D&D / Basic

The variant version of Dungeons & Dragons that began with the 1981 Tom Moldvay rulebook. It simplified the original rules and some contend that it was more in the spirit of the original 3-box set.

This variant does not include the 1977 J. Eric Holmes "blue box" Basic Set, which was actually a cleanup of the 3-box "D&D / Original" set, rather than a variant game system.

There are four "editions":

1. B/X: The 1980 "mauve box" set edited by Tom Moldvay (cover by Erol Otus), and the accompanying Expert set by Cook and Marsh. This is the basic set of rules on which the later editions were based, and covers the first 14 levels.
   
2. BECMI: The 1983 "red box" set edited by Frank Menzter (cover by Larry Elmore). While the rules in Basic and Expert sets remained largely the same, the Basic set was rewritten to appeal to novice gamers. The biggest change is that Menzter significantly expanded the game with the addition of the Companion, Master, and Immortal rules (which cover levels 1 to 36, and beyond).
   
3. RC: The 1990 Rules Cyclopedia edited by Aaron Allston. While there are some changes, additions, and subtractions, this is for the most part a compilation of Mentzer's Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master sets into a single volume.
   
4. Black Box: The 1991 D&D Game Box, which was supplemented by a few Adventure Packs. This one only runs levels 1-5 and is heavily dependent on game components. Internal to TSR, it was called "fifth edition" (counting from the Holmes edition).
   

The Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy clones are both based on the Moldvay/Cook/Marsh edition.

The parent system is: D&D / OSR.

Subsidiary systems are: ACKS, Basic Fantasy, D&D / Dragon Quest, Dangers & Dweomers, Dark Dungeons, Dungeons & Dragons, East Mark, Labyrinth Lord, Microlite81, Old School Hack, Old-School Essentials, Redbox Hack.

[ edit this ]