Players, put those three big books aside and see how much
you really know about the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
game system. All you need is a piece of paper, lots of
AD&D knowledge, and a sharp pencil with a big eraser...
 

Part I: The Monster Manual		-	-	-
Part II: The Players Handbook	Character Classes	A. Fighters	B. Clerics	C. Thieves	D. Magic-Users
Part III: Miscellaneous Multiple Choice	-	-	-	-	-
Part IV: Magic Items	-	-	-	-	-
Part V: Short Answers on Miscellaneous Topics	-	-	-	-	-
Part VI: Some “Hard” Questions	-	-	-	-	-
Exam Answers	-	-	-	-	-
Dragon	-	-	-	-	Dragon 47

To play AD&D™ well, one must have a
firm grasp of its rules. Often a single rule
decides whether a character lives or
dies. The rules of AD&D, however, fill
three volumes. It is thus a nearly hopeless
task to try to learn them all, even omitting
the optional sections. Fortunately, it is
not necessary to have a comprehensive
knowledge of the rules to play the game.
Many rules, such as spell descriptions,
can easily be looked up when the occasion arises if the spell is one that is not
used often. On the other hand, it delays a
game unnecessarily if a common spell
like Sleep must be looked up each time it
is used. More generally, there are some
rules that every good player should know
because they recur frequently and are
basic to the game, and others that need
only be known about, so that they can be
referred to at the appropriate time.

The test below is designed to test your
knowledge of AD&D rules. It is not
intended as a mere “trivia contest,” although some questions may call for
certain specific facts. If you play AD&D
but do not ever act as Dungeon Master,
you should not expect to come anywhere
near answering every question correctly.
Unless the question states otherwise, do
not refer to the rule books while taking
the exam. The knowledge should come
from within, from your experience as a
player and DM. If you feel a question is
ambiguous or is a matter of opinion, try
your best to answer it anyway. You may
find that the answer takes this into account.

The AD&D Exam
 

Part I: The Monster Manual
True or False?
 

1. Skeletons are a malicious form of
undead that hate human life.

2. Despite their low hit dice, Ogre
Magi make deadly foes.

3. There are five types of “true” Giants.

4. Red Dragons are the most feared
type of evil dragon because they are the
most vicious, are less likely to be asleep
at any given time than any other kind,
and are more common than the other
kinds.

5. Barbed Devils cannot be turned by
Clerics.

6. Fighters prefer to fight Goblins rather than Orcs, even when they must face
two or three times as many Goblins as
Orcs.

7. Ki-rin and Djinni come from the
Elemental Plane of Air.

8. Trolls are a lot tougher now than
they used to be.

9. Werebears are the only kind of
lycanthrope aligned towards Good.

10. A Mind Flayer is no longer dangerous to high-level characters once its
psionic blasts have been expended.

Part II: The Players Handbook.
True or False?
 

11. Elves have a special resistance to
sleep and charm spells, and half-elves
do also..
 

12. For the major character classes, a
score of at least 16 in the prime requisite
is required for a character to gain the
10% experience bonus.
 

13. Halflings never have infravision.
 

14. Assassins, Paladins, and Monks
must be human.

15. Dwarves and halflings cannot become Magic-Users because the customs
of their respective races prohibit it.

Character Classes
Questions 16-20 pertain to the different character classes. Choose one of the
four sets of questions below (A,B,C, or
D) as the one that will count for purposes
of scoring.

A. Fighters
16A. The first things a new first-level
Fighter buys for adventuring are a weapon, a shield, and a suit of plate mail.
17A. A Fighter with +1 Plate, a +1
Shield, and a Dexterity of 15 has an AC of
-2 versus frontal opponents against
whom the shield can be used.

18A. Other factors being equal, Rangers
and dwarven Fighters often prefer giant-class opponents.

19A. A Potion of Heroism always enhances the fighting ability of a Fighter.

20A. To hit Orcus, Asmodeus, or an
Iron Golem, a +3 weapon is required.

B. Clerics
16B. A first-level Cleric has no chance
of turning a Wraith.

17B. The clerical wisdom bonus for
spells begins at Wis 15 and can give a
Cleric as many as eight additional spells.

18B. All Clerics cannot wait to reach
8th level, for it is then that they acquire
the ability to raise the dead.

19B. An evil Cleric can have a Cure
Light Wounds spell and a Cause Light
Wounds spell at the same time.

20B. A Druid can use edged weapons
of some kinds, but a normal Cleric cannot.

C. Thieves
16C. Overall, a human Thief is superior to Thieves of other races.
 

17C. A 9th-level Thief does quadruple
damage with a successful backstab attack.
 

