Pickles JG
First Post
I played AD&D from 1978 to 1984 ish with gaps. Somehow I managed not to be really aware of Basic or BEDM. I was a kid & originally played with older people so I guess we just did what they did.
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Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and the original Basic D&D - your experiences?
- Thread starter MerricB
- Start date
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
Like others I started with Moldvay B/X and soon transitioned to AD&D. D&D was easier to learn; AD&D provided more choices and more power. I favored AD&D in particular because it had a class I liked that D&D lacked (the Ranger) plus it had far more interesting spells and magic items.
We tended to mix and match both systems in play, though. Other than not using race-as-class characters in AD&D, you could run D&D adventures under AD&D rules (and vice-versa) with very little modification.
We tended to mix and match both systems in play, though. Other than not using race-as-class characters in AD&D, you could run D&D adventures under AD&D rules (and vice-versa) with very little modification.
Started in red box B/E. Played it. Loved it. I'd see the AD&D books. Perused them at my local Waldenbooks. All of those charts and tables and numbers. I wasn't ready for all that mess. Looked like MATH! I hated math. Got the blue box Expert. Played it. Loved it. Didn't know about or it wasn't out yet, the Companion set...and I wasn't much for waiting. I needed MOAR D&D! What do I do past 14th level?!?!
Obviously, you get the advanced game...since it's advanced, clearly it was intended to be used when you were done with Expert. The idea they were "separate" games never entered my mind at all until years later/as I got older.
Ok...I was ready.
One glorious Christmas morn [I'm going to guess it was '82 but might have been '83] I received The Holy Trinity.
My GODS was this stuff ADVANCED! Races and Classes?! More races! More classes! Look at the size of these spell lists! B/E had a few monster/terrain tables, but they seemed so SMALL! So limited compared to these ADVANCED ones! OH and reveling in the glory of the pages of creatures that I had never seen (or heard of) or thought of before. An EVIL QUEEN of dragons!? 10 Dragon types instead of 6?! Demons AND Devils? So weird. A little scary. But this is make-believe. It's just a game. Nothing to worry about. But look at some of these images [blush]. Better not let mom see this one. On and on the game just continued to expand, both outward and in, right down to what potions looked like and what random items might be lying around a dungeon room. All of these elements to add to the game: weapon reach and speed, psionics, bards...casting times? Wow.
How had I taken so long to enter these golden halls of imagination and creativity?! Clearly, B/E was for CHILDREN who couldn't handle this swirling heady maelstrom of information and options! I was (at all of 9 or 10 y.o.) now, and shall be everafter, an ADVANCED practitioner of the Dungeoneering & Draconic arts! <cue lightning and thunderclaps> BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Obviously, you get the advanced game...since it's advanced, clearly it was intended to be used when you were done with Expert. The idea they were "separate" games never entered my mind at all until years later/as I got older.
Ok...I was ready.
One glorious Christmas morn [I'm going to guess it was '82 but might have been '83] I received The Holy Trinity.
My GODS was this stuff ADVANCED! Races and Classes?! More races! More classes! Look at the size of these spell lists! B/E had a few monster/terrain tables, but they seemed so SMALL! So limited compared to these ADVANCED ones! OH and reveling in the glory of the pages of creatures that I had never seen (or heard of) or thought of before. An EVIL QUEEN of dragons!? 10 Dragon types instead of 6?! Demons AND Devils? So weird. A little scary. But this is make-believe. It's just a game. Nothing to worry about. But look at some of these images [blush]. Better not let mom see this one. On and on the game just continued to expand, both outward and in, right down to what potions looked like and what random items might be lying around a dungeon room. All of these elements to add to the game: weapon reach and speed, psionics, bards...casting times? Wow.
How had I taken so long to enter these golden halls of imagination and creativity?! Clearly, B/E was for CHILDREN who couldn't handle this swirling heady maelstrom of information and options! I was (at all of 9 or 10 y.o.) now, and shall be everafter, an ADVANCED practitioner of the Dungeoneering & Draconic arts! <cue lightning and thunderclaps> BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
evileeyore
Mrrrph
I'm not exactly sure what you're asking... if you mean what game was our favorite?
Then my answer (and timeline) are thus:
I started with Moldvay BECMI, found AD&D (and preferred for the expanded character options), then Rolemaster, then GURPS.
I haven't gone back on my love since finding GURPS.
Though I'm currently flirting with FATE, we'll see if this saucy wench will become my new love or if I have to start juggling both systems.
Then my answer (and timeline) are thus:
I started with Moldvay BECMI, found AD&D (and preferred for the expanded character options), then Rolemaster, then GURPS.
I haven't gone back on my love since finding GURPS.
Though I'm currently flirting with FATE, we'll see if this saucy wench will become my new love or if I have to start juggling both systems.
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
Yes, gygax was the siren that lured me from moldvay, to a little regret.
Moldvay was key in getting the basic idea down, and probably would have been better to actuaaly play, but those arcane tomes had the inspiration. (The best of dragon I & II, which taught me OD&D, combined both)
Moldvay was key in getting the basic idea down, and probably would have been better to actuaaly play, but those arcane tomes had the inspiration. (The best of dragon I & II, which taught me OD&D, combined both)
Agamon
Adventurer
I started with Moldvay Basic and instantly started mixing it with AD&D. Later, as a teen, I started splitting them up, but I ran campaigns in both systems all the way up through college. I never saw B/X or BECMI as "learn the ropes" D&D, just a somewhat different game. I got the Companion and Master rules early in my teenage years, and with the added complexity, that thought never actually occurred to me.
Before starting my 5e game, I was running ACKS, so the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Before starting my 5e game, I was running ACKS, so the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Savage Wombat
Hero
I think there may have been a box set somewhere, but my first real exposure to D&D was my brother's 1st ed AD&D books. I would later find the BECMI rules and Gazetteers, and usually felt them to be somehow "dumbed down". Probably just bias.
Nikosandros
Golden Procrastinator
I started with the Italian version of the Red Box of BECMI. I found it exceptional to learn the game, but I saw basic as only a stepping stone before 'graduating' to AD&D. I must confess that I rushed into AD&D with no real idea of what I was doing and I kept using a lot of rules from BECMI (initiative and surprise, I'm looking at you!).
Later on, I went back to BECMI to introduce new groups to D&D, but normally I quickly moved back to AD&D. There was one group which preferred the more streamlined feel of BECMI and with that one we had a couple of campaigns that made use of the Expert rules.
Later on, I went back to BECMI to introduce new groups to D&D, but normally I quickly moved back to AD&D. There was one group which preferred the more streamlined feel of BECMI and with that one we had a couple of campaigns that made use of the Expert rules.
Emerikol
Adventurer
If you don't mind my asking, what is RC D&D? I've seen that mentioned a few times but don't know the reference.
