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Sing to me, O Muse, of BECMI!
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<blockquote data-quote="rabindranath72" data-source="post: 9287191" data-attributes="member: 34007"><p>I think a good way to understand the scope of BECMI is to draw parallels with AD&D 1e. We know Frank Mentzer was Gary's "creative right hand", and to this day, he runs pretty much exclusively AD&D 1e with some BECMI "extras".</p><p>Some similarities are subtle, others more evident:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the Basic set, Magic-users and Elves can acquire spells like AD&D magic-users.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the Expert set, Clerics get a spell progression similar to AD&D Clerics (gone are the super-powerful 6th level Clerics which got access to 3rd and 4th spell levels at once.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the Companion set, we get Druids (and extra spells), Paladins, more spells, extra armor types, some extra weapons, and some extra fighter maneuvers (multiple attacks, parry, and disarm, in particular)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the Master set we get the Mystic (prototype Monk), the Thug (prototype Assassin) (although both are really NPC options), rules for magic resistance, humanoid spellcasters, more weapons (polearms!), and Artifacts.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some parts (like Weapon Mastery) are wholly original, but in my experience they don't work too well (Frank said for example that WM wasn't playtested at all.)</li> </ul><p></p><p>When you add all the changes (which don't necessarily kick-in at the stated tiers; e.g. extra armor and weapons can well work from 1st level), you get something which is remarkably similar to AD&D, although in a somewhat "streamlined" package. Yet, the "scope" of AD&D still seems wider and the game more "complete", in particular in terms of world and campaign building tools. </p><p></p><p>So one might want to consider whether adopting BECMI as a whole is a good idea, compared to choosing AD&D instead. These days, if I want all the "bells and whistles" of BECMI, I simply go with AD&D, despite the fact that BECMI has been my introduction to D&D well before AD&D. If I want something genuinely simpler/straightforward, I just consider B/X/E.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rabindranath72, post: 9287191, member: 34007"] I think a good way to understand the scope of BECMI is to draw parallels with AD&D 1e. We know Frank Mentzer was Gary's "creative right hand", and to this day, he runs pretty much exclusively AD&D 1e with some BECMI "extras". Some similarities are subtle, others more evident: [LIST] [*]In the Basic set, Magic-users and Elves can acquire spells like AD&D magic-users. [*]In the Expert set, Clerics get a spell progression similar to AD&D Clerics (gone are the super-powerful 6th level Clerics which got access to 3rd and 4th spell levels at once.) [*]In the Companion set, we get Druids (and extra spells), Paladins, more spells, extra armor types, some extra weapons, and some extra fighter maneuvers (multiple attacks, parry, and disarm, in particular) [*]In the Master set we get the Mystic (prototype Monk), the Thug (prototype Assassin) (although both are really NPC options), rules for magic resistance, humanoid spellcasters, more weapons (polearms!), and Artifacts. [*]Some parts (like Weapon Mastery) are wholly original, but in my experience they don't work too well (Frank said for example that WM wasn't playtested at all.) [/LIST] When you add all the changes (which don't necessarily kick-in at the stated tiers; e.g. extra armor and weapons can well work from 1st level), you get something which is remarkably similar to AD&D, although in a somewhat "streamlined" package. Yet, the "scope" of AD&D still seems wider and the game more "complete", in particular in terms of world and campaign building tools. So one might want to consider whether adopting BECMI as a whole is a good idea, compared to choosing AD&D instead. These days, if I want all the "bells and whistles" of BECMI, I simply go with AD&D, despite the fact that BECMI has been my introduction to D&D well before AD&D. If I want something genuinely simpler/straightforward, I just consider B/X/E. [/QUOTE]
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