AD&D DM Guide: My best RPG book 

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All of the classic AD&D books bring back happy memories for me. I remember when this came out we were 13 at the time but were already playing . I’m 55 now, and I still game with these same guys . Great times.

Reading Gary’s DMG is like a conversation with a mad genesis giving a dissertation on rpg philosophy.

You’re right, that is THE book. It’s never been equaled yet.

This can be found online in PDF form. It's a cultural artifact!

NOW I'm thinking about all those games I could have played SOLO! When we couldn't get the group together or nobody wanted to DM... Cooperative games too... I've been spot checking your youtube since the beginning of the pandemic and the cancellation of most of my in-person gaming. I ended up watching almost all of your videos. It has really been a surprising revelation particularly this review of the DMG which REALLY got me back into 1st edition (with the help of some podcasts on the subject.) The thing that surprised me is how easy it is to use for solo adventures with very little massaging of the rules: 1) Roll up enough characters for a good sized party. 2) Start at a generic "Town on the boarder-lands." 3) Set out with a goal of simple "Exploration and search for fame and fortune." 4) Pull out a piece of hex paper and start mapping using the random wilderness tables. a) Remember that within 3 hexes of the town is "patrolled / inhabited" area. b) Remember that wilderness encounters can be DEADLY! C) Track wandering monsters back to their lair (That is where the TREASURE is!) D) Remember that "Rough Terrain" includes ruins (and start a random dungeon underneath that.) The old Judges Guild wilderness book can help simplify things (and add a nostalgia fix all it's own) but as you point out, just about everything needed for a STRONG soloist campaign is in the DMG with references to the players handbook and monster manual. The high mortality rate at low level in this first edition of AD&D makes it even more exciting (like a horror film... who is going to survive?) When we were kids playing the game, we used a lot of house rules and ignored strict "rules-as-written" game play, but if you DO figure out the intricacies and embrace them, it makes for GREAT solo game play. Things like the Surprise rules make it deadly, but REALLY add excitement to the game. Declaring actions and rolling initiative every round (unlike later editions) ups the level of excitement and challenge too, since your actions could be interrupted and a reversal or come-back could happen any time. Pursuit rules for the monsters, encounter distances, and most of all MORALE rules (not everybody fights to the death!) all combine to guide the set up and execution of the monster actions. There were a few points I had to sort out answers for: eg. What happens if the "Random Wilderness Table" generates hobgoblins, bandits, or orcs? (some have Number Appearing in 30-300 range.) But I came up with a lot of simple fixes without just ignoring the encounters, writing off the party, or "short cutting" the threat. The other phenomenal thing about this old set of books is how evocative the look, (ART BY TRAMP!) feel, and even smell of the old books can be. Giving you a chance to "reset" your expectations, suspend your disbelief, and letting that "being a kid again" imagination take over and immerse yourself in the adventure. The "monster zoo" feel of the early days of D&D seem a bit "unrealistic" by modern standards of game play, but when the trapped room you are in drops you two levels further down in the dungeon (with the significant increase in threat probability) and you have to try and find your way out of the dungeon AND the surrounding wilderness, and back to town before your spells, food, water, and hit points run out... THAT is FUN.

Pretty much drooling looking inside this book. The first and second editions were sooo amazing. Flipping through the books was sometimes more fun than playing the game.

I am so in love with your videos, I could watch you play solo games all day, you have such a vivid imagination it is such a joy to watch.

The monster is an Undead Tengu. It died becoming unliving since its task was not complete: to wait for years guarding the sword until a new adventuring ninja came to claim it through trial. It set the poison needle trap, both to guard the sword and to test the seeker's worth (avoiding the trap and defeating the monster he receives the sword, fail he is dead). Ironically, the ninja never showed up to attempt to claim the sword of insane teleportation since he was busy writing the Dungeon Masters Guide. This might be worth building and playing out with a less bookish ninjadventurer (Zenit Miniatures Kensei Tengu fits the bill, I might paint those as undeadish).

Another of my prized possessions is the much later released D&D Rules Cyclopedia. If I could take two books to a desert island, the Rules Cyclopedia would come along.Thank you for a great episode. Great memories.

OMG I remember that book! You are 100% correct in your assessment . I had it for years, but it got tossed a while back when I fell out of RPG'ing. I actually got it back as a digital copy. It puts modern DMG's to SHAME... so many tables for dungeon creation, a basic monster manual in the back, magic items, tables for creating atmosphere, filling dungeons with minor things... it's PACKED SOLID LOL I have never seen any other rule book with so much useful information in it. These days they would split it into a main book and about 10 supplements and add ons. Truly AMAZING.

I agree on the AD&D DMG being the best book. You could use it as a stand alone resource really. Thank you for another great video!

For me, Tunnels and Trolls 5th ed rule book. I found it easier to play and manage but I played AD&D with friends at school at lunch, good times. Ken St. Andre ran an impromptu Tunnels and Trolls game at a Phx Comic Con that my son played in, and Ken used his Magic the Gathering deck to 'generate' random monsters. So much fun.

I wish I still had my copy! Pro-tip: Try turning pages from the corners or outside edge to avoid rips & tears like page 121/122.

Great video, thanks for sharing. I have Devine Right and used to love playing it during the 80's. It was one of the most popular game we played at that time.

