Holmes vs Moldvay vs Mentzer

[MerricB]

Of course, the part about playing anything you want in OD&D and Holmes Basic that 3e players may not like is that DM approval is required . . .

Actually, that's Step 0 of creating a character for 3e. "Check with your DM".

Cheers!

 

[Prince of Happiness]

I think Gary has always said what you do in your game is your own business (his campaign wasn't by-the-book AD&D, either).

I cottoned on to that, when reading "Saga of Old City," and he was listing out the coinage system, and I thought "That's not in the PHB."

 

[Gentlegamer]

Actually, that's Step 0 of creating a character for 3e. "Check with your DM".

Indeed, that basic rule exists in all RPGs. But some don't seem to understand that.

 

[Tuzenbach]

I was unaware there were different versions of Basic Dungeons & Dragons.

 

[RFisher]

Nah, I just let brevty get in the way of clarity. What I meant was: "What had been a single rulebook in the Moldvay set is in the Mentzer set divided into two books..."

Doh! I missed the "single" in that sentence even when quoting it. (u_u)

 

[RFisher]

I cottoned on to that, when reading "Saga of Old City," and he was listing out the coinage system, and I thought "That's not in the PHB."

With both oD&D & oAD&D, I think Gygax sometimes went too far in listening to other people. It's good to vet your ideas through your peers & to playtest the game. But including anything about using Chainmail as the combat system or armor v. weapon adjustments (to pick just one example from each game) was (IMHO) a bad idea. It just increased the confusion & incoherence those groups trying to learn the game from the text had to deal with. Just tell us how you play it & leave the variations to supplements, magazine articles, & house rules.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

I was flipping through the Holmes book, and found that the monster listing also has monsters that STRONGLY outclass 1st-3rd level characters. Funny that!

 

[RFisher]

I was flipping through the Holmes book, and found that the monster listing also has monsters that STRONGLY outclass 1st-3rd level characters. Funny that!

Yeah. Although I know a guy who for a long time had nothing but the Holmes set, so he & his friends just extrapolated from the numbers there for levels past 3rd.

(Sometimes I wonder if it would've been better for us all to have to have done that.)

The Moldvay book has dragons because they felt an introduction to D&D should include dragons, but it did explicitly say this & note that the DM should be careful throwing dragons at Basic level PCs.