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Is there a need for a simplified D&D?
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<blockquote data-quote="Ourph" data-source="post: 1757770" data-attributes="member: 20239"><p>I disagree with the first part and agree with the second. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>I think Basic D&D should be an intermediate between board games and full RPGs, broader than a simple boardgame and expandable for people who like to tinker, but much less complex than a full RPG which is trying to provide a full campaign's worth of rules and material. It doesn't HURT to have the intermediate game teach you some concepts that will be useful when playing the fully advanced game, but that shouldn't be the sole focus of the Basic game. The Basic game should attempt to be a fun game in and of itself.</p><p></p><p>The strength of the Moldvay Basic game is that it simply assumes that all action in the game occurs in the dungeon. It gives you a "virtual board" on which to play your not-quite-boardgame, but allows you to create an infinite number of different "boards" with a few simple charts and dice rolls.</p><p></p><p>I also detest the idea of D&D being divided into two different <u>RPG</u> systems (personally, I think the Mentzer expansions were a mistake, and would have been happy if the Cook Expert set had simply extended levels to 6 and given us the outdoor adventuring info). However, I don't think it's insignificant that the hey-day of D&D was when these three game systems existed side by side at the toy store.</p><p></p><p>Dungeon! the boardgame</p><p>Basic D&D</p><p>AD&D</p><p></p><p>That combo gives you a game system for every level of game interest. Each one has similar concepts, but they're still different games, not trying to do the same thing. If you play Dungeon! you're learning a few things that will help you understand Basic D&D, but playing Basic isn't going to make you want to give up playing Dungeon! If you play Basic D&D you're learning quite a few things that will help you understand AD&D, but playing AD&D isn't going to make you want to give up playing the occasional quick, fun, impromptu game of Basic (or at least it didn't in my case <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ).</p><p></p><p>OTOH, if you're not someone who will eventually go on to play the advanced game, having three options for spending money on D&D allows you to stop progressing at your own individual comfort point.</p><p></p><p>Personally, I think the D&D Miniatures game is a much better candidate as a "Basic" D&D than the D&D Basic set. If WotC would tweak both systems so that concepts learned in the Miniatures game were more easily relatable to concepts in the RPG, produce a Miniatures game quickstart set with a rulebook around 100-120 pages (which included advice for expanding the game to do pseudo-RPGing) and then marketed the Miniatures game as an intermediate between boardgames and full RPGs to the boardgame/CCG/Electronic games crowd, I think they'd have a major resurgence in interest for D&D.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ourph, post: 1757770, member: 20239"] I disagree with the first part and agree with the second. :D I think Basic D&D should be an intermediate between board games and full RPGs, broader than a simple boardgame and expandable for people who like to tinker, but much less complex than a full RPG which is trying to provide a full campaign's worth of rules and material. It doesn't HURT to have the intermediate game teach you some concepts that will be useful when playing the fully advanced game, but that shouldn't be the sole focus of the Basic game. The Basic game should attempt to be a fun game in and of itself. The strength of the Moldvay Basic game is that it simply assumes that all action in the game occurs in the dungeon. It gives you a "virtual board" on which to play your not-quite-boardgame, but allows you to create an infinite number of different "boards" with a few simple charts and dice rolls. I also detest the idea of D&D being divided into two different [u]RPG[/u] systems (personally, I think the Mentzer expansions were a mistake, and would have been happy if the Cook Expert set had simply extended levels to 6 and given us the outdoor adventuring info). However, I don't think it's insignificant that the hey-day of D&D was when these three game systems existed side by side at the toy store. Dungeon! the boardgame Basic D&D AD&D That combo gives you a game system for every level of game interest. Each one has similar concepts, but they're still different games, not trying to do the same thing. If you play Dungeon! you're learning a few things that will help you understand Basic D&D, but playing Basic isn't going to make you want to give up playing Dungeon! If you play Basic D&D you're learning quite a few things that will help you understand AD&D, but playing AD&D isn't going to make you want to give up playing the occasional quick, fun, impromptu game of Basic (or at least it didn't in my case :) ). OTOH, if you're not someone who will eventually go on to play the advanced game, having three options for spending money on D&D allows you to stop progressing at your own individual comfort point. Personally, I think the D&D Miniatures game is a much better candidate as a "Basic" D&D than the D&D Basic set. If WotC would tweak both systems so that concepts learned in the Miniatures game were more easily relatable to concepts in the RPG, produce a Miniatures game quickstart set with a rulebook around 100-120 pages (which included advice for expanding the game to do pseudo-RPGing) and then marketed the Miniatures game as an intermediate between boardgames and full RPGs to the boardgame/CCG/Electronic games crowd, I think they'd have a major resurgence in interest for D&D. [/QUOTE]
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