Official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Unearthed Arcana [Hardcover]

Gary Gygax (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1985

Includes spells, character classes, magic weapons, and other items used in playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: TSR; First Edition edition (August 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880380845
• ISBN-13: 978-0880380843
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite roll-playing sourcebook!, March 4, 2002

By 

Psychedelic Cowboy "psychedelic_cowboy" (Burbank, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Unearthed Arcana (Hardcover)

This is the book that changed a casual passtime into an obsession for me. It adds a new layer of depth and magic to the D&D system. It was here that Dark Elves became player characters, the barbarian was introduced. Paladins became the horsemen they always should have been. Here are advanced spells, weapons & armor, character classes (thief-acrobat, higher level druids, cavaliers, and more), and races. At last you could be more defined that simply "elf" or "dwarf." This book loosened up the system a bit and allowed for player individuality and choice. I love this book so much that I still prefer to play 1st edition D&D-- though I have played many many other systems-- because this book allows for so much freedom and creativity.

I KNOW this book is good, because someone always ends up stealing my copy (the true mark of a book's greatness), but I always replace it-- and it's worth whatever I have paid for it.

It's so good, I think it would make interesting reading for a non-gamer. I gave it five stars because they don't allow six.

Highest possible recommendation.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gygax's Grand Farewell, May 1, 2000

By 

Kent David Kelly "Author & Anthologist" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Unearthed Arcana (Hardcover)

This is the final piece in the puzzle that is the AD&D rules - Gary Gygax's last major contribution to the game system, before the diluted 2nd edition came out, is displayed in its full glory here. It's obvious that this is a work for intermediate and advanced players, since some of the races and classes here (and the attribute-rolling system!) are over-powered for easier, beginning campaigns. In addition to the dark races (such as the Drow, Duergar, and Svirfneblin), and the advanced classes (such as the Hierophant, Acrobat, Cavalier and my fave, the Barbarian), there's also new weapons, hundreds of new spells, hundreds of new magical items, the deities of the demi-humans, and much more. It's sure to add an entirely new level to your campaigns!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truly inspiring ideas, July 2, 1999

By 

Gregg Galante - See all my reviews

This review is from: Official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Unearthed Arcana (Hardcover)

This book is one of my favorites from the original edition of AD&D. Unearthed Arcana is an excellent source for ideas for any campaign, and gives that small touch of detail to magic.

The only thing that bothered me was the (optional) addition of the Comeliness stat. It really isn't necessary, and actually creates more havoc with dice rolling than it's worth.

My copy of Unearthed Arcana has long since come unglued at the spine and fallen apart (I eventually tossed it out), but the book is one of the few AD&D 1st ed. references that I would suggest, regardless of what edition you play as a PC or run as a DM.