18C. A Thief’s ability to hear noises
(listen intensely) does not increase
quickly compared to the other Thief
abilities as the Thief advances in level.
 

19C. A Thief cannot be lawful in alignment because to steal something is an
unlawful act.
 

20C. At the 9th level, Thieves acquire
the ability to read magic scrolls and use
Crystal Balls and other scrying devices.

D. Magic-Users
16D. There is absolutely no way for a
Magic-User to retain a spell in memory
once it has been cast.
17D. An Arch-Mage is a Magic-User
who has reached the 18th level of ability.
18D. All Magic-User spells have at
least verbal and somatic components.
19D. As is true for Clerics, illusionists
have only seven different spell levels,
whereas Magic-Users have nine.
20D. The spells Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt, and Cone of Cold gradually
increase in the amount of damage they
do as the caster gains experience levels.

Part III: Miscellaneous Multiple Choice
Choose one answer only unless the
question asks for more than one.

21. The letters “TSR” in “TSR Hobbies, inc.” stand for:
(a) Theoretical Simulations Rules
(b) Totally Silly Rules
(c) Tactical Studies Rules
(d) Takers Sans Remorse
(e) None of the above

22. Which of the following undead do
not drain energy levels? (1) Wight
(2) Shadow (3) Spectre (4) Ghost
(5) Vampire (6) Lich
(a) 2 and 6
(b) 2, 5, and 6
(c) 2 and 4
(d) 2, 4, and 6
(e) All of the above

23. How many rule violations are there
in the following scene?

...our hobbit Thief Nodgard, having
had enough poison gas for one day,
disappeared into the shadows where the
golem could not find him, try as it might.
Only barely did little Nodgard avoid the
creature’s grasp and hide safely. The
rest of us, seeing that our friend was
indeed in peril, went to the attack. In the
next round Droth, our human sixth-level
Fighter, fired an arrow at the towering
menace, then drew his enchanted blade
and damaged the creature severely on
the leg. Our Wizard let fly a volley of
magic missiles that blasted holes in the
golem’s body during the same round.
The next round the golem breathed forth
a cloud of poisonous gas upon Lord
Droth. He rolled an abysmal 1 as his
saving throw, but thanks to his many
protection devices he was saved. His
great strength made the 1 he rolled on
his own attack a hit, and the golem,
responding to instructions given it by its
master, fled from us. Victory was ours!

(a) 2
(b) 4
(c) 5
(d) 6
(e) 7

24. Which of the following treasures
is most valuable?
(a) 2200 ep
(b) 200 pp
(c) 203,000 cp
(d) 10,500 sp

25. Which of the following monsters
appeared originally in Tolkien’s Lord of
the Ringsand has a new name in AD&D?
(a) Eye of the Deep
(b) Ettin
(c) Treant
(d) Lich

Part IV: Magic Items
True or False?
26. Flying Carpets come in many sizes.
 

27. Javelins of Lightning can be reused
if they can be retrieved.

28. Potion effects are additive, and
several potions may be taken at the
same time.

29. A retributive strike results in a
more or less powerful explosion.

30. An artifact can be destroyed only
in one certain way.

31. A sword with an Int of 6 or higher
can speak to its wielder.

32. A Poisonous Cloak is indistinguishable from a Cloak of Protection until it is
worn.

33. An Efreet Bottle contains an Efreet
that will serve in the same fashion as the
Djinni from a Ring of Djinni Summoning
will.

34. An Iron Flask is a cursed item that
draws its owner inside and imprisons
him or her within.

35. Wands operate at the 6th level for
the purposes of magic resistance.

Part V: Short Answers on
Miscellaneous Topics

36. You are a 5th-level Magic-User
casting a 1st-level spell against a creature
that is 35% magic resistant. What is the
percent chance that the magic resistance
will spoil the spell?

37. You are a 4th-level Fighter with 17
hit points. An enemy Magic-User throws
a fireball at you; the blast center is 16’
from where you stand. The fireball does
30 points of basic damage. You roll an 18
as your saving throw. What is your hit
point total after the blast?

38. You are an 8th-level Ranger being
attacked by a band of 17 Kobolds. How
many attacks per round do you get
against them?

39. A huge very old Red Dragon, -1-
11-77, whom you failed to rob as it slept,
has just breathed on you. You are a
dwarven Fighter, 3rd level. Assuming
you have no magical protection from the
fire, is there any chance that you will
survive?

