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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 5166367" data-attributes="member: 52734">I have a bad feeling this will degenerate, but I thought it might be possible to generate a "friendly" discussion before that occurs...Back through most of the '80s, TSR was running two similar, but very different lines of D&D.  On one end, there was the BECMI (Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, Immortal) set, with "simpler"/streamlined rules (such as the "classes" of Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, Thief, Halfling, Elf, Dwarf), 36 levels and the Mystara campaign world.  Yet, for its gaming simplicity, it had a lot of detailed information about the game world - at least as detailed as Forgotten Realms in the day - and plenty of monster and other sourcebooks to mark it as a fully developed game.On the other end, there was the AD&D (1E/2E) line.  It had more complex interactions (compared to BECMI) and some additions - 9 vs. 3 alignments, a non-weapon proficiency system, more detailed weapons and equipment lists, etc.It was possible - with some converting - to transplant adventures from one game system to the other.  Many of the other sourcebooks as well could be freely moved from one system to the other if one were willing to do a little conversion.  I remember, for example, running BECMI characters through White Plume Mountain, and another group that used the Immortal rules in their AD&D game.Most players tended to have a strong affinity for one system or the other; it was (in my experience) usually assumed you learned playing BECMI and moved on to AD&D, but that was not always the case as both systems were fully detailed for a lifetime of gaming in one system or the other.With that out of the way, the thought has come to me are we, in a way, seeing the return of the AD&D and BECMI line in the emergence of Pathfinder and D&D 4E?  Are those who favor the complex workings drawn to Pathfinder, while those who seek the lighter aspect of play drawn to D&D 4E?  Could we consider Pathfinder the continuation of the "Advanced" line and 4E to be return of the "Basic" line?  The Red Box 4E that is coming out later this year seems, in a way, to almost point to this situation.The BECMI line was shut down near the end of TSR's life, and I can't help but wonder that the uproar created between the two groups devoted to their edition stems from the merger of the two lines towards "Advanced" for 3E.  Perhaps it has been for good that the two distinct lines have seemed to re-emerge in the different styles of 4E vs. Pathfinder and we should respect that those followings can both pursue the game that best suits their playstyle (though it would be nice if they could both live and thrive under the same company, IMHO).</blockquote>

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