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Dungeons & Dragons - the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977

3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
$85.23 with 15 percent savings
List Price: $99.99

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  • Unearth the very first draft of original D&D, never released to the public until now. Crafted on Gygax’s home typewriter, this 1973 document contains handwritten notes by both Gygax and Arneson.
  • Discover approximately 30 early articles and rare documents that lay the foundation for modern D&D, including unpublished correspondence between Gygax and Arneson.
  • Peruse a remarkable collection of magazine and fanzine articles, many of which are no longer publicly available or remain undiscovered by D&D historians and fans of classic D&D.
  • Flip through facsimiles of all the first printings of Original D&D, compiled in a single book for the first time in D&D’s publishing history.
  • Explore the creation and development of the original 1974 game with insightful commentary by Jon Peterson, one of D&D’s foremost historians.
  • Commemorate our 50th anniversary with this homage to D&D's past. We invite you to look back on D&D’s history with a discerning eye as we celebrate how far D&D has come. Here’s to 50 years, and 50 more!

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Product Description

Here is the ultimate record of how Dungeons & Dragons came to be. The Making of Original D&D is an extraordinary collection of rare documents that shed light on D&D’s origin story. Uncover materials never released to the public, including Gary Gygax’s first draft of original D&D, and early published writings such as the 1974 original D&D “white box” booklets and supplements. Each document is featured alongside insightful commentary from one of the game’s foremost historians, Jon Peterson. Disclaimer: We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content in this product does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudices that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

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    Customer reviews

    3.6 out of 5 stars
    3.6 out of 5
    28 global ratings

    Customers say

    Customers like the content, quality and size of the tabletop game. They mention that it's huge, impressive, overflowing with the original books and early printed materials.

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    4 customers mention "Content"4 positive0 negative

    Customers find the content great, impressive, and overflowing. They also mention that the book is huge and the paper thickness is far beyond.

    "...The contents are overflowing with not only the original books, but also early rules sets that never really made it out of the local community, tons..." Read more

    "Book is amazing and full of cool things for those that play. Shipping was crap and arrived damaged." Read more

    "The content is great for what it is. It contains some of the original documents and as such some are hard to read but its great for any D&D fan...." Read more

    "An impressive tome..." Read more

    3 customers mention "Quality"3 positive0 negative

    Customers are satisfied with the quality of the tabletop game. They mention that it's an awesome collectible and historic reference.

    "Amazon needs to get their act together. This is an awesome collectible and historic reference. But at 100$ I expect it to be perfect...." Read more

    "Book is amazing and full of cool things for those that play. Shipping was crap and arrived damaged." Read more

    "This is a great collector item, but book was placed in a box larger than the book. No packing so the book slid around in the box...." Read more

    This book is huge!
    5 Stars
    This book is huge!
    Been waiting ages for this book to be released and it arrived today right before I left for work. I opened it up as soon as I got home. First thoughts are it's huge and the paper thickness is far beyond what I'm used to. The contents are overflowing with not only the original books, but also early rules sets that never really made it out of the local community, tons of work-in-progress documents, letters back and forth, and other great content that I've never seen. Most of them have corrections and other comments written in them by the developers and playtesters. If you are interested in the early history, going back to the origins, then this is highly recommended. I just wish it went further forward, it stops right before the first box set. Hopefully there will be another volume.The art back then was just pure gritty fantasy, something I think the modern editions have moved to far away from. Simply beautiful!
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    Top reviews from the United States

    Arcane Scroll
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book is huge!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Been waiting ages for this book to be released and it arrived today right before I left for work. I opened it up as soon as I got home. First thoughts are it's huge and the paper thickness is far beyond what I'm used to. The contents are overflowing with not only the original books, but also early rules sets that never really made it out of the local community, tons of work-in-progress documents, letters back and forth, and other great content that I've never seen. Most of them have corrections and other comments written in them by the developers and playtesters. If you are interested in the early history, going back to the origins, then this is highly recommended. I just wish it went further forward, it stops right before the first box set. Hopefully there will be another volume.

