Making of OD&D June 2024

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Finally, I found information on what I thought I dreamed up.  Check this out.  It looks interesting.  Unfortunately, it's a WOTC product but it's coming in at 500 pages with unreleased content like correspondence between Gary & Dave, I believe.


Making of OD&D info

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Looks to be done by John Peterson of Playing at the World fame, 500 pages, and include a reprint of OD&D.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Dec 28, 2023 18:40:14 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

Looks to be done by John Peterson of Playing at the World fame, 500 pages, and include a reprint of OD&D.

Wondering which printing of OD&D, I will be surprised if it is earlier than the 6th print or the 2013 print. If it is the 5th print or earlier that will be good. Also be great if John Peterson (increment) can tone his bias down for a change.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

See a posts about this at Zenopus Archives.
This post from Feb. "The Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977"

The "new news" here is that the book will also include a "draft of D&D", which is most likely the draft termed "Guidon D&D" by Peterson, and also contemporary articles. The inclusion of the draft is particularly noteworthy and exciting as this is a document that has never before been shared with the public in its entirety.

The promo image of the cover shows four ribbon bookmarks in different colors that appear to correspond to sections of the book, which are colored along the bottom of the page in the "Sneak Peek" images, with red corresponding to Chainmail and yellow corresponding to the original D&D volumes.

I saw a post on Twitter that unlike the other forthcoming WOTC books, which will be released in both physical and digital formats, this one will only have a physical release. So unfortunately no pdf option.

So, in summary, we now know the 500 pages of this tome will cover the years 1970-1977, and include at least:
"Gary Gygax's never-before-seen first draft of D&D written in 1973"
"a replica of the original Dungeons & Dragons game, page for page"
"never-before seen correspondence" between Gygax and Arneson
"a curated collection of published fanzine and magazine articles"
historical context by Jon Peterson

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Here is a discussion thread at DF that is 160 posts long.
The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Here is a discussion thread at ENworld that is 118 posts long.
The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 Coming In June

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Here is the latest blog post at the Zenopus Archives.
"The Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977": Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface (page 4)
Foreword (page 6)
Part 1: Precursors (page 9)
   Grayte Wourmes (page 10)
   Maps of the Great Kingdom (page 18)
   Medieval Weaponry in the Encyclopedia Britannica (page 20)
   Chainmail's Fantasy Supplement (page 26)
   Gygax on Armor (page 46)
   The Battle of the Brown Hills (page 50)
   Arneson's "Medieval Braunstein" (page 54)
   Blackmoor Gazette and Rumermonger 2 (page 58)
   "Points of Interest in Black Moor" (page 60)
   The Wizard Gaylord (page 64)
   Loch Gloomen (page 68)
   Outdoor Survival (page 72)
   Gygax/Arneson Blackmoor Correspondence (page 76)

Part 2: The 1973 Draft of Dungeons & Dragons (page 79)
   Greyhawk and the Revised Great Kingdom Map (page 80)
   The First Draft of D&D (page 84)
   The Twin Cities Draft (page 182)
   The Mornard Fragments (page 188)
   The "Clean-Up Crew" (page 198)

Part 3: Original Dungeons & Dragons (page 201)
   Expanding the Rules (page 201)
   Draft Versus Published Version (page 202)
   The Brown Box and the White Box (page 202)
Part 4: Articles & Additions  (page 329)
   Monsters' Attacks and Damage (page 330)
   Greyhawk Player Maps (page 336)
   Gygax in Europa (page 338)
   The Strategic Review 1 (page 348)
   Greyhawk (page 356)
   Excerpts from the Strategic Review (page 416)
   Blackmoor (page 430)
   Additional Excerpts from the Strategic Review (page 498)
   Eldritch Wizardry (page 506)
   The Dragon (page 570)
   Gods, Demi-gods and Heroes (page 574)

Afterword: A Whole New Game (page 576)

[The Perilous Dreamer]

There is a link to an earlier blog post: blog images from the linked blog post. Also at the bottom of the blog posts are links to three other related blog posts.
Megarry's Copy of the Great Kingdom Map

In view of these, I've updated the annotations on the Domesday Book Great Kingdom map

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Dungeons & Dragons - the Making of Original D&D: 1970-1977 - Amazon pre-order link

About this item

• Unearth the very first draft of original D&D, never released to the public until now. Crafted on Gygax’s home typewriter, this 1973 document contains handwritten notes by both Gygax and Arneson.
• Discover approximately 30 early articles and rare documents that lay the foundation for modern D&D, including unpublished correspondence between Gygax and Arneson.
• Peruse a remarkable collection of magazine and fanzine articles, many of which are no longer publicly available or remain undiscovered by D&D historians and fans of classic D&D.
• Flip through facsimiles of all the first printings of Original D&D, compiled in a single book for the first time in D&D’s publishing history.
• Explore the creation and development of the original 1974 game with insightful commentary by Jon Peterson, one of D&D’s foremost historians.
• Commemorate our 50th anniversary with this homage to D&D's past. We invite you to look back on D&D’s history with a discerning eye as we celebrate how far D&D has come. Here’s to 50 years, and 50 more!

[The Perilous Dreamer]

A somewhat related thread about a documentary by Hasbro that does not seem to be happening.
This ENWorld thread was started back in 2022 and we are left wondering if this ball was dropped and if so, is it permanent/
Hasbro To Produce Official D&D Documentary

Hasbro, through its Entertainment One media division, is set to produce a documentary about Dungeons & Dragons, directed by actor Joe Manganiello and filmmaker Kyle Newman. It will be timed to release during 2024's 50th anniversary of the game. Over 400 hours of footage, going back to the 1970s, will be drawn upon, much of it never seen before. The documentary will also feature interviews...