Post by foster1941 on Jun 15, 2018 12:58:51 GMT -5
You can get a sense of what Gary originally intended for the "AD&D Rules Expansion" volume (what later became UA) by looking at his mentions of it in his Dragon articles c. 1981-82 - it was originally to have been released c. late 82 or early 83 (the MMII was initially supposed to have followed after it) and the contents were described as thus by Gary in Dragon #59 (March 1982):
That material included the new cleric (#58), illusionist (#66), magic-user (#67-68), and druid (#71) spells and cantrips (#59-61), info about spellbooks (#62), new weapons (#64), and the barbarian (#63), acrobat (#69), and cavalier (#72) classes, and info about social class (#70) and horse armor (#74) to supplement the cavalier write-up. It's likely that the new magic items that appeared in S4, WG4, EX1, and EX2 were also drawn from that in-progress manuscript. In Dragon #65 he mentioned that the mystic, savant, mountebank, and jester classes were also being worked on, though of course we never saw them from him.
Weapon specialization first appeared in Dragon #66 (October 1982) as seemingly almost an afterthought - an addendum to the main content of his article for that issue (the new Illusionist spells) - and he mentions that it was inspired by recent discussions with Len Lakofka, suggesting it wasn't part of his initial plan for the expansion volume:
(though OTOH weapon specialization is pretty central to the cavalier class that appeared a few issues later, so while it may not have been part of Gary's initial plan for the AD&D Rules Expansion, once he'd adopted it, he did so fully.)
Likewise with comeliness, which was introduced similarly in Dragon #67 (November 1982), mentioned as an aside after a discussion with Francois Froideval:
Some of the other material that was collected into UA didn't appear in Dragon until much later: the Hierophant Druids were introduced in Dragon #93 (Jan 1985), the ranger additions in Dragon #94 (Feb 85), and the expansions for demi-humans didn't appear until Dragon #95 & 96 (Mar-Apr 1985) - at the same time publication of UA itself was announced:
Frank Mentzer has admitted in later years that Roger Moore's Demihuman Deities and the Pole Arms essay from Dragon #22 were included as last-minute page-filler when they realized that the collected Gary material wasn't quite enough to fill 128 pages. Gary had mentioned earlier (in Dragon #71) that Moore's deities were to be considered "official," but that he "urged TSR to include them in the next edition of the DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia, whenever such a revision takes place" - they definitely weren't originally intended for the AD&D Rules Expansion volume.
So, taking all of that together, it looks to me like if the "AD&D Rules Expansion" had actually been published c. late 82 or early 83 as Gary originally intended that it would have included the new spells, weapons, and magic items, and the new classes (including the "lost" classes) but not the race expansions, comeliness, weapon specialization, or the appendices. Since that material seems to be the stuff from UA that people like least (along with "Method V" stat generation, which is also of uncertain provenance - an embryonic version of it appears for the barbarian class in Dragon #63, but it's unclear when the decision was made to expand the concept from the barbarian to all human characters), and because in the intervening period between 1982-85 there had been a lot of changes at TSR and the game seemed to be headed in a different direction (e.g. Dragonlance), it seems likely the book would have met with a better reception at that time than UA did (but not necessarily, since Gary's infamous ranticle in Dragon #67 makes it clear that he was getting a lot of negative feedback from Dragon readers on his additions, especially the barbarian, and that he was at least a bit annoyed by it:
With plenty of labor and even more luck there will be an ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® expansion volume next year. It will be for both players and DMs, with several new character classes, new weapons, scores of new spells, new magic items, etc. What will follow here in the next few issues is a sampling of the material slated for inclusion in the expansion
That material included the new cleric (#58), illusionist (#66), magic-user (#67-68), and druid (#71) spells and cantrips (#59-61), info about spellbooks (#62), new weapons (#64), and the barbarian (#63), acrobat (#69), and cavalier (#72) classes, and info about social class (#70) and horse armor (#74) to supplement the cavalier write-up. It's likely that the new magic items that appeared in S4, WG4, EX1, and EX2 were also drawn from that in-progress manuscript. In Dragon #65 he mentioned that the mystic, savant, mountebank, and jester classes were also being worked on, though of course we never saw them from him.
Weapon specialization first appeared in Dragon #66 (October 1982) as seemingly almost an afterthought - an addendum to the main content of his article for that issue (the new Illusionist spells) - and he mentions that it was inspired by recent discussions with Len Lakofka, suggesting it wasn't part of his initial plan for the expansion volume:
In the course of a recent visit from Len Lakofka, wherein we were principally discussing cleric and druid spells, the subject of Len’s unofficial “archer” sub-class came up. I concurred with Len’s position that a bowman, shaft readied, target at “point blank” range, was formidable. I agreed that the game as it now stands does not reflect such threat. We then discussed how to mesh the concept with the AD&D™ game system, and weapon specialization arose as the answer.
