| Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|
 Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set rulebook |
|
| Author | J. Eric Holmes, based upon the original work of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | TSR, Inc. |
| Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | Boxed set |
The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set boxed set was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1977,[1] and initially comprised a separate edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, apart from the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game initially published in the same year. Its product designation was TSR 1001. This box set contained a 48-page rules book (with a light blue cover and artwork by David C. Sutherland III), along with a set of polyhedral dice. (For a period in 1979, TSR experienced a dice shortage. Basic sets published during this time frame instead came with two sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits that functioned in lieu of dice, along with a coupon for ordering dice from TSR.)[2]
The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook was sold either separately or in a boxed set including geomorphs, monsters and treasure assortments and a set of polyhedral dice, forming a complete basic game-system.[3] The rulebook also included a brief sample dungeon (complete with a full-page map), although starting with the fourth printing in 1978, the two booklets of maps, encounter tables, and treasure lists were replaced with the module B1: In Search of the Unknown[4]; printings 6-11 (1979-1982) instead featured the module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands.[4]
The rulebook opens with a compelling description of play:
| “ | Each player creates a character or characters who may be dwarves, elves, halflings or human fighting men, magic-users, pious clerics or wily thieves. The characters are then plunged into an adventure in a series of dungeons, tunnels, secret rooms and caverns run by another player: the referee, often called the Dungeon Master. The dungeons are filled with fearsome monsters, fabulous treasure, and frightful perils. As the players engage in game after game their characters grow in power and ability: the magic users learn more magic spells, the thieves increase in cunning and ability, the fighting men, halflings, elves and dwarves, fight with more deadly accuracy and are harder to kill. Soon the adventurers are daring to go deeper and deeper into the dungeons on each game, battling more terrible monsters, and, of course, recovering bigger and more fabulous treasure! The game is limited only by the inventiveness and imagination of the players, and, if a group is playing together, the characters can move from dungeon to dungeon within the same magical universe if game referees are approximately the same in their handling of play.[5] | ” |
TSR hired outside writer J. Eric Holmes to produce the Basic Set, an introductory version of the Dungeons & Dragons game. The Basic Set collected together, organized, and cleaned up the presentation of the essential rules from the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, as well as the Greyhawk supplement, into a single booklet. This booklet explained the game's concepts and method of play in terms that made it accessible to new players ages 12 and above not familiar with tabletop miniatures wargaming. Unusual features of the original basic game included an alignment system of five alignments as opposed to the 3 or 9 alignments of the other versions.
The Basic Set was packaged in a larger, more visually attractive box to allow the game to be stocked on common retail shelves, and targeted to toy stores and the general public. The original Basic Set was notable in that focused on only the first three levels of play, and was intended as a bridge between the original D&D and the AD&D rules rather than a simple introductory version of the game. Although this Basic Set was not compatible with AD&D, players were expected to continue play beyond third level by moving to the AD&D version,[6] which at the time was still forthcoming from Gary Gygax and TSR. Players who exhausted the possibilities of the basic game were directed in that set to switch to the advanced game, even though the basic game included many rules and concepts which contradicted comparable ones in the advanced game. Holmes, the editor of the basic game, preferred a lighter tone with more room for personal improvisation, while Gygax, who wrote the advanced game, wanted an expansive game with rulings on any conceivable situation which might come up during play, a document which could be used to arbitrate disputes at tournaments.[4] This Basic Set was very popular and allowed many to discover and experience the D&D game for the first time.
Contents |
1981 revision
After the release of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, the Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay. This version of the set included a larger 64-page rule book, the module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, 6 polyhedronal dice, and a marking crayon. The cover of the set included the tagline "Fantasy Adventure Game" under the Dungeons & Dragons logo.
The game was not brought in line with AD&D but instead was made even more different, and thus the basic Dungeons & Dragons game became a separate and distinct product from TSR’s flagship game AD&D. This game was promoted as a continuation of the tone of original D&D whereas AD&D was an advancement of the mechanics.[7] Although simpler overall than the ‘Advanced’ game, it included rules for some situations not covered in AD&D.
With the revision of the Basic Set, discrete sets of increasing power levels began to be introduced as expansions for the basic game.[8] The Moldvay Basic Set was immediately followed by the accompanying release of an Expert Set edited by Dave Cook, supporting character levels 4 through 14.[9] The revised Basic (Moldvay) rules can be distinguished from the original (Holmes) ones by the color of the covers: The Holmes Basic booklet had a blueprint-style pale blue cover, while the Moldvay Basic and Cook Expert booklets had bright red and blue covers, respectively.[10]
1983 revision
The Basic Set was revised once more in 1983 by Frank Mentzer, this time as Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules, which included a 64-page book for players and a 48-page book for Dungeon Masters, with 6 dice and a crayon. This revision was packaged in a distinctive red box and featured cover art by Larry Elmore. Between 1983 and 1985 this system was revised and expanded by Mentzer as a series of five boxed sets, including the Basic Rules (red cover), Expert Rules (blue),[11] Companion Rules (green, supporting levels 15 through 25),[12] Master Rules (black, supporting levels 26 through 36),[13] and Immortal Rules (gold, supporting Immortals - characters who had transcended levels).[14]
References
- ^ "The History of TSR". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wizards.com%2Fdnd%2FDnDArchives_History.asp&date=2008-10-04. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
- ^ "D&D Basic Set". The Acaeum. http://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/setpages/basic.html. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ Turnbull, Don (Dec/January 1978-1979). "Open Box: Players Handbook" (review). White Dwarf (Games Workshop) (Issue 10): 17.
- ^ a b c Lawrence Schick (1991). Heroic Worlds. Prometheus Books.
- ^ Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (rulebook) 1977, 5
- ^ Gygax & Arneson (1977) p. 6. states "...experience levels that high are not discussed in this book and the reader is referred to the more complete rules in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS"
- ^ Gygax, Gary (June 1979). "D&D, AD&D and Gaming". The Dragon #26 (TSR) III (12): 29–30. ISSN 1062-2101.
- ^ Gygax, Gary (December 1978). "Dungeons & Dragons: What Is It and Where Is It Going?". The Dragon #21 (TSR) III (8): 29–30. ISSN 1062-2101.
- ^ Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Dave Cook. Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set (TSR, 1981)
- ^ "D&D Clones!". White Dwarf (Games Workshop) (24): 29. April/May 1981.
- ^ Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 2: Expert Rules (TSR, 1983)
- ^ Mentzer, Frank. Dungeons & Dragons Set 3: Companion Rules (TSR, 1984)
- ^ Gygax, Gary, Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 4: Master Rules (TSR, 1985)
- ^ Mentzer, Frank. Dungeons & Dragons Set 5: Immortal Rules (TSR, 1986)
Reviews: Different Worlds #12 (1981), Different Worlds #34 (1984), Dragon #84 (1984)
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
