Dnd Edition Timeline
- Chainmail (1971-1979)
- OD&D (Jan 1974-1979)
- Greyhawk (Feb 1975-1979) is considered to turn odnd into 1adnd
- Blackmoor (Sep 1975-1979)
- Eldritch Wizardry (Apr 1976-1979)
- Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (Jul 1976-1979)
- Swords & Spells (Jul 1976-1979)
- Holmes' Basic Set (Jul 1977-1979)
- AD&D Monster Manual (1977-1989)
- AD&D Player's Handbook (1978-1990)
- AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide (1979-1990)
this list helps if you need release dates https://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/rulebooks.html
reprint of several classic dungeons: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170945/S14-Dungeons-of-Dread-1e?src=cab_col
Hah! Beholders are actually called "Spheres of Doom" :)
http://taxidermicowlbear.weebly.com/dd-retroclones.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_retro-clones https://retroroleplaying.com/retro-clones/
DD covers just 1+2, SW is 1->6 (detailed diff)
- Swords and Wizardry
Swords & Wizardry is faithful in style and feel to original Dungeons & Dragons as published in the original three brown books and the following supplements. However, in many structural ways it takes inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. To players it will feel very much like the original game; to referees it will feel like the original game rewritten with some of the DM-side conveniences of 3e in mind.
- Labyrinth Lord
Labyrinth Lord cleaves relatively closely to the rules of Basic Dungeons & Dragons and Expert Dungeons & Dragons. The rules are reorganised for clarity and to not be divided between two volumes, and revised in a few places to resolve ambiguities. LL was written with the goal of creating an in-print reference system for published material to declare compatibility with "Labyrinth Lord" and have everyone know that they really mean it's compatible with B/X D&D.
Get Labyrinth Lord if you want the basic D&D Rosetta stone system, mostly straight B/X but salted with a little BECMI and peppered with a pinch of AD&D (though you can always go whole hog by adding the Advanced Edition Companion). Most newly published OSR adventures look to Labyrinth Lord for their core rules. And the ones that dont... they use Swords & Wizardry, which you get if Labyrinth Lord sounds cool but also kind of newfangled and streamlined, and you're looking for older, clunkier, and more authentically "70s" to Labyrinth Lord's "80s".
- Little Brown Books:
- Delving Deeper and extras
- Rules Cyclopedia
- Labyrinth Lord
So tl;dr version is that if you're looking for an "authentic" experience, it's hard to beat some form of the Rules Cyclopedia. It compiles all the BECMI rules from 5 books to one and has great formatting etc. Labyrinth Lord is a good option for a simpler version of the BD&D game, and has tons of support, and Dark Dungeons is basically a rewrite of RC. The rest are tweaked enough to feel much more modern and less "authentic." -- src
Swords & Wizardry white box is the closest to OD&D, Labyrinth Lord, is the closest to B/X, and Osric is the closest to AD&D. If you can't get your hands on the originals, I would recommend choosing the appropriate retro clone from this short list. -- src
Moldvay and Cook B/X (Basic booklet and Expert booklet)
100% clone:
check out his house rules for various eras: http://the-city-of-iron.blogspot.com/p/publications.html