Editing Dungeons & Dragons (section)

=== Original game ===
The [[Dungeons & Dragons (1974)|original ''Dungeons & Dragons'']], now referred to as ''OD&D'',<ref>{{Cite news | last1 = Carroll | first1 = Bart | last2 = Winter | first2 = Steve | date = February 6, 2009 | title = Name Level | periodical = [[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]] | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | publication-date = February 6, 2009 | issue = 372 | url = http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4alum/20090206 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120415164855/http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd%2F4alum%2F20090206 | archive-date = April 15, 2012 }}</ref> is a small box set of three booklets published in 1974. With a very limited production budget of only $2000—with only $100 budgeted for artwork<ref name="aa">{{cite book | last1 =Witwer | first1 =Michael| last2 =Newman | first2 =Kyle| last3 =Witwer | first3 =Sam| title =Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History | publisher =Ten Speed Press| date =2018| isbn =9780399580949}}</ref>{{rp|26}}—it is amateurish in production and assumes the player is familiar with wargaming. Nevertheless, it grew rapidly in popularity, first among wargamers and then expanding to a more general audience of college and high school students. Roughly 1,000 copies of the game were sold in the first year, followed by 3,000 in 1975, and many more in the following years.<ref>{{cite book | first=Jon | last=Peterson | year=2012 | title=Playing at the World | page=496 | publisher=Unreason| isbn=978-0-615-64204-8 }}</ref> This first set went through many printings and was supplemented with several official additions, such as the original ''[[Greyhawk (supplement)|Greyhawk]]'' and ''[[Blackmoor (supplement)|Blackmoor]]'' supplements (both 1975),<ref>Schick; ''Heroic Worlds'', pp.&nbsp;132–153</ref> as well as magazine articles in TSR's official publications and many [[fanzine]]s.

==== Two-pronged strategy ====
In early 1977, TSR created the first element of a two-pronged strategy that would divide ''D&D'' for nearly two decades. A ''[[Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set]]'' boxed edition was introduced that cleaned up the presentation of the essential rules, makes the system understandable to the general public, and was sold in a package that could be stocked in toy stores.<ref name="history"/> Later in 1977, the first part of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'') was published,<ref name="history" /> which brought together the various published rules, options and corrections, then expanded them into a definitive, unified game for hobbyist gamers. TSR marketed them as an introductory game for new players and a more complex game for experienced ones; the ''Basic Set'' directed players who exhausted the possibilities of that game to switch to the advanced rules.

As a result of this parallel development, the basic game includes many rules and concepts which contradicted comparable ones in ''AD&D''. [[John Eric Holmes]], the editor of the basic game, preferred a lighter tone with more room for personal improvisation. ''AD&D'', on the other hand, was designed to create a tighter, more structured game system than the loose framework of the original game.<ref name="Dragon 26 Gygax"/> Between 1977 and 1979, three hardcover rulebooks, commonly referred to as the "core rulebooks", were released: the ''[[Player's Handbook]]'' (PHB), the ''[[Dungeon Master's Guide]]'' (DMG), and the ''[[Monster Manual]]'' (MM). Several supplementary books were published throughout the 1980s, notably ''[[Unearthed Arcana]]'' (1985), which included a large number of new rules.<ref name="history"/> Confusing matters further, the original ''D&D'' boxed set remained in publication until 1979, since it remained a healthy seller for TSR.<ref name="Schick 17-34" />