Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia 3 Reception

The Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia is a 1991 book published by TSR, Inc., as a continuation of the basic edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, which ran concurrently with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Its product designation was TSR 1071.

1

Rick Swan reviewed the D&D Rules Cyclopedia for Dragon magazine #184 (August 1992).[1] He calls the book a “stunningly comprehensive volume”, explaining that it “includes more detail than most GMs will ever use [...] but if you want it, you can probably find it here”.[1] According to Swan, “Best of all, the material is a joy to read, thanks to the breezy style of Aaron Allston, who must've been genetically engineered to write RPG rules. This is a must for serious fans.”[1]

Contents

Shannon Appelcline said that the book “was a nice compilation that was appreciated by the fans”.[4]

The Rules Cyclopedia contained all the major rules, compiled and revised from the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules, as well as the Expert Rules, Companion Rules, and Master Rules boxed sets.[1]

4 References

However, the book’s introduction on page 5 states that it is “intended to be a reference volume for those who already play the D&D game ... this book is aimed at the experienced ... [it] lacks many of the examples and patient explanation you'll find in the D&D box sets”.[2] The same year, a revised introductory Dungeons & Dragons set was released to introduce new players to the game.[3]

[1] Swan, Rick (August 1992). “Role-playing Reviews”. Dragon (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR) (#184): 76. [2] Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR, 1991) [3] Shannon Appelcline. “D&D Rules Cyclopedia (Basic)". dndclassics.com. Retrieved September 9, 2014.

This was the second revision to the D&D rules.[4] These guidelines allow a player to develop and play characters from levels 1-36, and includes a special section on skills.[1] The book also contained an overview of the Known World (Mystara) and Hollow World campaign settings.[1] It also has rules on how to convert characters between the Dungeons & Dragons game and the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition game.

[4] Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.

5 Additional reading • Steven E. Schend, “The grand old game–complete at last!" Dragon #177.

The Rules Cyclopedia includes two optional classes to the game: the druid (introduced in the Companion ruleset) and the mystic (introduced in the Master ruleset, similar to the monk class found in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons).

2

Publication history

The D&D Rules Cyclopedia was designed by Aaron Allston and published by TSR, Inc.[1][4] This 304-page hardback book features cover artwork by Jeff Easley and interior art by Terry Dykstra.[2] 1

2

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

• Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_Rules_Cyclopedia?oldid= 675790648 Contributors: Oknazevad, Ben Standeven, Angelo, Zzyzx11, LexCorp, BOZ, Yobot, FreeKnowledgeCreator, FrescoBot, ImprovingWiki, Polisher of Cobwebs, ChrisGualtieri, OccultZone, Monkbot and Anonymous: 14

6.2

Images

• File:Icosahedron.svg Source: https://.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Icosahedron.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Vectorisation of Image:Icosahedron.jpg Original artist: :DTR

6.3

Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0