Travel back to the 1980s with me! *UPDATED*

[Krieg]

the only people that want to go back to the 80's are the people that didnt live it. Trust me on this...you didnt miss anything.

Sorry but some of us managed to gain some worthwhile memories from the time. I guess you will just have to pity us for not being bitter.

 

[Dimwhit]

Sorry but some of us managed to gain some worthwhile memories from the time. I guess you will just have to pity us for not being bitter.

Yeah, I loved the 80's!

 

[Bloodstone Press]

Cool character sheet. I especially like the last page,with the flow chart.

 

[Napftor]

Nicely done. Long live the 80s!

 

[Ourph]

The original BD&D had a cover by Dave Sutherland, not Dave Trampier:

http://www.theherofactory.com/basicbook.jpg

Gah! Good catch tetsujin. Too many dang "Dave"s running around doing art for TSR in the 70s and early 80s!

 

[tetsujin28]

Thanks. Oh, and just to stay on topic, I love the look of this sheet

 

[Psychic Warrior]

I think I am in love!

I've been using the MadIrishman's sheet for quite sometime but I think I'll be converting to this one.

Brilliant!

 

[Drew]

I'd like to see some lines on the big open sections like equipment. Otherwise I can't keep my writing straight and it ends up looking all sloppy. Also, why have such big boxes for coins? I could never figure that out. A line per currency type (gp, sp, etc.) is good enough for me.

 

[Anabstercorian]

This is gorgeous! Not only is it eminently readable and delightfully flavorful, even for one such as I who has no particular nostalgia for the 80s (seeing how I was born in 1986), the math-helper layout on the last page is simply the most elegant method of aiding calculation of stats that I've yet seen. Kudos to you!

 

[T. Foster]

The main distinguishing factor is that one set of rulebooks says "second edition" on the inside cover and the other says "third edition". I don't believe the rules changed materially between the two. Of course the set itself contained different things over the years. Originally Holmes came with Monster & Treasure assortment and Dungeon Geomorphs. Then B1 In Search of the Unknown for a while and finally B2 Keep on the Borderlands. The switch to B2 seems to have occured around the time the "third edition" booklets were printed, but some "second edition" sets contained B2 instead of B1 toward the end of their production time. All "third edition" sets contained B2.

The "3rd edition" Holmes book contains several monsters that aren't in the "second edition" Holmes book -- mostly monsters that were in the AD&D Monster Manual that weren't in the OD&D books -- troglodytes, giant rats & spiders, a few other things. I've got a list of all of them at home if you're really interested. Because of these additions the layout of the second half of the book is a bit different -- a couple pieces of artwork changed, the sections after the monster listings are shifted one page, and the TSR product list moved from the last page of the book to the back cover (the back cover of "2nd edition" Holmes is blank).