The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 will be a 500-page deep delve into the origins of the rpg, including annotated pages and letters between co-creators Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
The book will document the first six years of D&D history, and was recently revealed during a panel at PAX Unplugged, hosted by game design architects Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins. Senior designers Amanda Hammon and James Wyatt also joined in on the fun.
The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons wasn’t the only thing to be announced at the panel; there was also new D&D 2024 core book details, along with various upcoming adventure supplements – however, it did stand out the most, being not the usual expected fare we’ve come to expect.
Far from being a new rulebook or anything playable, the book is being described as “an annotated collection of artefacts, correspondence and design work” that would be the beginnings of creating the most successful tabletop RPG in the world.
When describing The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976, Hammon called it a “retrospective, historical account of the original D&D” containing original illustrations and annotations from the original RPG manuscrupt.
On the other hand, Perkins referred to it as a replica of the original D&D manual – including footnotes, tables, edit lines and original scans.
It sounds fascinating, and surely of great interest to any hardcore D&D fan worth their salt. The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 will be released sometime in 2024 (TBC).
What do you think – is The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 something you’ll be adding to your ‘to read’ list for next year? Let me know in the comments.
