| Unearthed Arcana, 1st edition | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Unearthed Arcana for the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons |
|
| Author | Gary Gygax |
| Illustrator | Jeff Easley, Jim Roslof, Roger Raupp, Timothy Truman, and Jim Holloway |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | TSR, Inc. |
| Publication date | 1985 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 0-88038-084-5 |
| OCLC Number | 15054860 |
| Dewey Decimal | 794 19 |
| LC Classification | GV1469.62.D84 G96 1985 |
| Unearthed Arcana, 3rd edition | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Unearthed Arcana for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons |
|
| Author | Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, and Rich Redman |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
| Publication date | February 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7869-3131-0 |
Unearthed Arcana (abbreviated UA)[1] is the title shared by two hardback books published for different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Both were designed as supplements to the core rulebooks, containing material that expanded upon other rules. Neither version of Unearthed Arcana should be confused with Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed.
Contents |
1st edition rules
The original Unearthed Arcana was written by Gary Gygax with major contributions by Jeff Grubb and Kim Mohan, and then published by TSR in 1985.[2] Gygax reportedly produced the book to raise money as TSR was deeply in debt at the time.[3] Unearthed Arcana was announced by its author as "an interim volume to expand the Dungeon Masters Guide and Players Handbook",[4] and was written for use with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition rules. This 128-page book was divided into two sections (one for players and one for Dungeon Masters), and provided new races, classes, and other expansion material. The book gives details on using various "subraces" of the standard races, such as dark elves (drow), and deep gnomes (svirfneblin), for use as both player characters and non-player characters.
Although much of the material in Unearthed Arcana had previously appeared in Dragon magazine,[5] TSR (and the RPGA) considered publication in a rulebook format necessary before the material could be used in tournament standard play.[6] Unearthed Arcana, therefore, is the publication that made this material an official part of the AD&D game system.
The original Unearthed Arcana is noteworthy for the numbers of errors contained in its text. Even some positive reviews of the book pointed out the considerable number of mistakes.[7] An errata article was published in Dragon magazine,[8] but errata was not incorporated into later printings of the manual.[9]
Gary Gygax intended to incorporate the material from Unearthed Arcana into revised versions of the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide,[10] but left TSR shortly after announcing the project.[11] AD&D 2nd edition removed material from the original Players Handbook as well as much of the new material that appeared in Unearthed Arcana, which was considered to be "unbalanced" by the AD&D 2nd Edition's designers.[12]
Reception
Rating 4 out of 10, Unearthed Arcana was poorly reviewed in issue 73 of White Dwarf. The rules additions were felt to be uninteresting on the whole and unbalancing for gameplay. Weapons specializations and the new classes made characters too powerful and the new races, also very powerful, were almost unusable.[13]
Fans of AD&D continued to purchase Unearthed Arcana even if critical reviews were negative. The book had five printings after the release of AD&D 2nd edition with the last printing being two years after the new edition was released. [9]
3rd edition rules
The second book to use the name Unearthed Arcana was written by Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, and Rich Redman, and published in 2004 by Wizards of the Coast, for use with the 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragon rules. Where the original Unearthed Arcana had simply expanded the rules and options of the core game, this 224-page supplement was aimed at providing an extensive list of variant rules and options to change the standard game's baseline. In fact, the volume of options added were intentionally excessive. A Dungeon Master who reads the book must be prepared to "Drink from the fire hose",[14] or only use a few of the numerous variants.[15]
Reception
A review on RPGnet lauded the book's content while criticizing the interest level of the content as "very flat" and calling the book's art "terrible. It looks cartoony and has little of the flavor or strength found in the art of so many other WotC products."[16]
References
- ^ "Dungeons & Dragons FAQ". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wizards.com%2Fdnd%2FDnDArchives_FAQ.asp&date=2008-10-03. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
- ^ "Unearthed Arcana (1985)". RPG Database. Pen & Paper. http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showbook&bookid=701. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
- ^ La Farge, Paul (September 2006). "Destroy All Monsters". The Believer Magazine. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.believermag.com%2Fissues%2F200609%2F%3Fread%3Darticle_lafarge&date=2008-10-04.
- ^ Gygax, Gary (March 1985). "Demi-Humans Get a Lift". Dragon (TSR) (95): 8.
- ^ Gygax, Gary (April 1983). "The Chivalrous Cavalier". Dragon (TSR) (72): 6.
- ^ Mohan, Kim (August 1984). "One Little Word". Dragon (TSR) (88): 2.
- ^ Farstad, Errol (1987). "The Critical Hit". Polyhedron Newszine (TSR) (38): 8.
- ^ Mohan, Kim (November 1985). "Arcana Update, Part 1". Dragon (TSR) (103): 12.
- ^ a b Later AD&D Manuals. The Acaeum. Retrieved on June 1, 2006.
- ^ Gygax, Gary (November 1985). "The Future of the Game". Dragon (TSR) (103): 8.
- ^ Gygax, Gary (June 1987). "From the Sorcerer's Scroll". Dragon (TSR) (122): 40.
- ^ Winter, Steve (September 1997). "Cure Light Wounds". Polyhedron Newszine (TSR) (49): 24.
- ^ Cockburn, Paul (January 1986). "Open Box: Dungeon Modules" (review). White Dwarf (Games Workshop) (73): 7. ISSN 0265-8712.
- ^ Collins, Andy; Decker, Jesse; Noonan, David; Redman, Rich (February 2004). Unearthed Arcana (3rd ed.). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3131-0.
- ^ Ryan, Michael (February 7, 2004). Product Spotlight: Unearthed Arcana. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on June 1, 2006.
- ^ Haddon, William B. (February 20, 2004). "Review of Unearthed Arcana". RPGnet. http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10125.phtml. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
Additional reading
- Review: The V.I.P. of Gaming Magazine #3 (1986)
- "Unearthed Arcana additions and corrections", Dragon #103
- "Arcana or Errata", White Dwarf #89
- "Sage Advice", Dragon #117
- "The transition starts now", Dragon #99
- "What Are the Odds?", Dragon #117
External links
- 3rd edition product description at Wizards of the Coast's official website. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
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