Product Name: Basic Dungeons & Dragons (Boxed Set)
Publisher: TSR Games
Author: Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
System: Basic Dungeons & Dragons (2nd Edition)
Setting:
Series:
Theme: Epic Fantasy
Type: Core Boxed Set
Link:
I was recently blessed with the handing down of a 2nd Edition, Basic Dungeons & Dragons boxed set. You can understand my excitement at seeing this box, the good shape it was in (the books inside are fully intact while the box has a bit of repair) and the general value (nostalgic, not actual) of what I was being handed. Knowing that my father enjoyed playing Basic Dungeons & Dragons the same way I enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition it quite exciting. So why review a boxed set that is 30 years old? Simple, the Old-School Renaissance is in full-swing and continues to gain popularity. So I wanted to see, first-hand, why.
The Basic Dungeons & Dragons boxed set comes with the core rulebook and an introductory adventure module titled In Search of the Unknown. While it’s marketed as “Introductory”, inside you will find the words “Instructional” which really hit the mark on how the overall content is presented, but more on that later.
For those who are unaware, the Basic Dungeons & Dragons boxed set (also known as the Dungeons & Dragons: Basic Set) takes a very simple (or at least simpler compared to Advanced) look at the Dungeons & Dragons system by focusing on the very core rules and mechanics, simple character creation, and the first three levels of the basic character classes.
CORE RULEBOOK
Basic Dungeons & Dragons starts off very simply, Character Creation. Players are allowed to choose from a very limited number of character types including class and race. The only race options are human, dwarf, elf, and halfling. The only class options are fighter, magic-user, cleric, and thief. Humans are allowed to take any class, dwarves “default” to fighter, elves “default” to a combination of fighter and magic-user, and halflings seemingly “default” to fighter. Players roll the dice to find their character’s ability scores, assign race, assign class (mainly based on the ability scores), and purchase equipment. This is a very simple method of character creation and seems to really speed up the process. This is a definite good thing as it seems all too easy to die while you’re dungeon crawling.
Once you get through character creation, you come upon the guts of the rules and mechanics including movement, encumbrance, traps, experience points, saving throws (amazingly important), spells, and combat. To break this down into some important components, let’s look at the dungeon. The system is designed so that each room is unique in some way with different surprises to keep the players interested and on their toes. This includes traps, doors, secret doors, surprises, and wandering monsters. Included in this is a wandering monster table that allows the Dungeon Master (DM) to simply roll a die and consult the table to determine what type(s) of monster(s) appears. After defeating the monster(s) and gathering the treasure, the DM assigns experience points. Again, all very simple and designed to keep things moving (hopefully) without becoming bogged down.
The next big piece to look at is the to hit and saving roll mechanics. Saving rolls (throws) are very important within Basic Dungeons & Dragons. Not only do they determine whether or not a PC or NPC dodges a magical attack, but they also determine if that character survives certain death-inducing attacks (such as poison). My favorite mechanic is that if you fail your poison saving throw, you die. Yikes! As a note, dwarves and halflings have better saving throws. The next mechanic is the very simplistic to hit mechanic. One of the simplest to hit mechanics I’ve seen as it’s based upon the characters armor (or their “strength” equivalence to armor for monsters). Your characters armor determines what the opponent must roll or exceed in order to score a hit. There’s no need for determining your AC, Will, Reflex, Fortitude, Touch, or Flat-Footed defense, just armor. How can it be anymore basic than that?
From here the book moves on to a fairly substantial bestiary list, which I was not expecting for a Basic Set. Each monster has a corresponding “treasure” entry which relates to the treasure table to make the DMs job quick for determining what lies within that treasure chest being guarded by the monsters.
Finishing the core rulebook is a look at magical weapons and items, quick reference sheets, and an introductory adventure.
