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Message: <blockquote data-quote="T. Foster" data-source="post: 3750946" data-attributes="member: 16574">Ruleswise OD&D and the Red Book(s) are pretty close, and all of the really significant differences have already been listed by Philotomy Jurament. There's also a fairly significant difference in tone, though, which is the real reason I prefer the earlier version to the later ones. The original D&D rules are explicitly a toolbox, a mere starting point, and it's absolutely assumed that every campaign will alter and expand upon the material in the books to create something individual and unique. The later versions of Classic D&D, OTOH, present more of a "closed system" where, while the individual DM is still free to change and customize the game if he wants to, he isn't particularly encouraged to, and certainly isn't assumed/expected to. The Mentzer Basic Set goes so far as to specifically discourage beginning DMs from adding to or changing anything in the rules until they've got more experience with the game, so as to avoid throwing off the careful balance of the rules. Also tied into this is the fact that OD&D is written for an assumed audience of adults who are experienced wargamers, whereas the later Basic Sets are geared towards a novice audience (specifically an audience of children) with absolutely no prior wargame experience. Therefore, things tend to be spelled out in a much more detailed "handholding" manner in the later sets (Mentzer, for instance, devotes an entire page to how to read the dice whereas OD&D just throwa the reader in at the deep end -- polyhedral dice are mentioned once, in the Recommended Equipment list, right next to Outdoor Survival and drafting equipment, and past that it's up to the reader to determine which dice are rolled when (or even how to get a spread of 1-20 when your die is numbered 0-9 twice...)).So each set is best for different purposes. If you're an experienced gamer who wants a foundation and framework upon which to build your own rpg as you go that's just a couple steps removed from pure freeform play, then OD&D is the best. If you're in the mood for some casual play and want something simple yet complete that you can sit down and start playing right away, then the 1981 (Moldvay/Cook/Marsh) Basic/Expert set combo is hard to beat. And if you're introducing the game to a kid or other absolute novice and want something that takes them through step by step, the 1983 (Mentzer) Basic Set is pretty much ideal.</blockquote>

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