Should D&D be sold as a boardgame?

[Maggan]

I suggest flushing this particular tu... err... product and re-building it from the ground up in accordance with the largely reasonable suggestions of its many detractors.

I think WotC is redesigning the Basic Set. I seem to remember seeing that in one of Merrics threads.

I could be wrong though.

/M

 

[jdrakeh]

But ... but ... character generation IS in the current Basic Set. Unless I read the rules completely upside down this weekend. I wanted to check, since I wasn't certain (I don't play using the basic set, so my recollections of the contents are a bit hazy).

Hmm... that's weird. The Basic Set that I have only came with pre-generated characters, no rules for making your own. Maybe it was missing something.

[Edit: Holy crap! I just read Joe Kushner's review and realized that I'm missing a whole booklet! That might make all the difference between a great game and a crappy one! I wonder if this was an error at the factory (I guess that might explain why a bunch of people complain about a lack of character gen rules) or some slippery weirdness going on at the FLGS (they have their own shrink-wrapping machine, so they can open and reseal boxed sets).]

 

[Maggan]

Hmm... that's weird. The Basic Set that I have only came with pre-generated characters, no rules for making your own. Maybe it was missing something.

I have a rulebook in my box saying "Advanced Rules". It might be missing from your set.

/M

 

[jdrakeh]

I have a rulebook in my box saying "Advanced Rules". It might be missing from your set.

/M

Yep. See my above edit

 

[Maggan]

Yep. See my above edit

Holy crabapple! Anyone else here with the same experience?

Could be interesting to see if this was more than an individual incident. It would explain a lot of comments about the Basic Set I've read over the year.

EDIT: And yeah, the Basic Set without the Advanced Rules would be a pretty lousy entry into D&D. The D&D Miniatures entry boxes would be far better.

/M

 

[jdrakeh]

Holy crabapple! Anyone else here with the same experience?

Could be interesting to see if this was more than an individual incident. It would explain a lot of comments about the Basic Set I've read over the year.

Yeah, I actually wondered the same thing when I realized that I was missing said booklet.

 

[Maggan]

Wish list for New D&D Red Box Basic Set

Just for fun, I compiled the list of things a basic set should have (whether or not the current does is irrelevant to this post). Some of the wishes are contradictory, but it's fun seeing what people are asking for:

Battle mat
Board game similarities/less board game similarities (a la Talisman, Hero Quest)
Character generation
Chits and cards
Collectable elements
Compatible with 3.5
Cool dice
Dungeon creation and campaign creation fully supported
Family game experience focus
Followed by an Expert Set
Maps for minis/no maps for minis
Marketed to families and children
Miniatures/no miniatures
One player plays BBEG (a la Siege of the Citadel and Space Hulk)
PDF and online support for the product, including how to transition into D&D 3.5.
Pregenerated characters/no pregenerated characters
Price point 20/30/40/50/60 dollars
Replace Dungeon Master with quest booklets and randomly drawn map tiles
Series of thematically linked games
Should give opportunity for roleplaying
Simplified rules and combat
Sold in toy stores
Support for levels 1-3/1-5/a few levels
Target group age 9-12

I'll add my wishes:

The same cover art and design as Red Box Basic Set
Slimmed down rules allowing for play up to 5th level
Pregenerated characters
Chargen rules
XP tables up to 5th
Treasure tables
Four basic classes (fighter, cleric, rogue, sorcerer)
A very slimmed down world description ("this is the inn, this is the chapel, this is the smithys, this is the dungeon, and that over there are the Dragon Peaks!"). And a map!
Fliers for Eberron and Forgotten Realms
Five simple adventures with minis maps
Online support with additional adventures
Interior art by WAR
Dice from Crystal Caste
24 minis (a beholder and a mind flayer among them)
Cards as player aids (actions and spells and stuff)

Hmmm ... something like that. Not sure what would be the result though.

/M

 

[jdrakeh]

The same cover art and design as Red Box Basic Set
Slimmed down rules allowing for play up to 5th level
Pregenerated characters
Chargen rules
XP tables up to 5th
Treasure tables
Four basic classes (fighter, cleric, rogue, sorcerer)
A very slimmed down world description ("this is the inn, this is the chapel, this is the smithys, this is the dungeon, and that over there are the Dragon Peaks!"). And a map!
Fliers for Eberron and Forgotten Realms
Five simple adventures with minis maps
Online support with additional adventures
Interior art by WAR
Dice from Crystal Caste
24 minis (a beholder and a mind flayer among them)
Cards as player aids (actions and spells and stuff)

Drop the ad inserts and throw in a few cardstock grid maps for combat, and I'd buy it. Incidentally, if Battlemats are still as expensive as they used to be (I haven't bought one since Chessex was the sole manufacturer), I think that including one in a Basic Set is utterly insane - not only would its physical size require an awkwardly enlongated box, but it would hike the price by $30 or mroe just to cover the mat

 

[Darmanicus]

What we need, gentlemen, is a brand new Talisman tweaked to represent D&D thematically.

WORD.

That was just the coolest boargame EVAR.

Why oh why oh why oh WHY lord did I sell all my original 1st ed stuff?

 

[Kanegrundar]

I've got to second the recommendation for Dungeon Bash. It's a fun set of rules to take D&D into the realm of Warhammer Quest (which I use my old sets to play Dungeon Bash with). I have parred down the rules (using the Basic Set as a guide) to speed up play. This option won't satisfy roleplayers, but if DB could get boxed as a complete game with no printing and such and placed on toy store shelves, it could be big for the future of the D&D fanbase.