    The art back then was just pure gritty fantasy, something I think the modern editions have moved to far away from. Simply beautiful!
    Customer image
    Arcane Scroll
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book is huge!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    Been waiting ages for this book to be released and it arrived today right before I left for work. I opened it up as soon as I got home. First thoughts are it's huge and the paper thickness is far beyond what I'm used to. The contents are overflowing with not only the original books, but also early rules sets that never really made it out of the local community, tons of work-in-progress documents, letters back and forth, and other great content that I've never seen. Most of them have corrections and other comments written in them by the developers and playtesters. If you are interested in the early history, going back to the origins, then this is highly recommended. I just wish it went further forward, it stops right before the first box set. Hopefully there will be another volume.

    The art back then was just pure gritty fantasy, something I think the modern editions have moved to far away from. Simply beautiful!
    Images in this review
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    One person found this helpful
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    cgchu
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical tome
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book is a must for anyone that wants to learn more about the history of D&D. As a lower middle class minority kid, this game gave me an outlet for me and my friends to escape the world a few hours at a time.

    There’s a part in the intro where WOTC apologizes that the original content they republished isn’t inclusive but I honestly don’t know why that’s necessary. I don’t remember any aspect of the game that prevented your character from being black, yellow, red, brown, green, whatever. It was always your character, and you could write your background story anyway you wanted. Maybe in the early 80’s we were too busy having fun to realize that we were being marginalized? LOL

    While this book does include the original rules, I wouldn’t buy it if your main intent was to learn how to play D&D with it. You’d be much better off with one of the starter boxed sets, or playing online.

    The first copy of this book that I received was badly damaged. The book is heavy and the box had very little padding. As a result several corners were smashed on both the dust jacket and the book. I got lucky with my replacement copy.
    3 people found this helpful
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    Nato
    1.0 out of 5 stars Both Copies Were Damaged In Transit!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Amazon needs to get their act together. This is an awesome collectible and historic reference. But at 100$ I expect it to be perfect. Instead, my first copy had a tear on the slip cover, even though it was sealed in plastic. I ordered a replacement and it arrived with completely bent corners. This totally devalues it and feels terrible after spending so much money and pre-ordering it. I'm sending both back and will try to buy from a physical book store. So disappointing.
    9 people found this helpful
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    a customer
    2.0 out of 5 stars Corner crushed
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    The publisher had these books printed in China and there seems to be a quality control issue--the corner of the book was crushed. Fortunately, I was able to return it for a replacement.
    Customer image
    a customer
    2.0 out of 5 stars Corner crushed
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
    The publisher had these books printed in China and there seems to be a quality control issue--the corner of the book was crushed. Fortunately, I was able to return it for a replacement.
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    3 people found this helpful
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    Matthew Mihalek
    4.0 out of 5 stars Love the book - bad shipping
    Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Book is amazing and full of cool things for those that play. Shipping was crap and arrived damaged.
    2 people found this helpful
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    James F. Panarella
    5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive tome
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book is essential for anyone interested in the roots of the World's Greatest Roleplaying game. By including images of documents from the era, including correspondence, newsletters, and the text of the original material, no other source completely documents the roots of Dungeons and Dragons better than this book.
    Customer image
    James F. Panarella
    5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive tome
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    This book is essential for anyone interested in the roots of the World's Greatest Roleplaying game. By including images of documents from the era, including correspondence, newsletters, and the text of the original material, no other source completely documents the roots of Dungeons and Dragons better than this book.
    Images in this review
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    One person found this helpful
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    Ryan
    3.0 out of 5 stars New Book in Poor Condition
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    The content is great for what it is. It contains some of the original documents and as such some are hard to read but its great for any D&D fan. This could have simply been a 4 or 5 star rating. Unfortunately for Amazon I'm a nerd and with a $99 price tag I will complain about the product arriving damaged. The first one the shrink wrap was torn, the book slip was torn and the edge corner of the hardcover was bent.

    Ok cool I can return the product, so I was going to get a refund and had the option for an exchange. Sure I'd love to have a copy in better condition. This is now the 2nd copy and the cover is in my opinion in worse condition.

