawk, by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz
Judges Shield, by Bill Owen
Metamorphosis Alpha, by Jim Ward
Ready Ref Sheets, Vol. 1, by Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen
The Strategic Review, no. 1-7, by Gary Gygax et al.
Swords & Spells, by Gary Gygax
The First Fantasy Campaign, by Dave Arneson and Richard Snider
Warriors of Mars, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume

Note: ignore any and all maps/adventures for the purpose of this exercise (i.e. Blackmoor, FFC, or Dungeoneer), since if we are counting modules we might as well add CSIO, etc. Instead, the focus is rules supplements, new monsters, tricks/traps, classes, etc. I hope I haven’t missed anything major. If you would rather not do the entire list, just do your top 5. Go!

[harami2000]

Jul 4, 2010 12:31:15 GMT -6 Falconer said:

Judges Shield, by Bob Bledsaw et al.

(aside) Just Bill Owen for that contribution to RPGing worldwide.

[Falconer]

Good to know! :-)

[Falconer]

Okay, I'll start...

1. Greyhawk - Monsters, spells, magic items, tricks & traps... The conventional wisdom is that this is the essential supplement to D & D. I have toyed with the idea of discarding it from time to time, but at the end of the day it is just fantastic, awesome material!

2. The Strategic Review, no. 1-7 - It seems like cheating to lump the entire run of this newszine together as a single supplement, but I printed them off from the Dragon CD Archive and stapled them together as a single bundle (maybe I should do it more nicely). There is no single entry that makes this indispensible, but for some reason TSR is crucial to me. It is awesome to see the earliest reactions and developments of the hobby, if nothing else.

3. Ready Ref Sheets, Vol. 1 - Sometimes described as "The DMG of OD&D", this compilation of all early Judges Guild rules supplements is full of great and very useful tables and quirky (but inspirational) rules with the right feel to them.

4. Gods, Demi-gods, and Heroes - I really love this book. It is chock-full of deities, monsters, treasure, and artifacts--all useful stuff in any campaign. It is easy to use in a limited or more free manner as desired. Something about its presentation makes it a great starting point that stimulates the imagination rather than being some sort of final codification that stifles creativity.

5. Eldritch Wizardry - I've gotta have the Druid, my favorite class outside the original three. The artifacts are really inspirational, too.

Honorable mentions go to Chainmail (frequently referred to in OD&D as if you need the stats, but it is easy enough to fill in those blanks) and The First Fantasy Campaign (very inspirational and some neat rules in there, but currently not as essential to my regular gaming as the above).

[Finarvyn]

Too many choices. I should start by saying that I own every product on the list. Some of them I look at on a regular basis, others sit on my shelf and collect dust. I’ll do my best on this….

My top five: (ranked in something resembling my order)
1. Greyhawk, by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz
2. The First Fantasy Campaign, by Dave Arneson and Richard Snider
3. Ready Ref Sheets, Vol. 1, by Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen
4. Blackmoor, by Dave Arneson
5. Chainmail, by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren

My next five (in no particular order)
The Strategic Review, no. 1-7, by Gary Gygax et al.
Best of The Dragon, Vol. 1, by Gary Gygax et al.
Eldritch Wizardry, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume
Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes, by Rob Kuntz and Jim Ward
Judges Shield, by Bill Owen

The next tier – Non-OD&D settings that are pretty cool
Metamorphosis Alpha, by Jim Ward
Warriors of Mars, by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume
Empire of the Petal Throne, by M.A.R. Barker

Bottom tier – not a lot of use for them
Swords & Spells, by Gary Gygax
The Dungeoneer Compendium, by Paul Jaquays et al.
Dungeonmaster's Index, by Dave Arneson

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General Comments
* Greyhawk is, to me, the single most important OD&D reference other than the LBB. Greyhawk doesn’t have much junk in it, but is full of things I love.
* Dave’s FFC is nearly as useful and is a close second, mostly because it is just so full of ideas and every time I get stuck I love to thumb through it and I feel alive again.
* The Ready Ref sheets are awesome, just because there are so many neat tables in one little booklet.
* Blackmoor is nice because of the assassin and monk, but too much of the book is full of hit location tables and the TotF adventure.
* Chainmail is my go-to reference for pre-OD&D goodies.