40. Which two of the following monsters are of the same alignment: Asmodeus, a Night Hag, Juiblex, a Quasit,
Bahamut?

41. What are the four creatures that
serve Magic-Users as special familiars?
 

42. What character class requires the
fewest experience points to advance
from 1st to 2nd level, not including
Bards?
 

43. Rank these monsters in order of
their number of hit dice, from largest to
smallest: (1) Kobold, (2) Bugbear, (3)
Orc, (4) Gnoll, (5) Ogre, (6) Goblin.
44. Which of the following weapons
does the greatest possible damage
against a large opponent: dart, arrow,
mace, spear (thrust), halberd, quarterstaff?
45. Why are the Druidic elemental
summoning spells so much more effective than the Magic-User spells of the
same kind?

Part VI: Some “Hard” Questions
46. In an arena a dwarven Fighter and
an Ogre are forced to fight to the death.
Both the dwarf and the Ogre are average
in all respects. The dwarf is 4th level and
is armed with plate mail, shield, and a
longsword. If the performance of both in
combat is average, which will win?

47. The mad wizard Quendirl claims
he can drain away the sea by means of a
Single magic item. What item? (You may
consult the magic item lists in the Dungeon Masters Guide for this question.
No artifact is involved here.)

48. Enchantress Elvira has made a pet
of a very young Black Dragon and desires
to emplace it in the swamp near her
tower to keep nosy people away. She
realizes, however, that at present the
dragon is too small and weak to be of
much value in this regard. She is not
worried, however, for she has a foolproof
scheme for increasing the dragon’s hit
points to a respectable level in only two
weeks’ time. How can she possibly do
this? The increase in hit points she
contemplates will be permanent.

50. Garigax the Tricky, a Thaumaturgist, was contemplating a means whereby he and his 2nd-level apprentices
could cross a rushing river with all their
equipment. The way looked difficult, for
Garigax had but one Fly spell, and the
spell would not last long enough for him
to carry all his apprentices and their gear
across, even if the weight should not be
too great. After pondering the problem a
long while Garigax shouted “Aha! Mine
peerless brain hath done it again!” and
proceeded to instruct his apprentices as
to his plan. Thereafter they all slept for a
time. Then they awoke and at once all
the apprentices began studying their
spell books as Garigax made lunch.
After a hearty meal they lined up and all
began incanting at the same time. Soon
thereafter they were seen on the other
side of the river. Garigax and his apprentices owned no magic items, and no
creature aided them in crossing. The
river was too fast-moving to swim, and
Garigax and his minions had no ropes,
boats, or any other kind of conventional
river-crossing equipment. How did Garigax and friends accomplish such an
astounding feat?

(Answer list begins on page 57)

Exam answers

1. False. Skeletons are mindless and
thus not capable of malice.

2. True. Their ray of cold and other
magic powers make them powerful in
spite of their 5+2 hit dice. <Ogre magi>

3. False. There are six: Hill, Stone,
Frost, Fire, Cloud, and Storm.

4. False. All three reasons given are
either wrong or irrelevant to the question.
Nothing in the Monster Manual
says that Red Dragons are more vicious
than any other kind of dragon. They are
not more common than the other kinds <of dragons>
-- see the Monster Manual at pp.31-34.
The likelihood that a Red Dragon will be
asleep is irrelevant to the degree to
which it is feared when awake. Any of
the following are acceptable reaosns for
fearing Red Dragons more t han other
kinds: larger size, larger breath weapon,

greater likelihood of spell use, 1st-4th
level spells usable, lowest armor class. If
you answered "false" because you
thought Tiamat was the most feared
type of evil dragon, give yourself credit
for answering the question correctly.

5. False. See DMG, pp.75-76.

6. True. The reason is that they get
multiple attacks against Goblins but not
against Orcs. If you were hung up on the
fact that this does not hold true for 1st-level fighters,
give yourself credit for the question,

7. True. See the appropriate Monster
Manual descriptions. <Ki-rin: ??> <Djinni>

<8.>. True. Damage/attack for trolls was
changed from 2-5/2-5/2-8 to 5-8/5-8/2-
12 in the Monster Manual errata (Dragon
#35) and in later editions of the Manual,
making them much more powerful.

9. True. See the Monster Manual under
lycanthrope.

10. False. The Mind Flayer's physical
attack is deadly.

11. True. See Players Handbook, p16. <elves> <half-elves>

12. True. See Players Handbook under
the various major classes. <cleric> <fighter> <magic user> <thief>

13. False. PH, p.17. <hobbit>

14. False. PH, p.14. <CHARACTER RACE TABLE I.: CHARACTER CLASS LIMITATIONS>

15. False. The real reason is the anti-magical
nature of these races; see PH, p.15. <dwarf> <hobbit>

16A. False. A new character cannot
afford plate mail with the gold pieces
given at start; see PH, p.35. <Starting Money> <Armor>
<note that there is an exception to this in the DMG>

17A. False. The Fighter is AC -1.

