Arduin Grimoire

The Arduin Grimoire is a fantasy role-playing game supplement published in 1977 by Dave Hargrave. This work emerged from Hargrave's home campaigns and introduced new character classes, spells, monsters, and rules modifications for use with Dungeons & Dragons. The book presents a darker take on fantasy gaming, with brutal combat mechanics and supernatural horror elements. Its hand-drawn illustrations and typewritten text give it a distinct DIY aesthetic that influenced later indie RPG publications. The content spans 42 pages and includes critical hit tables, demon summoning rules, and settings details for the world of Arduin. Many of its innovations, like percentile-based skill systems and detailed critical hit effects, became standard features in later RPG designs. The Arduin Grimoire represents an early example of gamers modifying and expanding existing rule systems to match their creative vision. Its mix of heroic fantasy and horror themes helped establish a grittier style of role-playing that continues to influence game design.

Readers call the Arduin Grimoire imaginative but chaotic in its organization and presentation. Fans praise its massive volume of content, unique monster designs, and unconventional magic system. Multiple reviews highlight its influence on early D&D house rules. What readers liked: - Creative critical hit/fumble tables - Detailed demon summoning rules - Unusual character classes and races - Gritty, dark fantasy tone What readers disliked: - Poor editing and typos - Confusing layout - Rules sometimes contradict themselves - Hand-drawn art quality varies From RPGGeek (3.88/5 from 26 ratings): "Raw creativity that needs an editor" - User DavidC "Messy but inspiring" - User Greyspectre From RPGnet reviews: "The charts alone are worth the price" - BlackDeath "Nearly unplayable as written but full of ideas to steal" - Aramis No Goodreads or Amazon ratings available for original edition. Note: Most reviews come from forum discussions and blog posts due to the book's age and limited distribution.

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🎲 The Arduin Grimoire (1977) was one of the earliest independent supplements for Dungeons & Dragons, helping pioneer the third-party RPG publishing industry. 🐉 Dave Hargrave created the world of Arduin while running D&D games for employees at a Bay Area veterans' hospital where he worked as an orderly. ⚔️ The book introduced numerous innovations that later became RPG staples, including critical hits, detailed combat injuries, and new character classes like Star Powered Mages. 📚 The original Arduin Grimoire was hand-typed and illustrated by Hargrave himself, with art contributions from friends, giving it a distinctly DIY feel that influenced indie RPG publishing. 🎮 Despite cease-and-desist pressure from TSR (D&D's publisher), Arduin's influence spread through photocopies passed between gaming groups, earning it a legendary "samizdat" status in RPG history.