Dungeon Master's Guide

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition

by David Zeb Cook

Here is the essential manual for the AD&S game Dungeon Master. All the information you need to create and run thrilling, swords-and sorcery adventures is clearly laid out in the "Dungeon Master Guide." Learn all there is to know about the magical spells, hundreds of magical spells, hundreds of magical devices and treasures, battles, travel, experience awards, and more. This fresh, new format is your guidebook to the challenging world of the AD&D Dungeon Master!




Separate edition as previous AD&D 2nd edition as book has been revamped and updated with significant changes to structure and content.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Gaming, Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Reference, Games

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 1995

About the author

David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years. Cook grew up on a farm in Iowa where his father worked as a farmer and a college professor. In junior high school, Cook playing wargames such as Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg and Afrika Korps. "I was primarily a wargamer, but there wasn't any role-playing available then," although in college, he was introduced to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game through the University of Iowa gaming club. Cook earned his B.A. in English (with a Theater minor) in 1977. He married his high school sweetheart, Helen, with whom he had one son, Ian. Cook became a high school teacher in Milligan, Nebraska, where his students gave him his nickname of "Zeb"; the name derives from his signature, which is dominated by a stroke resembling a 'Z'.

Reviews

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going 5 stars here, because I really, really enjoy AD&D and Second edition was my favorite edition. I could go into "rules differences" here, but unless you played (or play) you probably aren't that curious as to "why" I like this version of a game reputed to be "ultra geeky"... It's just fun.

So, while I've played a lot of electronic RPGs, let me endorse the table top variety.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version of the Dungeon Master's Guide is somewhere between the first edition and third edition versions, as it is still fairly focused on the rules only the DM should know, but those no longer include things like attack tables and spell details. Instead, the big things that players aren't supposed to know about are more standard stuff like spell research and magic items. The book is still structured in parallel to the PHB, going chapter by chapter through a discussion of details of different aspects of the game and various potential customizations and alterations. The justifications of things like demihuman level limits are explained, and there's a pretty nice exploration of why to use the different options for generating ability scores. A lot of what's here is the sort of stuff I really like reading, namely options for changing and customizing the rules and explanations for how that will affect things. In that regard, it's a bit like the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana book.

There is some DM advice, but it's mostly about how to adjudicate the rules. There's little to none of the discussions of different types of players, how to create adventures and worlds, and other useful stuff about the art of running the game that's so common in more recent Dungeon Master books. Of course, those resources did exist for 2E in the form of some of the Dungeon Master's Reference volumes, and I may well read those at some point. I did still find some cool ideas in here, especially about creating magic items. It's fascinating to see how these magic item crafting rules are pretty much the exact opposite of those in third edition. Characters gain XP for making magic items, but it's far from a routine procedure, as it's encouraged to have characters have to hunt down rare and exotic ingredients and go through various quests to make magic items. I actually like this because it better mirrors how potent weapons and other things tend to be made in fantasy novels. I especially love the idea of, say, needing the heartwood from a tree struck by lightning to make a Wand of Lightning Bolts. It's a really cool and flavorful idea that helps make things feel more fantastic. There was a ton of cool bits like that in here that are good for any fantasy game.

I had a pretty fun time reading this because, as with the PHB from this edition, the writing feels nice and chatty and engrossing. It has a similar effect to the Gygaxian prose of the first edition books while being more approachable. And as I said, there are some great ideas here worth using no matter what edition of D&D you're using. I'm hoping that the Monstrous Manual will be equally fun to read whenever I get to it.

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating based on usefulness.

[Horrorsage · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good evening and welcome fellow Children of Chaos.

Woof, this is bad. Like really bad.

First there are so many pointless archaic ideas like random encounters. Like I've tried that, rolling in front of the players to see what they get, it bogs the game down, and if you are going to do it during prep time, just build a meaningful encounter.

There is also the toxic idea that will not die of "punishing" bad players. Dude, you are not my dad, and I am an adult, if you have an issue with my gaming talk to me like a fucking adult.

Then the asshole trap magic items. "This is exactly like a benifical magic item, except it fucks you over and kills/runs your character. HAHAHAHA, you should not have worn this item, that I the DM gave you and had 100% control over."

Fuck GMs like this. They are not some mastermind, they are dicks. I always hated hearing DMs brag about killing players with shit like the necklace of choking. You didn't outsmart anyone, you are an asshole who just killed a player because you are on some power trip compensating for your micro-penis.

2ND edition was the worst edition of D&D, and I will die on this hill.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

with the Player's Handbook laying the ground work for AD&D 2nd ed, the Dungeon Master's guide expands on and introduces more options available to players and DM's