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D&D Basic Set - Players Manual (BECMI Ed) (Basic)
D&D Basic Set - Players Manual (BECMI Ed) (Basic)
Preface
This is a game that is fun. It helps you
imagine.
"As you whirl around, your sword ready, the
huge, red, fire-breathing dragon swoops
toward you with a ROAR!"
lots more. But you already have everything you need to start: this package, and
your imagination. That will do it.
Ah, yes; it does cost one more thing,
which you also have right now a bit of
time. It takes a few minutes to learn the
basic rules, and another hour or two to
play a full game. You will probably want
to spend more time, and might even
make it a hobby; millions of people have.
But for now, just sit back and imagine.
"Your character stands atop a grassy hill. . .
the sun glints off your golden hair, rippling in
the warm breeze . . . you absent-mindedly rub
the gem-studded hilt of your magic sword, and
glance over at the dwarf and elf, bickering as
usual about how to load the horses . . . the
magic-user has memorized her spells, and says
she's ready to go . . . a dangerous dungeon
entrance gapes at you from the mountain
nearby, and inside, a fearsome dragon awaits.
Time to get moving . . .
Have Fun!
Frank Mentzer
February, 1983
Acknowledgements
The following individuals have made
this work possible through its years of
evolution: Dave Arneson, Brian Blume,
Dave Cook, Anne C. Gray, Ernie Gygax,
E. Gary Gygax, Allen Hammack, Kevin
Hendryx, John Eric Holmes, Harold
Johnson, Tim Kask, Jeff Key, Rob
Kuntz, Alan Lucien, Steve Marsh, Tom
Moldvay, Mike Mornard, Jon Pickens,
Brian Pitzer, Michael Price, Patrick L.
Price, Paul Reiche, Evan Robinson, Gordon Schick, Lawrence Schick, Don
Snow, Edward G. Sollers, Garry Spiegle,
Stephen D. Sullivan, Ralph Wagner, Jim
Ward, Jean Wells, and Bill Wilkerson.
Thanks also to Donald Paterson, for
opening my own door to the D&D
world, and special thanks to Harold
Johnson, who escorted me in.
IP Players Manual
\t-2/
Dedication
3
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53
55
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63
You also need equipment for adventuring. You are carrying a backpack and
other items, very similar to what you
would carry when camping. Some of
these items include food, water, rope, a
lantern, and so forth; for now, just assume you have everything you need to
survive in the wilderness.
With monsters around, you need protection! You are wearing armor made of
links of chain (called chain mail) and a
helmet. You own a beautiful sword, and
have a dagger tucked into one boot, just
in case. You know how to use all of your
equipment properly.
If you like, you can give your fighter a
name. It doesn't matter whether you are
male or female.
All set? Let's go!
Sharing adventures
As your fighter talks with the cleric, you
get to know each other a little better. She
offers to come along, to help in the adventure. Although this means that the
treasure should be split between you, it
also means that together you can defeat
more dangerous monsters, and find
more treasure. And two adventurers
have a better chance of success than either does alone. You decide that it would
be a good idea, and together you set off
down the next corridor.
Aleena can't iind Bjiglc, and ib alai ting to look worried. Suddenly, the sound
of a spell comes from a far corner of the
room! The cleric turns and runs in that
direction, waving her mace and shouting, the black-robed magic-user appears
in the same corner as the spell noise,
with a glowing arrow floating in the air
beside him. He points at Aleena; the arrow shoots out, and hits her! She wails
and falls with a sigh, collapsing in the
middle of the room. The glowing arrow
disappears.
Peering into it, you find that the corridor leads outside, into the midday sun.
Carefully, in case Bargle is waiting to
ambush you, you walk outside and all
is clear and calm.
You rest a bit, pick up the cleric, and
head back to town. Once there, you take
her body to her church. It's too late to
help her, but they can give her a proper
burial. They thank you for your kindness, and offer a favor in return. You
remember the strange small bottle in
Bargle's bag, and get it out, asking
whether they can tell you what it is.
One of the clerics opens the bottle,
and sniffs at it. "Why, it seems to be a
magical potion!" he exclaims. "Let me
see, now, I'm sure I've smelled that
before. Ah! I remember. It's a Potion of
Growth! If you drink it, you will become
a giant for a short time, for one to two
hours and can do double normal
damage when you hit a monster. Congratulations, it's a nice magical treasure!
Your character
Alignment: How characters
and monsters behave
Take a moment, now, and think about
how your character behaved. The
fighter was one of the "good guys." You
wanted to do the right things; for example, you brought the cleric back home
with you. On the other hand, the magicuser and the goblin were the "bad guys."
They didn't care whether you lived or
died, just what they could get from you
selfish, and nasty besides.
There is a way to describe how your
character behaves in the game; it is
called Alignment. Your fighter's Alignment is called Lawful, he tries to protect
others and defeat monsters.
Aleena the cleric was also Lawful.
This is one reason why you became
friends. Your Charisma helped when
you first met her, but if your Alignments
were different, you probably wouldn't
have been so friendly to each other.
Bargle, the magic-user, had a different Alignment than yours. He was
Chaotic, the opposite of Lawful. He was
selfish, cared only about himself and
steals from others. Most people don't
like chaotic's. You two wouldn't normally
become friends at all (except for the
spell he cast, that magically forced you to
be his friend for a short time).
Monsters have alignments, too. The
goblin and the ghouls were Chaotic. But
the snake wasn't really bad or good (although it certainly was dangerous). Its
Alignment is called Neutral. It will fight to
protect itself and will help others, if that
will help it, but is mostly concerned with
surviving. Neutral doesn't mean stupid
(Alignment has nothing to do with Intelligence); it means a balance, an average
between the Law and Chaos. The snake
was just a typical animal, trying to stay alive
and get something to eat.
Alignment will be explained in more
detail later in this booklet, on page 55.
Ability Scores
Let's take a closer look at your character.
Your fighter has the following Ability
Scores:
17
9
8
11
16
14
Strength
Intelligence
Wisdom
Dexterity
Constitution
Charisma
Your character
Adjustments
There is a place on the sheet for "adjustments" next to your Ability Scores. If
any Ability Score is very high or low,
there may be adjustments, which can be
good or bad. The adjustments will apply
to certain die rolls in the game. An
"average" Ability Score is any number
from 9 to 12, and has no adjustments.
Strength: With a low Strength score, it
would be harder to hit monsters, and
you would have a "minus" adjustment, a
penalty. But your great Strength gives
you a bonus, the "plus" adjustment.
Your + 2 bonus helps you in fighting; it
is added to both your Hit Rolls and to
the Damage you do. It also helps when
you try to perform feats of strength
like breaking open a stuck door, or
lifting a huge rock.
The + 2 adjustment has already been
included in your Hit Rolls for the Solo
Adventures in this booklet.
Intelligence: Your Intelligence is average so there are no adjustments here.
Because of your intelligence, your character can speak two languages. You can
speak the same language as all the other
humans, which we call "Common."
Your fighter can also speak a code
language, called an "Alignment
Tongue." This is used to speak privately
with someone else of the same Alignment. (In your first adventure, you
could have spoken to Aleena the cleric in
the Lawful tongue, and Bargle the
magic-user wouldn't have understood
what you were saying; he speaks Chaotic.) Characters usually don't use their
Alignment tongue unless they have to.
You can say that you speak "Common"
and "Lawful." Near the bottom of the
sheet is a place to write the names of
your languages.
Wisdom: Your Wisdom is 8, just below
average, so you have a penalty adjustment
of 1. As with your Strength bonus, your
Wisdom penalty has been included in the
Solo adventure to come.
In group games, you will subtract one
from your die roll each time you make a
Saving Throw against a magic spell.
Aleena the cleric had a bonus against
magic spells, because of her high Wisdom,
but she had a penalty on her Hit rolls,
because of her low Strength score.
Saving Throws
In the first adventure, you made Saving
Throws against poison and magic spells.
When you try to save yourself from a
special attack, you roll the twenty-sided
die; if the result is equal to or higher
than your number you succeed in avoiding the attack.
There are three other Saving Throws,
against Magic Wands (if someone shoots
one at you), Paralysis (which would have
been used if one of the ghouls had hit
you), and Dragon Breath (dragons can
be very dangerous, so there weren't any
in your first adventure). You will always
use a twenty-sided die to roll a Saving
Throw.
For most characters, the easiest Saving
Throws to make are those against Poison
and Magic Wands, and the hardest are
those against Dragon Breath and Magic
Spells. Saving Throws are explained in
more detail in the Dungeon Masters
Rulebook.
Special Abilities
Your character does a better job at fighting than any other type of character, but
10
Combat Chart
You know how to roll when your character wants to hit a monster; this is called a
"Hit Roll." You will always use a twentysided die for Hit Rolls.
You will not need to use this Combat
Chart until you play in a group game.
When you read a one-player adventure,
the Hit Roll you need will be given. This
will include your Strength adjustment as
well as the monster's Armor Class.
In group games, you will use a slightly
different procedure, using this chart. In
the D&D combat system, every creature
has an Armor Class, whether it is wearing armor or not. If your roll (including
the Strength adjustment) is a number
high enough to match or beat the number listed under the target's Armor
Class, you will hit the target, and can
then roll Damage. This will be explained
in more detail later.
TURN THE SHEET OVER
We are done with the hardest parts, but
there are a few more things to come. Be
very careful when you get to "Money"
and "Experience."
Your character
Magic Items
Whenever you find a magic item, write it
down here. This includes the magic potion you found in your first adventure!
In this box, write Potion of Healing the
magic item you found in Ending #1.
(Since you probably missed the Saving
Throw against Bargle's spell, we will use
that ending for your character's adventure. You will need the Potion of Healing
in your next adventure.)
Normal Items
This is where you list the equipment that
your character has. Copy the following
list into the box, and look it over so you
know what you are carrying. For now,
don't worry about how much the items
cost or where they came from.
You have a dagger and other normal
equipment again, even though Bargle
stole some. We will assume that you kept
spare equipment at home but the list
here is all that remains.
YOUR EQUIPMENT LIST
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
Flasks of oil
Tinderbox
Rope, 50'
Leather backpack
Standard rations (preserved food)
Waterskin (leather canteen)
Lantern
Torches
Small sacks
Large sack
Suit of Chain Mail armor
Shield
Dagger
Sword
Other Notes
This is a way to help you remember who
your character has met, and where you
have gone. You should write down
"Caves near town; met Bargle, Chaotic
magic-user." Make more notes as you
play more adventures.
pieces
pieces
pieces
pieces
pieces
pp
gp
ep
sp
cp
gP :
ep:
sp:
cp:
7
50
20
40
100
1 gem: 100 gp
=
=
=
=
=
Your character
Experience
In the game, your character will become
more powerful each time you complete an
adventure. The way of measuring this
"power" is another number, called Experience Points; the abbreviation is XP.
