Basic D&D, Holmes Edition - a review

[Charlaquin]

PS/Not so much an EDIT...But yeah,those ads in the backs of the Marvel comics [I remember them too, [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] ] of the time as well...I think I still have, in my comics boxes, some issue of something with that "Dimension Door" scene...and was comPLETELY confused by it when I got to AD&D 4th levl spells ....wasn't how it worked at all...

The Bionic Six? Thundar the Barbarian? Blackstar? and other "Saturday Morning" series. Filmation series like Tarzan. Marvel's forays into tv of the 80s like "the Incredible Hulk" and "Spiderman and his Amazing Friends." Conan movies? Star Wars? Star Trek? [every Saturday or Sunday afternoons, don't remember] DC's Wonder Woman [Linda Carter] series...in reruns...I remember the 60's Batman series in reruns (though I didn't know what reruns were at the time)...the Superman movies? Challenge of the Superfriends, anyone? Even things like Bewitched and I dream of Genie...on every day when I got home from school...G.I.Joe and Transformers cartoons of that era...and as previously mentioned, the Dungeons & Dragons series, itself.

It allllll contributed to a wonder...a fascination...nearly everything presented on tv was something I or one of my players wanted to incorporate into their character/game...an interest in the fantasy and SciFi. It was all integrated...it was all connected...if not in actual story material...but theme...

Just an amazingly creative time in fantasy/scifi pulp culture.

I think...we've lost that...I mean, not "lost" that we can't find it...but "lost" as in it is gone. It's been done. We can not hope to have that level of interactive cross-cultural mythos in the world of the instantaneous internet anymore.

I hope we make more.

A lot has been written about the closing of the Gutenberg parentheses and the death of monoculture as the internet has driven us to algorithmically personalized content. Pop cultural zeitgeists do still manifest, but they’re unlikely to be as ubiquitous again in the modern information landscape.

 

[Mistwell]

I received a copy of the 1978 Holmes-edited edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I've been curious about this version of the game for many, many years. (I started with the Moldvay-edited edition of Basic D&D.) I've just written a review of this book on my blog, and if you're interested in the details of my review, please go there and check it out. Warning: I rate it very poorly.

My question here is: How many people actually got their introduction to D&D through this Holmes edition? Especially as an intended basic and introductory version of the game, it is crazy convoluted as text and insanely designed as a game.

Me! This was my first edition. I still have my very worn copy. My brother and I consumed that thing in 1978 or 1979.

I mean, the original D&D game book (1974) can be forgiven for any problems with the game design because it was the absolute first of its kind, blazing a new trail. And the Advanced D&D game book can be forgiven for being complicated because it was trying to cover a virtually infinite scope for experienced players. But the Holmes edition game book was both intended as a very small slice of the game and as an introduction to new players. But it was also both terrible game rules and convoluted explanations -- it's like the combination of all the worst problems of both the original and the advanced editions. I realize now just how great a job Moldvay did with his edition.

Bullgrit

We did not find it terrible rules or convoluted.

 

[Charlaquin]

There is a selection bias here towards people for whom the rules did work as an introduction. Because those for whom they didn’t work probably aren’t here to say so.

 

[Gecko85]

We started with Holmes Basic, then got the AD&D (1e) books as they came out. We played a mix of the two. The parts we either found confusion or were missing, we made up our own rules. The parts we found tedious (weapon speed factors?), we ignored. It was very much a mish-mash, and we loved it.

 

[LordEntrails]

By today standards I would demand my money back for something written like Holmes. For the times it was written well enough to get the point across and for us to play. Sure, tons of things wrong with it and holes etc, but it captured out imaginations and help kindle not only my enjoyment, but an tire new industry. It worked, so it must have been good enough.

 

[The Soloist]

My first game of D&D was with the Holmes edition. I asked for the basic box that Christmas and got the Moldvay version. It wasn't until decades later that I understood the two sets were different.

I reconnected with Holmes Edition via the BlueHolmes Journeymanne OSR rule set that upgrades the game with 20 levels, spells and much more.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Old Fezziwig]

There is a selection bias here towards people for whom the rules did work as an introduction. Because those for whom they didn’t work probably aren’t here to say so.

What did they do to them?