I've been looking at a friend's copy and been trying to get at least the rulebooks to replace my long-lost boxed set, when this came up in another thread. So I thought I'd make a thread for nostalgia, smack talk, and to hear if anybody is playing these right now.
Getting the basic box set when I was ten was the golden key that opened up a wonderful world of imagination. I know there's lot of other folks out there who got their start pouring for hours over the text and Erol Otus illustrations of these sets.
Not Holmes...not Mentzer, but the real D&D!
Since I kind of helped get this ball rolling in another thread, let me start by saying I own a copy of the Moldvay and Mentzer version. I am trying to hunt down or put together a Homles version - mostly out of curiosity and to compare them.
That being said, one of the things I hated about the Mentzer version is that they didn't include a module. That was one of the best things about the Moldvay (and Holmes') versions.
Beyond the rules, I imagine that there are many of us that hold B2 - Keep on the Borderlands - as the best summary of what a D&D adventure was in the early years. Despite the generic quality, the Caves of Chaos still exude a certain mystery in my nostalgic brain.
I know it's heresy to say so for some, but B2 didn't grab my imagination that much. I liked the illustrations of orcs, but the keep didn't do that much for me. Unlike B4 The Lost City. I still get magical fuzzies just thinking about it. I have no hate for the Mentzer version, it was just an unknown quantity for which I have no attachment. But my Moldvay nostalgia will cause me to feign hatred for it. Fierce hatred! So I'll latch on to that 'no module' thing.
(At one point, Wotc was giving the Holmes in partial pdfs. Not sure how much of it you can find now. A friend of mine found a complete Holmes box, with chits, in a thrift store.)
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If you're looking to replace the red box, you might check out Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games. It's a pretty faithful recreation of the basic rules and they have a "advanced" compendium also.
They have "complimentary" downloadable rules without art for free. You can buy softcovers (with art) for a reasonable price.
I discovered LL when they sent me copies as ENnies submissions for the past year. As a big fan of OSR games, I thought they were pretty good.
Hope that helps.
Good point, Skeld. I've been enjoying GG's LL (and Advanced Companion) pdfs. But for nostalgia's sake, I'm still going to get the original in paper.
Just out of curiosity, what do you think of the non-free illustrated versions? Vis-a-vis the art in the original boxed set?
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Just out of curiosity, what do you think of the non-free illustrated versions? Vis-a-vis the art in the original boxed set?
IIRC, the print version art similar to the original basic set in that it is B&W "sketch" art (as opposed to the kind of full color art employed by companies like Paizo, WotC, CGL, etc.). Not to dis the art; it's fully appropriate and consistent, just nothing special by the current market standards.
So I thought I'd make a thread for nostalgia, smack talk, and to hear if anybody is playing these right now.
Whenever my kids want to play D&D, I bring out the old Basic and Expert rulebooks (albeit the ones with the Elmore art.)
If you want the old Basic and Expert rulebooks (with the Otus covers,) people are offering the Basic book on amazon.com for as little as $2.50 here, and the Expert book for as little as $3.98 here.
So I thought I'd make a thread for nostalgia, smack talk, and to hear if anybody is playing these right now.Whenever my kids want to play D&D, I bring out the old Basic and Expert rulebooks (albeit the ones with the Elmore art.)
If you want the old Basic and Expert rulebooks (with the Otus covers,) people are offering the Basic book on amazon.com for as little as $2.50 here, and the Expert book for as little as $3.98 here.
Yeah...but when you count in shipping, I just missed a deal (by seconds) on eBay that would have gotten me both books for the price of one. Ouch!
Party like it's 1981? That would involve a lot of kicking from me, I'm afraid. I was born in March '82.... :)
Git off my la...er, thread!
Got my copies of Basic and Expert rulebooks off of eBay for $3.99, with free shipping. YEAH!
Nice! Smell the nostalgia. ;-)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I believe I still have my Companion rules and Isle of Dread, and reclaimed B2 from my brother, but my Moldvay basic & Cook expert are long lost to the sands of time. My brother might have ended up with em. Not sure about that. Maybe I will see if I can go find em on line. That might be fun, just to flip through the pages again... :)
I do still use the soft blue plastic dice from the Expert set. The brown basic dice are long lost, but that sky blue d20 is my A#1 favorite "DM die." Many is the PC that has felt its wrath... :)
Got my copies of Basic and Expert rulebooks off of eBay for $3.99, with free shipping. YEAH!
They arrived!
Morgan Ironwolf.......*schwing*
I have Moldvay/Cook and BECMI on my shelf including two Rules Cyclopedias (Got the second one a couple years ago for $5)
For the Moldvay/Cook fans there is a blog where they are making a B/X companion someone is releasing soon.
I believe I still have my Companion rules and Isle of Dread, and reclaimed B2 from my brother, but my Moldvay basic & Cook expert are long lost to the sands of time. My brother might have ended up with em. Not sure about that. Maybe I will see if I can go find em on line. That might be fun, just to flip through the pages again... :)
I do still use the soft blue plastic dice from the Expert set. The brown basic dice are long lost, but that sky blue d20 is my A#1 favorite "DM die." Many is the PC that has felt its wrath... :)
Cool. I've got to admit, the dice are the one thing I missed the least. Even in those initial years, my soft blues got all pitted on the corners. And I don't know what anybody thought that white crayon was going to do.
I have Moldvay/Cook and BECMI on my shelf including two Rules Cyclopedias (Got the second one a couple years ago for $5)
For the Moldvay/Cook fans there is a blog where they are making a B/X companion someone is releasing soon.
Thanks! I just discovered that blog a couple days ago, and I like the look he's got going there. Looking forward to the companion. Man, you got a steal.
I have Moldvay/Cook and BECMI on my shelf including two Rules Cyclopedias (Got the second one a couple years ago for $5)
And if you ever think you only have room for one, I'm looking to buy a copy! :D
Sword & Wizardry is another good product; published by Mythmere Games here: [url]http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/[/url]
Reminiscences for fans of Tom Moldvay.
Beyond the rules, I imagine that there are many of us that hold B2 - Keep on the Borderlands - as the best summary of what a D&D adventure was in the early years. Despite the generic quality, the Caves of Chaos still exude a certain mystery in my nostalgic brain.
Man, it was great at the time but looking back I guess we all realize that the Caves were like a cheap, run-down apartment complex in East LA. Sort of a mini-mall of evil. What were all of those guys doing living next door to each other anyway? Most of those groups are mortal enemies.
It was fun, though.
Isle of Dread, on the other hand... that place was dangerous. Lost half a party to a black dragon because the stupid fighter decided to charge it.
Although I prefer Aleena to Morgan, I prefer Molday/Cook B/X to....everything else. It's the best version of D&D ever, IMO. It's what I normally run tabeltop.
I'm giving PF a spin, though. Much more complex, but for my new group of players , most of whom are used to 3E, it shouldn't be difficult. This will also be a fairly short campaign- just till the summer begins, I think.
I'll run some more B/X next year, no doubt.
I don't do tats, but if I did...Erol Otus art, all the way!