The original 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) hardcover books, published between 1977 and 1979 by TSR, stand out for their distinctive artwork, durable design, and famously dense, text-heavy content. They represent a significant expansion of the original D&D rules and are considered classics of the tabletop role-playing game genre.
Monster Manual (1977)
Cover art: The first hardcover book in the series, featuring a chaotic battle scene with a dragon attacking adventurers, illustrated by Dave C. Sutherland III.
Interior art: Includes an extensive collection of black-and-white illustrations, many drawn by David A. Trampier, detailing the various creatures players could encounter.
Significance: This book was a groundbreaking release for tabletop war-gaming, setting a standard for hardcover, full-color rulebooks that was unusual for the time.
Player's Handbook (1978)
Cover art: The iconic cover, illustrated by David A. Trampier, depicts two adventurers examining a map near an idol, creating a sense of mystery and wider world exploration.
Content: Unlike later editions, the 1st Edition Player's Handbook contained only the most essential rules for players, including character classes, races, and spells.
Note: Many critical game mechanics, such as combat rules and saving throws, were deliberately excluded and moved to the Dungeon Master's Guide to put the DM in full control of the rules.
Dungeon Master's Guide (1979)
Cover art: Features an image of a red, horned demon or devil emerging from a portal while an adventurer is distracted by treasure. The iconic artwork reinforces the danger and secrets of the game's world.
Content: The most rule-heavy and dense of the three books, it served as the ultimate authority on gameplay. It included character creation rules (like ability score rolling), combat mechanics, and guidelines for generating dungeons and wilderness.
Fun fact: Early printings of this book contained content that was later deemed questionable and removed in subsequent printings.
Deities & Demigods (1980)
Content: Deities & Demigods is a classic Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook that brings gods, mythologies, and legendary beings into the game, allowing players and Dungeon Masters to explore divine realms and epic powers.
Fun fact: Fictional mythos like Cthulhu (from H.P. Lovecraft) and Melnibonéan (from Michael Moorcock) were actually found in this earlier versions of this book, however these were later removed due to copyright issues. The first edition (1980) had 144 pages and was later revised in 1981 to 128 pages.
The Fiend Folio (1981)
Content: 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) hardcover monster compendium, considered the fifth hardcover book published for AD&D and the first produced outside TSR's US office. Edited by Don Turnbull of Games Workshop, it significantly expanded the AD&D diverse bestiary. The book is 128 pages long and presents over 150 unique creatures. It introduced many monsters that became iconic, including the Drow, Kuo-Toa, Slaad’s, Death Knight, Githyanki, Githzerai, and Flumph.
Fun fact: Creatures submitted by gamers through the "Fiend Factory" column in White Dwarf magazine.
Monster Manual II (1983)
Cover Art: Jeff Easley, with interior illustrations by Jim Holloway, Harry Quinn, David C. Sutherland III, and Larry Elmore
Content: Monster Manual II is a classic Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook packed with over 250 new monsters, expanding the fantasy universe with creatures drawn from adventures, mythology, and original lore. It was first published in 1983 for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D).