When your character started, you had
no Experience Points. But in your first
adventure, you killed a giant snake and a
goblin, and found some treasure. You get
Experience Points for each of these things.
For the treasure you found, you get
200 XP (one experience point per gold
piece value). For killing the monsters,
you get 30 more. That adds up to 230
XP, but it's not your total. You also get a
bonus because you are a Fighter and
have an above average Strength score.
This bonus is + 10% of your XP. Since
you earned 230, you get 23 bonus
points, for a total of 253 XP. In the
Experience box at the bottom of the
page, write "253."
Did you notice that you get a lot of
FOUR-SIDED d4
SIX-SIDED d6
Dice
This is a very important section
Be sure to read it carefully.
When you have several dice, they are
just called "dice" but one is called a
"die." Each side of a die is called a "face."
Each type of die is named for the number of faces it has. The dice, and the
abbreviations for them, are used in
every adventure, so you should get to
know them well.
Check to be sure your set has all the
dice you need:
The four-sided die looks like a pyramid. Try to spin it as you throw it, to be
sure of making a fair roll. When it lands,
only the bottom number on each face is
right-side up; this is the result of the
"roll." For all the other dice, roll them on
a table or flat surface, and the number
on top is the result of the roll.
The ten-sided die has a zero on one
face, which is read as "ten."
The ten-sided die can also be used to
find a Percentage (a number from 1 to
100), in the following way. Roll the die
once and read the result as the "tens"
EIGHT-SIDED d8
TWELVE-SIDED d l 2
TWENTY-SIDED d20
Solo adventure
In the following one-player adventure,
you will explore a dungeon, looking for
monsters and treasures. Part 1 is a shopping trip in town. In Part 2, you will
learn more about battles. And in Part 3
you will visit the dungeon. You will often
be given choices, and asked to pick one.
Each choice gives a number; turn to that
number to find the results of your
choice. Your adventure will continue
from there.
13
Solo adventure
Part 2: Battles
You are almost ready to enter the "dungeon." But first, you need to learn a little
more about battles.
You already know how to swing at a
monster:
You roll ld20 (a twenty-sided die),
and compare the result to the Hit roll
given in the description. If you rolled
that number or higher, you hit the
enemy, and roll Damage.
More Damage!
In your first adventure, each time you
hit a monster you.did 1 point of damage.
However, from now on, you will roll Id6
(a six-sided die) to see how much
damage you do to the creature you are
fighting.
You will keep track of the damage in
the same way, writing down the starting
number and subtracting the damage
each time you hit. Just cross off the old
number of hit points, and write down
the new number.
The Monsters
Monsters will also be able to do more
damage. In your one-player games, you
will keep track of their damage on a
separate sheet of paper along with your
own. In group games, the Dungeon
Master keeps track of all the monster
details.
Some monsters do 1-6 points of
damage, just as you do. But sometimes
they do more or less than Id6. Each time
you encounter a monster, the information you need will be given in a box, like
this:
GOBLIN: 17
You: 12
D: Id6
hp: 4
Combat Checklist
A step-by-step list of everything you
need to do when fighting a monster is
given on the same page as the monster
description (the boxed information).
Use this checklist for every battle, to be
sure you are running each one correctly.
Record Keeping
Use a piece of scrap paper to keep track of
the battles. Whenever you find some treasure, write down the amount and type on
the same paper. Experience points will be
given at the end of the adventure, but you
will need a list of the creatures your fighter
conquers. All the points for treasure and
experience will be added up at the end of
the adventure.
Getting Killed
If your character is slain by the monsters, that is the end of the adventure.
But it's not the end of the game! You can
start the fighter over again, pretending
that it is a new character.
If you play this adventure a second
time, do not keep any treasure found
before you "got killed!" You should start
the character over again, from the beginning.
Remember that you are carrying a
THINGS TO REMEMBER
1. Keep a record of the monsters
killed and treasure found, using a
separate piece of paper.
2. Use the Combat Checklist whenever you have a battle.
3. Roll Id6 each time you hit, to find
the amount of damage done.
4. Drink your potion when you are
badly hurt.
Mapping
This time, you will make a map of the
dungeon so you don't get lost. Maps also
help in remembering where the worst
monsters were like the ghouls so
you can avoid them until you feel ready
for them.
You will draw your map on a piece of
graph paper. Each line one square long
will equal 10 feet in the dungeon. Copy
each map carefully. Draw an arrow
pointing to the top of the paper and
label it "North", then draw a line across
the arrow and label "East, South, and
West." This will help you remember the
directions.
As you draw your maps be sure to
write notes on it to help you remind you
where things are.
If you don't make a map as you go,
you will probably get confused.
Solo adventure
Part 3: Into The Caves
Since you explored some of the caves
earlier, you find yet another entrance to
venture into this time. After finding a
suitable cave, you pause to be sure you
are ready.
The caves are dark and dreary, as you
remember from the last time, so you get
out your lantern and light the wick,
using your tinderbox. Then, carefully,
you step into the first "room."
Tear the sheet of graph paper out of
the center of this booklet. Then, starting
near the bottom, copy Entry 1 Map:
1 The room you are in is fifty feet
square, with 10' wide exits in the middle
of the north, south, east, and west walls.
The ceiling of the room is 15' up, but the
corridors are only 10' tall.
The walls, floor, and ceiling are made
of rough rock. There are some cracks
and crevices in the rock walls, all very
small. Standing in the exact center of the
room is a stone statue of a woman in
armor. You examine it carefully, and
finally even touch it but it is merely a
statue, nothing magical or special.
You have entered this 50' square
room by the southern corridor, which
leads out to fresh air and sunlight. The
other corridors are dark. The light from
your lamp helps, but shadows linger in
the corners of this large room. Do you
want to:
Stop and Listen?
Search the room?
Go down a corridor?
Read 42
Read 57
Read 58
Read 62
Read 27
Read 62
Read 3
L_
i-
Entry 8 map
Entry 15 map
Solo adventure
16 You are leaving the Rust Monster
room, heading west. Have you mapped
this part of the dungeon yet?
No
Yes
Read 28
Read 62
Read 32
Read 50
Read 63
Read 66
Read 37
2 2 If you have been in this room before, please read 39. Otherwise, continue:
You enter the strange room to investigate. The room is empty and clean, and
the only feature is the orange mouth on
the far wall, about 8' long. The room
looks like Entry 22 Map (add it to your
map):
You search the room, listening and
looking carefully, but you find nothing.
Suddenly, as you are about to leave, the
lips of the giant mouth move, and in a big
booming bass voice it says, "Surprise! You
are here for double-or-nothing! Ready or
not, here we go. O-T-T-F-F-S-S. What's
next in line? If you solve this riddle, your
treasure will double. If you fail, it will all
disappear. What is your answer?"
If you try to leave, you find the way
blocked by an invisible force. "You must
answer, y'know!" bellows the mouth.
Think about it, and decide what the
answer is. Then read 82.
2 3 You go back to the room where the
giant rats were and continue through,
arriving back at the first room. Read 58.
2 4 You suddenly feel different (either
more or less weighted down, depending
Read 30
Read 47
Read 72
Read 84
Yes
No
Read 15
Read 14
Read 64
Read 73
Read 51
Entry 22 map
Solo adventure
3 0 The skeletons ignore your chatter,
and swing again. One of them hits you,
doing 2 more points of damage. Return
to 26.
Read 31
Read 4
Read 73
Read 87
4 6 You try to bash the door open without using a key, but without success. The
solid door remains securely closed. You
eventually give up, passing the scattered
skeleton bones as you head out to the
main corridor. Read 62.
Yes
No
Read 55
Read 67
Read 5
Read 45
Read 12
Read 56
Read 86
Read 73
Read 87
Entry 43 map
Talk to it?
Run away?
Fight?
Go North?
Go South?
Investigate?
Read 31
Read 4
Read 22
Read 69
Read 33
Read 20
Solo adventure
51 You try to keep talking, but the
goblin attacks; it misses. You suddenly
hear more goblin noises to the north,
and see 2 more goblins coming, with
their swords out and looking very angry.
Do you want to:
Run away?
Fight?
Read 73
Read 87
5 6 As you turn to run away, the monster quickly attacks, and gets in your way.
You cannot retreat! Read 86.
5 7 You search the room carefully, and
you find a small scrap of paper in a
niche (small hole) in one wall. Opening
it, you discover a note, written in the
Common tongue:
RATS EAST
GOBLINS NORTH
BEWARE WEST!
You can also see parts of the corridors
leading out of the room, which look like
Entry 57 Map.
You find nothing else in the room.
Return to 1.
5 8 From this room, you can go many
ways. Do you want to:
Go
Go
Go
Go
East?
West?
North?
South?
Read 79
Read 43
Read 10
Read 2
Read
Read
Read
Read
25
74
77
68
6 0 Your armor, shield, sword, and dagger have all been turned to rust by the
fearsome Rust Monster! But now that
you have no more metal, the creature
turns away from you, not interested any
more. You can see, now, that it has no
teeth or claws, and can't actually hurt
you!
You watch as it ambles over to one of
the piles of rust, and it starts to eat,
ignoring you completely.
Keeping a careful eye on the creature,
you look around the room. There are
gems here and there, some covered by
rust; you collect six of them! Their total
value is 300 gp.
Since you are unprotected and unarmed, you go east to the first room and
then go outside, heading for town.
To find how many Experience Points
you have earned, read 88. You will also
have to go shopping for more armor
and weapons. The shopping list is given
in 89.
61 You peer into the skeleton room,
and see that nothing has changed. If you
already investigated the door, there is
nothing more to do here; read 62.
If you want to investigate the door in
this room, read 27.
6 2 You are at an intersection of the
corridor to the north and the east-west
corridor. Do you want to:
Read 15
Read 48
Read 14
Go North?
Go East?
Go West?
IIII
/JNI
Entry 53 map
Entry 57 map
Solo adventure
6 3 You leap out and attack the goblins!
You will get two free swings before they
can get their swords out. Read 85, and
run the battle normally after taking your
2 free attacks.
6 4 You attack the goblin. Your first
swing misses, and the goblin misses you.
But you see, coming from the north corridor, two more goblins, waving swords
and looking very angry. Do you want to:
Keep fighting?
Run away?
Read 87
Read 73
Read 36
Read 21
Read 53
66 You try to open the door, but without success. Your key doesn't seem to
work. You hear a goblin voice say from
the other side, in Common, "Go away!
We don't want any!" You may keep trying, if you wish, but the goblins seem to
have barred the door.
You must eventually go back, so read
37.
