STRANGER THINGS

Role-playing games, 80s nostalgia, cool fonts… Stranger Things had me from the start. Its recent return has persuaded me to stray off topic, and try to answer a (typically pedantic) question I have had ever since the the first season: which version of D&D were the characters playing?

At the very beginning of the show this seems a straightforward question to answer. In episode 5 of season 1 (6:14), we see Dustin flick past the rulebook from Frank Mentzer’s 1983 edition of the D&D Expert Set. It’s a little beaten up for a product that has only just been released, but I suppose it’s already seen a lot of use. Later, in episode 8 of season 3 (1:00:20), we also see Will’s rather-better-looked-after copy of Mentzer’s D&D Basic Set (the second printing from 1983). So Mike and the gang seem to have been playing “BECMI” D&D.

Next to the Expert Set in the picture above we can also see the back cover of the module X1 The Isle of Dread, which was included with the Expert Set. However, there is a slight problem. This copy is a second or third printing from 1980-1981. A different, fourth printing was included with the 1983 Expert Set. Perhaps Dustin’s 1983 Expert Set replaced a copy of Cook and Marsh’s 1981 Expert Set, and he ended up with two editions of the module.

X1 The Isle of Dread, second (1981, left) and fourth (1983, right) printings

That is not the only problem, though. Mike’s campaign at the start of season 1 includes the monster Demogorgon, but Demogorgon did not appear in BECMI D&D until the 1986 Immortals Set (p34). In 1983, when season 1 is set, Demogorgon had only appeared in the OD&D supplement Eldritch Wizardry (p37, 1976) and AD&D‘s Monster Manual (p16, 1977). The former was was long out of print by 1983, so it seems most likely Mike has a copy of the Monster Manual.

It now looks as though Mike is running first-edition AD&D or some sort of D&D/AD&D hybrid. But there is another problem. Demogorgon in AD&D is a staggeringly powerful monster. It would not be threatened by either the Fireball or Protection [from Evil 10′ Radius] spells the boys debate using against it in season 1, episode 1 (2:25). These are both third-level spells in Mentzer D&D and first-edition AD&D, so Will’s Magic-User character is at least sixth level. But Demogorgon has 95% magic resistance, AC -8, 200hp and a bewildering array of magic and psionic abilities. Will can try Fireball or Protection, but the gang are toast either way. The boys must have improvised their own statistics for Demogorgon, which were more appropriate to their level of play.

Demogorgon in the Monster Manual (1977)

But there’s another problem. To cast Fireball Will says he has to “roll 13 or higher”. This makes no sense. In the mentioned editions of D&D and AD&D the caster does not need to roll to determine if the casting is successful. He or she only has to roll a D6 per level to determine damage. The target is allowed a saving throw, so it could be that Mike allows the players to make the Demogorgon’s saving throw. But really the required roll makes very little sense. Perhaps they just forgot the rules in all the excitement….

Later, the boys seem to have taken further steps down the AD&D road. The thessalhydra, mentioned in episode 8 of season 1 (44:50), had at the time only appeared in AD&D‘s Monster Manual II (p119, 1983). In episode 8 of season 2 (26:41), Dustin refers to the Monster Manual for a description of the mind flayer. From a fleeting glimpse of the red Advanced Dungeons & Dragons heading on the cover (28:06) we can even tell that the copy was one of the Monster Manual‘s first three printings from 1977-1978. This is a little odd, as that copy long predates the boys’ Basic and Expert Sets, and they were just six or seven years old when it was released. I suppose they must have bought some old stock from Hawkins’ friendly local games store or acquired it from another gamer.

Monster Manual, first printing (1977)

We see more AD&D books in season 3, episode 8 (1:00:20), when Will puts his D&D collection into a donations box. (No doubt forty years later he will buy it back on eBay at hideous expense.) Under his Mentzer Basic Set, he has five AD&D hardbacks and what looks like a magazine. The book at the bottom of the pile has a diagonal yellow AD&D stripe across the corner, and from the back cover we can tell it is a copy of the Players Handbook (fourth to eighth printings, 1979-1981). On top of this is another yellow-stripe book. The colouring and a glimpse of the spine suggest this is probably the Fiend Folio (first or second printings, 1981), though it might perhaps be Deities and Demigods (first to fourth printings, 1980-1981). Next in the pile is an orange-spine rulebook. It is not clear which rulebook this is. On the assumption that it is not a duplicate of other books he owns, it must be one of Monster Manual II (1983), Legends & Lore (1985), Unearthed Arcana (1985), Oriental Adventures (1985), Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide (1986) and Wilderness Survival Guide (1986). It looks a little thin to be Monster Manual II, so I’m guessing it’s a copy of Unearthed Arcana, as that probably would have seemed the most useful of the remaining books.

The magazine is next in the stack. We can make a good guess as to what it is. In episode 3 of season 3 (36:00) we see a copy of Best of Dragon, Vol III (July 1983) in Castle Byers. This leaves two more yellow-striped books. The thickness and colouring of the next book suggest it is the Dungeon Masters Guide (first-seventh printings, 1979-1981). The top book is a little difficult to make out. The colouring, a brief sight of the spine and a process of elimination suggest this is the Monster Manual (third to sixth printings, 1978-1981).

Will’s AD&D collection: Players Handbook, fourth to seventh printings (1979-1980), Fiend Folio, first printing (1981), Unearthed Arcana, first printing (1985), Best of Dragon, Vol III (July 1983), Dungeon Masters Guide, first printing (1979), Monster Manual, third printing (1978)

By season 4 there is little doubt the Hellfire Club is playing AD&D. Eddie uses the AD&D Dungeon Masters Screen (second or third printing, 1979) in episode 1 (59:06). Vecna and Kas (59:03) are figures from the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide (pp157 and 161), that in 1986 had only otherwise appeared in Eldritch Wizardry (pp41 and 43). Erica plays a “Chaotic-Good half-elf” character (57:56). This race is not playable in BECMI D&D, which also limits alignments to just Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic.

Dungeon Masters Screen for AD&D (second or third printing, 1979)

However, there is once again something strange going on. Erica also describes her character as a “Rogue, level 14” (57:56), and later rolls a “crit hit” (1:04:34). Neither Rogues nor critical hits appeared in AD&D until its second edition, three years later (1989). The Hellfire Club’s house rules seem to have been weirdly ahead of the curve.

There are so many anomalies that I’m beginning to think that Stranger Things might not be a completely faithful historical reproduction. Perhaps I’ll also discover that the Demogorgon miniature was not available in 1983, that Will could not have listened to The Smiths at the time or that Barb’s VW Golf didn’t exist back then….

For more thoughts on Stranger Things, see this post.

Title art by Kyle Lambert. Internal art by Jeff Dee, Tim Truman, David C Sutherland III, Emmanuel, Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore and Erol Otus. Product images taken from The Acaeum and the TSR Archive. All artwork and images used without permission. No challenge intended to the rights holders.