OVERALL
With a system called Basic, you don’t always expect much. Basic Dungeons & Dragons does not give you a basic game, but rather presents rules and mechanics in a simple way that allows for quick game-play using just the basic mechanics. It’s designed for fun and exciting dungeon crawls, but doesn’t really lend itself well to storytelling role-play. One thing I could feel while reading through the mechanics is the miniatures war game influence within the system in that most of the game involves movement and combat.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 6 out of 10
I’m not a big fan of the layout and presentation of the core rulebook. The content lacks defined sections but is primarily grouped into defined mechanics and rules. Some of the different groupings could have been moved around to improve the flow of reading, but overall it’s not too bad. The publication also lacks a sizable header area that is equivalent to the footer creating content that is not truly centered and too much content so close to the top edge. The spacing is good but sometimes lacks consistency. While this is all minor stuff and you have to consider the technology of the age, there is still room for improvement. I’m also not a big fan of listing damages as point ranges instead of the die being used to determine the damage amount. While veteran gamers should have no problem understanding this, anyone who is new to this type of game-play or are not familiar with these types of dice may get confused. For a Basic set, this is something I find fairly important. The illustrations are classic, and that’s all I will say.
Mechanics: 9 out of 10
I love these basic mechanics and rules. While there is a lack of mechanics for some of the more cinematic moves one may wish to perform, it’s fairly easy to come up with basic die rolls to make that determination (of success or failure). Reducing the defenses to a single value and giving the DM easy tables to use for creating their dungeon crawl, game-play should be fast, fun, and ferocious (because monsters are scary!).
Desire to Play: 8 out of 10
Here likes a crossroad. I can see how much fun a system like this is for the very casual gaming group or one that focuses heavily on rotating DMs. However, a sustained campaign may get bogged down very quickly with a lack of role-playing mechanics and the thought of “another dungeon crawl?”. If all you want to do is play a few games with a simple character where you hack-and-slash your way through the dungeons, defeating the monsters and collecting the treasures, then Basic Dungeons & Dragons (or rather its subsequent clones) is a great system to play. But if you want a longer campaign, characters with more depth and options, or more role-play, then this is not the answer.
Overall: 8 out of 10
Basic Dungeons & Dragons takes the most basic game-play, a dungeon crawl, and makes it simple. If your character dies, you can probably have a new one in about 30 minutes. Half of the fun may be the actual construction of the dungeon (or haunted mansion if you so desire) or the investigation of it: What creatures do you find? What great treasures do you come away with? Or what secret passageways lead to hidden rooms where the Fountain of Youth can be found? Now I understand why the OSR is popular – Simple gaming for a night of fun with friends, without getting bogged down with too many rules!
INTRODUCTORY MODULE
Included within the Basic Dungeons & Dragons boxed set is an introductory adventure module that also serves as an instructional guide for the untrained DM. This guide includes tips and tactics for things like preparation, experience, effective dungeon mastering, and a detailed look at how to construct a dungeon (given as the actual adventure module). There’s very little else to describe here as the adventure is strictly a dungeon crawl going from room to room and through hallways, passageways, and secret doors fighting monsters and collecting treasure!
OVERALL
I wanted to rate the Introductory Module separately I find it deserves highlighting.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
This Introductory Module utilizes a fantastic layout and presentation with an easy-to-follow flow from beginning to end detailing each room within the dungeon crawl, great definition from section to section and room definition to room definition, wonderful looking illustrations, and a fantastic looking map (with grid) of a HUGE dungeon.
Storyline:
It’s a classic dungeon crawl, there is no real storyline.
Desire to Play: 9 out of 10
For a dungeon crawl, this is a great one. There’s plenty of unique rooms and secret passageways to keep the players interested and moving along without getting bored. They may get lost, but they shouldn’t get bored. While I find its size to be a great asset, some players may find it to big excessive causing the game to get drawn out for too long.
Overall: 9 out of 10
This adventure module shows you exactly what the Basic Dungeons & Dragons game is all about and what a DM can achieve through some creativity and simple mechanics. One of the best parts is that it’s a fairly lengthy adventure and not just a single-session introduction.
Follow Us!