For the next five, my list is SR and early Dragon because I think that’s where the most fun ideas took place. Later on, I get the feeling that people took things too seriously and kept trying to make everything official, but early on are fun things and rules and “why” editorials. Of course I had to include the other two supplements early on – I don’t use either much but I do like the Druid class information and they have to be included high on the list because they form the full set of original rules. The Judges Shield has been my default DM screen for 30+ years, or it was until I retired mine a couple of years ago and created my own.

The next three are all wonderful products but not OD&D. They get a spot of their own on the list.

As for the bottom tier…. I think that Swords & Spells was a waste of space for some reason, and I never enjoyed bringing that level of miniatures play back into my RPGs. Chainmail was simple, but S&S too complex. The Dungeoneer Compendium is an okay book, but Judges’ Guild magazines never had the same feel as SR/Dragon. Finally, the Duneonmaster’s Index is a cool idea, but I bought it only recently as a collectable and have hardly ever taken it out of the plastic bag so I simply can’t rate it up with the others.

Whew. Now I’m exhausted and should go take a nap. That’s a lot of typing.

[James Maliszewski]

1. Eldritch Wizardry: I know this will perplex some people, but I find Supplement III by far and away the most inspirational OD&D book after the LBBs. The demons, the artifacts, the druid, and, yes, even psionics, all give me lots of ideas on how to create a campaign that doesn't feel like "generic" fantasy. I also think Eldritch Wizardry has the strongest swords-and-sorcery vibe of all the OD&D books, which is just fine by me.

2. Greyhawk: I love me some Gygaxian flavor and Supplement I is dripping with it. Everything I like about AD&D is here -- without all the persnickety mindset that comes with them. I'll admit that I probably wouldn't play OD&D without at least some of the rules from Greyhawk -- variable weapon damage, for example -- so, while Supplement III edges this one out in terms of inspiration, it's a very close second.

3. Ready Ref Sheets: I've become so dependent on this compilation for playing OD&D that it's almost as invaluable as Greyhawk. It's also a smorgasbord of inspirational ideas.

4. Strategic Review: Lots of great ideas in these early 'zines, including some, like the illusionist and ranger, that I'm very fond of.

5. Chainmail: I have never used the Chainmail combat system with OD&D, but I still find myself drawn back to its descriptions of fantasy creatures and spells for ideas to use in my games.

[rick krebs]

1. Greyhawk: D&D without 2 claws and a bite and variable damage is not D&D to me
2. Strategic Review: fantastic resource in the early days
3. Blackmoor: Dave Arneson with Tim Kask edit, great combo
4. Ready Ref Sheets: Best of the third party stuff
5. Eldritch Wizardry: Druids, of course

[Falconer]

Fascinating! :-) So far, unanimous love for Greyhawk and the Ready Ref Sheets, with The Strategic Review and Eldritch Wizardry trailing just behind!

[cyclopeatron]

A slight departure from the unanimity. The supplements that have most influenced my actual gaming at the table:

1. Empire of the Petal Throne - Amazingly creative. Pure inspiration. A masterpiece.
2. Metamorphosis Alpha - Genius! Still fresh and unique!
3. Greyhawk - What can I say... thieves, variable weapon damage, etc.
4. Ready Ref Sheets - Useful for brainstorming up adventures
5. First Fantasy Campaign - Can't keep away from this one for wacky inspiration.

I haven't seen the Strategic Reviews... I'd like to get a hold of copies somehow.

[jmccann]

No one has yet mentioned Arduin Grimoire so I will. Random bits and pieces from one book or another bring little snippets of color and imagination, but as a whole I don't think it could be imported to the extent that say Greyhawk, Blackmoor or EW could be.


Edited for grammar only

[Falconer]

Cool, jmccann. Give us your ranking!

[jmccann]

Hmm. OK.

1. Greyhawk - variable damage, thieves, more spells. Very useful.
2. Eldritch Wizardry - Demons! Cool artifacts!
3. Arduin Grimoire - Crazy random stuff. Lots of color, easy to borrow bits.
4. Monster manual
5. Player's Handbook


Some commentary: Blackmoor is out, seemed a little fluffy. Monks meh. Assassins meh.

SOme may complain that MM and PHB were not supplements, but that is pretty much how we played till the DMG came out. Then it was all AD&D.

[geoffrey]

Jul 5, 2010 18:40:15 GMT -6 James Maliszewski said:

Greyhawk: I love me some Gygaxian flavor and Supplement I is dripping with it. Everything I like about AD&D is here -- without all the persnickety mindset that comes with them.

I thoroughly agree.