67 Since you didn't kill the Rust Monster, it's still there, eating rust. Are you
dragging a large chest full of coins?
Yes
No
Read 81
Read 41
Read 28
Read 6
71 You approach the room with caution, listening to the squeaking. But suddenly, three giant rats jump out of the
shadows and attack! One of them bites
you for 1 point of damage. Read 83.
72 You turn to run and a skeleton hits
you again for 1 more point of damage. If
you are still alive, you run south to a
corridor, where you can turn east or
west. Looking back, you see that the
skeletons are not following you. You stop
and catch your breath. Read 62
7 3 You decide to flee. As you turn to
run, you are hit by one goblin's sword
for 2 points of damage. (If your hit
points reach zero, you are dead unless
you can drink the potion; otherwise,
continue.) You run back into the first
room, and continue through it and out
the south passage, toward sunlight.
A group of goblins is running after
you, shouting and waving their swords.
They stop at the cave entrance, and keep
screaming and waving their swords; but
there are too many of them. You decide
to go home.
This is the end of this adventure.
Read 88 to find your Experience Points
and treasures. If you wish to buy some
supplies, the Equipment List is given in
89.
7 4 You try to talk to the rats, but talking doesn't work. You only give yourself
away, and they attack! One of them bites
you for 1 hit point of damage. Read 83
to run the rest of the battle.
7 5 You have defeated the pair of
goblins! But before you can look around
the room, you hear noises from the
north. Three more goblins are coming
down the north corridor. They have
their swords out and look angry. Do you
want to:
Read 73
Read 35
Read 87
Run away?
Talk?
Fight?
19
Read 17
Read 6
Read 17
Read 6
Solo adventure
8 0 You put the key in the lock and turn
until you hear it "click." Putting the key
away you open the door.
There is a small room behind the
door! The area looks like Entry 80A
Map (add it to your map):
The room is empty except for one
large chest by one wall. You walk over to
it, and discover that it's made of heavy
wood with metal bands around it. It isn't
locked (luckily), so you carefully open it.
But alas it's trapped. Make a saving
throw vs. Magic Wands! (You need to
roll a 13 or higher on ld20.)
This Saving Throw is used for many
things. Generally, it indicates whether
you jump out of the path of danger
such as the beam of a magic wand. However, in this case, the danger is a blade,
mounted on the edge of the chest and
connected to a metal spring. When you
open the lid, the blade sweeps out
toward you.
If you made the Saving Throw, you
jump back as the blade misses you. However, if you missed the Saving Throw,
you take 4 points of damage!
If you are struck down to zero hit
points or less, you can grab your potion
if you still have it and drink it before you pass out. It will cure you somewhat, but only back up to 4 hit points. If
you don't have the potion left sorry,
but you are dead! (Special note: In group
games, you will not be allowed to do this.
Zero hit points indicates death, with no
extra time to do anything.)
If the trap kills you, read 90. But if
you survived the trap, continue reading.
You look in the chest and see hundreds of coins 500 cp, 200 sp, and 200
ep. You start to close the chest and drag
it out with you. But as you close the lid,
you see a peep hole in the north wall,
about an inch across. It was blocked by
the door as you entered.
You look through, and see a short corridor that goes north 20' and turns left.
To the east, by the turn, is a large door
with two stout bars across it. A goblin is
standing by the door, apparently on
guard. The area looks like Entry 80B
Map.
There is a crack in the wall near this
peep hole. You suddenly realize that the
crack might be the edge of a secret door!
This treasure chest must belong to
goblins! However, you can't open the secret door, so you drag the chest back out,
past the scattered bones of the dead skeletons and south to the main corridor.
Read 62.
81 Oops! As you enter the room, the
Rust Monster looks up from its feeding,
grunts, and runs toward you. It rushes
to the chest you are dragging, and before you can escape, it dissolves the
metal bands around the chest. The chest
comes apart, coins falling everywhere,
and the creature gleefully turns all the
coins to rust! Do you want to:
Go East?
Go West?
Attack the creature?
Read 29
Read 16
Read 86
GIANT RATS: 17
You: 10
D: Id6
hp: 5 each
1
1
D: Id6
hp: 4 each
D: Id3
hp: 2 each
L n
Entry 83 map
Solo adventure
COMBAT CHECKLIST
Player Actions
1. Make a Hit roll
2. If you hit, roll Id6 to find the
damage done to the monster,
adding 2 for your Strength bonus;
then:
3. Subtract that damage from the
monster's hit points. When its hit
points reach zero, the monster is
dead.
Monster Actions
4. Make Hit Rolls, 1 for each monster (there may be more than one
monster attacking at the same
time!);
5. For each attack that hits you, roll
to find the Damage done to you,
using the dice indicated. Then:
6. Subtract that damage from your
hit points. If your hit points reach
zero, you are dead.
8 6 You are fighting the Rust Monster!
RUST MONSTER: 13
You: 15
D: rust
hp: 15
5 each
5 each
10 each
300
D: Id6
hp: 5 each
Solo adventure
8 9 You want to go shopping. Instead
of making an adventure out of it (like
the beginning of this trip), you may simply imagine that you are visiting the various shops in town, buying whatever you
need. The items you may buy armor,
weapons, and other equipment are
listed below, along with their prices.
To make a shopping trip, first write
down the items you want, and their
prices, on a piece of scrap paper. Then
add up the total cost. If you can afford
what you want, subtract that total cost
from your treasure. Write the items in
the "Normal Items" section on the back
of the Character Sheet. Be sure to write
the new total treasure in the Money box.
Weapons
Dagger
Sword
Armor
Leather Armor
Chain Mail Armor
Plate Mail Armor
Shield
Other Equipment
Backpack, leather
Flask of Oil
Lantern
Mirror (hand-sized, steel)
Pole (wood, 10' long)
Rations:
Iron Rations
(preserved food
for 1 person
for 1 week)
Standard Rations
(unpreserved food
for 1 person
for 1 week)
Rope (50' long)
Sacks:
Small
Large
Tinder Box (flint, steel, dry
wood shavings and twigs)
Torches (6)
Waterskin (or wineskin)
Wine (1 quart)
3
10
20
40
60
10
5
2
10
5
1
15
wm.
Skeletons
5
1
1
3
1
1
1
starting the game. It explains all the information needed, and includes a step-bystep game for everyone to enjoy while
learning. But a new DM should not try to
run a game before looking at that book.
A group game is best with 3-6 players.
Each player should know how to play. If
there is time, each person should read
through this booklet, just as you have. You
may also teach someone yourself, by explaining what you have learned, giving
them one of the simple characters in this
booklet (the Fighter, or Dwarf for example), and helping them during the game.
When you play in a group, you may
play your fighter, or you may choose any
of the other six characters included in
the center of this booklet. Before the
game, be sure to read the description of
Character Classes
Most D&D characters will be humans. A
human can be a Cleric, Fighter, MagicUser, or Thief. Humans are the most
widespread of all intelligent beings.
A character may also be a nonhuman: a Dwarf, Elf, or Halfling. Each
of these classes is also a separate race of
beings. They are all commonly known as
"Demi-humans," because they seem to
be partially human. The demi-human
races are all distantly related to the
human race.
One sample character for each of the
seven classes is included in the center of
this booklet. You may play those characters in group games, but before you do,
be sure to read the full description of the
class.
You may create a new character instead of using those in this booklet.
When you do, you will roll dice to determine Ability Scores. If the scores are
high enough, the character can be a
demi-human; otherwise, the character
must be human. The rules for creating
characters are given on pages 48-52.
9-12
13-15
16-18
- 20%
- 10%
No adjustment
+
5%
+ 10%
Saving Throws
Each character class will have a Saving
Throw Table. Copy the numbers onto
your character sheet. Your Dungeon
Master will tell you when you need
them. To make a Saving Throw, roll
ld20. If the result is equal to or greater
than the number given your Saving
Throw is successful.
Prime Requisite
Each character class has a specialty. For
example, a fighter's specialty is Strength;
a cleric's is Wisdom. This specialty is
called the Prime Requisite for the class
(abbreviated "PR").
If a character's PR score is above average, the character gains a bonus every
time Experience Points are earned. See
23
Adjustment to
Experience
11
12
14
16
15
Explanation of Cleric
Experience Table
XP: When this number of Experience
Points have been earned, the cleric automatically moves up to the next Level of
Experience.
Level
Title
Acolyte
Adept
Priest (or
Priestess)
24
No. of
Spells/
Spell Level
None
1 First
2 First
Other Details:
Prime Requisite: A cleric's PR is
Wisdom. If a cleric has a Wisdom score
of 13 or more, the character gains a
bonus to Experience Points earned in
every adventure.
Hit Dice: A six-sided die (Id6) is used to
determine a cleric's hit points. A cleric
starts with 1-6 hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any) and gains Id6 more
hit points (plus bonus) with each Level
of Experience.
Armor: A cleric may wear any kind of
armor, and may use a shield.
Weapons: A cleric cannot use any weapon
with a sharp edge; this is forbidden by the
cleric's beliefs. A cleric may only use a
mace, club, war hammer, or sling.
A cleric has two Special Abilities: Turning Undead monsters and casting Cleric
Spells.
1. Turning Undead
A cleric has the power to force away certain monsters called the "Undead" (skeletons, zombies, ghouls, wights, and
other more powerful types). No other
class has any special effect on the Undead. This special ability is called "Turning" the Undead monsters.
When a cleric encounters an Undead
monster, the cleric may either attack it
normally (with a weapon or spell), or try
to Turn it. The cleric cannot both attack
and Turn Undead in one round.
When you want your cleric to try to
Turn Undead, just tell your Dungeon
Master "I'll Turn the Undead."
The Undead monsters are not automatically Turned by the cleric. When the
encounter occurs, the player must refer
to the Cleric Turning Undead Table to
find the effect the cleric has.
Using the Cleric Turning
Undead Table:
When the cleric encounters an Undead
monster, find the cleric's Level of Experience on the left side of the chart. Then
read across to the column under the name
of the Undead monster, and apply the results immediately. If the attempt succeeds,
one or more of the Undead monsters will
retreat, but may soon return.
Explanation of Results
7, 9 or 11: Whenever a number is
given, the cleric has a chance to Turn
the Undead monsters. The player
rolls 2d6 (two six-sided dice). If the
total is equal to or greater than the
number given, the attempt at Turning Undead is successful. A cleric's
chances improve as more Levels of
Experience are earned.
T: The attempt at Turning the Undead
automatically succeeds.
N: No Effect. The cleric cannot Turn
that type of undead.
Skeleton
1
2
3
T
T
Success: If the attempt at Turning Undead succeeds, the Dungeon Master will
roll 2d6 to determine the number of Hit
Dice of Undead monsters that turn
away. You might not Turn all the monsters encountered, but if you succeed in
Turning, at least one will be affected. A
Turned monster will not touch the cleric
and will flee as far from him as possible.
