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Post by xerxez on Feb 28, 2011 14:28:49 GMT -6
My son picked up some D&D materials from a flea market this past weekend.
Among the lot was a D&D Rules Cyclopedia, 1991. First time I've seen it.
I am no big fan of Wizards of the Coast or most post AD&D 1st Edition TSR materials but this is a beaut.
Seems to me the perfect companion for continuing Holmes Blue Book characters well into the higher levels.
It is a compilation of all the Basic, Expert, Companion and Master rules in one volume.
It adds a class, the Mystic, but in all other respects seems very close to the design and the spirit of the Holmes book.
I'd originally been wanting to use modified 1st Ed. rules to continue our Holmes campaign but this is more handy. I like what others here on the forum have done in their house rules as well but this seems too good a resource to pass up.
It is surprisingly well written, instead of being filled with the superlative fluff one normally finds in books from the post Gygaxian epoch.
The art is quite palatable as well.
Anyone else read or use this?
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norse
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
And it's cold, so cold at the Edge of Time.
Posts: 233
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Post by norse on Feb 28, 2011 14:37:25 GMT -6
I don't have the cyclopaedia, but I do have all the sets that comprise as well as the Immortal Set.
I've been toying with the possibility of getting the cyclopaedia at some point, but I don't think I actually want to use it all anyway. The stuff on domains is really good though.
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Post by Falconer on Feb 28, 2011 15:00:23 GMT -6
It’s not the worst product. I wouldn’t use it for the players since it lacks level titles (and I don’t want a game with a 30+ level progression, anyway). I occasionally use it as a DM, since as a “Cyclopedia” it is useful for looking things up sometimes. But I wouldn’t use it long-term or on a regular basis simply because, although it’s largely the 70s rules alright, the writing lacks the verve of the 70s products.
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Post by kesher on Feb 28, 2011 15:29:55 GMT -6
Absolutely---it's a great trove of info. I don't really like how they codified demi-humans, but that's just me; there's nothing intrinsically wrong with it.
I did plan to use it for a campaign that, unfortunately, never panned out.
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Post by iamtim on Feb 28, 2011 15:49:00 GMT -6
It's a good book. I used it for a long time as a reaction to the AD&D game the other DM in our group was running. You'll find it to be very popular amongst the B/X and BECMI D&D "crowd".
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Post by xerxez on Mar 1, 2011 1:31:34 GMT -6
Appreciate the feedback.
Maybe I'll just cull the level titles from AD&D.
I had to put gaming on hold for a couple months due to life stuff going on but when I resume, I don't care about anything else besides
1.Holmes Basic D&D
2.FGU's "Aftermath."
I dearly love Tekumel but it might be a few moons before I have another go at it.
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 1, 2011 5:30:43 GMT -6
It’s not the worst product. I wouldn’t use it for the players since it lacks level titles (and I don’t want a game with a 30+ level progression, anyway). I occasionally use it as a DM, since as a “Cyclopedia” it is useful for looking things up sometimes. But I wouldn’t use it long-term or on a regular basis simply because, although it’s largely the 70s rules alright, the writing lacks the verve of the 70s products. This pretty much sums up my experience. I own a copy and it stays in my gaming backpack because it does have a little bit of everything in a single volume, so if I want to find something in a hurry it's the one book I'm most likely to find it in. I don't actually use it as a rules base, however, but only as a resource. |
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Post by kenmeister on Mar 1, 2011 8:44:36 GMT -6
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 1, 2011 9:26:01 GMT -6
Don't get me wrong -- I think it may be the single most useful volume of rules since it has everything in it -- I just don't actually follow the B/X rules model much. (Mostly the race-class thing, honestly.)
But if I could only keep one RPG book from my collection, the RC might be the one.
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Post by bluskreem on Mar 1, 2011 10:36:35 GMT -6
For years the RC was my go to game. I'm a sucker for tool box approach, and the RC has more tools in it's box then any other game I know. Being implicitly from a Mystara point of view is a nice bonus as well. I've switched to Labyrinth Lord however as I find it's easier to give the players LL as a core and print out of any additional rules i want to add from the RC, rather then have them search through the RC for additional rules.
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Post by Falconer on Mar 1, 2011 13:01:27 GMT -6
But if I could only keep one RPG book from my collection, the RC might be the one. Agreed, but I hope to never have to make that choice! I much prefer “if I could only keep five RPG books from my collection...” scenarios. In which case the RC would not be one of them. |
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Post by xerxez on Mar 12, 2011 2:38:09 GMT -6
Its not my favorite, but you do get a lot of bang for the buck.
Complete rules/spells/tables through the very highest levels, character sheet pages to copy, full color maps and setting descriptions for Mystara and the Hollow World.
The maps alone are worth the price of admission.
Well do I remember the old Moldvay books and the glorious adventures we had in the Grand Duchy!
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Post by xerxez on Mar 12, 2011 2:40:34 GMT -6
Ken--a great job and very playable, all of it. I downloaded it and may use it--thanks! |
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Post by Rhuvein on Mar 12, 2011 22:33:22 GMT -6
While I like some of it and mostly use it for idea generation, it's too much the "encyclopedia" and thus boring to look through and read sometimes. In fact, now that I think about it, it's much more boring than than the real encyclopedias that I have. Personally, I prefer the BECMI books even if it may not have all that other stuff that the RC has. [Oh and the price for beat up crappy copies on eBay is nothing short of astoundingly ridiculous. I had the PDF but watched eBay for 5 years and gave up. I finally got a great copy from a gamer friend for a nice price and I'm really glad I didn't pay top dollars for this book]  |
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Post by kenmeister on Mar 14, 2011 18:05:26 GMT -6
Ken--a great job and very playable, all of it. I downloaded it and may use it--thanks! Thanks for the compliment. |
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