Original D&D: Where It All Started (The 1975 White Box in photos)

The Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game began as a set of three Little Brown Books in a small format box (1974-9), written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

From there the very popular RPG would be revised repeatedly into different iterations. (In 1978-9, three different D&D rules sets were in print! TSR Hobbies had OD&D, Holmes Basic D&D, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, all available for sale)

If you’re curious about the other editions, visit my RPG reference site, specifically the D&D and AD&D pages.

But back to the original set (OD&D). What I have today in photos is a 5th print White Box.

(The first three printings had faux woodgrain graphics. See photo left. They sell to collectors for thousands of dollars these days.)

Visit The Acaeum’s OD&D page to identify printings. Very detailed.

OD&D referred the player to the Chainmail book for full combat rules.

Supplements would follow, expanding OD&D with more classes, campaign rules, magic, monsters, and more miniatures rules.

Chainmail, Swords & Spells, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, and Gods Demi-gods & Heroes.

Again, see my D&D page for more info. Today’s post will focus on the White Box.

Dungeons & Dragons (Original White Box)

1975 – 1979 … Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson … TSR 2002

OD&D in the shop

OD&D in PDF (cheap!) at DriveThruRPG

Browse sets on eBay

I filmed a video with my son, unboxing the 2013 WotC reprint of the White Box, plus some discussion of the evolution of D&D.

THE (NOT-SO) SECRET ORIGIN OF D&D. Shannon Appelcline’s essay is a fascinating history behind the classic game.

S&W White Box (and variations) discussed at the Fen Orc blog. The Old School Renaissance (OSR) provides several options to play OD&D, bypassing the need for an expensive collector’s set for gameplay.