Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules

Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules, written by set also includes new powerful monsters, and suggestions
Frank Mentzer, is a boxed set for the Dungeons & Drag- for adventure scenarios.[5]
ons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game first published by
The set describes the history of Immortals within the
TSR in 1986 as an expansion to the Basic Set. D&D game: once there were only three Immortals, who
discovered the multiverse, and decided to give it order
and purpose.[6] This set expands the D&D multiverse sys-
1 Publication history tem, with an Astral Plane that permeates and connects
the whole of the multiverse.[7] In addition to the Astral
The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was last revised in Plane, there are also the Prime Material Plane, elemental
1983 by Frank Mentzer as Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: planes, the Ethereal Planes, and many outer planes; these
Basic Rules. Between 1983 and 1985, the system was outer planes range from mono-spatial atto-planes (about
revised and expanded by Mentzer as a series of five 1/3” big) to penta-spatial tera-planes (about 851 billion
boxed sets, including: the Basic Rules (supporting char- light-years big).[6] The set provides notes for the Dungeon
acter levels 1–3), Expert Rules (supporting levels 4–14),[1] Master (DM) concerning running Immortal campaigns,
Companion Rules (supporting levels 15–25),[2] Master which cover the goals of Immortals and their place within
Rules (supporting levels 26–36),[3] and Immortals Rules Immortal society, including duties and responsibilities.[7]
(supporting Immortals—characters who had transcended The DM plays the roles of the Immortals’ superiors,
levels).[4] the Hierarchs of each sphere.[7] There are also sample
plots for Immortal adventures, and twenty-two pages dis-
The Immortals Rules set contains two booklets: one is
cussing monsters; this includes a range of demons which
fifty-two pages long and the other is thirty-two pages.[5]
originally appeared in Eldritch Wizardry.[7]
The booklets, Player’s Guide to Immortals and DM’s
Guide to Immortals, were written by Frank Mentzer and
edited by Anne Gray McCready, with cover artwork by
Larry Elmore, and interior illustrations by Elmore and 3 Reception
Jeff Easley.[4] Harold Johnson also had a role in editing
and development.[6] The Immortals Rules was reviewed by Graeme Davis in
issue No. 83 of White Dwarf magazine, who referred to
this set as “the culmination of the D&D game system”.[7]
2 Contents Davis found that this set is more like a different game
than an extension of the old one, with significant changes
Immortals Rules deals with player characters that have in character progression, although he concluded that the
successfully followed the courses laid out in the Master Immortals rules “are far preferable to the super-gross
Rules for attaining immortality.[7] This set adds a sys- AD&D-style rules stretch that [7]
could have happened” with
tem of power points; upon achieving immortality, char- such high level characters. Davis found the set interest-
acters exchange all of their experience points for power ing, although he could not imagine actually playing it. He
points at a rate of ten thousand to one. Power points commented, “There is a real feeling of having gone on
can be expended to permanently enhance attribute scores, to greater things, and the considerable powers which the
and form a magic point system to fuel a character’s new Immortal character commands are nicely offset by checks
range of special abilities. Immortals advance in ranks in- and balances which the experienced DM can use[7] to avoid
stead of levels; a character must keep a certain balance of critical over-the-top-ism in most circumstances.” Davis
power points to maintain a rank, and must compete in the concluded the review by describing the set as: “Not an
[7]
Olympics to gain promotion to the next rank. The com- indispensable addition to the D&D stable, but an inter-
bat and magic systems are also expanded to take into ac- esting and well-thought-out one. Completists won't want
count the new Immortal powers.[7] Each Immortal player to miss it, and DMs of high-level mortal campaigns [7] will
character has an abundance of powers, literally able to find some of the information it contains interesting.”
cast any magic spell in addition to new combat abilities.[6] Ken Rolston reviewed the Immortals Rules set for Dragon
The rules cover transhuman Immortal characters, their magazine No. 127, referring to it as “an ingenious,
powers, artifacts, and relationships with other Immortals, original, and complex system of rules for playing gods”,
and their ability to create personal “home planes”.[5] The which also “provides a rationale for travel and communi-

1
2 4 REFERENCES

cation among a limitless variety of alternate universes”.[6]

He felt that the system was: “clever, complex, abstract,
and powerful. It is also pretty demanding intellectually,
with lots of neat metaphysical thought-puzzles”.[6] While
he noted that the system is compatible with the D&D
game, it was really a whole new game, with new statis-
tics, attack and defense modes, and an entirely differ-
ent set of motivations for characters. He criticized the
lack of clarity in the presentation of the rules, and saw
the additional levels of power for the player characters
as: “a GM’s nightmare, with almost infinite opportunities
for confusing interactions between spells and powers”.[6]
He also felt the book’s handling of myths was “pretty
bland”, calling it “the biggest weakness of the Immor-
tals Set", with “few psychological insights into D&D game
divinities—nothing in the way of epic personalities, sto-
ries, and themes. Nor is there much of a sense of good
and evil. The motivations of the Immortals are abstract
rather than soul-stirring.”[6] He also criticized how the set
was mechanics-oriented, not campaign-oriented, leaving
it up to the DM to tailor the themes and myths to fit the
campaign. Rolston concluded: “The D&D Immortals Set
is really useful only for a very small audience. Few folk
want to play gods, and fewer want to DM them.... On one
hand, it is admirable for providing original concepts and
mechanics worthy of Immortal PCs. On the other hand,
it is disappointing in its failure to develop the already-
established mechanics and traditions of gods and religions
in fantasy campaigns.”[6]
Lawrence Schick, in his 1991 book Heroic Worlds, felt
that “Play using the Immortals rules is so different from
low-level D&D as to be almost another game entirely.”[5]

4 References
[1] Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Frank
Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 2: Expert Rules (TSR,
1983)

[2] Mentzer, Frank. Dungeons & Dragons Set 3: Companion

Rules (TSR, 1984)

[3] Gygax, Gary, Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set

4: Master Rules (TSR, 1985)

[4] Mentzer, Frank. Dungeons & Dragons Set 5: Immortals

Rules (TSR, 1986)

[5] Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and

Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 123.
ISBN 0-87975-653-5.

[6] Rolston, Ken (November 1987). “Role-playing Reviews”.

Dragon (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR) (#127): 9.

[7] Davis, Graeme (November 1986). “Open Box: Master

Rules”. White Dwarf (review) (Games Workshop) (83):
4.
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5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1 Text
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