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Confounded Rules! Some Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Rules Examined

Writer: R. Nelson Bailey
R. Nelson Bailey
Mar 6, 2022
1 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

This article takes a look at some of the more problematic rules found in First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.


By R. Nelson Bailey


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First Edition Dungeon Masters Guide.

Contents

5th-Level Cleric Level Title

Level Limits

A Natural 20 Always Succeeds

Magic Bows

Armor & Spellcasting

Magical Aging

Carrion Crawler Paralysis

Mind Flayer “Mind Blast” Ability

Cold Iron

Monsters & Infravision

Deadly Illusions

Movement During Melee

Demi-Human Base Move

Multi-Classed Characters

Dragon Breath Damage

Neutral Clerics & Turning

Exceptional Strength

Parrying

Falling Damage

Possession

Ghoul & Ghast Paralysis

Spell-like Abilities

Helmet Use

Thief Abilities

Item Saving Throws

Undead Abilities & Resistances


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6 Comments

Guest
Jan 27

Another fantastic article! There is an error in your "A Natural 20 Always Succeeds" section. In AD&D, "to hit" modifiers affect the AC of the opponent, not the die roll of the attacker.

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Dungeoneers Guild Games
Dungeoneers Guild Games
Jan 28
Replying to

Thanks, I’m glad you liked it.

I believe you’re referring to the “Natural 20” section. You’re correct that some “to hit” penalties are applied by adjusting the target’s Armor Class rather than the attack roll, as noted on page 70 of the DMG. However, this is not a blanket rule for all modifiers. The DMG explicitly limits this instruction to specific effects—such as curse, prayer, and protection from evil—and does not state that all to-hit adjustments must be handled this way.

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Travis Casey
Travis Casey
Aug 20, 2023

Great job! I especially appreciated the information from Polyhedron, since nobody in my group was an RPGA member, so I never had access to that. Another frequently-confusing area that would be great to cover would be the unarmed combat rules - although I haven't looked through your archives yet, so maybe you've already covered that! You do have an error in #20, though - you say that original D&D used the five alignment system. It used the three alignment lawful-neutral-chaotic system, which B/X and BECMI inherited.

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Dungeoneers Guild Games
Dungeoneers Guild Games
Jan 28
Replying to

Jason,


The back-and-forth between the 3-point and 5-point alignment systems stems from the game’s uneven development. Gary Gygax formulated the 5-point alignment system late in the OD&D era. The Holmes Basic Set was intended as a stopgap while Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was still in development, and AD&D itself was meant to replace OD&D entirely.

However, many players preferred the original game, so OD&D was revised in 1980 without fully adopting the newer alignment framework—even though the 5-point system had already appeared in later OD&D supplements.

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