18A. True as stated. Rangers get a
damage bonus versus these creatures,
and dwarves get an armor class bonus
against giant-class creatures of Ogre
<size> or larger. The latter are also +1 to hit
against certain giant-class opponents.

19A. False. Fighters of 10th level or
higher do not benefit: see DMG, p. 126.
<potion of heroism>.

20A. True. See the appropriate descriptions
in the Monster Manual. <Asmodeus> <Orcus> <Iron Golem>

16B. True. See DMG, p.75.<Turning Undead>

17B. False. See PH, p.11.<>
<Wisdom Table II>

18B. False. This happens at 9th level,
not 8th.

19B. True. See generally PH, p.43; <Cure/Cause Light Wounds>
there is no rule against it.

20B. True. See PH, p.19. <CHARACTER CLASSES TABLE II: ARMOR AND WEAPONS PERMITTED>

16C. False. The other races get net
bonuses in most of the thieving abilities
that humans do not get. In fact, there is
no good reason at all for a Thief to be
human.

17C. True. See PH, p.27. <Backstab>

18C. True. See PH, p.28, Thief
Function Table.

19C. Strange to say, the answer is
false (see PH, p.27), though one can
certainly argue that it ought not to be
this way. <Thief>

20C. False. Rangers acquire the ability
to use Crystal Balls, not Thieves, and
Thieves do not learn to read scrolls until
10th level; PH, p.27. <Read Scrolls>

16D. False. Rary's Mnemonic Enhancer
allows a Magic-User to do this.

17D. True. See PH, p.26. <MAGIC-USERS TABLE I.>

18D. False. A number of spells require
only a verbal component, most
notably the Power Word spells.

19D. True. See PH, pp.40-42.
    <Cleric Spells>
    <Druid Spells>
    <Magick-User Spells>
    <Illusionist Spells>

20D. True. See the appropriate spell
descriptions in the Players Handbook.
    <Magick Missile>
    <Lightning Bolt>
    <Cone of Cold>

21E. Originally, “TSR” represented
the initials of Tactical Studies Rules
(answer C), the predecessor of TSR
Hobbies, Inc. When the new corporation
was formed, the initials “TSR” were retained from the name of the former
company, but they were not designed to
stand for anything.

22D. See the appropriate Monster
Manual descriptions.
    <(2) Shadow>
    <(4) Ghost>
    <(6) Lich>

23. This is a difficult question. The
answer is either C (5 violations) or D (6
violations), as explained below. The violations are:
(1) The Thief cannot hide in
shadows while a monster is pursuing
him; (2) A 6th-level Fighter cannot fire
an arrow and attack with his sword in the
same melee round; (3) Magic missiles
cannot harm an Iron Golem; (4) A saving
throw of 1 is always failure; (5) There is
no way for a 6th-level Fighter to hit on a
roll of 1, assuming that no magic weapon
exceeds +5; and (6) Droth the Fighter
could not be a Lord if he is only 6th level.
If you thought that Lord Droth was
referred to as a Lord because he held a
title of nobility, give yourself credit for
the question if you were otherwise correct..

24. A. 2,200ep = 1,100gp; 200pp =
1,000gp; 203,000cp = 1,015gp; 10,500sp
= 525gp.

25. C. Treant is an adaptation of Tolkien’s Ent.

26. True. See DMG, p.140.
<carpet of flying>

27. False. See DMG, p.149.
<javelinoflightning>

28. False. The relationship is far more
complex; see DMG, p.119.
<POTION MISCIBILITY>

29. True. See DMG, p.134
<retributive strike>.
.
30. True. See DMG, p.164.
<Possible Destruction Means for Artifacts/Relics>
.
31. False. Int must be at least 14; see
DMG, p.166.
<Table I.: Sword Intelligence and Capabilities>

32. True. See DMG, p. 141.
<cloak of poisonousness>

33. False. The Efreet that appears is at
best an unwilling servant, unlike the
Djinni, who will serve in good faith.

34. False. See DMG, p. 148.
<iron flask>

35. True. See DMG, p.135.
<Wands>

36. 35%+( 11-5)x5%=65%.

37. 17-½x30=2 hit points.

38. 8 attacks. One could argue that it
might be 12, or 8 one round and 16 the
next, but there is nothing in the rules that
suggests that such a multiplicative process
be used.

