Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 6075425" data-attributes="member: 6680772">On top of WotC's announced plans for a basic set, the possibility of an RC reprint, and the mysterious <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56030&amp;d=1358459717" target="_blank">test</a> of the D&amp;D page on RPGNow, I've just purchased box sets of Moldvay Basic and Cook Expert (no dice, but B2 and X1 are included!).&nbsp; And I kinda miss the Let's Read OD&amp;D thread.&nbsp; So I thought I'd do a Let's Read of Moldvay Basic, which Mearls has cited as a significant influence on D&amp;DN.Starting off, <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a07WAiHlCZ8/TxB25bCHgKI/AAAAAAAABbw/jOwhO7FbaqM/s1600/basic%2Bdnd.jpg" target="_blank">the box cover</a>.&nbsp; The cover by Erol Otus is a classic, and while most of my gaming youth was influenced by Elmore, Easley, Parkinson, and Caldwell, it was Erol Otus who first inspired me of the possibilities when I saw this art.&nbsp; It pretty much effectively encapsulates the game: you've got a dungeon, you've got a dragon, you've got magic, you've got treasure, you've got a fighter.&nbsp; And in retrospect it's interesting to note that the fighter wields not the sword of a fantasy hero, but rather the spear of a common footsoldier.&nbsp; I remember being fascinated by the door in the background.&nbsp; Fighting a dragon, of course!&nbsp; Who doesn't want to do that?&nbsp; But for some reason that door in the background of the cover art awoke in me a desire to explore dungeons.Looking at the rest of the cover, it's notable that the game is called &quot;The Original Fantasy Role Playing Game For 3 or More Adults, Ages 10 and Up&quot;.&nbsp; As a player and fan of BECMI, it bugs me when some folks decry it as when D&amp;D began being marketed as a kids game, especially when B/X was noted as &quot;Ages 10 and Up&quot;.&nbsp; OTOH, you have the curious construction &quot;Adults, Ages 10 and Up&quot;.&nbsp; It is almost as if D&amp;D was saying, you can be 10 years old, but you have to be an adult to play this game.&nbsp; Also, the &quot;3 or More&quot; is telling.&nbsp; That's a dungeon master and two players.&nbsp; My current group cancels the session if only three people can show up (not my call).The cover of the rulebook has the same art within a red background.&nbsp; No classic dragon-ampersand at this point in time.&nbsp; Inside the cover is the table of contents, in hard to read blue ink.&nbsp; The title page includes <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1ju11mgCz1ro2bqto1_500.jpg" target="_blank">this art</a> by Bill Willingham.&nbsp; Another piece favored by fans of Moldvay Basic.&nbsp; I like it; it's evocative.&nbsp; But it's a little cartoony, and frankly, I'm detecting a pattern...&nbsp; The game is credited to Gary Gygax &amp; Dave Arneson, edited by Tom Moldvay.&nbsp; Holmes gets name-checked with &quot;Previous edition edited by J. Eric Holmes&quot;.&nbsp; Art by Jeff Dee, Davis S. LaForce, Erol Otus, James Roslof, and Bill Willingham.&nbsp; On to the foreword!Two things strike me about the foreword.&nbsp; One is that it is bookended by Moldvay describing his character fighting and defeating a dragon.&nbsp; So, you have dragon fight on cover, dragon fight on title page, dragon fight in foreword.&nbsp; Even though 1-3rd level characters probably shouldn't go up against a dragon, and even if they do, they probably don't want to take it head on.&nbsp; So there's a bit of a disconnect between the game and playstyle that Moldvay describes in the rules, and the game and playstyle presented to a new player on their initial contact with the book.&nbsp; It's no wonder that fans in the 80s took game in more heroic, high fantasy directions.&nbsp; The other thing is that Moldvay writes, &quot;Sometimes I forget that the D&amp;D® Fantasy Adventure Game is a game and not a novel...&quot;&nbsp; There's a lot of this.&nbsp; Anytime &quot;D&amp;D&quot; or &quot;Dungeons &amp; Dragons&quot; appears on the box cover, book cover, forward, or introduction, it's accompanied by a ®.&nbsp; The title page doesn't just say © 1981, it says &quot;© 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981&quot;.&nbsp; No disclaimer is spared -- &quot;...are registered trademarks of TSR...&quot;, &quot;All rights reserved&quot;, &quot;...prohibited without express written consent...&quot;&nbsp; I glossed over it back in the day, but after reading Jon Peterson's &quot;Playing at the World&quot;, I can see some of the context.&nbsp; A lot of potted histories of D&amp;D/TSR that I've read recently paint Gygax as the hard working, visionary designer, forced out by the Lorraine Williams and the suits, who then proceeded to sue everyone.&nbsp; But as &quot;Playing at the World&quot; illustrates, already by 1976 C&amp;D letters were flying around, lawsuits were threatened, material was appropriated in shaky ways.&nbsp; Moldvay Basic post-dates the lawsuits between Gygax and Arneson.&nbsp; So it's no surprise to see TSR being absolutely clear and persistent in the declarations of their intellectual property.Moving on to the acknowledgements, RPG.net's Old Geezer gets name-checked!