2. Clerical Spells
When a cleric reaches the 2nd Level of
Experience (having earned 1500 XP or
more), the cleric can use spells.
Learning Spells:
To learn a spell, the cleric meditates. The
memory and details of the spells appear in
the cleric's mind. The spells may be cast at
any time thereafter. The cleric will remember each spell until it is cast, even if it is not
used for days or weeks.
As a player, all you need to do is
choose whatever spells you want your
character to have. This can only be done
at the start of an adventure. You may
choose any of the spells described hereafter. You may not choose any magicuser spells; they are a different type.
A 2nd Level cleric can cast one spell
per adventure. A 3rd Level cleric can
cast two spells per adventure.
In more advanced games, adventures
may last more than a day. In such cases,
a cleric can gain spells each morning, if
completely rested. Any and all spells
may be changed at this time, if desired.
Undead Monster
Zombie
Ghoul
9
Wight
11
9
N
11
9
Casting Spells:
In the game, when you want your character to cast a spell, just tell your Dungeon Master. The DM may ask for some
details; for example, some spells are cast
25
Cleric's
Level
given diameter, or a square or rectangular "box" of a given size; both are measured in feet.
Spell Power:
When a cleric reaches 4th level, more
powerful spells can be cast. These are
given in the D&D EXPERT Set. The
power of a spell is described in a way
similar to the power of a character.
Spells of the lowest level of power are
called "First Level" spells. The D&D
EXPERT Set describes spells of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth level.
Sixth and Seventh level spells are described in the D&D COMPANION Set.
Detect Evil
Range: 120'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Everything within 120'
When this spell is cast, the cleric will see
evilly enchanted objects within 120'
glow. It will also cause creatures that
want to harm the cleric to glow when
they are within range. The actual
thoughts of the creatures cannot be
heard. Remember that "Chaotic" does
not automatically mean Evil, although
many Chaotic monsters have evil intentions. Traps and poison are neither good
nor evil, merely dangerous.
Detect Magic
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Everything within 60'
When this spell is cast, the cleric will see
magical objects, creatures, and places
within range glow. It will not last very
long, and should be saved until the cleric
wants to see if something found during
an adventure is, in fact, magical. For
example, a door may be held shut magically, or a treasure found might be
enchanted; in either case, the magic
item, creature, or effect will glow when it
is within the effect.
Light
Range: 120'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Volume of 30' diameter
This spell creates a large ball of light, as
if a bright torch were lit. If the spell is
cast on an object (such as the cleric's
weapon), the light will move with the
object. If cast at a creature's eyes, the
creature must make a Saving Throw. If
the Saving Throw is failed, the victim
will be blinded by the light until the
duration ends. A blinded creature may
not attack.
Remove Fear*
Resist Cold
Range: 0
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: The cleric only
Range: Touch
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Any one living creature
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: All creatures within 30'
I '.I
In .ill"..
I I i l IIII
N I1 I I I
11 .11
i | ! I | |
I I I I - - - - .11 I I I V
11
.i-
27
. .1-
XP
Level
Title
1
2
3
Veteran
Warrior
Swordmaster
0
2000
4000
Explanation of Fighter
Experience Table:
XP: When this number of Experience
Points have been earned, the fighter
automatically moves up to the next Level
of Experience.
Title: Your fighter should use this title
when talking with other characters. Instead of saying "I'm Fleetwood, a Second
Level fighter," the character should say
"I'm Fleetwood, the Warrior."
Other Details:
Prime Requisite: A fighter's PR is
Strength. If a fighter has a Strength
score of 13 or more, the character gains
a bonus to Experience Points earned in
every adventure.
Hit Dice: An eight-sided die (Id8) is
used to determine a fighter's hit points.
A fighter starts with 1-8 hit points (plus
Constitution bonus, if any) and gains
Id8 more hit points (plus bonus) with
each Level of Experience.
Armor: A fighter may wear any kind of
armor, and may use a shield.
Weapons: A fighter may use any kind of
weapon.
Special Abilities:
Fighters need no special abilities to survive and prosper. Their great strength,
hit points, strong armor and many
weapons make them a powerful character class.
28
12
13
14
15
16
2. Choose a Class
Your Prime Requisite (and only that score) goes up 1 point for each 2
points that another Ability Score goes down.
Constitution and Charisma points can never be exchanged with
others.
Dexterity cannot be lowered (but it may be raised if you have a Thief
or Halfling character).
No score can be lowered below 9. If it is already 10 or less, it cannot
be lowered.
HUMANS
Class
Prime Requisite
Fighter
Magic-User
Cleric
Thief
Strength
Intelligence
Wisdom
Dexterity
Class
Dwarf
Elf
Halfling
a. Armor Class
b. Character Hit Roll Table
c. Saving Throws (see Combat)
DEMI-HUMANS
Minimum Scores
Con 9
Int 9
Con 9
Dex 9
Prime Requisites
Str only
Str + Int
Str + Dex
EQUIPMENT
Cost (in gp)
Axes:
Battle Axe (two-handed)
Hand Axe
Bows:
Crossbow Lt. (fires quarrels)
Case with 30 quarrels
Long Bow
Short Bow
Quiver with 20 arrows
1 silver-tipped arrow
Daggers:
Normal dagger
Silver dagger
Swords:
Short Sword
Normal Sword
Two-Handed Sword
Other Weapons:
*Mace
*Club
Pole Arm (two-handed)
*Sling with 30 Sling Stones
Spear
*War Hammer
Item
Backpack
Flask of Oil
Holy Symbol
Holy Water (1 vial)
Lantern
Mirror (hand-sized, steel)
Pole (wood, 10' long)
Rations:
Iron Rations (preserved food
for 1 person for 1 week)
Standard Rations (unpreserved food
for 1 person for 1 week)
Rope (50' long)
Sacks:
Small
Large
Spikes (iron, 12) and small Hammer
Thieves' Tools
Tinder Box (flint, steel, dry
wood shavings and twigs)
Torches (6)
Waterskin (or wineskin)
Wine (1 quart)
Wolfsbane (1 bunch)
7
4
30
10
40
25
5
5
3
30
10
15
5
3
7
2
3
5
(Note: Items will be added to this list in the D&D EXPERT Set.)
ARMOR
Item
Leather Armor
Chain Mail Armor
Plate Mail Armor
Shield
29
Lars Hjertstedt (order #6605655)
2
25
25
10
5
1
15
5
1
1
2
3
25
3
1
1
1
10
Character classes
ELF
Hit Dice: Id6 per level
CLERIC
Hit Dice: Id6 per level
XP
0
1500
3000
Cleric's
Level
1
2
3
No. of Spells/
Spell Level
Level
Title
Acolyte
Adept
Priest
(or Priestess)
2
3
9
7
T
0
4000
8000
None
1 First
2 First
XP
XP
Level
Title
0
2000
4000
1
2
3
Veteran
Warrior
Swordmaster
2500
5000
XP
Medium
Seer
Conjurer
2
3
Title
up to 400 en
401-800 en
801-1200 en
1201-1600 en
1601-2400
2401 and more
25
20
20
89
30
20
30
1-3
XP
0
2200
4400
1
2
3
120
90
60
30
15
0
40
30
20
10
5
0
Small sack
Backpack
Large sack
Saddle bag
MULE MOVEMENT/ENCUMBRANCE
Title
Encumbrance
up to 3000 en
3001-6000 en
6001 en or more
Dwarven Veteran
Dwarven Warrior
Dwarven Swordmaster
120
90
60
30
15
0
Except for "Hear Noise," each number is the Percentage chance that
the thief is successful in using that Special Ability. "Hear Noise" is
determined in a similar way, using ldb.
DWARF
Hit Dice: Id8 per level
Level
Halfling Veteran
Halfling Warrior
Halfling Swordmaster
Apprentice
Footpad
Robber
Tide
1 First
2 First
2 First
plus 1 Second
0
1200
2400
1
2
3
+ 1 bonus to the Hit Roll when using any missile (see "Additional
Rules")
No. of Spells/
Spell Level
THIEF
Hit Dice: Id4 per level
Level
1 First
2 First
2 First
plus 1 Second
Combat Bonuses:
- 2 bonus to Armor Class when attacked by creatures larger than
man-size
MAGIC-USER
HALFLING
Hit Dice: Id6 per level
Level
0
2000
4000
Title
Veteran-Medium
Warrior-Seer
Swordmaster-Conjurer
XP
FIGHTER
Level
1
2
3
N
11
9
XP
Title
Wight
11
9
7
No. of Spells/
Spell Level
Level
Movement Rate
120'/turn
60'/turn
0
Player's Name
Dungeon Master
Character's Name
Alignment
Class
Level
Armor
Class
ABILITIES:
STRENGTH
INTELLIGENCE
WISDOM
DEXTERITY
CONSTITUTION
CHARISMA
SAVING THROWS:
POISON or
DEATH RAY
\Z
adjustment
adjustment
MAGIC WAND
adjustment
TURN TO STONE or
PARALYSIS
adjustment
adjustment
LANGUAGES:.
SPECIAL SKILLS: Spells, Thief's abilities, Cleric's turning, etc.
TARGET AC:
HIT ROLL
NEEDED
'
9
10
'
11
8
'
7
12
31
'
6
13
'
5
14
4
'
15
3
'
16
"~~
17
18
19
NORMAL ITEMS
EXPERIENCE
GEMS:
TOTAL VALUE:
32
Lars Hjertstedt (order #6605655)
Sample Characters
One sample of each character class is
provided here for your convenience.
You may use these characters in group
adventures, but not in the Solo Adventure in this booklet.
Cleric
Magic-User
Thief
9 Strength
11 Intelligence
17 Wisdom ( + 2 bonus to Saving
Throws vs. magic)
8 Dexterity (1 penalty to missile fire
Hit rolls; + 1 penalty to AC)
14 Constitution ( + 1 bonus to hit point
rolls)
16 Charisma (+ 1 bonus to reactions)
Dwarf
Elf
Halfling
Armor Class: 4
Hit Points: 5 (roll of 5, no adjustments)
Money: 6 gp
XP: 0
Equipment:
Backpack
Iron rations
Chain mail armor
Shield
Short bow
20 normal arrows
Short sword
4 silver arrows
Tinder box
6 torches
1 wineskin (full)
1 waterskin (full)
See page 47 for special abilities and
full class description.
