D&D 5E BECMI for 5e?

This has probably been mentioned before, but with the release and conversation around the essentials kit, I have started to wonder what 5e would be like if it was presented in a series of boxed sets instead full books. I think this would be a really interesting way to introduce the game. What would you put in each book. What rules would be included in each box.

Box 1 - Starter Set:

• Rulebook
  • Basic rules: combat, skills, checks. etc.
  • Basic classes: Fighter, mage, cleric & rogue (1 archetype each)
  • Basic races: human, elf, dwarf, halfling (1 subrace each)
  • Monsters CR 0-5
• Dice
• Pre-gen characters
• Adventure lvls 1-3
• Map
• DM Screen

Box 2 - Essentials Kit:

• Rulebook
  • More rules: character creation, feats
  • More classes: barbarian, bard, druid, ranger (2 archetypes each - include classes from box 1)
  • More races: dragonborn, half-human (orc and elf subraces), tiefling (2 subrace each - including races from box 1)
  • Monsters CR 1-10
• Dice
• Character sheets
• Adventure lvl 1-5
• Map
• DM Screen

Box 3 - Heroes Guide:

• Rulebook
  • More rules: multiclassing, ???
  • More classes: monk, paladin, sorcerer, & warlock (3 archetypes each - include classes from box 1 & 2)
  • More races: Minotaur, Aasimar, Goblin (3 subraces each - including races from box 1 & 2)
  • Monsters CR 2-15
• Dice
• Character sheets
• Adventure lvl 5-10
• Map
• DM Screen supplement

Box 4 - Lords Manual:

• Rulebook
  • More rules: mass combat, ???
  • More classes: artificer and 3 archetypes - including classes from box 1, 2, & 3
  • Minotaur, Aasimar, Goblin, ??? (3 subraces each - including races from box 1 & 2)
  • Monsters CR 5-20
• Dice
• Adventure lvl 10-15
• Map
• DM Screen supplement

Box 5 - Legend's Compendium:

• Rulebook
  • More rules: planar vehicles, ???
  • More Archetypes: 4 archetypes for each class
  • Basic races: gith, warforged, ???
  • Monsters CR 10-30
• Dice
• Adventure lvl 15-20
• Map
• DM Screen supplement

What do you think?

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lowkey13 said:

No.

But I would TOTALLY get a B/X.

In other words, simplified and separate system.

One that is mostly compatible, but different.

With race-as-class, for example.

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Interesting - why the race-as-class love. I never understood that. Of course I don't understand balancing races either so maybe I am a bit warped.

*Deleted by user*

Nah. That wouldn’t be like B/X, but more of just each box being an expansion of additional classes. B/X sets were categorized by level, not by player options. What you have, it would essentially be regular 5e by the third or fourth box. There wouldn’t be much difference in core rules, like what basic was to AD&D

I'd rather see them give us a book that improves upon levels 15 to 20 and then gives us rules for 21 to 30. A year of full day weekend weekly games, 2 years of active weeknight games, or 3 years of weeknight games with missed sessions will take a party from 1 to 20 under the guidelines and typical game speed. I'd like to be able to spend longer with a character and there is room to add epic options to the existing classes. By adding another 10 levels you could give us more time with favoite PCs - and they've had enough time to learn from the foibles of the current system to balance those high levels better.

lowkey13 said:

With race-as-class, for example.

Click to expand...

Race-as-class (and no formal backgrounds, for that matter), seems such a reasonable simplification, I'm still a little disappointed it wasn't used in any sort of Basic product.

In the 'advanced' product, it could be revealed that, yeah, your Halfling was, in fact, a Thief with the Criminal background, your Dwarf a Fighter with the Guild Artisan background, and your Elf a Wizard with the Soldier background.

Same. I would love to have the option of just playing a dwarf, a tiefling, a gnome, a dragonborn, and so on. Heck, the way 5e is built, I don’t even think it’d be that hard to design and balance it to work with the regular system.

Now, as to what a BECMI style progression for 5e would look like, what strikes me about those old box sets is how each one changed and expanded the game. The Basic set was all about the dungeon, the Expert set brought in Wilderness adventure, Companion had jousting tournaments and mass combat, Masters had rulership, and Immortals its divinity. I’d think taking some of the optional rules from the DMG would work to help codify that progression within 5e.

lowkey13 said:

With race-as-class, for example.

Click to expand...

Sacrosanct said:

Nah. That wouldn’t be like B/X, but more of just each box being an expansion of additional classes. B/X sets were categorized by level, not by player options. What you have, it would essentially be regular 5e by the third or fourth box. There wouldn’t be much difference in core rules, like what basic was to AD&D

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To be fair - what (Holmes) Basic was supposed to be was a clean introduction to the game that would allow you to transition fairly easily to the Original D&D booklets. It wasn't supposed to become it's own game line hived off from the core trunk - that only happened due to the ugliness of Gygax wanting to claim that AD&D was a different game from D&D to avoid paying Arneson royalties AD&D books. Without the need for a legal wall between the two games, I doubt that Basic would have been revised by Moldvay and Cook and then allowed to continue into its own game - it would likely have been revised to be more in line with AD&D earlier on.

(And I say that as someone who loves B/X and BECMI far more than AD&D in either of its forms - it's very weird that that version of the game even existed, let alone that it continued on for a decade and was from what I've read internationally more popular than AD&D was until TSR killed it off in the 90s.)

As for the OP - I can see the draw of having some boxed sets that pull people into the game through a different path. The transition from "$20 Starter Set" to "$150 of hardcover books" is a bit extreme. But I think the breakdown you have is too much - it basically replicates the entire game and I don't think that's the right way to do it. The way I'd suggest for it is:

* Starter Set
* Essentials Kit
Both of these as currently produced - the Starter Set gives you an out of the box experience with pre-gen characters for a low buy-in, the Essentials Kit expands your game for a fairly low buy-in with character creation, one new class and new race, and a number of new adventures. Character advancement takes you to level 6.

* Explorers Kit
A more wilderness/sandbox campaign set in roughly the same area as the Starter Set and Essentials Kit (expanding on the lore for the purchasers of the Starter and Essentials Kits). Expands the 5 classes in the Essentials Kit to level 10, adds another class and another race to the mix to a total of 6 of each.

At that point you've got levels 1-10 covered with a variety of classes and races. If you're that bought in, you're probably ready to move on to the hardcovers.

Tony Vargas said:

Race-as-class (and no formal backgrounds, for that matter), seems such a reasonable simplification, I'm still a little disappointed it wasn't used in any sort of Basic product.

In the 'advanced' product, it could be revealed that, yeah, your Halfling was, in fact, a Thief with the Criminal background, your Dwarf a Fighter with the Guild Artisan background, and your Elf a Wizard with the Soldier background.

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I utterly hate the implicit racism of race as class, always have, always will.

I never hear of people proposing
White Caucasian as class
Black Negroid as class
Oriental as class