Here we go! This week I’m looking at some of the core books from my beloved Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. Up first: the Dungeon Master Guide.

The second edition rules were a much needed tidying up of D&D. First edition was suffering from rulebook bloat – too many rules, many of which unbalanced the game, were spread across too many books (ironic, I know, considering 2E’s problems with this eventually outstripped 1E on a staggering scale). Zeb Cook took all those rules, streamlined them, reorganized them, put a proper index on them and put together a straightforward set of books that turned out to be, for my money, the best version of D&D.

That said, the DM Guide is a bit…dry. Gygax’s version is a look inside the brain of a man, full of quirks and mysteries. The 2E version has all the intrigue of a school textbook. Which is OK! The advice for DMs here is helpful. I have a fondness for the designy art of Jean E. Martin, but it, and all the illustrations really, haven’t left a huge impact on me, especially compared to the incredible stuff that packed the 1E books. 2E also has a marked increase in chainmail bikinis, which is unfortunate.

The real beauty of the core rules in 2E is that they offer something that is recognizable but new. What Cook understood about D&D, and what I think has been overlooked by subsequent editions, is that D&D’s simulation – the basic mechanics of the game – don’t need to be balanced. They need to be sturdy. They need to trudge along like workhorses even when magic subverts and breaks those rules. Especially when; that’s what makes the magic magical.

And magic is what 2E does best. Most of 1E’s magic items feel like mechanical sleight of hand – tweaks to existing rules, useful for small tactical shifts. Cook’s reworking breathes a new and exciting narrative life into them. I always had a problem giving out too many of them back in the day because I was so keen to see how my players would use them to screw everything up.

As with all things, though, your mileage may vary.