The German 1983 Dungeons & Dragons Red Box

Celebrating D&D's 50th anniversary by dusting off an old relic from my shelf, and playing the included solo adventure.

In pretty bad condition

Preface

I wasn't even alive when this box came out, so it's obviously not my original purchase. A friend from my very first RPG group gave it to me because his parents heard we were playing D&D. We were actually playing Pathfinder 1e, so the box never saw any use on the table.

At the time, I didn't appreciate it for what it was, so I simply put it aside and thought nothing more of it. The box was in terrible condition, and, in my eyes, it was just "another old version".

Fun sidenote: none of us had any idea where to start with roleplaying games, so we took to the internet, where we found nothing but hate for D&D 4e, which had just released, and everyone told us to play Pathfinder instead. Just another example how the release of 4th edition got shafted by the community.

Made in Western Germany

The Box Content

Sadly, the original dice and the insert are missing in the box I have, but the rest is still there. While the outside is in terrible condition, the booklets are really well-preserved.

Player's Handbook

Dungeon Master's Guide

The staple bound booklets hold up really well, even to today's standards. They feel robust, and the paper quality is good enough that it looks brand-new, even after constantly flipping back and forth during the solo adventure.

The interior layout is really dense, and you can tell that it comes from a different time. Learning the rules by slowly digging through text wall after text wall isn't the best introduction into the hobby.

Luckily, they thought of that and offer a tutorial that teaches you the basic rules and concepts by playing through a short adventure. Basically, a very simple choose-your-own-adventure.

Example spread from the solo tutorial adventure

The Tutorial Adventure

From the very beginning, the book guides you through a short dungeon delve, slowly introducing new rules as you go along. Yes, the story is extremely forgettable, and the writing is nothing special, but I was pleasantly surprised how they managed to establish certain core principles of the old-school playstyle.

• Light and supply management is important
• You don't have to fight every monster - talking with them is a possibility
• Be careful down in the dungeon - take your time and be on the lookout for anything dangerous
• Treasure is your main reason for doing anything - no special story or adventure hook needed
  
• Retreat from dangerous situations and resupply in town
• Repeat visits to the same dungeon are totally normal
• Teamwork makes everything easier
• Dungeons have Monsters, Treasure, and Puzzles
  

The story briefly establishes the setting as a medieval sword & sorcery world, and proclaims your (still first level) character as a famous, yet pennyless, hero. Your character's village has been terrorized by a bandit named Bargle, who is now hiding out in the nearby hills. Looking for adventure, your character decides to venture into the dungeon, bring Bargle to justice, and, more importantly, collect as much loot as possible.

My slightly messy notes

Overall, it only took me about 1,5h (including dungeon drawing time) to finish the adventure. There wasn't any story conclusion, you just leave the dungeon whenever you feel like your character is done. It was a nice introduction into the game, and perfectly established the kind of session it expects you to play in the future. Such a clear intent is something I desperately miss from some more modern games.

Character sheet that you start using during the adventure

Random Observations (mostly translation quirks)

• They called it a "programmed" adventure.
• The narrator uses the formal "Sie" instead of "Du"
• Feels very weird, especially as the NPCs use "Du"
• The Dungeon Master is called a "D&D-Master"

Other Treasures

I have never talked to the person who originally bought this box, which made it all the more exciting to find some hand-drawn maps tucked beneath the booklets. It felt like recovering an ancient tome of a forgotten adventure. What was the story behind these walls? Did player characters ever get the chance to explore it?

Unknown notes

I'm very thankful that I got the chance to experience a tiny piece of D&D history, and I'm sure that this wasn't the last time I play these older editions.