D&D General Mechanical differences between AD&D and Basic?

[Flamestrike]

Weirdly, when you include all of BECMI (non weapon proficiencies, subclasses like the Paladin, Avenger, Druid, demi-human clerics, monstrous classes, Weapon mastery, the Mystic class, mass combat, domain rulership, divine ascension etc) it actually comes out a more comprehensive and detailed system than AD&D with everything added in from the Wilderness, Dungeoneers and UA.

Arguably easier to play and more cohesive as well.

AD&D with everything thrown in (UA for cantrips, weapon specialization, Cavalier and Barbarian, Wilderness and Dungeoneers for proficiencies, OA for martial arts etc) has more front loaded player options (multi and dual classes, more classes, more races etc) but it kind of fizzles out at name (11th+) level.

BECMI goes the other way, and expands as you advance through the levels (or from the start if you plug in all the extra stuff), with extra layers of complexity all the way to 36th and beyond.

 

[LoganRan]

<snip>

Interestingly, the differences don't make that much of a difference during the game, so long as you were consistent with using either set of rules. This allowed characters to play in adventures designed for either edition. This was great for AD&D, since BECMI had some of the best adventures.

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Hmmm...tried to insert a "Not sure if serious" Joker pic here, not sure what went wrong...

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Aside from the obvious race as class one, can someone point me (or give me some) of the differences in mechanics between the two systems?

Just to clarify- the post asked for Basic (and, for that matter, AD&D).

There is a difference between:
1. Holmes Basic.
2. B/X Basic. (Moldvay/Cook).
3. BECMI Basic. (Mentzer).
4. RC Basic (Rules Cyclopedia).

There is also a difference between:
1. AD&D (1e).
2. AD&D (2e).

The nomenclature is generally here:

D&D General - A Brief Glossary of Acronyms and D&D Terms

So on another thread, some people asked "What is B/X?" And "What is OSE?" Other than the joke-y answers, which are great, I thought I'd post a quick reference for those people who see the terms bandied about but where confused as to what all the various acronyms mean. This is not meant to be...

www.enworld.org

Did you have a specific edition you were asking about?

 

[RobJN]

"Basic" D&D was initially meant to be the "this is what you play with your friends/personal group" version of the game, whereas AD&D was the "this is what is played at cons/tournaments" edition.

Ability score bonuses were more or less uniform across stats in D&D, whereas each had its own fiddly table in AD&D. Rather than just "we go, they go," AD&D's initiative system included casting time for spells, weapon speeds.

An expanded scope was baked into level progression in D&D: emphasis on wilderness adventuring, stronghold building/dominion management, and discovering the secret paths to immortality were intrinsic to each of the expansion boxed sets.

Many of the dice rolled for similar mechanics were different between the two systems: turning undead, morale, hireling reaction rolls, etc. Some creatures are classified differently between systems, as well (undead in one may not necessarily be undead in the other. Yes, I'm looking at you, shadow)

AD&D assumed around 20 levels of advancement, whereas D&D spread from 1st to 36th (and Immortality took that even further)

The paladin, avenger, knight, and druid were proto-prestige classes in D&D, available to Name level fighters and clerics (but, as has been stated, could be house/optionally ruled to start from first). There was also discussion of character options at Name level: to settle (and build that tower/church/thieves guild/castle and attract followers) or wander.

Demi human level limits weren't so much done away with as.... given a shot in the arm with the D&D Companion set's Attack Ranks, which basically unlocked fighter combat options at given XP thresholds. Demi human clans were given a brief overview, as "name level" options for the demi human classes. Also discussed were the various clan relics' wondrous powers.

Armies-scale warfare was heavily abstracted in D&D, handled with the Companion set's War Machine system. This was expanded to the Sea Machine (naval battles) and Siege Machine (alas, no, it wasn't castle vs. castle) in the Master rules set.

D&D had Weapon Mastery: AD&D's weapon specialization on steroids, available to all of the classes, with different special effects and options for most every weapon (or class of weapon) in the game.

(The more cynical would say that Basic was kept in print/circulation so the rights to that game wouldn't revert to Arneson, and AD&D was written to try to cut Arneson out of royalties from the game, going forward.)

 

[RobJN]

This allowed characters to play in adventures designed for either edition. This was great for AD&D, since BECMI had some of the best adventures.

Hmmm...tried to insert a "Not sure if serious" Joker pic here, not sure what went wrong...

I'll take B10 over T1-4 any day of the week. And maybe twice on Sunday.

 

[LoganRan]

I'll take B10 over T1-4 any day of the week. And maybe twice on Sunday.

Fair enough.

I have no idea what B10 is as I only played B1-B4, btw. I don't care much for Temple of Elemental Evil, myself, but most lists of "Greatest Hits" D&D adventures that I have come across are largely composed of AD&D (1E) modules with a few Basic/Expert sprinkled in.

 

[Weiley31]

This also allowed demi-humans to not have any level limits. Finally, BECMI capped at level 36, while 1E (not 2E) was completely unlimited.

I thought Demi-Humans in BECMI had a level limit, but then to make up for the fact that they stopped leveling up, they instead got upgrades to their Weapon Ranks. Humans were the ones that could level up all the way to 36.

 

[el-remmen]

I'll take B10 over T1-4 any day of the week. And maybe twice on Sunday.

Just acquired a PDF of B10 based on this post alone.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Also, in b/x, default weapon damage for all weapons was a d6. Variable weapon damage was optional.

Monster stat blocks were formatted a bit different (like the * in b/x HD stat and different monster abilities for some).

 

[Alzrius]

Don't forget that Basic D&D had rules for not only becoming an Immortal (i.e. a god), but also playing as one. Specifically, the "I" in BECMI was for the Immortals Set, which had three adventures published for it: IM1 The Immortal Storm, IM2 The Wrath of Olympus, and IM3 The Best of Intentions.

Later, after the Rules Cyclopedia came out (updating the Basic, Expert, Companion and Master rules), Wrath of the Immortals was put out as well. It's currently available as a free PDF on DriveThruRPG.

For a detailed overview of the differences between the Immortals Set and Wrath of the Immortals, there's a great set of articles over on the Vaults of Pandius: Reconciling Immortals, Part I, Reconciling Immortals, Part II: Forms, and Reconciling Immortals, Part III: Powers and Immortal Campaigns.

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.