Spells
Cleric Spells: First Level
Cure Light Wounds*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Any one living creature
Detect Evil
Range: 120'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Everything within 120'
Detect Magic
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Everything within 60'
Light*
Range: 120'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Volume of 30' diameter
Charm Person
Range: 120'
Duration: See below
Effect: One living "person"
Detect Magic
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Everything within 60'
Floating Disc
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Disc remains within 6'
Hold Portal
Range: 10'
Duration: 2-12 (2(16) turns
Effect: One door, gate, or similar portal
Light
Range: 120'
Duration: 6 turns +1 turn per Level of the magic-user
Effect: Volume of 30' diameter
Magic Missile
Range: 150'
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: Creates 1 or more arrows
Protection from Evil
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
Read Languages
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
Read Magic
Range: 0
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: The magic-user only
Shield
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
Sleep
Range: 240'
Duration: 4-16 (4d4) turns
Effect: 2-16 Hit Dice of living creatures within a 40' x 40' area
Ventriloquism
Range: 60'
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: One item or location
Continual Light
Range: 12O7
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Volume of 60' diameter
Detect Evil
Range: 60'
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Everything within 60'
Detect Invisible
Range: 10' per Level of the magic-user
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
ESP
Range: 60'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: All thoughts in one direction
Invisibility
Range: 240'
Duration: Permanent until broken
Effect: One creature or object
Knock
Range: 60'
Duration: See below
Effect: One lock or bar
Levitate
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns +1 turn per Level of the magic-user
Effect: The magic-user only
Locate Object
Range: 60' + 10' per Level of the magic-user
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: One object within range
Mirror Image
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
Phantasmal Force
Range: 240'
Duration: Concentration
Effect: A volume 20' x 20' x 20'
Web
Range: 10'
Duration: 48 turns
Effect: A volume 10' x 10' x 10'
Wizard Lock
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: One portal or lock
35
SAVING THROWS
a. Death Ray or Poison
d. Dragon Breath
b. Magic Wands
e. Rods, Staves or Spells
c. Paralysis or Turn to Stone
Cleric
Fighter
Magic-user
Thief
Dwarf
Elf
Halfling
Normal Man
9
10
8
11
7
12
6
13
5
14
4
15
-1
16
17
18
19
20
INTELLIGENCE ADJUSTMENTS
Intelligence
Score
3
4-5
6-8
9-12
13-15
16-17
18
120
140
100
80
40
30
20
180
210
150
160
60
50
30
Charisma
Score
Reaction
adjustment
3
4-5
6-8
9-12
13-15
16-17
18
1.
2.
3.
4.
Effect
Has trouble with speaking, cannot read or write
Cannot read or write Common
Can write simple Common words
No adjustments; can read and write Common and
Alignment languages
+ 1 Language
+2 Languages
+3 Languages
CHARISMA ADJUSTMENT
- 3 Penalty
- 2 Penalty
- 1 Penalty
No adjustment
+1 Bonus
+ 2 Bonus
+ 3 Bonus
3
4-5
6-8
9-12
13-15
16-17
18
Armor Class
9
7
5
3
Bonus of 1*
Crossbow, (Lt)
Long Bow
Short Bow
Sling
Spear
Oil or Holy Water
Hand Axe or Dagger
17
15
16
15
15
12
15
12
17
Weapon
16
15
16
16
13
15
13
- 20%
-10%
No adjustment
+ 5%
+ 10%
3-5
6-8
9-12
13-15
16-18
ARMOR CLASS
Armor type
No armor
Leather
Chain Mail
Plate Mail
Shield
14
14
13
13
10
13
10
16
12
13
14
14
9
13
9
15
11
12
13
13
8
12
8
14
36
Retainers
Maximum
number
Morale
-i
No adjustment
+1
+1
+2
HIRING RETAINERS
Find NPCs
Explain the job, make offer
Hire, buy equipment
Make retainer sheet
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
MAGIC-USER SAVING
THROW TABLE
Death Ray or Poison
Magic Wands
Paralysis or Turn to Stone
Dragon Breath
Rods, Staves, or Spells
Special Abilities
A magic-user can cast magic spells, as
described hereafter.
Spell Power:
There are many spells for magic-users to
use. The power of a spell is described in
a way similar to the power of a character.
Spells of the lowest level of power are
called "First Level" spells, which can be
used by beginning magic-users. Higher
level spells are usable by higher level
characters. Be careful not to confuse
your character's Level of Experience
with the level of a spell's power.
XP
0
2500
5000
37
Other Details:
Level
Title
No. of Spells/
Spell Level
1
2
3
Medium
Seer
Conjurer
1 First
2 First
2 First plus 1 Second
EXAMPLE: .'The;
onius the Seer
Sleep and Shield;
adventure,'he <fa
twice (as he can. _^,
adventure). He <*
and still remembefj;0!(*
to be used later in thai i
The character must be able to gesture
and speak without interruption to cast a
spell. While casting a spell, the magicuser must concentrate, and may not
move. A spell cannot be cast while the
character is walking or running. If the
magic-user is disturbed while casting a
spell, the spell will be ruined, and will
still be "erased," just as if it had been
cast.
Types of Spells:
Most spells have an effect that lasts for a
given time. For example, a Magic Missile
spell creates a glowing arrow that follows
the magic-user around, either until it is
shot or until a turn passes (10 minutes).
However, some higher level spells may
have "instant" duration. A Fire Ball spell
creates an explosion which causes
damage. The damage remains until
cured, but the spell itself only lasts part
of a second, much less than a round.
Casting Spells:
In the game, when you want your character to cast a spell, just tell your Dungeon Master.
KXAMI'LE: "I'm casing u Slei'p spell
some details: for example, MUIHspells are i.ist at .i tdigei. ;md wui
miiM tell Lhe DM whji LIM- t.ugri is.
'I he player dues mu hint- in Icdin JI>\
I
38
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Detect Magic
Floating Disc
Hold Portal
Light
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Read Languages
Read Magic
10. Shield
11. Sleep
12. Ventriloquism
Charm Person
Range: 120'
Duration: See below
Effect: One living "person" (see below)
This spell will only affect humans, demihumans, and certain other creatures.
The victim is allowed a Saving Throw vs.
Sleep
Range: 240'
Duration: 4-16 (4d4) turns
Effect: 2-16 Hit Dice of living creatures
within a 40' square area
This spell will put creatures to sleep for
up to 16 turns. It will only affect creatures with 4 + 1 Hit Dice or less generally, small or man-sized creatures. All the
creatures to be affected must be within a
40' x 40' area. The spell will not work
against Undead or very large creatures,
such as dragons. Any sleeping creature
can be awakened by force (such as a slap
or kick). A sleeping creature may be
killed with a single blow of any edged
weapon, regardless of its hit points.
Your Dungeon Master will roll to find
the total Hit Dice of monsters affected,
using 2d8. The victims get no Saving
Throw.
Range: 0
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: The magic-user only
This spell will allow the magic-user to
read, not speak, any magical words or
runes, such as those found on magic
scrolls and other items. Unfamiliar
magic writings cannot be understood
without using this spell. However, once a
magic-user reads a scroll or runes with
this spell, that magic can be read or
spoken later (without) using a spell. All
spell books are written in magical words,
and only their owners may read them
without using this spell.
Shield
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
This spell creates a magical barrier all
around the magic-user (less than an inch
away). It moves with the magic-user.
While the duration lasts, the magic-user
becomes Armor Class 2 against missiles,
and AC 4 against all other attacks.
40
If a Magic.Missile is shot at a magicuser protected by this spell, the magicuser may make a Saving Throw vs.
Spells (one Saving Throw per missile). If
successful, the Magic Missile will have
no effect.
Ventriloquism
Range: 60'
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: One item or location
This spell will allow the magic-user to
make the sound of his or her voice to
come from somewhere else, such as a
statue, animal, dark corner, and so forth.
SECOND LEVEL
MAGIC-USER SPELLS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Continual Light
Detect Evil
Detect Invisible
ESP
Invisibility
Knock
Levitate
Locate Object
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Web
Wizard Lock
ESP
Range: 60'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: All thoughts in one direction
This spell will allow the magic-user to
"hear" thoughts. The magic-user must
concentrate in one direction for six
rounds (1 minute) to ESP the thoughts
of a creature within range (if any). Any
single living creature's thoughts may be
understood, regardless of the language.
The thoughts (if any) of Undead creatures cannot be "heard" with this spell.
If more than one creature is within
range and in the direction concentrated
on, the magic-user will "hear" a confused jumble of thoughts. The magicuser may only sort out the jumble by
concentrating for an extra six rounds to
find a single creature. The ESP will not
be hampered by any amount of wood or
liquid, and will penetrate as much as 2
feet of rock, but a thin coating of lead
will block the spell.
Detect Invisible
Range: 10' per Level of the Magic-user
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The magic-user only
When this spell is cast, the magic-user
can see all invisible creatures and objects
within range. The range is 10' for each
level of the magic-user. For example, a
Conjurer can use this spell to see invisible things within 30'.
41
Knock
Range: 60'
Duration: See below
Effect: One lock or bar
This spell will open any type of lock.
Any normal or magically locked door
(by a Hold Portal or Wizard Lock spell),
and any secret door, may be opened
when found (but a secret door must be
found before it can be Knocked open).
Any locking magic will remain, however,
and will take affect once again when the
door is closed. This spell will also cause a
gate to open, even if stuck, and will
cause any treasure chest to open easily. It
will also cause a barred door to open,
magically forcing the bar to fall to the
floor. If a door is locked and barred, both
will be opened.
Levitate
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn per Level of
the magic-user
Effect: The magic-user only
When this spell is cast, the magic-user
may move up or down in the air without
any support. This spell does not, however, allow the magic-user to move from
side to side. For example, a magic-user
could levitate to a ceiling, and then could
move sideways by pushing and pulling.
Motion up or down is at the rate of 20'
per round. The spell cannot be cast on
another person or object. The magicuser may carry a normal amount of
weight while levitating, possibly another
man-sized creature if not in metal armor. Any creature smaller than man-size
can be carried, unless similarly heavily
laden.
Phantasmal Force
Web
Range: 240'
Duration: Concentration (see below)
Effect: A volume 2O'x2O'x2O'
Range: 10'
Duration: 48 turns
Effect: A volume 10' x 10' x 10'
This spell creates or changes appearances within the area affected. The
magic-user should create the illusion of
something he or she has seen. If not, the
DM will give a bonus to Saving Throws
against the spell's effects. If the magicuser does not use this spell to attack, the
illusion will disappear when touched. If
the spell is used to "create" a monster, it
will be AC 9 and will disappear when hit.
