The Books You Will Need

Now that you have decided to enroll in our little Introduction to Dungeonmastering course. You are are going to need the required reading list. I recommend the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual as your essential texts. There are other 1st Edition hardbacks like Unearthed Arcana available, but I would recommend that if you have never played 1st Edition AD&D before or if you just want a simple, but still complete game, that you stick to these three.

It goes without saying that you cannot walk into your local bookstore or your Friendly Local Game Store (unless they have a pretty good used section) and pick up your 1st Edition books. Unless you already own a set, I would suggest that you turn to the web to pick them up. The best choice IMHO is good old eBay. Here is a LINK to the Role Playing Games category, where you can start your search. I usually use search terms like 'advanced', 'player's handbook' or 'lot' in my searches, but I don't claim to be an expert. Especially if you get them in lots, you can usually get pretty good copies of most 1st Edition books for $5-10 apiece (except for rarities like the first printing of Deities & Demigods.)

Another option is to search the websites of used game stores like Titan Games and Troll and Toad. I find those sites a bit expensive, but they might offer you a little more security in your purchases than buying through an auction site. Yet another option is to purchase the books as PDF downloads from RPGnow. I still prefer the physical books in my grubby little hands, but I did want you to be aware that the books are (legitimately) available in electronic form. A word of warning for you, however. I have heard at least some of the 1st Edition PDFs are not of the greatest quality and so buyer beware.