TSR Did you play D&D Holmes without knowing it?

[The Soloist]

For several decades I believed my first game of D&D was with the D&D Basic box set by Moldvay. It's the box I got that Christmas. I played my first game at a friend's house. He was the DM. I assumed he had the same box as me.

After that first game, I suggested I would be the DM. He gladly accepted because he didn't like the 'job'. We played Basic Moldvay and Expert. It's only in 2010, 30 years later that I discovered he owned the Holmes box set. It has 5 alignments, instead of 3. All weapons do 1d6. You can play any monster as a PC if the DM accepts!

Did you play D&D Holmes without knowing it?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

For several decades I believed my first game of D&D was with the D&D Basic box set by Moldvay. It's the box I got that Christmas. I played my first game at a friend's house. He was the DM. I assumed he had the same box as me.

After that first game, I suggested I would be the DM. He gladly accepted because he didn't like the 'job'. We played Basic Moldvay and Expert. It's only in 2010, 30 years later that I discovered he owned the Holmes box set. It has 5 alignments, instead of 3. All weapons do 1d6. You can play any monster as a PC if the DM accepts!

Did you play D&D Holmes without knowing it?

Not really, but also yes?

At the time, there wasn't some grand demarcation in my mind between OD&D, Holmes, Basic (Moldvay/Mentzer), and AD&D (1e).

I knew they were different, but just mixed and matched as needed. It was only later that I began really getting into the distinctions.

I think the first time that the differentiation really stuck out to me was when I purchased The Book of Marvelous Magic, and I was so excited, and then I began leafing through it, and I was like ...oh, this is B/X.

It's kinda weird given how we mark the rules today, but at the time, I didn't really think about it that much.

 

[The Soloist]

Not really, but also yes?

At the time, there wasn't some grand demarcation in my mind between OD&D, Holmes, Basic (Moldvay/Mentzer), and AD&D (1e).

I knew they were different, but just mixed and matched as needed. It was only later that I began really getting into the distinctions.

I think the first time that the differentiation really stuck out to me was when I purchased The Book of Marvelous Magic, and I was so excited, and then I began leafing through it, and I was like ...oh, this is B/X.

It's kinda weird given how we mark the rules today, but at the time, I didn't really think about it that much.

Interesting.

With my 80s group, once we switched to 1e we only used AD&D material. We had the silly idea that Basic was just starter rules and AD&D was the real thing. It's only with my 90s group that I started mixing and matching BX modules and BCEMI Gazeteers with AD&D2e.

 

[Greg K]

Nope. Modvay/Cook B/X was not a thing when I was introduced to Holmes Basic.

 

[aco175]

We played with a group of my father's people from work, so they may have had something older than the red box my father bought later that week. A month later we had the AD&D PHB and were not sure the difference between basic and advanced. We sorted it out though.