Your personal B/X or BECMI (or both) story....

[tkdco2]

Professor Dungeon Master explains what's so great about Moldvay Basic:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X-fALNm8K4

[calstaff]

I like that Moldvay/Cook never went beyond level 14. 14th level is about as far as an above-average party is going to go before they either flame-out or simply are ready to hit the reset button.

I know today it is common for PCs to go to 20th level, but as far as I remember the *highest* level PC *ever* in my campaign of over 40 years was a 19th level thief (in 1e AD&D rules). Am I curious as to what the Companion Rules would have looked like? Of course! Some have even compiled faux rules that attempted to answer that question, but *really*, how often would we have needed to use those rules? Not too many, I would guess.

14th-level is a sweet spot to end a campaign and "retire" PCs to become permanent fixtures in the shared campaign world created by the group.

[Malcadon]

- My first rule set was B/X Basic and the 1e AD&D DMG (along with the MM & D&DG), and this was secondhand books I got around 1990-ish. That was the rules I had to work with and it was not made easy as both were not compatible to each other, so the game as really patchwork and spells were limited to 3rd level.
- Some years later, I got the box set that comes with the Zanzer Tem’s Dungeon scenario, but this expanded my undersanding from 3ed level to 5th, but spells were still limited to 3rd level.
- Around that time, I also got the 2e AD&D PHB and I no longer had to fudge the game.

I have a soft-spot for Basic and Expert, along with the B-series modules, with their art and simplicity. The Basic rules were well laid out and the DM'ing advice proved far more useful than the cluttered mess that was the DMG. (To its credit, the DMG has some great content and helped a lot with my dyslexia.)

The Zanzer Tem set, which was based on BECMI books, was neat and the starting scenario helped my sister figure-out how the dice work, but the art felt too much of the same, using the same set of characters. (Although, I find that cleric girl to be cute, but I like Ironwolf more.) I never had the actual BECMI books to have any real experience with them. I have them on file, but the rules never jived with me and that is fine, as I was never into high level gaming.

Nowadays, I really like Advanced Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy as they both maintain the simplicity of B/X D&D while offering greater options with classes and races. I also like how Basic Fantasy used a 3e-style system for combat as I was never a fan of descending AC... Like AT ALL! Above all else, I like to mix and match the rules -- not just from B/X, AdvLL and BA, but from a wide range of games, including 5e D&D and Barbarians of Lemuria. To me, if a rule system cant be "as basic as Basic", you are trying way too hard.

[oldskolgmr]

I never really had a chance to play B/X with the other kids (home school, and poor schooling at that).
I had all the stuff, B/X (Moldovay/Cook), and AD&D Books. But the reading and math intimidated me.
(I finally read all of the PHB, to try and keep a 1st Lvl Monk alive, but we never played a second session.)
Now, I'm really interested in Blackmoor, OD&D and the 'Basic' D&D versions (especially The Holmes version). 
(Thank you Zenopus for your website!)

[tkdco2]

In high school we often mixed Basic D&D with AD&D. There were inconsistencies, but we were still learning the game, so we just used the parts we liked.

Basic Fantasy is currently my game of choice. I like how race and class were split, while keeping most of the B/X style. The 3e combat system was the main reason I didn't buy it at first, since I still prefer the THAC0 system. However, I decided it was a minor detail, and the 3e method is faster, especially in solo gaming.

[Deleted]

B/X is almost a perfect little fantasy game except for the race as class thing which can safely and easily be ignored, which makes it Greyhawkian D&D. I do like Basic Fantasy a lot as a modern tribute to it.

One thing I like about the Mentzer volumes was the little tutorials and examples of play. I think those were the apex of such elements throughout the TSR days and honestly after, too. Who doesn't dream of killing Bargle to this day?

[machfront]

I love OD&D. As everyone here must, else, why are we here at all?
I understand most even love it AS PRINTED AND PRESENTED.
Man…sorry…I do not.
It’s why I read over it, dig it…..but use WB:FMAG as my personal default/doorway to “3LBB” stuff.
Outside of that…though I’ve loved B/X for what it is from the get-go…nowadays my mind so very often says: “We want OD&D as easy and as straightforward as possible”. And I say: “Brain, I want that, too! I want D&D in its most pure, chocolate and peanut butter form, shot out of a cannon, into my face!”
Boom! B/X!

……or Holmes, with online additions from Zach, aka Zenopus…..depends on what I’m after. Heheh
Still….
Yeah.

My houserules for OD&D and many other games (in general, not for a specific campaign) are slighter than most, but usually a couple of pages at least. My personal HR for B/X are less than one page.

B/X is ready to roar, completely and fully and absolutely and roundly and old school to the max!

[machfront]

Also, I’d like to, to anyone new to the thread or no, bring attention again to Falconer’s wonderful observation/advice concerning the ADD1E PHB pages 101-109. It’s worth looking over even not being an AD&D player (as I am not, nor ever was). It’s good stuff. It’s not going to change your life nor blow the lid off of anything, but it’s still good. I still feel odd and a bit foolish I’d not really recognized its simple worth.

[Parzival]

After a family visit, I left my copies of the 1983 Mentzer Red Books where my great-nieces and great-nephews can find them. And yes, I left the dice, too.
(I’m the cool uncle, by the way.)