Original Dungeons & Dragons Tabletop Boxed Set Re-Released
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The combat rules in Men & Magic are also quite spare. That's because OD&D recommends the use of D&D's predecessor, Chainmail (1971), for combat. D&D grew immediately out of Chainmail when Dave Arneson used it to run adventures in the dungeons of Blackmoor; Men & Magic shows how closely aligned those two games still were, back in 1974.
As a result, the only combat rules actually published in Men & Magic are contained within one page that details an (alternate combat system): a 20-sided die is rolled and compared to AC; if it hits, 1d6 of damage is done. It's obvious how much has changed when one compares this to the complex, tactical simulations in more recent versions of D&D!
Monsters & Treasures , as the name suggests, contains a list of monsters followed by a list of treasures. Humanoids, demihumans, the undead, and mythological creatures fill the monster list, but the first few iconic D&D monsters are also introduced: the purple worm, the invisible stalker, and a variety of jellies, puddings, slimes, oozes, and molds. There of course are dragons, too: black, blue, green, red, white, and golden. They all have their classic breath weapons, and it's noted that golden dragons are lawful showing that dragons had already evolved into their classic form very early in the game's history.
The magic items are also quite recognizable. Monsters & Treasures includes weapons, potions, scrolls, rings, wands and staves, and miscellaneous magic; it's surprising to see so many classic categories already present. There are also many classic items, like: flaming sword +1, +2 vs trolls, +3 vs undead; and a brazier of controlling fire elementals.
The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures may be the most interesting book because it reveals the earliest ideas about creating RPG adventures. The first half of the book, which talks about dungeons, shows how to create a beautiful dungeon with complex interconnected levels of the sort that wouldn't come back into vogue until the '˜80s. It even details a sample level, which was the first published dungeon ever. The idea of wandering monsters also originates here.
The other half of the book talks about adventuring in the wilderness another idea that didn't come into much use until the '˜80s, with the publication of David (Zeb) Cook's Basic D&D Expert Set (1981). Rather amusingly, OD&D suggests the use of Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival (1972) game for outdoor movement showing that OD&D was still figuring out what it meant to be a standalone game.
All told, The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures is just brimming full of innovative ideas. One of the later sections discusses the construction of castles and strongholds, something that didn't see much attention until the release of the Basic D&D Companion Set (1984) a full decade later. Another section on naval combat wouldn't be fully addressed by the AD&D game until such 2e supplements as FOR3: Pirates of the Fallen Stars (1992), Naval Battle Rules: The Seas of Cerilia (1996), and DMGR9: Of Ships and the Sea (1997).
The fact that TSR was still mining OD&D for ideas two decades later show just how innovative it was.
