1E DMG Arrived Today... Let's Look At The Cost

Let's Look At What It Cost and Why It's Better

This arrived this afternoon… about 30 minutes ago. I bought it from DriveThruRPG. The cover cost was $27.99 and with UPS shipping at $16.99 that comes to a total of $44.68.

Let’s break open an inflation calculator.

I bought my old school DMG in 1984 for $15 cover price. I’m not sure of the taxes on that but it wasn’t much then. Let’s another 45-50 cents and round off to $16 total.

BLS.GOV says that $16 in January of 1984 is the same as $51 as of September 2025.

I got it cheaper by a few bucks.

It’s the same book… just a scan and reprint… and you can get it for the same price or even cheaper than what we old Grognards paid back in the days when Duran Duran ruled the Earth.

I got the PHB from the same source a couple of months ago for $24.49 total (flat rate USPS shipping. That’s a book I bought probably in early 1983 for $12… round up for minimal taxes to $13.

The inflation calculator says $13 then is $43.17 as of September this year. So, I got it extremely cheap.

There is no reason not to have the classic AD&D 1E books at your table. Yes, keep your originals on the shelf or put away. Treasure them. But get these reprints.

And… if you can’t handle the rules presented inside (or at least make half-way intelligent decisions when it doubt) stay the fuck out from behind the DM Screen.