Dungeons & Dragons - Set 1: Basic Rules

This is my take on the boxed rules for the D&D role playing game. Back in 1989, friends at my junior high school introduced me to role playing games. We were a small group, of 3-4 kids, who would get together and play AD&D, Star Wars and other games I can't recall now. I got interested in the games and for my birthday my parents bought me the D&D Basic Rules Set. The red box. The 4th edition. The BECMI edition. It wasn't until I recently dusted off my old boxed sets and began investigating on the web that I realised how many different versions of this game are out there. Okay so I knew about the original by Gygax white box (I'd say that is common knowledge), but not that there had been so many revisions, both prior to and after the BECMI. I haven't looked at the 3rd or 4th editions, and I've never owned anything from the AD&D line (only played the system).

First off, the cover art. Who wouldn't want to immediately start playing after having picked up one of the BECMI boxes, with the wonderful cover art by Elmore! It´s been a good 20 years since I last had these games in my hands, and the covers still look cool. Same goes for the rest of the boxed sets, awesome cover art! Too bad there's not so much more of Elmore's work in the basic books. Anyhow, regarding the books, and how they are structured, I now have mixed feelings twenty years on. I remember when I got the set that all the rules and procedures seemed clear, although I'm sure it was hard to remember all the details (morale, reactions, hit rolls, movement and pursuit etc...). Twenty years on, and having read through the books, it seems very confusing. Granted, I did notice that at several points it's mentioned that players and dungeon masters should consult the books regularly, even during game play. So I guess Gygax et al knew that it was a complicated game system. Nonetheless, a very good effort is made to introduce the player into the world of role playing through the "Your first adventure" which starts as early as page 3! This adventure is followed by a few pages briefly explaining ability scores, combat and saving throws, items and treasure, and how to use the dice. And then its on to another solo adventure, this time you make use of mapping and a combat check-list. All good up to this point. But when it gets to the Characters part (descriptions of each class), it gets tough. There's a lot of repetition from one character class description to another and there is also quite a bit of referencing to other parts of the book or the DMs book. This complicates matters. Why not consolidate the rules on saving throws and experience, for instance? And the character descriptions could have been a bit more detailed, some more background on guilds, cities etc. The following section on character creation is well detailed, as are the sections on playing in a group, although again it got slightly repetitive.

Another gripe with the basic set is the lack of proofreading, with some really careless spelling mistakes. While this doesn't hamper gameplay, it is annoying. The layout of information, especially some tables, is also careless – for example splitting the “Group treasure types table” on page 40 of the Dungeon Masters Rulebook and not having a “Type” column in the bottom table. This makes it very difficult to read. I understand that at the time of writing/printing (in the early 1980s) WYSIWIG wasn't commonplace, but still, more could have been done.

I also feel that there are numerous redundant rules, and many of the rules are overly complex. For instance, after having read the last entry in the DMs rulebook (page 48 “Wandering Monsters”) I was utterly confused. The section explains how to use wandering monsters (i.e. those monsters that are not placed in a specific room or area of a dungeon). It recommends having specific monsters appear at random according to the difficulty of the “dungeon level”, in accordance to the number of hit dice it has (a measure of how difficult it is to slay). The tables provided give information on how many monsters should appear at random, but that this has been “adjusted for both level differences and for wandering vs. placed”. So at the end of the day the DM will have to determine monster numbers according to his own judgement or get bogged down in trying to come up with a fair number of monsters in each of the following situations: in the lair, outside the lair, outside the lair in the wilderness, and as wandering monsters. I understand that the rules, overall, are guidelines to help DMs, but surely there must have been a simpler way to design and stock dungeons?

As the game is so complex, how did new players get a start? I got started in D&D, probably, because the basic set sold itself as an introduction to role-playing. And also, it was what my local gaming shop stocked. And yes, the basic set does come with the introductory solo adventures and detailed step by step instructions but, after a while, you do realize that the system is indeed very (too?) complex. A fellow gamer, The Gentleman Gamer on YouTube (“The Gentleman Gamer: Is Dungeons & Dragons a good entry-level RPG?” http://youtu.be/oK3cZ0s-T-w) states that the system may indeed have a level of complexity that a role playing game should not have or require. He believes that it isn't a good entry system for new players. I couldn't agree more!

Okay, so after having ripped apart the system, why did I waste so many hours of my youth on it? Oddly enough, I think that it was the complexity that kept me interested. Maybe not as a player or a DM during gaming sessions, but more in the preparatory work like designing adventures, working on character development, especially the higher level characters. What was interesting was studying options and rules for  building castles, raising armies, designing expeditions into the unknown. I really did enjoy the complexity…loads of stats, maps…  And it got more complex in the later boxed sets!

I really enjoyed spending time with D&D, even if for me it was more about the stats and detailed environments (Trail Maps, Gazetteers, adventure modules) than actual group gameplay. I think I bought the boxed sets and accessories to have something to read, rather than play. For group games I think I would have liked some other game system (a simpler one). Happy New Year to All!