If the spell is used as an attack (a phantasmal magic missile, collapsing wall,
etc.), the victim may make a Saving
Throw vs. Spells; if successful, the victim
is not affected, and realizes that the
attack is an illusion. The phantasmal
force will remain as long as the magicuser concentrates. If the magic-user
42
13
14
13
16
15
0
1200
2400
Level
Title
1
2
3
Apprentice
Footpad
Robber
43
MOVE SILENTLY will always seem successful to the thief. However, the DM
will know (based on the Percentage roll)
whether the thief's movement is actually
heard by nearby enemies, who may then
take appropriate action.
HIDE IN SHADOWS means that the
thief moves into and remains in shadows, also using neutral concealment.
Movement is possible while hiding, but
not attacking. The attempt will always
seem successful to the thief, but only the
DM will know for sure.
PICK POCKETS may be risky. If the
DM rolls a number greater than twice
the given chance for success, the thief is
n o f n n l v s e e n b v t h o s e n e . i r h v b u t is
<.111_; 11T i n i h e ,ii i l>\ i l i e i i i i e n d e d \ ic l i m .
u l l o I I I , I \ 1,111(1 n l l e l l d u e s i l e u I 1111l.iwu.ll'h.
HEAR NOISE (checked using Id6) applies both to listening at doors and hearing the footsteps of approaching monsters. However, there is too much noise
during battles to hear anything unusual.
Using thief special abilities
Watch for opportunities to use Special
Abilities, and simply tell your Dungeon
Master when you want your thief to use
one. Be sure you understand how each
Level of Experience
1
2
3
Open Locks
Find Traps
Remove Traps
15
10
10
20
15
15
25
20
20
Climb Walls
Move Silently
Hide in Shadows
87
20
10
88
25
15
89
30
20
20
1-2
25
1-2
30
1-3
Pick Pockets
Hear Noise
(Id6)
one works. The attempt will automatically fail if improperly used. For Example: An ogre is charging at the party, so
you say "My thief will Hide in Shadows
and get out a dagger." The DM replies,
"The ogre sees the movement, and
heads straight for your thief!"
Backstabbing: If a thief can sneak up on a
victim, completely unnoticed, the thief
may Backstab. If the intended victim sees,
hears, or is otherwise warned of the thief's
approach, a Backstab may not be taken,
but the thief may still attack normally.
When Backstabbing, the thief gains a
bonus of +4 on the Hit Roll, and if the
target is hit, the damage done is twice
normal.
EXAMPLE: An Apprentice is carrying a sword, and sees an ogre approaching the partv. The player sajs
'Til Hide in Shadows." The 1JM rolls
W on drji. so ihe ogre does not see rhc
thief (but the DM docs not announce
that fact). During the batik:, the ogre
eis turned around, with its back
towards the thief. '1 he player says "I'll
try to move in for a Backstab!" The
DM decides that the ogre doesn't
notice the thief's approach (no roll i
made: it depends on the situation,
and the I)Ms judgment) and savs
"'I he ogre doesn't notice you; roll for
a Baikstab." The thief player then
makes a Hit Roll, adding 4 lo it. li the
ogre is hit, the player rolls for
damage, doubling the result.
When no battle is in progress, a Backstab attempt may require a "Move Silently" check. Your DM will make all the
necessary rolls.
Special Abilities:
A dwarf has special vision, knows several
languages, and can detect certain things
better than other characters.
Vision: Dwarves have Infravision in addition to normal sight and can see 60' in
the dark. Infravision is the ability to see
heat (and the lack of heat). Normal and
magical light makes infravision useless.
With infravision, warm things seem
red, and cold things seem blue. For
example, an approaching creature could
be seen as a red shape, leaving faint
reddish footprints. A cold pool of water
would seem a deep blue color. Even
items or creatures which are the same
temperature as the surrounding air
(such as a table or a skeleton) can be
dimly seen by infravision.
Languages: In addition to the languages
of all characters the Common and
Alignment tongues, as explained on
page 51 a dwarf can speak dwarf,
gnome, goblin, and kobold. The character may have problems reading and writing these languages, however, as explained on the same page.
8
9
10
13
12
XP
0
2200
4400
Level
Title
Dwarven Veteran
Dwarven Warrior
Dwarven Swordmaster
2
3
45
Other Details:
Description
Special Abilities:
XP
0
4000
8000
Level
Title
No. of
Spells/
Spell Level
1
2
3
Veteran-Medium
Warrior-Seer
SwordmasterConjurer
1 First
2 First
2 First
plus 1 Second
46
EXAMP1
wall
find a.aecrtt.
Immunity to Ghoul Paralysis: All elves
are naturally immune to the paralyzing
attacks of ghouls. Other types of paralysis, such as from a carrion crawler or
gelatinous cube, may affect them.
Spells: Elves can use magic-user spells
just as magic-users can. Read the descriptions of spell casting, spell books,
etc. on pages 39 - 42. Elves must obey all
the rules for using magic-user spells (but
not the other rules for the magic-user
class).
ELF SAVING THROW TABLE
Death Ray or Poison
Magic Wands
Paralysis or Turn to Stone
Dragon Breath
Rods, Staves, or Spells
12
13
13
15
15
Other Details:
Prime Requisite: A halfling has two
Prime Requisites: Strength and Dexterity. If either of these Ability scores is 13
or greater, the character gains a 5%
bonus to Experience Points earned in
every adventure. If both of these scores
are 13 or greater, the XP bonus is 10%.
Minimum Scores: A halfling character
must have a score of 9 or greater in both
Dexterity and Constitution.
8
9
10
13
12
0
2000
4000
Level
Title
1
2
3
Halfling Veteran
Halfling Warrior
Halfling Swordmaster
Special Abilities:
A halfling gains several combat bonuses
(some due to their small size) and can
hide easily in woodlands.
47
2. Choose a Class
Each type of character is called a Class.
Your first character's Class was Fighter.
You know now that there are other
kinds of adventurers: clerics, magicusers, and thieves. You could play one of
those, or even a character that's not
human: you can be a dwarf, an elf, or a
short child-sized person called a halfling.
Each of these seven adventurer types is a
Character Class.
48
CREATING A CHARACTER
Class
Fighter
Magic-User
Cleric
Thief
If you wish to play a non-human character, you may pick one of these if you
have rolled the minimum Scores given,
or if you can exchange ability points (see
step 3) to meet the minimum Score(s)
for the Class.
Whichever Class you pick, you should
read the full description of the Class on
pages 23 - 47 before you get to step 6.
Prime Requisites
If you rolled well and chose well, the
Ability Score of your Prime Requisite
should be 9 or greater. But it can be fun to
play characters with lower scores, too.
Imagine a poor dwarf who is perfectly
healthy (Constitution 16) but very weak
(Strength 5); he does the best he can in
combat, but doesn't do much damage.
The fun in the game comes from role
playing, and this could be a very interesting character to play. Remember that you
can always start another character later.
For a very high Prime Requisite Score,
your character gets a bonus to XP (Experience Points). At the end of each adventure, when the Dungeon Master gives
Class
Minimum Scores
Prime Requisites
Dwarf
Elf
Halfling
Constitution
Intelligence
Constitution
Dexterity-
Strength only
Strength + Int.
Strength + Dext.
Fighter
Dwarf
Cleric
Elf
Halfling
Magic-User
Thief
Id8
Id8
Id6
Id6
Id6
Id4
Id4
Adjustment
3
4-5
6-8
- 3 Penalty
- 2 Penalty
- 1 Penalty
No adjustment
+ 1 Bonus
+ 2 Bonus
+ 3 Bonus
9-12
13-15
16-17
18
Armor Type
No armor
Leather
Chain Mail
Plate Mail
Shield
7
5
3
Bonus of 1*
iln_- k m r i
ilu-
\ (
iniiiilici,
0 -1
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Charisma
Score
Reaction
adjustment
3
4-5
6-8
-2
-1
9-12
13-15
16-17
18
Retainers
Maximum
number
Morale
1
-1
No adjustment
+1
+1
+2
3
4
5
6
7
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Use of Languages
Has trouble with
speaking, cannot
read or write
Cannot read or write
Common
Can write simple Common words
Alignment
Be sure you understand what Alignment is; it was explained briefly during
Playing in a group
How to Prepare
D&D games are the most fun with 2-6
players plus one Dungeon Master. When
you get a group together, each of you
can pick one of the characters included
in this booklet. All the different types
are there, and each character is all ready
to go, with Ability Scores, hit points, and
Alignment. All you have to do is pick the
one you want, think of a name, and
select some equipment.
ONE PERSON MUST BE THE DUNGEON MASTER.
Whoever that is, the person should
read the DUNGEON MASTER'S
RULEBOOK to see what is involved.
This must be done before a group gets
together to play.
Remember that everyone will be
learning together during your first
group games. The DUNGEON MASTER'S RULEBOOK contains step-bystep instructions to help everyone learn,
but have patience. A module (separately
published adventure) should not be used
in your first games. The DM should use
the dungeon in this set, which contains
many hours of entertainment and can
be used for two or three games. The "B"
series of modules may be used after that.
While you are using that adventure,
the Dungeon Master should review the
rules. The Additional rules may be
added at some point, if desired. More
adventures and dungeons may either be
created by the DM or purchased from
stores. Eventually, your characters will
reach 4th Level, and you will want to
move on to the D&D EXPERT Set rules.
Setting Up
When your group gets together to play,
everyone should bring what they need,
including dice, pencils and paper, and
characters (preferably on Character
Sheets). Refreshments, if desired, are
often brought by everyone, as a game
may go on for hours.
A table is normally used. The Dungeon
Master sits at one end, with the secret
information about the dungeon to be explored. The DM often uses an upright
piece of stiff cardboard (called a "shield"
or "screen"), to hide the description and
maps of the dungeon so they are not
accidentally seen by any of the players.
The players sit around the table, away
from the DM, where they can all easily
see any maps made during the adventure, the order of the figures (if used),
and so forth. To avoid confusion, the
table should be kept clear of other items.
During the game, players should be
allowed to refer to the PLAYERS MANUAL whenever they wish. They should
not be allowed to see the DUNGEON
MASTER'S RULEBOOK during the
game! The mystery and excitement of
unknown monsters and magic can be
spoiled if someone looks up the details
during the game.
If you only have two or three players,
the DM may allow the use of a few hired
non-player characters, retainers. The
rules for retainers are given in the DUNGEON MASTER'S RULEBOOK.
Mapper and Caller
Although each person will be playing
the role of a character, the players
should also handle the jobs of "Mapping" and "Calling." Any of the players
can be the "Mapper" or "Caller," whatever their characters may be.
The mapper is the player who draws a
map of the dungeon as it's explored.
One or more of the characters should be
making maps, but one of the players
must make the actual game map. The
map should be kept out on the table for
all to see and refer to. Pencil should
always be used in making the map, in
case of errors and tricky passages.
Mapping is an important part of
imagining where your characters are.
