 | |
| Author | Kim Mohan |
|---|---|
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1986 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 128 |
The Wilderness Survival Guide is a supplement to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) role-playing game, written by Kim Mohan and published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 ( ISBN 088038-291-0).
The Wilderness Survival Guide provides detailed information for wilderness adventures, such as rules and guidelines relating to weather and its effects, encumbrance and movement outdoors, hunting, camping, first aid, naturally occurring hazards, fatigue for characters, pack animals, and handling wilderness combat and magic. The book also details new equipment and skills, called proficiencies, pertaining to the wilderness. [1] The book provides an overview of the types of wilderness, including: desert, forest, hills, mountains, plains, coastal areas, and swamps.[ citation needed ]
The book details the wildness environment, including types of terrains, significant hazards, and weather. The book also covers resources for player characters, such as: expanding the proficiency system presented in the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide ; appropriate clothing for various climates; clarifying normal vision, infravision and ultravision; details on how to use mounts; and rules regarding encumbrance and movement rates in the wilderness. [2]
The book also details how the environment affects the activities of the PCs, and includes new information on survival techniques, travel on the air and water, combat in unusual outdoor circumstances, and magic. [2]
In addition to new abilities, the Wilderness Survival Guide introduces difficulties and handicaps player characters can face, such as how sleeping in their armor may affect them and exploring how easily a fire can go out of control. [3]
The book includes a short section called Starting from Scratch that shows how to design topography using a step-by-step method to construct a viable environment. It includes tables regarding encumbrance (for characters and animals), effects of wind on ranged weapons and statistics for waterborne vehicles, modifiers for the climbing rates for thief characters, climbing for characters other than thieves, the effects and damage caused by various temperatures, how to handle the reactions of animals, and what effects characters suffer from lack of sleep. Most of these tables are reprinted in the back of the book, along with three pages presenting different hex sizes. [3]
Kim Mohan began working on the Wilderness Survival Guide in early April 1986, and he spent his time researching the wilderness and figuring how to translate this knowledge into rules for AD&D. [4] The book features cover art by Jeff Easley, and was published by TSR in 1986 as a 128-page hardcover. [1] The book features interior illustrations by Mark Nelson, Jim Holloway, Easley, Larry Elmore, and Valerie Valusek.
As it was a first edition AD&D title rendered out-of-date with the release of second edition AD&D, the book was discounted and re-packaged with the new Wild Things adventure pack in 1990 to clear out remaining stock. [5]
In 1999, a paperback reprint of the first edition was released. [6]
Carl Sargent reviewed Wilderness Survival Guide for White Dwarf No. 85, stating that a good wilderness adventure rulebook is hard to write, because of the lack of sharp discontinuities as opposed to dungeon adventures, although "Mohan has pulled it off brilliantly." Sargent called the weather system "splendid", and felt that the rules on encumbrance and movement rates "make sense and work easily". He noted some odd details, such as a draft horse being able to carry 80% of the load of an elephant, and the fact that druids gain wilderness proficiencies slower than any other class. However, he felt that "for every error there are a dozen good points of details; the WSG gets proficiency checks 'right', correcting a major DSG error". He felt that the book provides valuable material not only for AD&D, but for any D&D , RuneQuest , or Middle-earth Role Playing game master. Sargent praised Kim Mohan's writing style, calling the book "the best written rulebook I've ever read; indeed, for style and content the WSG is the best AD&D book to date". Sargent concluded his review by stating, "This book will revolutionize wilderness adventuring. It makes the wilderness more challenging, dangerous and exciting than almost any dungeon … Simply, the Wilderness Survival Guide is absolutely terrific.” [2]
Robin Parry reviewed the Wilderness Survival Guide for the British magazine Adventurer #7 (February 1987). He points out the need for a DM to be prepared to deal with facts concerning the natural (and unnatural) world, in order to run a credible campaign: "No book can completely alleviate the need to develop the odd interest in, say, geology or obscure tribal customs, but the Wilderness Survival Guide answers most of the questions likely to be asked when players venture in the wilds." He comments that the book "deals with the many aspects of outdoor adventuring [...] with comprehensive clarity". He calls the Starting from Scratch section "sensible" and wonders "why this section is reserved for the Dungeon Master's eyes only, as it is no more revealing of pertinent facts than the rest of the book". He felt that the information on weather "is dealt with, as completely as anyone but the most niggling simulationist could wish. The system presented is eminently usable and covers (as do all the climatic bits) the tropic, the arctic, and everything in between." He found some of the tables particularly useful, "although all the tables should prove valuable sooner or later". Parry complimented the look of the book: "Another admirable Jeff Easley illustration graces the cover, the drawings inside range from good to poor. Printing and production are, as usual, good; no typos or glaring gaps." He also complimented the writing: "Kim Mohan has written a worthy companion volume to Doug Niles' Dungeon Survival Guide , especially considering that the subject is much broader." [3]
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The Monster Manual was the first hardcover D&D book and includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. Creature descriptions include game-specific statistics, a brief description of its habits and habitats, and typically an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. As such, new editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. Due to the level of detail and illustration included in the 1977 release, the book was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.
Monster Manual II is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game.
The Player's Handbook is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). It does not contain the complete set of rules for the game, and only includes rules for use by players of the game. Additional rules, for use by Dungeon Masters (DMs), who referee the game, can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources.
The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide contains rules concerning the arbitration and administration of a game, and is intended for use by the game's Dungeon Master.
Day of Al'Akbar is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure module written by Allen Hammack and published by TSR inc. in 1986. The module consists of a forty-page booklet with a large color map and an outer folder. It bears the Dungeons & Dragons code I9, I meaning intermediate and 9 for module 9 in that series.
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game. Each version of Oriental Adventures provides rules for adapting its respective version of D&D for use in campaign settings based on the Far East, rather than the medieval European setting assumed by most D&D books. Both versions of Oriental Adventures include example campaign settings.
Greyhawk Adventures is an accessory for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) World of Greyhawk campaign setting.
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.
Battlesystem is a tabletop miniature wargame designed as a supplement for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The original Battlesystem was printed as a boxed set in 1985 for use with the first edition AD&D rules. For the second edition of AD&D, a new version of Battesystem was printed as a softcover book in 1989.
H2 The Mines of Bloodstone is an official game adventure or "module" for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Jeff Easley is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art.
Isle of the Ape is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game World of Greyhawk campaign setting, in which the events occur in a magical demiplane of the same name created by the mad archmage Zagyg Yragerne.
Treasure Hunt is an adventure module for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) role-playing game, written by Aaron Allston for the 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. The player characters must evolve into their roles as the adventure progresses, beginning as slaves on a galley who become freed after a shipwreck on an island where orcs and goblins contend over a treasure. The adventure received a positive review from White Dwarf magazine.
Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill is a Dungeons & Dragons module written for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, by TSR.
Kim Rudolph Mohan was an American author, editor and game designer best known for works related to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide is a supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Douglas Niles, and published by TSR, Inc. in 1986.
Lords of Darkness is the name of two accessories for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Player's Option: Combat & Tactics is a supplemental sourcebook to the core rules of the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. This 192-page book was published by TSR, Inc. in 1995. The book was designed by L. Richard Baker III and Skip Williams. Cover art is by Jeff Easley and interior art is by Doug Chaffee, Les Dorscheid, Larry Elmore, Ken and Charles Frank, Roger Loveless, Erik Olson, and Alan Pollack.
Quest for the Heartstone is a 1984 adventure module for the Basic Rules of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The module was a tie-in with the LJN toy line introduced the previous year. Reviews of the module described it as a poorly written marketing gimmick.
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.