OD&D Edition Experience: Did/Do you Play BECM/RC D&D? How Was/Is It?

[Voadam]

I played it but only in hybrid. I played through one of the C modules but I think we used AD&D characters and rules mostly, though the domain and war rules from BECMI. I liked my good cleric having his good army forces list while my friend's evil character rallied all the monsters against me, it was neat narratively but the mechanics left me mostly cold. I liked playing a high level caster more than the head of an army.

I also played in an AD&D campaign that used the weapon mastery rules from the Master set and those rocked.

Coming from B/X I was sorely disappointed when I got the Companion Set and saw the thief skill percentages, I had been looking forward to them having essentially super feat abilities. The monsters and other player abilities were enjoyable though including expanding on the demihumans after max level.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I like the Rules Cyclopedia version of the game so much that I feel like TSR canceled the wrong game line back in the day.

It's still in my top 3 favorite games to play.

 

[CleverNickName]

I like the Rules Cyclopedia version of the game so much that I feel like TSR canceled the wrong game line back in the day.

I agree completely. This edition had so much going for it at the time; I'm still a little salty about it being discontinued so quickly, and the edition it was discontinued in favor of.

Anyhoo...

On April 24th, I compiled the survey results and posted them in this thread. Not just the survey results; I also collected and analyzed (to the best of my ability) the comments and "nuance" I requested in the comment section as well. I have linked that survey to the OP in this thread, and in all of the other edition surveys as well.

But discussion continues, and votes are still coming in. I'm continue to collect and update the survey info, and I will be updating the summary soon. Thanks everyone for your (continued) participation! This has been a fun and enlightening exercise in the history of our hobby.

 

[Weiley31]

Never played it. Although now lately I'm curious to play it but using it to modify Lamentations of The Flame Princess by adding the Creature Crucible classes, RC content/rules or reverse engineering the Specialist skill system for the Thief's Tables skills in the RC.

 

[RobJN]

I agree completely. This edition had so much going for it at the time; I'm still a little salty about it being discontinued so quickly, and the edition it was discontinued in favor of.

Anyhoo...

According to sales numbers, I'd say you're right.

 

[Marc_C]

According to sales numbers, I'd say you're right.

The fact that D&D products were easily adaptable to AD&D certainly helped sales. I regularly bought D&D Gazetteers and modules but played them using the AD&D rules. I suspect many players did that.

I wonder how many players stayed with Basic (ECMI) after the first 3 levels and how many switched to AD&D. If a majority of players switched to AD&D past level 3 that could have been the deciding factor to end the Basic line.

 

[Retreater]

Now after a few months of playing B/X by away of OSE, I have to say I'm not enjoying it so far. For me, I came into the hobby with AD&D, so I have no nostalgia for BECMI or its red box. My "red box" was Hero Quest, which I have been playing recently and it's better than I remember.
I think the adventures from B/X are nice, but the system itself has been vastly improved in later editions.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

My group stuck with it until a few of the PCs hit Immortal status (and since I didn't pick up the Immortals set until much, much later, that was the end of advancement). I really don't remember why we made the switch to AD&D.

In hindsight, it doesn't surprise me that the basic D&D line outsold 1e and 2e combined. It was more succinctly written and explained, and honestly, I'm not sure, at that young age (10 or 11), if I could've understood AD&D without first having played and run BECMI.

I wonder how many players stayed with Basic (ECMI) after the first 3 levels and how many switched to AD&D. If a majority of players switched to AD&D past level 3 that could have been the deciding factor to end the Basic line.

 

[Michael Linke]

Currently running a campaign for 6 coworkers. 3 have played D&D before, but only recent editions (3.5, 5). The other 3 have never played a tabletop RPG before.

 

[Michael Linke]

Back in the day, we played AD&D because we assumed Advanced meant Better. Looking back at the two rulesets now, BECMI was years ahead of its time. AD&D 2e is a mess by comparison. I did own a copy of the Rules Cyclopedia, and always wanted to give it a shot at the time, but the players in my group never wanted to.