This book a nostalgia trip, and and an excellently done one. It is a love letter to the roots of tabletop RPGs, a reflection on how things were, and a rekindling of that spirit. Anyone looking to have some fun playing in a style that is very different from the games of the 21st century would do well with this book.

The book flows like a story. It starts with an explanation of the state of the game, the attitude you should approach it if you want to have fun, then the standard races/classes section, a brief section on equipment, combat, spells, and then a very condensed section for game masters (there is a lot of it in a very short area). The book itself has good art, with a style harkening back to the late 1970s. The monster manual section is well appropriated with variety and plenty of enemies for players to contend with (and die to). The only criticism I can fairly level at the book is organisation, it feels like the sections run together, and a little more separation could help.

What I really liked about Dungeonslayer were the FAQ and Magic User 101 at the end, the take on the Monk and 2/3 of the art. But I am disappointed nevertheless...

Yes some of the art is good, a few pictures are outstanding. But some of the illustrations are not. This is just another retroclone, you get a generic BX plus Advanced set of rules, with Ability Scores modified by Race. Race and Class are separate, everything is pretty standard. All in all - there is nothing special about this book and the system. Everything is pretty generic, besides some of the pleasant art.

Among the points that disappointed me:

• unclear layout in the Magic Items section when it comes to sub-items. Like in the Figurines of Wondrous Power-section which fills almost a whole page. The next item is Filangee’s Propeller Beanie, but the typeset is identical; so the subitems and the new entry look the same.
• Wilderness Random Tables according to level, sorted by alphabet? Sorry, this does not make sense at all to me. By terrain, by climate, special regions etc. has been standard forever. Different character levels can be incorporated by rolling different dice for example, or adding a number. But does make adding character levels into wilderness exploration sense? I don't think so.
• I understand the game simulates medieval fantasy or swords&sorcery, but especially the Hyborian Age goes far beyond Europe. The Conan stories are set in Asia and Africa. Why not mention Human characters can be from there too? What about science fantasy games, planetary romance etc.
• I miss a bit of a setting - at least in broad strokes. This book has to compete with the Rules Cyclopedia and ACKS, which have this. Even the thin D&D BX Expert Set has a tiny sniplet of the Known World.
• at least a bit about Domain Play and what happens after Expert Levels would have been nice,
• instead we get silly and immature carousing rules.
• Why elves should not be able to wield a two handed swords doesn't make sense to me. According to the rules they are to "lithe" for it. OK, maybe they don't use Mauls or Two Handed Battle Axes, but this would be a cultural thing. But never mind, this is just a minor point, just like among the Figurines of Wondrous Power table: There is an entry for Onyx Wolf, but in the text it is an Onyx Dog (and mentioning a panther...)

Conclusion: 299 pages of an All in One rulebook for a price of 80$ including PDF. This is the very upper end.

How does it compete against other games? One can get their Core Rules PLUS a whole campaign/Hexcrawl/several modules/setting for that price. ACKS, Osric, Swords&Wizardry, Basic D&D, AD&D (1e or 2e, the latter perfect bound), (Advanced) Labyrinth Lord etc. have way better deals. Some even have the premium color print options for example.

Dragonslayer does not offer this, it is B&W standard print, you get nothing on top of it for 80$. Some are arguing OSE or Hyperboria cost the same. Well, yes, they do. But they have hard cover quality, linen sewn offset print. For only a few more bucks you get DCC plus a full retail boxed set (Lankhmar or Dying Earth, classic game worlds and campaign settings). These games aren't its competitors though. Dragonslayer is overpriced, it has substancial flaws when it comes to gamedesign (encounter tables, commonplaces concerning building a setting) and layout, childish rules about carousing my group would have come up with at the age of 16.

Dragonslayer is - JARC. I do not know who needed this, esp. while there are differend BX Clones on the market which are better deals. This book was kickstarted, so the publisher already got the artists payed. Art is expensive, but other games have Otus covers for example. I do not know which niche this book fits in. If it wasn't for the authors pupular megadungeons, I would not know, but they are perfectly useable with other OSR or original games.

Fairly OK, not bad (2.8 points of 5)

(because of the encounter tables and game design flaws, layout flaws, "lack of meat", like no setting, not even implied and no domain play, cost/performance ratio)

The pdf is well worth the purchase price. The conciseness is almost alarming. I checked the same spell or item in AD&D or BX and found a more verbose description. Most of this book will be found spread across more pages in a variety of OSR games. This has random dungeons, hex maps for the wilderness and charts for encounters. The rules seem geared to the individual table. How long is a round? I don’t think the book says. It depends on how you want to play it. The tables may make some of the choices, or I can’t read. There are four great Megadungeons to draw from if you want to play the dungeons it was designed for.

Oh, the font is easy for old eyes to read. The book has just the right amount of white space. You can color the illustrations to your heart’s content, or just take notes on the margins. If I get tired reading the book it is because I am old, not from an orange font on a blue background.

There may or may not be some holes in the rules. Rounds do not seem to be defined, neither is magic resistance. This may be due to the author preferring for people to decide which side of the BX/AD&D they wish to play in.

Highly recommended!

