In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, rule books contain all the elements of playing the game: rules to the game, how to play, options for gameplay, stat blocks and lore of monsters, and tables the Dungeon Master or player would roll dice for to add more of a random effect to the game. Options for gameplay mostly involve player options, like race, class, archetype, and background. Other options could be player equipment like weapons, tools, armor, and miscellaneous items that can be useful.

Overview

Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. This list is sorted by the edition of the game that the rulebook appeared in. Each section highlights the core rulebooks of an edition along with other types of sourcebooks such as supplemental rulebooks or campaign setting rulebooks.

Original Dungeons & Dragons

This original version of D&D only included a few of the elements considered core to modern D&D and required the player to own several other games in order to make full use of the rules, however it is the first role-playing game and, along with its supplements, is responsible for the creation of the genre itself.

Basic Dungeons & Dragons

The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was the successor to original Dungeons & Dragons and was released while TSR, Inc. was working on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons set. This set was the beginning of the split into two separate games, driven by disagreements on the direction the game should take. The Basic set retained the simplicity and flexibility of the original game while Gary Gygax took Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in a more structured and complicated direction. Initially it was expected that players would start using Basic edition and then graduate to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. However, in 1981 the Basic Set underwent a complete revision and not long after this the Expert Set was released for the first time. All references to a progression from the Basic Set to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons were removed from the games and supplements as TSR, Inc. made clear that the expected progression was from the Basic Set to the Expert Set. From this point the D&D dichotomy became fixed and the Basic/Expert pair were considered a completely separate game from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Core products

Monsters & NPCs

Settings

Spells & items

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) greatly expanded upon the rules and settings of the original D&D game when it was released in 1977. As such, this edition saw the publication of numerous books to assist players. The naming of the core books in this edition became the standard for all later editions. Around 1983, all previous hardcover releases (except Fiend Folio) including Monster Manual, Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide and Deities & Demigods were upgraded with new cover art and unified with orange spines as trade dress. This included only minimal text change such as removal of rape references in Dungeon Masters Guide (books are now labeled "ages 10 and up"). Monster Manual II and the rest of the series followed the same format. By the end of its first decade, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons line had expanded to a library of 14 hardcover rulebooks, including three books of monsters, and two books governing character skills in wilderness and underground settings.

Core rules

Character options

Monsters & NPCs

Settings

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition

In 1989, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition was published. Initially, the second edition would consolidate the game, with two core hardcovers, the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, while monsters would be published as the Monstrous Compendium, a 3-ring binder with monsters printed on loose-leaf sheets that Dungeon Masters could sort the contents of as they wish, with additional Monstrous Compendium volumes released as additional packets of loose-leaf sheets that could be added to the binder. However, the binder format proved to be unpopular and by popular demand TSR released a hardcover Monstrous Manual in 1993. Additionally, TSR published three lines of optional supplemental rulebooks: the PHBR series for player options, the DMGR series for Dungeon Masters, and the HR series containing reference material for adapting real-world historical periods to the game. By 1995, with power creep from optional classes and races becoming prominent, they were forced to abandon their original plan and revise the entire line. New versions of the core rule books were published featuring reorganized page layouts, new art and a black-bordered trade dress accompanied by a new logo, though they had few rule changes. A new series of books featuring player options and dungeon master options were also published in hardcover books featuring the same trade dress.

Core rules

Character options

Monsters and NPCs

Optional rules

Settings

Spells & items

Starter sets

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition and v3.5

A major revision of the AD&D rules was released in 2000. As the Basic game had been discontinued some years earlier, and the more straightforward title was more marketable, the word "Advanced" was dropped and the new edition was called just Dungeons & Dragons, but was still officially referred to as 3rd edition (or 3E for short). This edition was the first to be released by Wizards of the Coast after their acquisition of the company, as well as the first to allow third-party companies to make supplemental materials by use of the Open Game License. A series of Map Folios were also produced. In July 2003, a revised version of the 3rd edition D&D rules (termed version 3.5) was released that incorporated numerous rule changes, as well as expanding the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual.

Core rules

Character options

Monsters and NPCs

Optional rules

Settings

Spells & items

Starter sets

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition

The books from the "main" product line of 4th Edition are split into Core Rules and Supplement books. Unlike third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which had the core rulebooks released in monthly installments, the 4th editions of the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide were all released in June 2008. In addition, beginning in September 2010 the stand-alone Essentials product line was released, aiming at novice players.

Core rules

Character options

Monsters & NPCs

Optional rules

Settings

Spells & Items

Starter sets

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition

Initially promoted in playtest materials as Dungeons & Dragons Next, the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons was released in a staggered fashion through the second half of 2014. Unlike previous editions, this edition of the game was developed partly via a public open playtest. An early build of the new edition debuted at the 2012 Dungeons & Dragons Experience event to about 500 fans. Public playtesting began on May 24, 2012, with the final playtest packet released on September 20, 2013. The 5th edition's Basic Rules, a free PDF containing complete rules for play and a subset of the player and DM content from the core rulebooks, was released on July 3, 2014. The basic rules have continued to be updated since then to incorporate errata for the corresponding portions of the Player's Handbook and combine the Player's Basic Rules and Dungeon Master's Basic Rules into a single document. Public playtests continued through the Unearthed Arcana series, which was published for free online in PDF format.

Core rules

As part of the 2024 Rules Revision, the three revised core rulebooks are scheduled to have a staggered release between September 2024 and February 2025.

Character options

Monsters & NPCs

Settings

Starter sets

Boxed sets

Digital and print-on-demand releases