e original Dungeons & Dragons was published as a boxed set containing three separate

booklets:

Volume 1: Men & Magic

Volume 2: Monsters & Treasure

Volume 3: Underworld & Wilderness Adventures

This original version of D&D only included a few of the elements considered core to modern
D&D and required the player to own several other games in order to make full use of the
rules, however it is considered the first of what is now considered role-playing games and,
along with its supplements, is responsible for the creation of the genre itself.

Greyhawk Gary Gygax, Robert J. Kuntz 1975 68

The first supplement for the original D&D game, Greyhawk focused primarily on rules and
removed the game's dependence on the Chainmail rules. Despite the name, the Greyhawk
supplement was not intended as a setting supplement, but rather featured rules used in
Gary Gygax's Greyhawk campaign.[1]

Blackmoor Dave Arneson 1975 60

The second supplement for the original D&D game, Blackmoor added rules, monsters,
treasure and is notable for containing the first published adventure for a role-playing game -
"Temple of the Frog". Like Greyhawk, its focus was more on rules than setting material,
despite the name.[2]

Eldritch Wizardry Gary Gygax, Brian Blume 1976 60

Eldritch Wizardry was the third supplement for the original D&D game and is most notable
for introducing some of its most famous monsters, such as demons and mind flayers.[3]

Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes Robert Kuntz, James M. Ward 1976 72

Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes was the fourth supplement for the original D&D game and
adapted a variety of real-world and fictional pantheons for use in the D&D game.[3]

Swords & Spells Gary Gygax 1976 45

The fifth and final supplement for the original D&D game focused on providing a new
diceless set of rules for large battles between armies.[3] Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes stated
itself to be the "last supplement"[4] for D&D in its introduction, and Swords & Spells did not
have the official "Supplement V" designation on the cover.

Basic Dungeons & Dragons[edit]

The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was the successor to original Dungeons & Dragons and
was released while TSR, Inc. was working on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons set. This set
was the beginning of the split into two separate games, driven by disagreements on the
1
direction the game should take. The Basic set retained the simplicity and flexibility of the
original game while Gary Gygax took Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in a more structured
and complicated direction.[5]

Initially it was expected that players would start using Basic edition and then graduate to
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.[6] However, in 1981 the Basic Set underwent a complete
revision and not long after this the Expert Set was released for the first time. All references
to a progression from the Basic Set to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons were removed from
the games and supplements as TSR, Inc. made clear that the expected progression was from
the Basic Set to the Expert Set. From this point the D&D dichotomy became fixed and the
Basic/Expert pair were considered a completely separate game from Advanced Dungeons &
Dragons.[7]

Boxed sets

Title AuthorsDate Item # Contents

Basic Set John Eric Holmes 1977 TSR 1001 Rulebook & misc. items
(changed throughout printing)

Basic Set Tom Moldvay 1981

Basic Set Frank Mentzer 1983

Classic Dungeons & Dragons Troy Denning 1991

Champions of Mystara Ann Dupuis, Bruce A. Heard 1993

Companion Set Frank Mentzer 1984

Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis and Alphatia Aaron Allston 1989 3 books, 2
maps

Expert Set David Cook 1981

Expert Set Frank Mentzer 1983

Hollow World Campaign Set Aaron Allston 199