The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977

June 26, 2024 0 By Gary

Last week Wizards of the Coast released a historical opus on the origins of Dungeons & Dragons – and it is massive. More than 500 pages of rare documents, including some that have never been shared with the public.

Stuff like reproductions of Gary Gygax’s first draft of original D&D, supplements, fanzine articles even correspondence between Gygax and Dave Arneson, the game’s co-creators.

So many gaming tropes were conceived of during this formative period: hit points, the idea of “levelling up” and so much more. We take these ideas for granted now, but then, it was groundbreaking.

Featuring commentary by Jon Peterson, identified as one of the game’s foremost historians, The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977 is an unvarnished look at the game’s origins, warts and all.

In some of those earliest publications, you can even see the seeds of some original concepts that have remained steady throughout the game’s life cycle.

Take the black dragon, for example. Unlike its more well known cousin the red, it doesn’t breathe fire, instead gouts of caustic acid.

Why is this relevant? Well, within the The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977, are reproduced copies of a fanzine wherein Gygax collected some of his earliest thoughts on dragons…

Grayte Wourmes was written by Gary Gygax as an inclusion to the fanzine Thangordrim. The zine was primarily for a Lord of the Rings inspired version of the game Diplomacy, but Gygax explore dragonology through the eyes of “the late Professor S.K. Eltolereth, DrD.”

Side note, I don’t know what DrD stands for but I hope it’s Doctor of Dragons.

(Also, since I’m quoting directly from the book, I will leave the original typos in tact. Writing on a typewriter wasn’t easy)

“Like it’s northern cousins the balck species has no internal fire, rather they distill a potent caustis enzyme which they spit forth in long streams when anygry.”

Prior to this, Smaug of The Hobbit created the trope of the fire-breathing dragon. Yet here we have a different take on it; a unique spin. That’s endured for 50 years.

Sure, it doesn’t say “acid,” but a caustic enzyme is surely close enough to acid for me, and that’s what it became.

There is so much in this book that is just like that.

Stuff you might not be able to read elsewhere, offering explosive insights into the foundation of a game that’s become global phenomenon.

Should you buy it?

As always, it depends.

If you’re fascinated by origin stories (like I am, which you may have noticed throughout my writing) it is well worth the investment. There’s plenty in here to read, re-read, and if you are particularly hardy (and ale-fueled)…play.

This is one-of-a-kind.

It would also make an incredible gift for someone who loves D&D but has all the books, doesn’t need any more dice (how??), and has all the bells and whistles that come with their TTRPG setup.

It might not be something they’d buy for themselves…but it’s something they might love.

If you just like playing D&D and don’t much care about what happened before 5e, then it might not be as exciting for you.

One note of caution on this product is the price point: at $99.99 USD, listed at $137.05 CAD on Amazon, it isn’t a cheap book. To be clear: I’m not saying the price you’ll pay isn’t worth the amount of effort and production value in here, because it is. The book is gorgeous, well laid out, and is a treasure trove of info on this period. For what you’re getting the price is right; maybe even better than right.

But this is a deluxe product and not suitable for every budget.

If your choice is between the latest hardcover adventure (hours of fun with your friends) or this fascinating look at the history of the game (hours of reading) I would surely recommend the adventure.

If, however, the price point is within your budget, and you’re just the least bit curious what might be inside? I’d encourage you to pick it up.

It’s a critical hit.