George Pollard

D&D

1 min read

The first D&D game published was:

Dungeons & Dragons (1974)

AKA: OD&D, 0e D&D, White Box D&D

Produced byGary Gygax & Dave Arneson and first released in 1974. The first member of the D&D family.

The game comprises three volumes, published separately:

  1. Men & Magic
  2. Monsters & Treasure
  3. The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures
Link to original

After this zeroth edition, the game split into two branches: Advanced & Basic.

The Basic Line

Basic D&D (Holmes, 1977)

AKA:: Blue Book or Blue Box D&D

Published under the title Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set in 1977, and authored by J. Eric Holmes based upon Dungeons & Dragons (1974). This was the first release of the Basic D&D line and it covered player characters up to level 3.

Link to original

B/X D&D (Moldvay & Cook, 1981)

AKA: B/X D&D, Magenta Box D&D, Blue Box D&D

The name “B/X” comes from the two books which make up this edition:

  • Basic Set (1981) by Tom Moldvay, covering levels 1–3
  • Expert Set (1981) by Dave Cook, covering levels 4–14
Link to original

BECMI D&D (Mentzer, 1983)

AKA: Red Box D&D

Authored by Frank Mentzer and published in a series of five books:

  • Basic Set (1983); red box, levels 1–3
  • Expert Set (1983); blue box, levels 4–14
  • Companion Set (1983); teal, levels 15–25
  • Master Set (1984); black, levels 26–36
  • Immortals (1985); gold, levels 37+
Link to original

D&D Rules Cyclopedia (1991)

AKA:: RC D&D

Published in 1991 under the title of the Rules Cyclopedia and edited by Aaron Allston, this was the final release of the Basic D&D line.

The three publications included in the core of this edition were;

  • Basic Set (1991); black, levels 1–5
  • Rules Cyclopedia (1991); levels 1–36
  • Wrath of the Immortals; levels 37+
Link to original

The Advanced Line

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Gygax, 1977)

Written by Gary Gygax and published in 1977. The first entry of the Advanced D&D line.

  • Monster Manual (1977)
  • Player’s Handbook (1978)
  • Dungeon Master’s Guide (1979)
Link to original

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Cook, 1989)

Written by Dave Cook and published in 1989, the second and final entry in the Advanced D&D line.

  • Player’s Handbook (1989)
  • Dungeon Master’s Guide (1989)
  • Monstrous Compendium (1989)
  • Monstrous Manual (1993, replaces Compendium)
  • Player’s Handbook revised (1995)
  • DMG revised (1995)
  • Player’s/DM’s Option series…
Link to original

After this the two lines rejoined.

Transclude of D-and-D-3rd-Edition-(2000)

Transclude of D-and-D-3.5-(2003)

Transclude of D-and-D-4e-(2008)

Transclude of D-and-D-5e-(2014)

Transclude of D-and-D-2024-(2024)

See Also

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