The original D&D set released by Tactical Studies Rules contained three booklets
D&D 1st edition, Vol. 1, Men & Magic, '74
D&D 1st edition, Vol. 2, Monsters & Treasure, '74
D&D 1st edition, Vol. 3, The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, '74
Plus a Reference Sheets booklet (unstapled, loose sheets) and one errata sheet (the errata sheet is only present in the Second and Third prints). It was also recommended that owners get a copy of Chainmail as well as the Avalon Hill game Outdoor Survival.
There were three classes: Fighting Man, Magic User, and Cleric. Magic users must memorize spells daily and once cast, the spells are erased from the magic user's mind and must be rememorized. There were also four different races: human, dwarf, hobbit, and elf.
"Hobbit" was changed to "halfling" later on. Humans could be any class, and could attain any level of proficiency. Dwarves and hobbits were limited to being Fighting Men, and were restricted in the levels they could reach. Elves could alternate between Fighting Man and Magic User, but could only switch classes at the beginning of an adventure.
There were three alignments: Law, Neutrality, and Chaos. The original intentions of the game equated "law" with "good" and "chaos" with "evil".
Gygax and Arneson decided to publish some of the details of their campaigns, along with some expansion rules for the game.
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Empire of the Petal Throne becomes the first game product published. |
Supplement II: Blackmoor®, '75; 2004. Adding underwater rules, two new character classes (monk and assassin), and hit location rules.
 | Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry, '76; 2005 which adds the druid character class, additional magic items and artifacts, as well as rules for demons and psionics. |
Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, '76; 2006 listed several pantheons , including their monster-style statistics . It includes the Melnibonean mythos. Swords & Spells, '76; 2007
Swords & Spells is the fantasy-based successor to Chainmail, covering miniatures rules for D&D.