Dungeons and Dragons Rules Cyclopedia Hardcover – January 1, 1991

Don't let the price tag deter you, this book is worth it! You can practically replace several box sets, a few of them far more expensive and hard to come by, with this single book! The amount of material found in this is staggering, covering such a wide range of topics that it is comparable to the later editions players guide, dungeon masters guide, and monster manual all in one book. It contains many things that were either previously never covered, or would never be covered again in the D&D game. As far as I know it is also the first instance of prestige classes such as the paladin, knight, and avenger distinction for high level fighters. This book is definitely a must have for collectors and people like me who like playing the classics. DM's running campaigns for editions higher than second may find some useful material here and there that those systems don't cover or don't cover in much detail such as large scale, aerial, and naval combat but honestly I wouldn't spend the money if you aren't a serious collector or don't plan on ever playing original, 1st, or 2nd edition.

In my opinion this is where it's at. A complete game in ONE BOOK. It's the BECM packaged into one tome with a campaign setting at the end. IMO the art from the 80's BECMI was waaaaay better than that of the cyclopedia but content is what counts here. This has everything anyone would ever need to run a dungeons and dragons game, the rules for this are so light that you could house rule the heck out of it to fit your needs without totally breaking the game. These rules also encourage Roleplaying and not Roll-Playing(I hate min/max rules lawyering). Plus with the whole OSR thing and re-issuing of classic D&D with PDF's you wont be short on materials. Sure you could always opt for the PDF's of the Cyclopedia or the BECMI books but nothing beats holding an actual copy in your hands, Get it while you can folks!

I could write a essay. Complete work! Has everything to run infinite games, include a few colored maps inside. Plenty of tables and charts. This is the way DnD was intended! Slays 4th and further editions. Quick play, fast character generation and frees the imagination to play. 2nd edition had to many rules, 3 over power the heroes and 4th became a board game. This original DnD is the heart and sole of the idea of DnD to begin with. This was what Tolkien inspired in them to do in the '70s.

This book is a must have for any true D&D fan. A compilation of every rule conceved during the life span of Dungeons and Dragons plus a few new optional rules (ignore the weapon mastery section) make this the perfect "Stuck on a Desert Island" companion. Owning this work opens the door to run any of the classic D&D modules that have been written over the years. A solid copy for $50 or less is well worth the money spent in my opinion.

My introduction to D&D was the classic Red Box rule set back in the early 80s. Although I have the Red and Blue box sets I never picked up the Rules Cyclopedia and always regretted it. I was excited to find this copy in great shape at a great price. I love these rules for their simplicity and fast play. I've played all the various D&D rules from these Basic/Original through 1-4e as well as NEXT and still find myself returning to these when I play.

All the basic rules for the original gameAlso covers higher levels and domains.

I am happy with thr condition of this book. I gave it to my husband as a gift, and he is very pleased. I did not expect it to be in such good shape. The pages are clean ad the binding is good. We have been on the hunt for this book for a while. Our collection is constantly growing. Thank you for being an honest person.

What more is there to say? Here you have the complete rules compendium and bestiary for D&D basic / expert all in one book! If you love Classic D&D this is your best way get it all in one. It doesn't have the nostalgia factor of the Mentzer , Moldvey-Cooke, or Holmes box sets, but it is a very utilitarian book. If you are running a D&D basic game it is a must for quick reference.

This is simply a must for RPG enthusiasts. If you are playing any OSR game today you need this book.