Customer Reviews

Unearthed Arcana (Miniature AD&D Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

My two D&D loves are AD&D 1e and D&D4e, though I've played both 2e and 3.*e over the decades, along with probably a dozen or so other games. I've run an AD&D game within the past few years, and it's still just a blast, and a good break from the more mechanically-oriented 3e and 4e. While I was catching up on my AD&D stuff, I ran across Unearthed Arcana.

And ... hm. I remember loving this book in the 80's. It's still got some great stuff in it. On the other hand, it's also clear that the expected power level of characters took a huge jump between 1979 and 1985. I was a munchkin growing up, and this book indulged my munchkinism more than any book outside Dragonlance Adventures.

There's some great stuff in here, like Weapon Specialization (to an extent) and a grappling/pummeling system that doesn't require a few weird percentile tables. And the polearm illustrations are fun; no longer do you have to wonder what a Bec de Corbin looks like! But outside that... well, let's take a look.

* For starters, there's a new dice rolling system which not only guarantees you get the class you want, but makes it extremely likely you'll have a 17 or 18 in your prime attribute. 1e is a bit too stingy with ability score modifiers for straight 3d6 rolls (hence the 4d6-drop-lowest-assign default rolling method), but this goes way too far in the other direction.
* There's broken races. How broken? Try "summon a huge earth elemental 1/week" broken. Try spell resistance broken. Svirfneblin and Drow way outclassed any of the other races in 1e, and with the expanded level advancement table, they really didn't have to pay for it.
* There's broken classes. The Barbarian and Cavalier are both much mightier than even the mighty Paladin. (Though the Paladin gets a boost thanks to inheriting some Cavalier mechanics).
* ...And there's broken spells. "Yes, a Level 1 Illusionist spell that gives a save-or-die effect once you hit 9th level sounds like a splendid idea!"

I think the material was about on par with the sorts of stuff that had been appearing in Dragon, but it honestly throws the already-fragile balance of AD&D straight out the window.

Not all is bad, mind you. It's still a great book, and still seethes with imagination as the best AD&D books do, but introducing the new options wholesale into an AD&D game can throw your game way out of whack. If you're looking to play AD&D, I'd stick with the Big Five - PHB, DMG, MM1 & MM2, and Fiend Folio. There's a reason a lot of AD&D veterans avoid this one!

Unearthed Arcana is Gary Gygax's compilation of "extras" to be brought into the AD&D game at the gamers' discretion. From introducing a new ability score (Comeliness) to defining specific cantrips and new spells, and providing a neat real-life historical breakdown of what it means to be a "pole arm", Gygax has woven a lot of new and cool ideas into one volume.
Primary Positive: I really enjoyed reading the brief breakdown of the different pole arms and their classification, as it is based on real historical research into warfare in the Middle Ages (even going so far as to cite specific battles!).
Primary Negative: Even though the book is divided between sections for PC & DM, within those sections the organization is a bit haphazard.
Overall, I recommend this book for anyone who still plays AD&D, or for those (like me) who like to look back at the earlier editions of the tabletop RPG with nostalgia.

I've found some of this book unique enough and copious in content.... Well, there's a section on pole arms in this book which is outstanding, filled with [historical] data. In geocities/timessquare/dungeon/9939, you'll find a pole arms section in which I've taken the time to post this out-of-print invaluable material. [And there's a link at the bottom of the page. =)]

This is an outstanding book, and is worth almost any pricetag for its original and truly unique content. It litereally is unearthed arcana.

If you are reading this review, and you want to play the new 4th Edition D&D, you have come to the wrong place.

Unearthed Arcana was written in 1985. I was about 10 years old and was playing AD&D, which consisted of the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manuals 1 and 2, and the Fiend Folio. That year however, Gary Gygax and Jeff Grubb decided to try to add a further dimension to the 1st Ed game.

This game not only adds dimensions, it adds a number of "fixes" to the game to raise problems that had come about from the initial books.

Problem 1 - the level limits for non-human characters were too low. This book addresses this by giving higher ability score characters higher limits. (GOOD)
Problem 2 - the fighter subclasses do not have distinct enough roles. This book separates the Paladin to become a subclass of Chavalier, and the Barbarian becomes a new class of fighter. Therefore, we have the "knight" style classes, Chavalier and Paladin, and the "warrior" classes - Ranger and Fighter, who get weapon specialisation, and the "tanking" brute class the barbarian. (GOOD)
Problem 3 - charisma is not physicial attractiveness, but personal magnetism. Solution - introduce (redundant) seventh attribute = Comeliness. (BAD)
Problem 4 - characters not heroic enough. Solution - make uber powerful characters who are rewarded for rolling high ability scores. Encourage players to cheat or do anything to raise ability scores. (BAD)

It appears that after Unearthed arcana, for all its great new spells, magic items, class changes, and variation of the races (now you can play a Drow = dark Elf, and history was never the same again) fuelled the creation of mega-powerful characters. Ability scores rise in importance. The new race subtypes add an element of richness into the characters that was welcome. The new classes were generally good (with the exception of the comical Thief-Acrobat) but a DM might wish to be cautious before introducing all the changes here. However, this book is full of something that I see lacking in the newer volumes of the D&D products - imagination.

Unearthed Arcana (1985) took the 1978 Player's Handbook and expanded the possibilities with just about everything--from character classes, spells, and treasure to items and weapons. There is such versatility with the use of this book. People were very happy to see new character classes (such as cavalier) as well as expanding on existing ones, and upgrading their previously diminished status. The paladin class became a very potent and relevant character class to the game, and was made more appealing. Then there's the thief acrobat with its tightrope walking, pole vaulting, tumbling and jumping. Get it now? This book expands the imagination even further and unleashes new adventure possibilities for hungry AD&D gamers and Dungeon Masters. This book is a must-have for those who want their AD&D world to be complete.

Any one who has been gaming since the 80's is likely to remember this work. I bought it in a binge of nostalgia.

I still don't like the Cavalier or the Acrobat Thief, but I do like the weapon specialization and a few other bits it brought to the game. What player of an Illusionist doesn't remember Chromatid Orb?

However the work arrived smelling like it had been in a musty basement for the decades it had been and had at least one illustration lovingly removed..

Oh well it was used.

Unearthed Arcana is one of the referances that I used most in my 10 years of DMing. Just when I thought I would run out of ideas I would just flip through and pick out an odd magic item or spell. One of the greatest ideas was the introduction of lists of cantrops or minor spells, this gave my players endless amounts of fun. Please for the best interest of fun loving gamers everywhere, revise and bring back Unearthed Arcana!!!