Die hard fans of Dungeons & Dragons will get to explore the origins of the world’s oldest role-playing game with The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons, releasing this summer to celebrate the game’s 50th Anniversary. The hefty tome documents the very beginnings of D&D 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. These are all accompanied by commentary by gaming historian Jon Peterson. The book, currently priced at $99.99, hits stores June 18.
- 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 Dave 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- Discover approximately 30 early articles and rare documents that lay the foundation for modern D&D, including unpublished correspondence between Gygax and Arneson.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.
The book will be released on June 18th, 2024 and is currently available for pre-order from Amazon (and will be available from local game shops and book retailers soon).
Images via Dungeons & Dragons
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