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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lancelot" data-source="post: 5302035" data-attributes="member: 30022">My experience is much the same as Korgoth's. The original magenta box simply blew me away.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Magenta box cover was amazing. A dungeon, a dragon, a buff fighter, a "hot" sorceress... my 10-year-old mind was blown.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It had a play example which I really enjoyed reading. I wept for the thief, and every elf I rolled up for the next 4 months was called Silverleaf. No joke.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It had a short module included in the back... which included a full description of the design choices that went into it (even the random rolls that generated the room contents!).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It had an additional unkeyed map with some natural caverns and crypts, plus some story hooks, that helped me create a "sequel" to the module in the book.</li> </ul>I wasn't as emotionally invested in Red Box when it came out, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it... for much the same reasons.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The cover rocked. I've always enjoyed Elmore.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There was a play example and a couple of compelling NPCs (Aleena and Bargle).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Even better, there was a mappable solo adventure! Fan-tas-tic!!! I loved the solo gamebooks of the 80's, so I was stoked to see a D&D solo adventure.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">...and, once more, they expanded on that sample adventure and gave the DM enough material to create a natural sequel.</li> </ul>1e AD&D was less inspiring to me. Sure, there was a play example in the DMG (quite a fun one, in fact) and a (mostly) unkeyed dungeon map, but it was more about the rules and less about the examples....and then they largely stopped including detailed play examples, solo modules, partially-complete modules for starter DMs and so forth. It just became "the rules". 4e made an attempt with the short module and town in the back of the DMG but... it just wasn't the same.I'm stoked to hear there's a [short] solo adventure in the upcoming Essentials product. I'd like to see more of that sort of thing... and more play examples... and some DM material that expands on the solo adventure. If nothing else, it helps create a sort of "common experience". Nearly everyone who picked up the Red Box can remember fighting Bargle, or finding the rust monster in the solo dungeon. To a lesser extent, there were a lot of stories here when 4e first came out regarding players' experiences at fighting the dragon in the sample module in the back of the 4e DMG. If the New Red Box can recreate some of those feelings for a new generation (or even a crusty old generation like mine), it'll be a great thing.</blockquote>

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