Designers & Dragons Origins Is Coming!

My next four volumes of history, Designers & Dragons Origins, are now available for preview at Backerkit. The crowdfunding will start in mid-October, but you can sign up now to be notified when it begins.

Designers & Dragons Origins is a project that’s been ongoing for 13 or 5 years, depending on what you count. It originated as product histories written for DriveThruRPG when they launched DnDClassics in 2013 to make Dungeons & Dragons available once more as PDFs. In 2020, I started compiling those product histories into coherent volumes, revising, expanding, rewriting, and regularizing the content as I went. I’ve been putting together a book a year. When I finished the fourth book toward the end of 2023, I decided it was a good point to stop and prepare for publication, as I now had a coherent set of books covering OD&D, AD&D 1e, BD&D, and Mystara. That’s what we’re crowdfunding.

These are new product history books, not a revision of my existing company histories (though those are coming too!)

You can find a bit more about the project under the #Designers & Dragons Origins tag.

As for what’s in these books, here’s the top-level table of contents:

Designers & Dragons Origins V1

1. OD&D — The Original Game: 1971-1976
2. OD&D — The Original Accessories: 1976-1978
3. AD&D — The 1e Core: 1977-1980
4. Greyhawk — The Gygax Seven: 1978
5. AD&D — More Early Accessories: 1979-1980
6. Greyhawk — TSR Designs: 1979-1980
7. Greyhawk — The Great Campaigns: 1980-1981
8. AD&D — More Monsters: 1981-1983
9. Greyhawk — Divers Hands: 1981-1983
10. AD&D — The RPGA Adventures: 1982-1983
11. Greyhawk — The Return of Gygax: 1982-1985
12. References

Designers & Dragons Origins V2

1. AD&D — The True Generics: 1983-1986
2. UK — The British Adventures: 1983-1986
3. Dragonlance — Chronicles: 1984-1986
4.  Conan — A New World: 1984-1986
5. AD&D — The 1.5e Core: 1985-1987
6. Lankhmar —  A New City: 1985-1986
7. The Realms — Prelude to Adventure: 1985-1987
8. AD&D — 1.5e GM Aids: 1985-1988
9. AD&D — More Generics: 1986-1988
10. Dragonlance — What’s Next?: 1987-1988
11. Greyhawk — What’s Next?: 1986-1988
12. The Realms — A New Adventure: 1987-1989
13. The Realms — A New Setting: 1987-1989

Designers & Dragons Origins V3

1. Basic D&D— The Holmes Era: 1977-1980
2. Basic D&D — The B/X Era: 1981-1983
3. Expert D&D — The B/X Era: 1981-1983
4. Basic D&D —The BECMI Revamp: 1983-1984
5. Basic D&D — The BECMI Adventures: 1983-1985
6. Basic D&D — The First Accessories: 1983-1985
7. Expert D&D — The BECMI Adventures: 1984-1985
8. Basic D&D — The British Invasion: 1984-1986
9. Companion D&D — Rulership & War: 1984-1987
10. Master D&D — The Basic Capstone — 1985-1987
11. Basic D&D — The End of Accessories: 1985-1987
12. Expert D&D — The End of an Era: 1985-1987
13. Immortal D&D — Deities & Demigods — 1986-1987
14. Appendices: Other TSR Solos & Pick-a-Path Gamebooks

Designers & Dragons Origins V4

1. Basic D&D — Blackmoor: 1986-1987
2. Gazetteers — A New, Known Setting: 1987-1989
3. Gazetteers — The Adventures: 1987-1990
4. Gazetteers — More Accessories: 1989-1992
5. Basic D&D — The Hollow World: 1990-1992
6. The Next D&D — Scions of the Black Box: 1991-1994
7. The Next D&D — The Thunder Rift: 1992-1993
8. Basic D&D — The Challenge Retires: 1991-1993
9. Simplified D&D — Many Boxes: 1992-1994
10. Mystara — Reborn: 1994-1995
11. Mystara — Red Steel: 1994-1995
12. Mystara — The Accessories: 1994-1995
13. Mystara — After the Fall: 1996
14. Appendices: Other Official D&D Publishers