I'm a newcomer to the idea of solo RPG gaming and it was very cool to find this... a great description of a book from my childhood that I know is upstairs in a closet somewhere. Great video (and the others of yours I've watched.) Thanks so much for doing these!

The utter amount of genius that went into the DMs guide is astounding! RIP GARY

An informative video about an outstanding book. If there is another book that has as many resources for a fantasy gamer I've never encountered it... I've been following along using my copy of the revised edition - December, 1979; fun!

Awesome episode - Again TONS of good ideas and uses for various things in your own solo RPG 🥰 Ty ty so much 🥰

just found you yesterday, i am very much enjoying your content! you are shaping up to be one of my favorite fast!

Really great book. Thanks for sharing it.

I purchased the PDF over a year ago and forgot all about it, I will now be reading it this week. Thanks for another informative video.

Really good video. You made me want to dig out my copy and start looking at the random tables again.

Flying carpets are the ONLY way to travel.

The cover of that book brings some nostalgia feels.

Great video love this book

Geek Gamer have you ever reviewed the Hackmaster Gamemaster Guide - It was inspired by the DMG and adds even more tables, with a small amount of humor. I think you might like it.

Bonus points for crochet hook as pointer

Another excellent video, as always. I haven’t considered going back to the older supplements for inspiration before and that obviously a major mistake. The wealth of material you’ve shown is tremendous. I also loved the idea that you developed on the sword being the means of escape from the triangular chamber. If Insanity is its special power to fight demons then perhaps it inspires an irrational hatred of them in its wielder? In this way, the sword may actually be a cursed item? It makes me wonder who created it in the first places and their motivations. Again, narrative ideas present themselves effortlessly. Maybe the power to detect precious metals is a lure to attract greedy people to use the the sword and then turn them into insane demon hunters?? I look forward to your future videos.

A treasured gift received on my birthday almost 40 years ago. Full of infinite possibilities!

I like the pointer!

Those books were great! Players Handbook, DM Book, and a Monster Manual and boom done.

@0:50 just say it out loud: "The unicorn looks like a grumpy donkey with a fake horn attached" :-)

Couldn't agree more. It's a tough read due to the format(font/two column), but after buying my first copy all those years ago its hard to believe that every DMG since has really fallen flat.

This is my favorite RPG book of all time!

Excellent recommendation. And thanks for pushing up the eBay market price for the book as well!!! Jokes aside, I think the one problem I have with this book is that it is not in alphabetical order which makes it difficult to use. Also the binding (or simply due to age) is not build for frequent usage. I would recommend anyone looking for a copy to get a PDF (you can buy online for around £7) and print and bind yourself. And I will not admit I am trying to drive down the market price so I can get a copy myself.

Since subscribing to you channel last month I have started a solo wilderness "escapade" using many of your ideas and themes to create the environment in which "things" take place. I am using this book both as rule book and random resource, starting with what sort of area; a d6 and rolling a 4 lands me on page 187 "fearie and sylvan settings", 1 on a d4 means "plains" , roll 9 creature areas, then add tavellers just trying to get from one side to the other.... Thanks

I didn't remember the random content went that deep in the old DMG. Thanks for the reminder! While this may be the best overall, do you think any of the other random resources (e.g. Lazy Dungeon Master, Scarlet Heroes, Solo Adv Guide, Tome of Adv Design) do certain aspects better?

Have you tried the 2009 book Ultimate Toolbox? It is a massive random table book that is just terrific. I thought of it when you rolled the empty room because it even has several tables that give more flavor to otherwise simple empty rooms. I'm not sure if it is hard to find these days but it is really useful for firing the imagination.

Awesome video on an awesome book and your creative way of using it for solo play. I have often wondered what you draw from when crafting your imaginative settings for the stories that you share on this solo channel. Do you have a default setting in your mind, or just totally go with your thoughts at the time?

Great fun! I was lucky enough to get my copy of the 1E AD&D DMG signed by Gary in the 90s at a Gen Con in Milwaukee.

Hi check out the engagement roll, from Blades in the Dark :) Great tool for soloing.

Do you know about Raging Swan ? Tons of random tables (dungeon dressing, treasure...) for Pathfinder (and now 5E)

Better than D&D5 DMG ? and i'm a big fan ^^ thk u !

Honestly, when we were kids only the rich kid had the books. We never actually read this book. I could find a copy but they might be spendy.

If I had only one RPG tool I could have with me on a desert island, it'd be a SQLite database. To each their own, but it's the only way to fly when it comes to dealing with massive amounts of tables and/or extremely large tables. Maybe not newbie friendly, but you'll be able to search through things a helluva lot faster than index cards. And unlike d20pfsrd.com, should Paizo decide to take down the site, you'll still have your data. Unlike Realmworks, you can make it work for any system (and it's free). Sure, there's the work of having to input everything yourself. But then again, don't you already kind of do that when you copy/paste stuff for homebrew?

Hmmm. Desert Island RPG book? For me, Dungeon Crawl Classics.

That physical book is like gold dust, I cannot even find it on ebay

...Goes to his bookshelf to see what RPG hardcover will be the one...

Why are you a solo rpg player? Your very intelligent and you would benefit from social activity of a group. Do you live out in the boonies or something?

I don't understand your use of "soloist" throughout the video.