Awesome! Fits the bill for a nicely rounded blend of basic and 1st.

This is a much better option than OSE in my opinion. It costs just as much as the two advanced tomes of OSE but the aesthetics and rules tweaks are better. I own both. Another excellent offering from Dr. Gillespie. I highly recommend everything he’s published, I own it all.

Great work, thanks for the effort. One thing though, why does the ranger have 1d12 hd? It this an error?

Clear work made with care. The rules are available and widely available but the art and the feel of these rules stand alone. The adventure design material is useful for new MC/DM and the advice for OSR play transcends this edition. A good companion for the megadungeons.

Really love this. Has the feel of AD&D but the simplified game mechanics of an OSR Basic D&D clone. Fast, easy and drags the action back to where it belongs - the group interaction between the players. The descriptions of the rule mechanics are super clear and unambiguous - just excellent. Reading this made me get my old AD&D manuals out for comparison and even with the weight of many (many!) hours of love and study for AD&D I think I would prefer this as a starter set for people new to OSR style play. Expensive - but sometimes you get what you pay for and comparing cost / quality I see this as a bit of a bargain TBH. Thoroughly recommend.

Long overdue, this is what most people has been wanting from an OSR system, at least for the last five years. Nothing groundbreaking, just what's needed with a great presentation.

This is the best version of an OSR game that I have ever seen. If you enjoy BX, 1e, 2e, or Old-School Essentials or Advanced, you will love this game. Dragonslayer captures all the best elements of classic D&D and the OSR and refines it into a smooth, thematic system. There are tons of new spells, magic items, and monsters with random tables support each of those elements. The art is exceptionally, too.

This is the best version of an OSR game that I have ever seen. If you enjoy BX, 1e, 2e, or Old-School Essentials or Advanced, you will love this game. Dragonslayer captures all the best elements of classic D&D and the OSR and refines it into a smooth, thematic system. There are tons of new spells, magic items, and monsters with random tables support each of those elements. The art is exceptionally, too.

There are so many OSR-likes on the market, and yet it is still difficult to find one that does 'everything' in terms of a basic D&D feel with enough character detail so as not to feel sparse. Hyperborea and ACKS are my choices for fantasy gaming in the traditional realms. Dragonslayer now comes in equal to those. It achieves a sense of being very much like AD&D but without all the extra weight, and numerous addendums that have gathered over the years. Dragonslayer is not so simplistic as other rules-sets which sometimes lose all feel due to their sparseness. The authors house rules achieve a nice blend of simplicity and flavour without sacrificing elements of classic Dungeons & Dragons. The artwork is superb and conveys the feel of the genre, I particularly appreciate the class and race art. My only criticism would be the absence of a Bard class. It would be nice to see this feature in a future supplement... Overall, a stellar entry into the field, and one worthy of it's title.

Full disclosure: I'm a backer for the product and I'm a OSR gamer. Technically speaking, been gaming since 1981. When Greg announce he was going through with this project, I jumped a the opportunity. My review will be a simple pros and cons list, which is based upon my opinion and expectations. this review is also based upon the PDF. PROS and CONS -layout is excellent. easy to read. hyperlinked pages for ease of navigation.

artwork is excellent. getting some of the older artists mixed in with some contemporary ones makes a great mix of styles, and yet the overall feel is IMO like being time warped back to '81. Fantastic game mechanics are excellent. a carefully crafted mixture of Moldvay B/X and 1st ed AD&D, just like a lot of use did back in the day. Greg's is definitely more polished and has more thought into it. examples are clear and concise for combat, use of minis, etc. character classes are excellent. all of the core classes are recognizable, and yet Greg gave each one some unique abilities. Even the fighter, which gets a cleave attack. basically if the fighter outright kills an opponent, they get an extra attack every two levels of the fighter. Pretty cool, imo. His version of the monk is a really interesting and unique take based upon the Western monastic orders. races are very good. all of the standard races are there. He did add one, the Cyclopsmen, which are OK, but just a little weird imo. If you want a really unique roll-playing challenge, play a Cyclopsman. I guess if I had a CON for the book it's the Cylcopsmen. flexibility of rules is excellent. IMO this is where the games really shines. you want to add a class like the bard? no problem. want to use ascending AC? you can do that too. I think Greg really did a good job of striking a balance between having a core rule set with some minor house rules he's incorporated (crits and fumbles for example), and yet if you want to add or subtract things around the core, the whole thing doesn't come crashing down.

This is my review as of right now. I will add more if possible in the future.

I know, I know, another B/X / AD&D clone. All I can say, is that I feel Dragonslayer was created with 100% love and passion for what happens around the table with your friends and family. No bs, no political agendas, just a great OSR game. It's streamlined. The art is great to downright awesome. Combat has been somewhat modernized, and that's a good thing. As usual, change/houserule and add whatever you want to make the game your own. Want ascending AC? It's extremely easy to do so. I am glad I took the leap and own it. If you are on the fence, I say order it. You will not go wrong with this version of the game.

This game is amazing! I love the BX base and the AD&D type things layered on is done exceptionally well but the new added things along with the art and attitude just push this game over the top. I like a lot of other OSR games but this is the one I love! I'm so excited to play it!