39. Yes. With a Constitution of 17 or
more, the dwarf could have as many as
(10x3) + (3.x3) = 39 hit points, which is
more than the 0.5x77 = 38.5 points of
damage done by the dragon's breath.

40. Juiblex and a Quasit are both
chaotic evil.

41. Brownies, Pseudo-Dragons, Quasits,
Imps.

42. Thieves

43. 5, 2, 4, 3, 6, 1

44. Halberd

45. The special relationship Druids
have with Nature means they do not
have to worry about controlling
conjured elementals.

46. Since both creatures are average
in all respects, the dwarf has 22 h.p. and
the Ogre has 19. The dwarf is AC -2 and
the Ogre is AC 5; the Ogre needs 17 to hit
while the dwarf needs 13. The average
damage done per round is then .4x6.5 =
2.6 for the dwarf and only .2x5.5 = 1.1 for
the Ogre. This means that the Ogre will
die on the 8th melee round, and the
dwarf wins easily, having taken only
about 9 points of damage. It should be
possible to estimate this outcome without knowing exactly what the Ogre and
dwarf needed to hit each other.

47. A Sphere of Annihilation. Water is
matter, and when the sphere is submerged into
the sea all of the water will
eventually be sucked into the sphere.

48. Elvira, a 7th-level Magic-User, can
cast as many as three Haste spells in a
single day. Using just two per day, she
transforms the dragon into a young
adult with 4 h.p./hit die in two weeks’
time.

49. 15 + 6 + 88 + 3 = 112 points of
damage.

50. Garigax cast a Fly and a Tenser’s
Floating Disc spell, while each of his
apprentices cast a Tenser’s Floating Disc
spell. Then they formed a procession,
with Garigax leading and each apprentice sitting on the disc of the man in front
of him, along with each man’s equipment. In this way they all flew across the
river. Other less plausible solutions include the following: Each man jumped
across with a Jump spell, assuming the
river was only 30’ wide, a questionable
assumption in view of the facts given, or
as above except that each apprentice
cast Feather Fall on himself, assuming
they could form a line and cross in 2
segments, a very questionable assumption indeed.

______________________________________

Scoring
 

Number Correct	Score
49-50	Godlike Intelligence!
46-48	Superior (Supra-Genius)
43-45	Excellent (*Gold Dragon Award*)
39-42	Very Good (A wily Bugbear)
35-38	Good (An Imaginative Imp)
29-34	Fair (A slow but steady spearman)
23-28	Poor (Orcish blood in your veins)
22 or less	Novice (or Ochre Jelly brain)

How well did you do? If you scored
poorly; you would profit from another
reading of the pertinent sections of the
Monster Manual, Players Handbook, and
Dungeon Masters Guide, concentrating
on the topics that gave you the most
trouble. If you scored well there is no
question that you are qualified to
play in AD&D convention events, at the
very least.


OUT ON A LIMB

‘By a long shot’

To the editor:
I took your test (The AD&D Exam, issue
#46) and thought that it was very well done, <#47>
but I do have one point that bothered me. The
answer to question #49 is wrong by a long
shot “First, a fifth-level Magic-User threw a
magic missiIe at him.” Every person knows
that a Red Dragon can cause 88 points. Every
person knows that it is one six-sided die for
every ten feet fallen and the rat does one to
three with disease, but it is also true that we all
know that a Magic-User can cast as few missiles
at one target as he/she wishes. As far as I
am concerned, when you say “a magic missile”
you mean exactly Had it been “a magic
missile spell” or some such I would have understood,
but as it is the point damage should
be 102

Mike Billington
Birmingham, Mich
(Dragon #51)


‘Test of skill’

Dear editor:
I don’t want to criticize your magazine because
I think it is very well put together and a
great help to players of D&D. However, I felt I
had to write about the players test that was
published in issue #46 <#47>. 

I feel that a real test of skill for a player is to
have him learn about monsters and treasures
from experiencing them and not by looking it
up in the Monster Manual. If a person is travelling
through a dungeon in Medieval times, I
doubt if they would have a reference manual
to refer to. A good player is not necessarily
one who sits down and memorizes the MM 
and the Players Handbook. A
good player is one who can think his way out
of situations that he is unaccustomed to handling.
I think your test should have consisted of
different situations so the player would have
to figure out how to get out of them. 

I sincerely hope that getting high-level
characters and magical items/artifacts never
gets to be more important than learning about
magic and different places and monsters
through experience.
Tom Willis
Worthington, Ohio
(Dragon #51)