tylermo wrote:Not sure. Holmes might have been 78. Doesn't really matter.
I do remember clearly that the Holmes box the counselor and her husband (that's whom I meant by "they") loaned us was a later Holmes printing, because it had B2 instead of B1 that was in the earlier printings.... this from Wikipedia:
The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (TSR 1001) was published by TSR, Inc. in 1977,[1] and comprised a separate edition of the game, distinct from the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) game published the same year.
The first Basic Set was available as a 48-page stand-alone rulebook and as part of a boxed set. The rulebook featured artwork by David C. Sutherland III. The boxed set included a set of polyhedral dice and supplemental materials.[2] In that same year, Games Workshop (U.K.) published their own version of the rulebook, with a cover by John Blanche, and illustrations by Fangorn.[2]
Supplemental materials appearing in the boxed set included geomorphs, monster and treasure lists, and a set of polyhedral dice.[3] For a period in 1979, TSR experienced a dice shortage. Basic sets published during this time frame came with two sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits that functioned in lieu of dice, along with a coupon for ordering dice from TSR.[4] The rulebook also included a brief sample dungeon with a full-page map. Starting with the fourth printing in 1978, the two booklets of maps, encounter tables, and treasure lists were replaced with the module B1 In Search of the Unknown;[2] printings six through eleven (1979–1982) featured the module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands instead.[2]
Both the loaned Holmes and the 1st one we bought in 79 had dice, so they must've been produced in early 79 I am guessing. The Holmes box I picked up right across from the TLG table at GaryCon this year must've come from later in 79 because it does have the chits mentioned above.
tylermo wrote:77 it is! Never said I was a TSR expert. I envy you. There are a lot of old D&D items I'd like to have.
Most of my collection is more recently re-acquired. The ONLY 2 items that lasted with me from my childhood were a B2 mod (one from the Moldvay set - the Holmes one had gotten beat up, used, written in and generally destroyed by mid-80's) and the 1st DMG I bought....
I was lucky enough to get Gary to sign both just before he passed at the last Winter Dark the Trolls held in Lake Geneva.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Treebore wrote:All my stuff was bought and kept since 1985.
Robert I doubt I'll ever have as much on my shelves as you sir!
Your wiser than me, so hopefully you won't.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
I'm not sure I wanted to like 5th ed. -or D&D Next as it's often called- but after watching a few online video reviews o' the starter stuff, I went out and picked up the Players Handbook.
I must admit, as a guy who disliked 3rd and detested 4th, this 5th edition seems awesome o'erall.
It's gonna pull a lot o' players back from other systems methinks.
For crying out loud, do what you can with the rolls the dice have given you. This is what separates the men from the boys... -Kayolan
The Roll For Initiative podcast did a 5e review last week. They are die hard 1e supporters so had a perspective perhaps more like most on these forums. They had good and bad to say. The biggest issue they had was the magic system. Wizards have cantrips like acid splash that start at 1d10 damage and scale with level. Fireball starts with many more # of dice per caster level than C&C or 1e. They also had issues with the quick healing and memorization.
I have been slowly reading through the Player's Handbook the past few days and I like what I see so far. Granted, I am only up to the Races section, but the book looks very nice and reads well. The rules, from what I have gathered so far, seem like a 'Greatest Hits' of all editions, with an eye for preserving what uniquely makes D&D, D&D.
I have my new Players Handbook now and gave it a once over, quick read. We are back to every race can be every class now, no level restrictions. Halfling Paladins, Dwarf Wizards, etc. Dwarves lost their anti-magic, but still resist poison. Not a Tiefling or Dragonborn fan.
The Warlock seems the newest, most interesting to me. I think they borrowed the idea from DCC RPG. Its a spell caster that has a patron that gives him his powers. He does not have the spell power that the Wizard or Sorcerer does though. The Warlock does gain more HP, better armor /weapons, and some bonus powers he can choose from , along with a choice of gift of a tome of cantrips, familiar, or special weapon.
Your patron can be a ancient fey Lord/Lady, a Demon Prince or even Cthulhu!
I wish the Wizard spells were also divided up by school. Necromancy, Evocation, etc. That would be much easier to use.
What have you noticed in 5th? Most liked/hated changes?
To defend: This is the Pact.
But when life loses its value,
and is taken for naught -
then the Pact is to Avenge.
That it's not 4th edition is my favorite change. Well, actually slimming down to advantage and disadvantage as a way of modifying dice rolls is probably my favorite introduction. What I dislike about it is that it still seems like it's going to be awfully busy with what happens in combat. I prefer my combat experience based more upon creative descriptions than number-crunching.
I'm of a mixed opinion as to every race being able to be every class. On the one hand, I like the freedom to pursue race/class combinations as suits the character concept. On the other hand, I think it reduces the incentive to play a human. But, the human-centric thing seems to be a hallmark of older-school games and much less prevalent with where things are in the current rpg climate. That being said, with halflings moving more toward the hobbity again, I'm pleased to be able to pursue whatever halfling character concept I want.
Yeah, that is the one thing I am sure of, I like this edition better than the previous 2 editions. I will hate all the "splat" books they are going to do, but I am liking its "core".
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
I actually ran an hour long in-person session the other day, and combat was lightning fast. Another group I'm familiar with, had 5 combats in one session.
For crying out loud, do what you can with the rolls the dice have given you. This is what separates the men from the boys... -Kayolan
slimykuotoan wrote:I actually ran an hour long in-person session the other day, and combat was lightning fast. Another group I'm familiar with, had 5 combats in one session.