Sooner or later, all players should learn
to make maps. If you play often, take
turns at mapping; it is an important and
useful skill to learn.
The caller is a player who announces to
the Dungeon Master what the group of
characters (the Party) is doing. The Caller
must check with every player to find out
what all the characters are doing, and then
tell the DM (quickly and accurately) what
they plan to do. The Caller does not tell
the others what to do; the Caller merely
reports what is going on.
The Caller's first job is to find out the
"party order" the way the characters
are lined up or grouped during normal
travel. The Caller should also report the
movements of the group, such as "We'll
go northeast through the woods," or
"We'll turn right at the next corridor."
53
Playing in a group
Treasure
Before the adventure begins, all the
players should decide how the treasure
will be divided after it is found. This is a
very important decision, as characters
earn more XP from treasure than from
anything else. The method of division is
left entirely to the players!
The most common method is described on page 55. You may use it if you
wish, or you may make up your own.
The method should be chosen before
starting, to avoid arguments later.
Marching Order
You should arrange your characters in a
line, either singly or two-by-two, for a
"Standard Marching Order." If figures
are used, the DM can easily see everyone's position; otherwise, write the
Marching Order on a piece of paper for
the DM's reference.
You should have at least one Fighter
in front, as this is where most of the
action takes place. A short person (halfling or dwarf) should also be in front of
taller folk. Those behind may still see
clearly, and are able to cast spells or
shoot arrows over the shorter characters'
heads.
Weaker characters (Magic-Users and
Thieves, especially) should be in the
center of the Marching Order, protected
front and rear by Fighters or Clerics. If
this is not possible, the characters with
the best Armor Class and/or Hit Points
should occupy the outer positions.
If you change the Marching Order
during the game (if a front Fighter is
badly wounded, for example), be sure to
correct the figure setup (or the DM's
diagram) accordingly.
Tactics of Play
When you are ready to go, your Dungeon Master will start telling you what
the characters see. In beginning games,
the characters often start at the dungeon
entrance; the DM then describes the
entryway, asking questions of the Caller
when choices can be made ("Turn right
or left?"). All the players should listen
carefully to the descriptions, and play
the roles of their characters as they react
to the situations that develop.
The Marching Order will be used as
Playing in a group
Dividing the Treasure
The amount of treasure your characters
find is decided by the Dungeon Master,
who places the treasures and monsters
in the dungeons. The DM is also responsible for giving Experience Points to the
characters at the end of the adventure.
The division of treasure is usually left
to the players, though some DMs have
their own rules for it, especially with
well-developed fantasy worlds. There
are several methods for dividing treasure, as both normal (coins, gems, and
jewelry) and magical (potions, wands,
etc.) treasures can be found.
As a rule, the division of treasure
should not be based on the amount of
work done by the different characters.
Fighters will usually be more active than
others, and thieves may have little to do;
though the role may be played well,
there may be few traps and locks to deal
with. But each character risked danger
in search of treasure, and each should
have done special work as needed; it is
not the character's fault if few needs
arose.
Beginning players should use the following method for dividing treasure.
Other methods are discussed at the end
of this booklet. But whatever methods
are used, they should be decided upon
before the party goes on the adventure, to
avoid arguments afterwards.
Magical Treasure
Magical treasures are usually divided
first, as the results affect the division of
normal treasure.
Each character may pick one item
(each) from the magical treasure found.
The order in which they choose may
either be decided as a group or by
random roll. If by random roll, each
player rolls ld20; the player with the
highest roll picks first. If there is a tie,
everyone rolls again. When all the magic
items have been taken, divide the normal treasure.
Normal Treasure
Count the number of shares to be given,
using the following method.
Some magic items are "permanent." A
magic sword, for example, is never
"used up," but a potion is only good for
one use. A potion is called a "temporary"
magic item.
Character Alignment
Three basic ways of life guide the acts of
both player characters and monsters.
Each way of life is called an alignment.
The three alignments are named Law,
Chaos, and Neutrality. Each alignment
has a language that includes hand signals and other body motions. Player
characters always know how to speak
their alignment language in addition to
any others they may know. If a monster
is able to speak, it will also be able to use
its alignment language.
Players may choose the alignments
they feel will best fit their characters. A
player does not have to tell other players
what alignment he or she has picked, but
must tell the DM. Most Lawful characters will reveal their alignment if asked.
When picking alignments, the characters should know that Chaotics cannot
be trusted, even by other Chaotics. A
Chaotic character does not work well
with other player characters.
The alignments give guidelines for
characters to live by. The characters will
try to follow these guidelines, but may
not always be successful. If a DM feels
that a player is not keeping to a character's chosen alignment, the DM may
suggest a change of alignment or give
the character a punishment or penalty.
Law (or Lawful) is the belief that everything should follow an order, and that
obeying rules is the natural way of life.
Lawful creatures will try to tell the truth,
obey laws, and care about all living
things. Lawful characters always try to
keep their promises. They will try to
obey laws as long as such laws are fair
and just.
If a choice must be made between the
benefit of a group or an individual, a
Lawful character will usually choose the
group. Sometimes individual freedoms
must be given up for the good of the
group. Lawful characters and monsters
often act in predictable ways. Lawful
behavior is usually the same as behavior
that could be called "good."
Chaos (or Chaotic) is the opposite of
Law. It is the belief that life is random,
and that chance and luck rule the world.
Everything happens by accident and
nothing can be predicted. Laws are
made to be broken, as long as a person
can get away with it. It is not important
to keep promises, and lying and telling
the truth are both useful.
To a Chaotic creature, the individual
is the most important of all things. Selfishness is the normal way of life, and the
group is not important. Chaotics often
act on sudden desires and whims. They
cannot be trusted, their behavior is hard
to predict. They have strong belief in the
power of luck. Chaotic behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be
called "evil."
Neutrality (or Neutral) is the belief that
the world is a balance between Law and
Chaos. It is important that neither side
get too much power and upset this balance. The individual is important, but so
is the group; the two sides must work
together.
A Neutral character is most interested
in personal survival. Such characters believe in their own wits and abilities rather
than luck. They tend to return the treatment they receive from others. Neutral
characters will join a party if they think it
is in their own best interest, but will not
be overly helpful unless there is some
sort of profit in it. Neutral behavior may
be considered "good" or "evil" (or neither), depending on the situation.
Playing in a group
Example of Alignment Behavior
THE SITUATION: A group of player
characters is attacked by a large number
of monsters. Escape is not possible unless the monsters are slowed down.
A Lawful character will fight to protect
the group, whatever the danger. The
character will not run away unless the
whole group does.
A Neutral character will fight to protect the
group as long as it is reasonably safe to do
so. If the danger gets too great, the charac-
ognize when another alignment language is being spoken, but will not understand it. Alignment languages are
not written down, nor may they be
learned unless a character changes alignment. When this happens, the character
forgets the old alignment language and
starts using the new one immediately.
Note that playing an alignment does
not mean a character must do stupid
things. A character should always act as
intelligently as the Intelligence score
shows, unless there is a reason to act
otherwise (such as a magical curse).
Adventuring Rules
Here are some additional details you will
need at some point during your adventures.
Using Your Equipment
Some of the standard equipment may be
new to you. The following items can be
used in various handy ways:
Iron spikes and Hammer: These can
be used to wedge doors open, provide grips for climbing, pry things
loose, and so forth.
Mirror: Some creatures can turn you
to stone with their gaze. If you use a
mirror to look around corners, examine empty rooms, and so forth, you
might avoid a nasty surprise.
Rations and Wineskin: Your character food and drink. Standard rations
may become moldy and unusable if
you stay in a dungeon overnight, so
carry Iron (preserved) rations whenever possible. Standard rations are
fine for long trips overland.
Rope: This can be tied to an iron
spike and used to climb up steep
walls. It may also be useful in tying up
captured prisoners, pulling doors,
open, etc.
Wolfsbane: This herb is useful when
fighting werewolves and other lycanthropes. You may use it as a weapon
try it and see what happens.
Wooden Pole: A character in front of
a party may sometimes avoid being
surprised if a pole is used to tap on
the floor ahead, poke into corners,
touch suspicious-looking items, etc.
Time
Movement
56
Playing in a group
Listening
You should always listen carefully while
you are exploring a dungeon; you may
hear noises that give clues about what
lies ahead. To hear anything, all the
characters must stop moving and be
very quiet. Armor and weapons clank
and rattle when you move, spoiling your
attempts at listening.
To listen for noise, simply tell the DM
that you are doing so. The DM will roll
to see if you hear anything. When listening at closed doors, each character can
try once. Thieves have better chances
than other characters. Undead creatures, like skeletons and ghouls, make no
noise at all.
Light
it takes 10 minutes (1 turn) of searching a 10' x 10' area to find a secret door.
Less time will mean automatic failure.
Traps
found inside a lock, and may be poisoned for many different effects (paralysis, damage, death, etc.).
If you wish to search for a trap, tell the
DM where you are searching, and the DM
will roll to see if you find anything. You
might have no chance to find a small trap,
such as the type on a door or treasure.
Thieves have a percentage chance at detecting any type of trap. Dwarves have
better chances at finding large traps (such
as pits) than other characters.
It takes 10 minutes (1 turn) to search for
a trap in a small area, such as a 20' square
room or a 20' long section of corridor. If
less time is spent, no trap will be found.
Wandering Monsters
You will usually encounter monsters in
rooms, rather than corridors. But the
DM makes dice rolls to see if any Wandering Monsters come by. This type of
creature usually has little or no treasure,
and is a dangerous nuisance.
Wandering monsters are often determined by the type of dungeon. For
example, caves could contain wandering
animals. A castle ruin might contain
wandering skeleton guards.
Miniature Figures
As you try to imagine your characters
and the areas they explore, it is helpful
to use miniature figures to represent the
characters and monsters. Several types
of miniature figures are available from
toy and hobby shops worldwide, made
of metal or plastic and suitable for painting. You should be able to find figures
that look very similar to your characters.
Official DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
figures are available.
To keep track of the party marching
order, line up the miniature figures on
the playing table. You may use a large
piece of graph paper to draw the rooms
and corridors found by the characters,
and simply move the figures around on
the paper. Several types of more permanent playing surfaces are available in
plastic and vinyl, and the rooms drawn
on them can be easily erased.
Scale Movement: When using miniature
figures on a playing surface, a ruler is
used to determine distance moved. One
inch represents 10 feet. A movement
rate of 60' per turn means that the
figure moves 6 inches each turn. Spell
ranges and other ranges are easily determined when an accurate scale is used.
Playing in a group
Encounter Rules
Surprise
There is more to an encounter than just
walking into a room and seeing a monster. For example, you might have
sneaked up on the creature or it
might have sneaked up on you! You
might turn a corner, and be completely
surprised to find a monster right there.
