OD&D It's Tom Moldvay's birthday.

[darjr]

The writer of the Basic Set rule book of B/X D&D and my first D&D. It's probably why I have a love of Erol Otus art and games derived from that set.

To the point that someone mentioned they liked the B/X roots of Mork Borg and I instantly knew what they meant.

Happy Bday Tom!

Tom Moldvay - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[The Soloist]

I knew he died young, look up his age. I am 58! We lost him far too soon.

Thank you Tom for Basic 1981 and B4 The Lost City.

 

[darjr]

I knew he died young, look up his age. I am 58! We lost him far too soon.

Thank you Tom for BX 1981 and B4 The Lost City.

Yea.

 

[Iosue]

On a winter's morning in 1987, an older boy whom I helped on his paper route introduced me to Dungeons & Dragons. I took a fighter into the goblin area of the Caves of Chaos and was killed by an Ogre. The older boy gave me his copy of the Moldvay Basic Rules. I took them home, read them, and then the next day took my sister through a dungeon of my own devising. She took the rules, read them, and shortly thereafter took me and my friend through a dungeon of her devising. These days, my sister, my friend, and I, along with other siblings, spouses, and kids, still meet online for a weekly D&D game.

These days, dungeon exploration is passe, and no "basic rules" or "starter set" endeavors to teach complete newbies how to design and stock a dungeon. But I believe the reason I ever played D&D as a kid, and still play today, was because Tom Moldvay distilled the whole game into an easy-to-read 64-page booklet.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Similar story to the above. Friend loaned me his Moldvay basic. I rolled up a halfling who promptly got eaten by giant centipedes. The next day my dwarf Fredrick (that’s with the German pronunciation but the English spelling because I was 10, thank you very much) was born and only years later retired to run his fiefdom.
I played many games and stocked many dungeons thanks to Moldvay’s guidance. Godspeed, sir.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Adding this: B4 The Lost City is a great, great module. It’s less ur-D&D minimalist than Keep on the Borderlands, but it has excellent dungeon design, spectacular faction play, a truly nasty and memorable final boss, and tons of room for expansion.

 

[Micah Sweet]

He wrote a series of articles in Dragon on the undead starting with issue #126, the first issue I ever read.

 

[Reynard]

I am a Metzner BECMI kid, but that would not have been possible without Moldvay, whose work would not have been possible without Holmes. I truly believe that the Basic D&D teams created the hobby as we experience it today. Without them it would have remained niche and inaccessible.

 

[overgeeked]

The writer of the Basic Set rule book of B/X D&D and my first D&D. It's probably why I have a love of Erol Otus art and games derived from that set.

To the point that someone mentioned they liked the B/X roots of Mork Borg and I instantly knew what they meant.

Happy Bday Tom!

Tom Moldvay - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Happy birthday, Tom. By far the best edition of D&D ever made. Thank you for everything.

Likely the best summation of D&D ever written:

“The D&D game has neither losers nor winners, it has only gamers who relish exercising their imagination. The players and the DM share in creating adventures in fantastic lands where heroes abound and magic really works. In a sense, the D&D game has no rules, only rule suggestions. No rule is inviolate, particularly if a new or altered rule will encourage creativity and imagination. The important thing is to enjoy the adventure.”

Tom Moldvay
3 December 1980

 

[Autumn Crystal]

RIP to one of the greatest. I’m going to read my Lords of Creation and dream of getting a table together for it, lol.
He made many people happy with that well lived life of his.