    This isn't like a $20 resale item. Something needs to be done. I have purchased many books on Amazon and it's always the D&D ones that are damaged. It's hard to tell where the disconnect is. Either way with this price I and sure many others would appreciate a slightly better quality control. Perhaps provide a damaged item at a discount? I get it don't judge a book by its cover, but paying this amount in this economy where I spent my hard earned money I feel I might be able to judge a book by its cover this time. Unfortunately Amazon won't allow me to exchange the item again. I get it because t's an expensive $99 item. Seems like double standards here.
    Customer image
    Ryan
    3.0 out of 5 stars New Book in Poor Condition
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    The content is great for what it is. It contains some of the original documents and as such some are hard to read but its great for any D&D fan. This could have simply been a 4 or 5 star rating. Unfortunately for Amazon I'm a nerd and with a $99 price tag I will complain about the product arriving damaged. The first one the shrink wrap was torn, the book slip was torn and the edge corner of the hardcover was bent.

    Ok cool I can return the product, so I was going to get a refund and had the option for an exchange. Sure I'd love to have a copy in better condition. This is now the 2nd copy and the cover is in my opinion in worse condition.

    This isn't like a $20 resale item. Something needs to be done. I have purchased many books on Amazon and it's always the D&D ones that are damaged. It's hard to tell where the disconnect is. Either way with this price I and sure many others would appreciate a slightly better quality control. Perhaps provide a damaged item at a discount? I get it don't judge a book by its cover, but paying this amount in this economy where I spent my hard earned money I feel I might be able to judge a book by its cover this time. Unfortunately Amazon won't allow me to exchange the item again. I get it because t's an expensive $99 item. Seems like double standards here.
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    8 people found this helpful
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    Matthew Family
    5.0 out of 5 stars The pages include the first printing of the Greyhawk supplement!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2024
    Its by far the cheapest way to read the early printings of Grehawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry and the early box set. Everything else is just extra.
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    Top reviews from other countries

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    Thomas
    1.0 out of 5 stars Is this a joke ?
    Reviewed in France on July 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I hope this is a bad joke. Making people pay this price tag for old pages being slapped in a hardcover is criminal. I was expecting a few pages like that, but that’s the whole book ! Gonna ask for a refund real quick. You can have your dishcloth back. What a disappointment.
    Customer image
    Thomas
    1.0 out of 5 stars Is this a joke ?
    Reviewed in France on July 1, 2024
    I hope this is a bad joke. Making people pay this price tag for old pages being slapped in a hardcover is criminal. I was expecting a few pages like that, but that’s the whole book ! Gonna ask for a refund real quick. You can have your dishcloth back. What a disappointment.
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    "dvdpool"
    2.0 out of 5 stars Tolles Buch, sehr schlechter Versand
    Reviewed in Germany on June 25, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Das Buch ist ein toller Hingucker. Leider scheint es bei Amazon Mitarbeiter zu geben die meinen man könne ein 1,5 kg Buch gegen Transportschäden mit einem A4 Blatt Packpapier abpolstern - völlig unverständlich. So schlägt es im Karton hin und her so das sämtliche Ecken bereits eingedellt sind bevor man es das erste Mal in Händen hat.
    One person found this helpful
     Report
    fabrizio
    5.0 out of 5 stars La storia di D&D
    Reviewed in Italy on June 22, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Volumone che ripercorre la storia di Dungeons and Dragons dal suo prototipo fino alla pubblicazione. Consigliatissimo per chi ama questo gioco
    Report
    Joe
    5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect piece of D&D history
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This 592 page tome is a yruly wonderful history of the very early years of D&D, including facsimiles of the original notes and first rulebooks.

    A beautiful presentation and the book to define the 50th Anniversary of D&D.

    This takes us from 1970-1977. Please... please... do a second book like this... 1978-1981 perhaps... with more rare behind the scenes letters and documents.
    Report
    Damião
    5.0 out of 5 stars Perfetto
    Reviewed in Italy on June 28, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Perfetto. Capo lavoro
    Report