Likewise with comeliness, which was introduced similarly in Dragon #67 (November 1982), mentioned as an aside after a discussion with Francois Froideval:
Frank Mentzer and Francois Marcela-Froideval are already hard at work, and I am being flooded with suggestions and ideas from these Good Gentlemen. Francois uses a “Beauty” attribute for his characters, and I have come to the conclusion that you might also like to use such a rating. Here are my thoughts:
Some of the other material that was collected into UA didn't appear in Dragon until much later: the Hierophant Druids were introduced in Dragon #93 (Jan 1985), the ranger additions in Dragon #94 (Feb 85), and the expansions for demi-humans didn't appear until Dragon #95 & 96 (Mar-Apr 1985) - at the same time publication of UA itself was announced:
Its time to be rid of a pain in the neck, as Im sure all of you Worthy Enthusiasts will agree! The new material published within these pages character classes, information on demi-humans, spells, and so on should be contained in one handy volume. And that is precisely what will happen this summer, when a new hardbound AD&D game rule volume, entitled Unearthed Arcana, will appear in the stores.
What happened was this: I got so tired of trying to keep track of photocopies, notes, magazines, and whatnot, that I suggested to the Kindly Planners at TSR, Inc., that perhaps an interim volume to expand the Dungeon Masters Guide and Players Handbook would be appreciated by everyone who has suffered the same problems. Seeing as how the work on the full-scale expansion and revision of the system wont even begin for at least another year, everyone agreed.
Material to be contained in the new book includes updated and revised versions of virtually all of the articles written by Yours Truly and published in DRAGON® Magazine over the last three years or so the Cavalier, Barbarian, and Thief-Acrobat classes, the expansions and revisions of the Druid and Ranger classes, new weapons, new spells, and the information on demi-human level maximums in this very issue, to name a few. Also in the work will be a substantial amount of previously unpublished material, including a group of no less than 150 new magic items, and some selected offerings by other Esteemed Authors whose efforts have graced these pages. Watch for more information about the contents and the release date in these pages in the months to come.
What happened was this: I got so tired of trying to keep track of photocopies, notes, magazines, and whatnot, that I suggested to the Kindly Planners at TSR, Inc., that perhaps an interim volume to expand the Dungeon Masters Guide and Players Handbook would be appreciated by everyone who has suffered the same problems. Seeing as how the work on the full-scale expansion and revision of the system wont even begin for at least another year, everyone agreed.
Material to be contained in the new book includes updated and revised versions of virtually all of the articles written by Yours Truly and published in DRAGON® Magazine over the last three years or so the Cavalier, Barbarian, and Thief-Acrobat classes, the expansions and revisions of the Druid and Ranger classes, new weapons, new spells, and the information on demi-human level maximums in this very issue, to name a few. Also in the work will be a substantial amount of previously unpublished material, including a group of no less than 150 new magic items, and some selected offerings by other Esteemed Authors whose efforts have graced these pages. Watch for more information about the contents and the release date in these pages in the months to come.
Frank Mentzer has admitted in later years that Roger Moore's Demihuman Deities and the Pole Arms essay from Dragon #22 were included as last-minute page-filler when they realized that the collected Gary material wasn't quite enough to fill 128 pages. Gary had mentioned earlier (in Dragon #71) that Moore's deities were to be considered "official," but that he "urged TSR to include them in the next edition of the DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia, whenever such a revision takes place" - they definitely weren't originally intended for the AD&D Rules Expansion volume.
So, taking all of that together, it looks to me like if the "AD&D Rules Expansion" had actually been published c. late 82 or early 83 as Gary originally intended that it would have included the new spells, weapons, and magic items, and the new classes (including the "lost" classes) but not the race expansions, comeliness, weapon specialization, or the appendices. Since that material seems to be the stuff from UA that people like least (along with "Method V" stat generation, which is also of uncertain provenance - an embryonic version of it appears for the barbarian class in Dragon #63, but it's unclear when the decision was made to expand the concept from the barbarian to all human characters), and because in the intervening period between 1982-85 there had been a lot of changes at TSR and the game seemed to be headed in a different direction (e.g. Dragonlance), it seems likely the book would have met with a better reception at that time than UA did (but not necessarily, since Gary's infamous ranticle in Dragon #67 makes it clear that he was getting a lot of negative feedback from Dragon readers on his additions, especially the barbarian, and that he was at least a bit annoyed by it:
All that is really being questioned is change, because this subclass is different from others. Well, Gentle Players, that is what you’ve been asking for, and that is what I am here to do. Believe it or not, I actually know my game system and what or what will not work within its parameters!