It was like that during the play tests too, but I got no higher than 3rd level in running those. Well, we might have done a session at 4th level.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
slimykuotoan wrote:Yeah, I'm sooo pleased with combat.
Good to hear. From reading the PHB, it seems like there's still a preponderance of different effects (stunned, frightened, petrified, etc.) as well as a bunch of different abilities PCs can use; hence the worry about number-crunching combat. But, if it runs smoothly, all the better.
Had hoped to try it out at the local game store, just to get a feel for the competition. The dm has a full group already. Same for the PF game. At this point I'd almost play in an Anime rpg, just to be able to run a character. Well, I'm not that desperate.
seskis281 wrote:Have to admit a bit of a head-shake moment -- several posts referenced being unhappy with any race as any class, but that's true in C&C as well.
I thought I read that wrong at first.
Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
seskis281 wrote:Have to admit a bit of a head-shake moment -- several posts referenced being unhappy with any race as any class, but that's true in C&C as well.
Why? Some people house rule things. Everyone can play the type of game they enjoy. If you like Halfling Paladins & Dwarf Wizards- then play that. I don't. Not a big deal. Just more "old school" to me.
To defend: This is the Pact.
But when life loses its value,
and is taken for naught -
then the Pact is to Avenge.
seskis281 wrote:Have to admit a bit of a head-shake moment -- several posts referenced being unhappy with any race as any class, but that's true in C&C as well.
Why? Some people house rule things. Everyone can play the type of game they enjoy. If you like Halfling Paladins & Dwarf Wizards- then play that. I don't. Not a big deal. Just more "old school" to me.
Not a problem at all I wasn't denegrating the choice, I just misread the posts above and thought the references indicated the C&C default rules held class limitations by race - I enthusiastically suuport individual house rules and customization... once played a Kobold warrior in CKDad's all-Kobold PC con game at Trollcon in Little Rock a few years back
I picked up my 5E PHB on Friday. I'm slowly working my way through it. (I'm spending much more time prepping for my next C&C session on Saturday as well as reading through the Fate Core rules.) I haven't read enough to have any legitimate criticisms other than some of the art sucks (according to my tastes). I hate the art depicting halflings. The advantage/disadvantage mechanic sounds very cool. I was disappointed to see they went with attribute-based saves like C&C. The one thing about 3E that sounded good to me was reducing the saves system to reflex, will, and fortitude. Not sure why they abandoned that approach. There is supposed to be a 5E game day at the end of September at my FLGS that I may sign up for to get a chance to run 5E. Generally speaking, I'd prefer to run C&C over anything, but it would be fun to play instead of GM for a change and that is going to mean playing something besides C&C unless I'm at a con.
tylermo wrote:Your efforts are greatly appreciated, Buttmonkey. Can't believe I said that with a straight face.
I’m also of a mixed opinion. On the one hand, I can remember when 3e came along and I thought “Wow, the character ideas are endless!”
On the other hand, I think it also has the potential to reduce race choice to just another min-maxing option to get the best combination of stats and abilities for your chosen class.
I started working on the first adventure for the new 5e campaign, and I’m definitely enjoying it more than working on 4e’s adventures.
Litzen Tallister wrote:
I'm of a mixed opinion as to every race being able to be every class. On the one hand, I like the freedom to pursue race/class combinations as suits the character concept.
I MUCH prefer C&C's save system, which effectively gets rid of "dump stats". Which is probably why they made a similar move with 5E, to get rid of the "dump stat" problem.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Treebore wrote:I MUCH prefer C&C's save system, which effectively gets rid of "dump stats". Which is probably why they made a similar move with 5E, to get rid of the "dump stat" problem.
Okay. I was wondering about that in 5E myself. I haven't played 3.x in so long I forgot about the dump stats problem.
Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
What is probably my single biggest "problem" with every single edition of D&D is saves. Which is why I love C&C. In every single edition of D&D, eventually, if your game goes up to the higher levels, you get what I call, and I think everyone else calls, the "Auto Save" problem. Eventually, characters will start making ALL saves 80%+ of the time, and eventually get to where they will only fail on a 1. Which, effectively, except in the case of direct damage spells such as lightning, fire, acid, etc... was the same as having 95% MR in 1E AD&D. In 3E, if you got to high level, and also had the one super dodge Feat (forget its proper name) you ALSO effectively had 95% MR against even damage spells. Which made for very boring high level games, because no one, and I mean NO ONE, sweated making their saving throws at the higher levels.
2E tried to fix this issue, a little bit, by saying everyone fails on a roll of 1, 2 or 3 (a non optional rule in one of the "Options" books.)
So that is why I love, love, LOVE how saves work in C&C, with CL's being determined by the level of the caster, AND non Prime saves having a base of 18. Now my players still sweat their saving throws even when they are 12th, 14th, or 17th level. I also love the control I have over controlling those risks. If I want them to be very likely to save, I throw significantly lower level spell users at them, so they are very likely to "wade through" the masses of low level minions, even spell slingers. When I want the players to feel fear, I throw things at them close, equal, or greater in level. So yeah, I absolutely love C&C's save mechanics.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Until the much-ignored and better-than-halflings race I like to play are considered a core race, I will not support D&D.
That would be the Grippli. Believe it or not.
Psalm 73:26
"Knowledge, logic, reason, and common sense serve better than a dozen rule books."
"Rules not understood should have appropriate questions directed to the publisher; disputes with the Dungeon Master are another matter entirely. THE REFEREE IS THE FINAL ARBITER OF ALL AFFAIRS OF HIS OR HER CAMPAIGN."
-- E. Gary Gygax