The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was revised in 1983 by Frank Mentzer as Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules. Between 1983 and 1985, this system was revised and expanded by Mentzer as a series of five boxed sets, including the Basic Rules, Expert Rules (supporting character levels 4 through 14),[1]Companion Rules (supporting levels 15 through 25),[2]Master Rules (supporting levels 26 through 36),[3] and Immortal Rules (supporting Immortals – characters who had transcended levels).[4] The Companion Rules set was written by Mentzer, with art by Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley.[5] It was published by TSR in 1984 as a boxed set containing a 64-page book and a 32-page book.[5] The set contains two booklets: Player's Companion: Book One and Dungeon Master's Companion: Book Two, which were edited by Anne Gray.[2]
The 10th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons Collector's Set boxed set, published by TSR in 1984, included the rulebooks from the Basic, Expert, and Companion sets; modules AC2, AC3, B1, B2, and M1, Blizzard Pass; Player Character Record Sheets; and dice. This set was limited to 1,000 copies and was sold by mail and at GenCon 17.[5]: 147
Contents
The Player's Companion presents information for characters who have reached levels 15-25.[5] The book begins with commentary regarding the changes a character would go through since they began as an adventurer at level one.[6] It introduces game statistics for new weapons, types of armor, and rules to use with unarmed combat as well as providing details on how to run a stronghold and its recurrent costs, including the wages for the castle staff.[5][6] The Player's Companion describes the new abilities as well as improvements in skills, spells, and other abilities that increase for members of each character class as they improve in level. This section focuses entirely on human characters, and handles dwarves, elves, and halflings separately.[6] The concept of "attack rank" is introduced for the three demi-human classes; although, per the Expert Set rules, they are capped at a specified maximum level, further accumulation of experience points increases their combat abilities. It also introduces the optional character class of druid, presented as a special progression for clerics of neutral alignment.
The Dungeon Master's Companion opens on general guidelines for running an adventuring campaign and how to plan adventures for characters of level 15 and higher. The introduction also presents a feudal system in which the dominions would the player characters would be granted or conquer. This section concludes by providing notes on how to organize and run tournaments. The section after that is titled "The War Machine" and was designed by Douglas Niles and Gary Spiegel as a system for handling large-scale battles, especially warfare that is only part of the campaign background.[6] This book details how to run high-level campaigns, including rules for mass combat, other worlds and planes, and game statistics for new monsters and treasure. It also contains three short adventure scenarios.[5]
Reception
The Companion Set was reviewed by Megan C. Robertson in issue 61 of White Dwarf magazine (January 1985), rating it a 7 out of 10 overall. Robertson noted that most characters that reach 15th level in the Basic D&D game should be thinking of settling down and retiring and felt that the D&D Companion Set provides: "some ideas for this to be a little more interesting than simple retirement".[6]
