CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
Excellent write-up, Snarf. As always.
It really would have been helpful when I was putting together those "Edition Experience" threads during the pandemic. I remember that the Moldvay B/X and Holmes Basic both did pretty well in those surveys--people around here have lots of fond memories of playing them back in the 80s. (And then there was one survey in particular that got shut down in like 48 hours because people couldn't control their bile.) Keeping all the different Basics straight was a challenge.
I wanted to focus on Nostalgia in those surveys, because honestly? That's the important part. People get so bent out of shape over the "correct" way to play, or the "best" rules system, or what a Ranger is and isn't, whatever. And that's all interesting enough but when your doorbell rings on game night, does anyone really care?
The years stretch on, the sun rises and sets and rises again, and everything changes. It's true of glaciers and tectonic plates, and true of my hobbies and interests. Dungeons & Dragons has been my hobby for 40+ years, and I've seen so many different editions and revisions and updates. But Holmes Basic is always going to be my favorite. It will forever be the version that comes to mind when I think "D&D," and it will be the model that all other editions will be compared to. It's my favorite. It doesn't have to be the best.
It really would have been helpful when I was putting together those "Edition Experience" threads during the pandemic. I remember that the Moldvay B/X and Holmes Basic both did pretty well in those surveys--people around here have lots of fond memories of playing them back in the 80s. (And then there was one survey in particular that got shut down in like 48 hours because people couldn't control their bile.) Keeping all the different Basics straight was a challenge.
I wanted to focus on Nostalgia in those surveys, because honestly? That's the important part. People get so bent out of shape over the "correct" way to play, or the "best" rules system, or what a Ranger is and isn't, whatever. And that's all interesting enough but when your doorbell rings on game night, does anyone really care?
The years stretch on, the sun rises and sets and rises again, and everything changes. It's true of glaciers and tectonic plates, and true of my hobbies and interests. Dungeons & Dragons has been my hobby for 40+ years, and I've seen so many different editions and revisions and updates. But Holmes Basic is always going to be my favorite. It will forever be the version that comes to mind when I think "D&D," and it will be the model that all other editions will be compared to. It's my favorite. It doesn't have to be the best.
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