&nbsp; Also many names I would get to &quot;know&quot; in the coming years: Dave Cook (not yet &quot;Zeb&quot;!), Ernie Gygax, Harold Johnson, Rob Kuntz, Frank Mentzer, and Jim Ward.Next time -- the Introduction!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Iosue, post: 6075425, member: 6680772"] On top of WotC's announced plans for a basic set, the possibility of an RC reprint, and the mysterious [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56030&d=1358459717"]test[/URL] of the D&D page on RPGNow, I've just purchased box sets of Moldvay Basic and Cook Expert (no dice, but B2 and X1 are included!). And I kinda miss the Let's Read OD&D thread. So I thought I'd do a Let's Read of Moldvay Basic, which Mearls has cited as a significant influence on D&DN. Starting off, [URL="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a07WAiHlCZ8/TxB25bCHgKI/AAAAAAAABbw/jOwhO7FbaqM/s1600/basic%2Bdnd.jpg"]the box cover[/URL]. The cover by Erol Otus is a classic, and while most of my gaming youth was influenced by Elmore, Easley, Parkinson, and Caldwell, it was Erol Otus who first inspired me of the possibilities when I saw this art. It pretty much effectively encapsulates the game: you've got a dungeon, you've got a dragon, you've got magic, you've got treasure, you've got a fighter. And in retrospect it's interesting to note that the fighter wields not the sword of a fantasy hero, but rather the spear of a common footsoldier. I remember being fascinated by the door in the background. Fighting a dragon, of course! Who doesn't want to do that? But for some reason that door in the background of the cover art awoke in me a desire to explore dungeons. Looking at the rest of the cover, it's notable that the game is called "The Original Fantasy Role Playing Game For 3 or More Adults, Ages 10 and Up". As a player and fan of BECMI, it bugs me when some folks decry it as when D&D began being marketed as a kids game, especially when B/X was noted as "Ages 10 and Up". OTOH, you have the curious construction "Adults, Ages 10 and Up". It [I]is[/I] almost as if D&D was saying, you can be 10 years old, but you have to be an adult to play this game. Also, the "3 or More" is telling. That's a dungeon master and two players. My current group cancels the session if only three people can show up (not my call). The cover of the rulebook has the same art within a red background. No classic dragon-ampersand at this point in time. Inside the cover is the table of contents, in hard to read blue ink. The title page includes [URL="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1ju11mgCz1ro2bqto1_500.jpg"]this art[/URL] by Bill Willingham. Another piece favored by fans of Moldvay Basic. I like it; it's evocative. But it's a little cartoony, and frankly, I'm detecting a pattern... The game is credited to Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson, edited by Tom Moldvay. Holmes gets name-checked with "Previous edition edited by J. Eric Holmes". Art by Jeff Dee, Davis S. LaForce, Erol Otus, James Roslof, and Bill Willingham. On to the foreword! Two things strike me about the foreword. One is that it is bookended by Moldvay describing his character fighting and defeating a dragon. So, you have dragon fight on cover, dragon fight on title page, dragon fight in foreword. Even though 1-3rd level characters probably shouldn't go up against a dragon, and even if they do, they probably don't want to take it head on. So there's a bit of a disconnect between the game and playstyle that Moldvay describes in the rules, and the game and playstyle presented to a new player on their initial contact with the book. It's no wonder that fans in the 80s took game in more heroic, high fantasy directions. The other thing is that Moldvay writes, "Sometimes I forget that the D&D® Fantasy Adventure Game is a game and not a novel..." There's a lot of this. Anytime "D&D" or "Dungeons & Dragons" appears on the box cover, book cover, forward, or introduction, it's accompanied by a ®. The title page doesn't just say © 1981, it says "© 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981". No disclaimer is spared -- "...are registered trademarks of TSR...", "All rights reserved", "...prohibited without express written consent..." I glossed over it back in the day, but after reading Jon Peterson's "Playing at the World", I can see some of the context. A lot of potted histories of D&D/TSR that I've read recently paint Gygax as the hard working, visionary designer, forced out by the Lorraine Williams and the suits, who then proceeded to sue everyone. But as "Playing at the World" illustrates, already by 1976 C&D letters were flying around, lawsuits were threatened, material was appropriated in shaky ways. Moldvay Basic post-dates the lawsuits between Gygax and Arneson. So it's no surprise to see TSR being absolutely clear and persistent in the declarations of their intellectual property. Moving on to the acknowledgements, RPG.net's Old Geezer gets name-checked! Also many names I would get to "know" in the coming years: Dave Cook (not yet "Zeb"!), Ernie Gygax, Harold Johnson, Rob Kuntz, Frank Mentzer, and Jim Ward. Next time -- the Introduction! [/QUOTE]

Verification