But if the monster is surprised, too, then
you would both stop for a moment and
look at each other. The mutual surprise
on both sides would cancel out, for no
effect except a short delay.
For example, let's look back at your
very first encounter with the goblin.
You entered the room, and the goblin
screamed and swung his sword at you,
but missed. You didn't get to do anything before he had swung, because you
were surprised.
ORDER OF COMBAT
A. Each side rolls for initiative, using
Id6.
B. The side that wins the initiative
acts first:
1. Morale Check (monsters and
non-player characters only)
2. Movement (using speed per
round), including Defensive
Maneuvers
3. Missile fire combat (additional)
a. Choose targets
b. Make Hit Rolls
c. Roll Damage for hits
4. Magic spells
a. Choose targets
b. Make Saving Throws if necessary
c. Apply results immediately
5. Hand-to-Hand combat
a. Choose targets
b. Make Hit Rolls
c. Roll Damage for hits
C. The side that loses the initiative
then completes all the steps given
above.
D. The DM handles all retreating,
surrender, and other special results.
Combat Sequence
Additional rules
The following rules should not be used
by beginners. They may be added after
you have played two or three group
games.
Missile Weapons
You have learned what to do when your
character gets into a fight, but so far, you
have only used a sword or dagger. These
are called "hand-to-hand" or "melee"
weapons (pronounced MAY-lay). Other
types, called "missile weapons," such as
bow and arrows, are handled somewhat
differently.
Missile fire is a type of combat used
when the enemy is too far away to fight
hand-to-hand in other words, more
than 5 feet away. Missile fire can be
affected by the distance to the enemy
(Range), objects that the enemy can hide
behind (Cover), the attacker's Dexterity
Score, and magic adjustments, if any.
Not all missiles are actual weapons.
Missile fire rules also apply when a character throws something at a monster,
such as oil or holy water.
The various types of Missile fire you
can use, and the ranges for them, are
listed on the Missile Fire Table:
The first group of weapons are devices
that fire missiles; the second group are
missiles your character throws by hand.
Whenever your character buys one of
these items, you should make a note of
the ranges. For example, a Long Bow
should be listed as 70-140-210, the longest distances it can shoot in each Range
category.
Device: A missile fire device is a weapon
that fires missiles, such as a bow or
crossbow. Devices cannot be used in
Weapon
Crossbow (Lt)
Long Bow
Short Bow
Sling
Spear
Oil or
Holy Water
Hand Axe
or dagger
120
140
100
80
40
30
180
210
150
160
60
50
10
20
30
59
Playing in a group
When your character tries to use any
type of missile fire, adjust your normal
Hit Roll for the following things:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Dexterity
Range
Cover
Magic
Combat Maneuvers
The following special forms of defensive
movement are usable by any character in
hand-to-hand combat. They may also be
used by monsters. If a player wants to
use one of these maneuvers, he or she
must say so before rolling for initiative.
These maneuvers may not be used if not
declared before that roll.
If a character is near a battle but is not
fighting hand-to-hand, that character may
move normally. The movement rate depends on the amount of weight carried, as
explained in the section on Encumbrance.
Any monster or character using a
maneuver explained hereafter is called
the "defender." The opponent is called
the "attacker."
Fighting Withdrawal
If a defender is engaged in combat and
wishes to back up slowly whilefighting,the
VMI'l \
H I I \ I I - \ i-
in
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Playing in a group
Paired Combat
When you begin a battle, both sides roll
for initiative. This one roll has applied to
everyone on each side.
Your DM may choose, for small battles,
to determine initiative for each monster or
character instead of the whole group.
When this is done, each player rolls for
initiative, adjusting the roll by Dexterity
bonuses or penalties as given on the following table. The DM will roll for each
monster involved in actual combat, adjusting the roll if the monster is very slow or
very fast. Most monsters have no adjustments to Paired Combat. One other initiative roll may be needed for other monsters
not in hand-to-hand combat, if any, compared to a similar roll for characters not
engaged in battle.
DEXTERITY ADJUSTMENT
TO INITIATIVE
(Optional)
Dexterity
Score
Initiative
Adjustment
3
4-5
6-8
-2
9-12
13-15
16-17
18
-1
-1
No Adjustment
+1
+1
+2
Encumbrance
There have been no rules in your games
thus far dealing with the amount a character can carry. You have been allowed
to pick up as much treasure as you can
find, and take it home.
"Normal speed" is used when your characters are walking through a dungeon.
"Encounter speed" is used whenever
time is kept in rounds, such as during a
battle.
"Running speed" is used whenever the
party is running away from an encounter.
Time is still kept in rounds, rather than
turns, and the party must rest afterward.
(See Movement, page 56.)
Basic Encumbrance
If a character is wearing no armor, or
merely leather armor, and carrying the
normal equipment taken on an adventure, the basic encumbrance is 300 en.
That type of character can pick up 100
coins and still use the top line of the
chart. If more treasure is carried, the
rest of the table is used to find the
movement rate.
Encumbrance
up to 400 en
401-800 en
801-1200 en
1201-1600 en
1601-2400
2401 and more
Normal
Speed
(Feet per
turn)
Encounter
Speed
120
90
60
30
15
0
40
30
20
10
5
0
61
Running
Speed
120
90
60
30
15
0
200 en
400 en
600 en
Mules
Saddlebags may also be used if your DM
allows mules to be bought. A saddlebag
will hold 1000 en. A mule normally
moves at the same rate as a character,
120' per turn, and can carry up to 3000
en while doing so. A mule can carry
6000 en at most, which cuts its movement rate in half.
MULE ENCUMBERED
MOVEMENT RATES
Encumbrance
Normal speed
up to 3000 en
3001-6000 en
6001 en or more
1207turn
60'/turn
0
Playing in a group
Retainers
A retainer is a person hired by a character to help on an adventure. Retainers
are sometimes called "hirelings." Retainers are never characters run by players; the DM always plays the part of any
retainers hired. They are called NonPlayer Characters, or NPCs. All the
people in any D&D game other than the
characters, are NPCs.
Ask your DM if retainers are permitted in the game. You cannot use retainers if there are plenty of player
characters, or PCs to do the jobs. In a
game with only one or two players,
retainers are often used.
If you want to hire a retainer, use the
following procedure:
1. Find NPCs interested in working as
retainers.
2. Tell them about the job, including the
pay you offer, what is expected of
them, and how long you intend to
keep them.
3. Some NPCs will turn down your offer, but some will probably accept. If
you find one that is acceptable, buy
all the equipment the NPC will need.
4. Make a "retainer sheet" to be kept
with your character sheet. This
should be similar to the character
information, including the retainer's
Glossary
Other Player Aids
As you can see, there is much more fun
waiting for you in the DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS game system. And there is
even more than games a whole
Hobby awaits!
Character Sheets: You will probably
want more Character Sheets when you
start making up many of your own
characters. They are available in a separate pack of 16. Be sure to get D&D
Character Sheets, not AD&D sheets, as
both are available.
Dice: More dice can be purchased in
sets, called DRAGON DICE random
number generators. Each package includes one of each type (four-sided, sixsided, and so forth), plus a crayon to
color the numbers with.
Miniatures: If you wish, you can purchase toy figures of your characters (and
monsters, too). These figures can help
you imagine better, because they give
you something to look at. Imagine a
battle with seven characters, fighting ten
monsters! It's hard to imagine exactly
what everybody is doing, so we often use
figures to help keep track of where
everybody is.
If you wish to use miniature figures,
be sure to get DUNGEONS & DRAGONS or AD&D miniatures. The other
game systems do not use the same characters and monsters. Official figures are
available in both plastic and metal.
If you wish to paint your miniatures
with realistic colors, Official D&D paints,
colors and finishes are also available at
better toy and hobby stores worldwide.
ADVANCED DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS Games
The AD&D game system is different
from the D&D system, which you have
now. It is also a fantasy role playing
game, but is much harder and more
detailed.
There are currently six hardback
books of rules for the AD&D system.
Since it is so much more complex than
the D&D system, with established rules
for almost everything, it is often used in
large tournaments, where accurate rules
are needed.
Remember: you are not playing the
more complex AD&D games with these
rules. You are playing the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game!
Glossary
Here are the definitions of terms most
commonly used in D&D games.
alignment The behavior of monsters and characters.
Armor Class The armor worn by a
character or the natural protection a
monster has against attacks.
caller The player who tells the DM
what the party will do, based on what the
other players tell him.
character level see experience
charge (magical) The magical energy needed to use a wand once.
class, character The type of character being played.
coin (or en) A unit of weight.
concentration A character putting
all his attention on a single object or
action, and being unable to do anything
else; any distraction will break his concentration.
cover Anything, except a shield,
that one hides behind to gain protection
from a missile attack.
cp Copper pieces. There are 10 cp
to one silver piece.
d # (d4, d6, d8, dlO, dl2, d20, d%)
A symbol showing a type of die.
damage The die roll to determine
how many hit points are lost.
demi-human A human-like creature that is also a character.
dungeon Where characters adventure; often in ruins and underground.
dungeon level This refers to how
tough the monsters found there are.
The greater the dungeon level the
higher the challenge.
Dungeon Master (DM) The referee
who creates the dungeon and monsters.
duration The length of time an
effect lasts.
effect The area and those objects
and creatures within the space which are
affected by a spell or attack.
encounter A meeting between
player characters and monsters.
encumbrance The effect of the
weight of equipment and treasure carried by a character.
ep Electrum pieces. There are 2 ep
per gold piece.
evasion Fleeing from a monster.
experience level Indicates the
power and ability of a character.
experience points (or) XP Awards
given to characters representing improved skills through adventuring.
fighting withdrawal Backing up
slowly while fighting.
63
Magazine
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For ordering information write:
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Level
CHARISMA
CONSTITUTION
DEXTERITY
WISDOM
INTELLIGENCE
STRENGTH
ABILITIES:
Armor
Class
adjustment
adjustment
adjustment
adjustment
adjustment
adjustment
Hit
Points
Alignment
TARGET AC:
HIT ROLL
NEEDED
10
9
12
14
15
16
SPELLS or
MAGIC STAFF
17
DRAGON BREATH
TURN TO STONE c
PARALYSIS
MAGIC WAND
POISON or
DEATH RAY
18
19
GEMS:
TOTAL VALUE:
PP:
GP:
EP:
SP:
CP:
NORMAL ITEMS
ROMIIS/PFNAITV-
EXPERIENCE
EQUIPMENT CARRIED
MAGIC ITEMS
(This form may be reproduced for personal use in playing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS* GAMES.)
1980, 1983 TSR Hobbies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
13
Dungeon Master
SAVING THROWS:
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HH
MM
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Class
Character's Name
Player's Name