I grew up tossing dice, and Dungeons & Dragons just became my go-to game when I wanted to play something. As an old school player, it was interesting to see how the game changed over the years. The worlds, the lore, the characters, and the creature — ah the creature of D&D. Some of them are an annoyance – goblins, rats, bugs – and some are sheer day enders – beholders, displacer beasts, and mindflayers. To see the legendary tarrasque go from a bipedal killing machine to an even grander one, and still thankful there’s only one in existence, was something amazing, its form shifting, becoming more deadlier and nightmare inducing. Still, while the 3.5, 4th, and Pathfinder editions of the different monsters are always fun, going back to where it all started is always a trip down memory lane. Luckily, for those who played THAC0 and never got the chance to get the books, Wizards of the Coast as reprinted three core books from 2nd Editions Advanced Dungeons and Dragons! The three books are Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master Handbook, and Monstrous Manual, bound in the typical hard cover, and beautifully recolored to bring that old school feel back to life.
I was lucky enough to get the Monstrous Manual from Wizards, and I was completely thrilled to flip through the pages, looking over old enemies from campaigns of old, each with at least one dedicated page to their statistics, information, combat and life habits, and a fully colored picture of them included. Nearly 400 pages of information for anyone who wants to include these creatures in their campaign and relive a bit of nostalgia is well worth the $49.99 price. Each book contains everything from the original books, but the covers have been redesigned to commemorate the reprints; a little new for something old.
As someone who loves to have the physical copies of books, especially D&D ones, I cannot stress how much these books are amazing and are a must have for any player’s library. For more information on the books and to find out how to get your own copies, head over to Wizard’s Amazon page and get to it! You will not be disappointed!
I’m an old school THAC0 player and cannot stress how much these books make me happy. If you know anyone who plays, or played, these books might just be that perfect gift you’re looking for.
(Originally posted 6/4/2013)
I grew up on the Red Box (Basic) first, then 2nd edition then went back and played all versions back to Chainmail and Blackmoor. I have the fondest memories of playing D&D with my best friends from about 1980 through about 1996 or 7 (when my son was born and priorities changed). I still love the idea of D&D and I am glad to hear that they reprinted the old books. I still like 2nd edition best but I definitely like some of the things they have done since.