 | |
| Author | Frank Mentzer |
|---|---|
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1985 |
Dungeons & Dragons Master Rules is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1985 as an expansion to the Basic Set .
The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was revised in 1983 by Frank Mentzer, this time as Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules. Between 1983 and 1985, this system was expanded by Mentzer as a series of five boxed sets, including the Basic Rules, Expert Rules (supporting character levels 4 through 14), [1] Companion Rules (supporting levels 15 through 25), [2] Master Rules (supporting levels 26 through 36), [3] and Immortal Rules (supporting Immortals - characters who had transcended levels). [4] The Master Rules set was a boxed set which included a 32-page Master Player's Book and a 64-page Master DM's Book. [5] The books were written by Frank Mentzer and edited by Barbara Green Deer, Anne C. Gray, and Mike Breault, with cover artwork by Larry Elmore and interior illustrations by Jeff Easley and Roger Raupp. [3]
The Master Player's Book expands the spell lists for the cleric, magic-user, and druid classes. It introduces the mystic class, an empty hand warrior. The book adds to the range of attack ranks for demihuman characters. The book provides rules for Weapons Mastery, a form of weapon specialization and proficiency, where the character starts as a Novice and rises to the rank of Grand Master. There is also a table listing all the weapons found in the D&D game, including all the restrictions (two-handed, use only in melee, etc.), costs, weights, damage at different levels of Mastery, defense uses, and special effects. [6] This book includes experience rules, abilities, and spells for higher-level characters, new armor and weapons, and guidelines for sieges and siege equipment. [5]
The bulk of the Master DM's Book is taken up with an expansion to the lists of magical items and monsters. This book provides a set of firm guidelines for the DM on how to cope with such a high-magic, super-powerful campaign, including how to cope with the paperwork of having players run small empires, and a section on balancing encounters. The book introduces the concept of Anti-Magic, a property possessed by the game's Immortals, and certain monsters like beholders, which reduces or nullifies the effects of magic within its sphere of influence. [6] This book covers rules for character-ruled realms, reality shifts, nonhuman spellcasters, and artifacts. [5]
The Master Rules set was reviewed by Paul Cockburn in issue 73 of White Dwarf magazine (January 1986), rating it 8 out of 10 overall. Cockburn felt that "the Masters Set doesn't leave you gasping for something simple" and it is "an intelligent, subtle and interesting extension to the game". [6]
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). It has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry, and also deeply influenced video games, especially the role-playing video game genre.
Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. It was the default setting for the "Basic" version of the game throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Most adventures published for the "Basic" edition of D&D take place in "The Known World", a central continent that includes a varied patchwork of both human and non-human realms. The human realms are based on various real-world historical cultures. In addition, unlike other D&D settings, Mystara had ascended immortal beings instead of gods.
The Temple of Elemental Evil is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module was published by TSR, Inc. in 1985 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. It was written by Gary Gygax and Frank Mentzer, and is an expansion of an earlier Gygax module, The Village of Hommlet. The Temple of Elemental Evil is also the title of a related 2001 Thomas M. Reid novel and an Atari computer game.
Dungeonland (EX1) is a 1983 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game, written by Gary Gygax for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. It is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with the various characters from the book translated into AD&D terms.
In Search of the Unknown is a module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, designed for use with the Basic Set of rules. It was written by game designer Mike Carr and was first published in 1978 by TSR, Inc. The module details a hidden complex known as the Caverns of Quasqueton. Reviewers considered it a good quality introduction to the game that was written in the so-called dungeon crawl style, where the primary goal of the players is the exploration of a dangerous labyrinth to battle monsters and obtain treasure.
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of D&D, Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game. However, many D&D fans continue to play older versions of the game and some third-party companies continue to publish materials compatible with these older editions.
AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic is a 76-page book by Frank Mentzer and Gary Gygax published in 1985 by TSR, Inc. It is an accessory to Dungeons & Dragons primarily for use with the non-advanced box set versions; an appendix describes how the items described can be used with the AD&D game.
Creature Catalogue is a supplement for Basic Dungeons & Dragons first released in 1986, and updated in 1993.
Unearthed Arcana is the title shared by two hardback books published for different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Both were designed as supplements to the core rulebooks, containing material that expanded upon other rules.
The monk is a playable character class in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A D&D monk is a fantasy martial artist, specializing in unarmed combat.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, goblins are a common and fairly weak race of evil humanoid monsters. Goblins are non-human monsters that low-level player characters often face in combat.
Jacob Franklin Mentzer III is an American fantasy author and game designer who worked on early materials for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. He was an employee of TSR, Inc. from 1980 to 1986, spending part of that time as creative advisor to the chairman of the board, Gary Gygax. He also founded the Role-Playing Games Association (RPGA) during his time with TSR.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giants are a collection of very large humanoid creatures based on giants of legend, or in third edition, a "creature type".
The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set is a set of rulebooks for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. First published in 1977, it saw a handful of revisions and reprintings. The first edition was written by J. Eric Holmes based on Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson's original work. Later editions were edited by Tom Moldvay, Frank Mentzer, Troy Denning, and Doug Stewart.
The Dungeons & Dragons Companion Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1984 as an expansion to the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set.
Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules, written by Frank Mentzer, is a boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game first published by TSR in 1986 as an expansion to the Basic Set.
The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.
The Immortal Storm is a 1986 adventure module for the Immortals Rules expansion to the Basic Rules of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Wrath of the Immortals, written by Aaron Allston, is a boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game first published by TSR in 1992, revising the rules of the Immortals Rules box set that was originally released in 1986.