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

[Zardnaar]

Played it liked it. Played it again in the lead up to 5E would play again or similar clone.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

in my youth, I loved AD&D and mocked B/X.

in my dotage, I have grown to appreciate the elegance of Moldvay and Mentzer.

 

[Michael Linke]

What I came to realize as I grew older was that the game ends up being ABOUT whatever it is the rules are most focused on. As we progressed through editions of AD&D and into d20 system, the game very much became a game about Creating Characters and Killing things. BECMI's ruleset focuses much more attention on the things I didn't realize I liked: exploring dungeons and wilderness, negotiating non-combat resolutions, building castles and ruling dominions, and basically punts on the part that I actually care the least about, character creation.

 

[Shadow Over Mystara]

That one. That red box right there.

That's where it all started for me.

Same here. A big part of me saying this is nostalgia, but I still think it's the best cover in D&D history.

I eventually got the Expert and Companion sets as well, and later the masterpiece that is the Rules Cyclopedia. The artwork and presentation is amazing throughout the entire line. I also had some original D&D and 1e books around the same time, but it's Mentzer's Basic that I'm really nostalgic about, imperfections and all. I would love a slightly more modern take on it.

What I came to realize as I grew older was that the game ends up being ABOUT whatever it is the rules are most focused on. As we progressed through editions of AD&D and into d20 system, the game very much became a game about Creating Characters and Killing things. BECMI's ruleset focuses much more attention on the things I didn't realize I liked: exploring dungeons and wilderness, negotiating non-combat resolutions, building castles and ruling dominions, and basically punts on the part that I actually care the least about, character creation.

Such a great point. Somehow managing my inventory excited me a lot more back then, maybe because the game had less focus on other things that are more common now. Making sure my character had enough rations, rope, torches, etc. WAS the game in a lot of ways, not something to be glossed over. And I say that as someone who loves many of the features and options available in recent editions.

The RPG that reminds me most of that old school approach is Knave, even though I haven't had the chance to play it yet. Inventory management might be minutiae at times, especially if you're more in the mood for a beer & pretzels game or a high fantasy epic, but there's also an elegant simplicity to it.

 

[Remathilis]

Played and DMed it, have mixed feelings about it.

It was my first D&D and I didn't have much to compare it to (prior to that, my RPG experience was JRPG video games like Final Fantasy). I enjoyed it, but I can distinctly recall the allure of some of the options that AD&D had (class and race separate! Bards! Rangers!) and I was excited to move on from Basic to 2nd edition. However, in hindsight, I can now see the simplistic beauty of Basic that I didn't quite understand or enjoy when I was 12.

For me, Basic felt like a classic fantasy novel. It felt inspired more by young fantasy novels like The Black Cauldron or the Hobbit than AD&D's more "serious" pulpy stuff such as Conan or Chthulu. It was very archetypal: knights and wizards, castles and kings, dark wizards and their evil hordes. The mechanics were more steamlined-ish while still being compatible (and thus a few AD&D modules slipped into our play) and the monster selection excised some of the darker or weird-fantasy elements (demons, devils and mind-flayers) while giving greater prominence to dragons, undead, giants, and various animal-races. It's hard to quantify, but I can say it had a unique feel to it that felt more light, hopeful, heroic, and fantastical compared to AD&D.

That said, I'm sure part of my feelings are mixed up with memories of playing with the people I played with; where PC death was fudged out of existence and things like elves, trolls, and dragons were interesting and not old-hat. I'm not sure I'd want to go back to those mechanics per se, but I would love to see a setting for 5e try to capture the aesthetic of that 80's and early 90's high fantasy.

 

[Dr Magister]

I ran my first ever game of BECMI last night (RC version). I'd built and stocked a dungeon, and my players got through four rooms and two random encounters. We stopped as a third random encounter (4 orcs) turned up.

The party is two fighters, a thief, one retainer (also a fighter) and two humans they met as a random encounter who they got to sign on as hirelings.

It's fun, and I'm enjoying the boardgamey/wargamey-ness of it, but it's also making me appreciate a lot about 5e in terms of standardised mechanics.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Literally just started a BECMI game using the In Search of Adventure compilation module today!
Been hankering for a blast of simpler times, and as Red Box was my introduction to RPGs (after Fighting Fantasy game books), I remember loving how you could focus on the RP due to the lack of complexity.
Rolled up old school 3d6 in order; in the end I allowed one player to reroll all stats as none were above 10, and for everyone to swap two stats with each other.
Got two dwarves who can barely read, an Elf with Strength 6, and a Fighter.
So far, one fight with 4 goblins; gobboes dead in one round but two PCs down to 2 HP too! Slammed the door on a pair of wolves in a “f—- that naughty word” style.
Love Karameikos!
I hope this campaign continues and lasts for a while

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Oh, should’ve added; played Basic and Expert, nudged Companion but I’d got AD&D (because it was ‘grown up’ by just before then so switched but honestly never played a fraction as much AD&D as BEC(MI).

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

One other thing: the thing that killed AD&D for me, was the Forgotten Realms box set. I was so excited for it and then I read through the books and you know what, it felt like I was reading someone else’s campaign (which is, let’s face it, basically what it was). It didn’t feel ‘mine’ and I in turn felt both not cool enough (the backstories of the major NPCs screamed how Good at Roleplaying these folk were) and not invested enough (it felt like homework I had to revise).
Perhaps because it came in one big brain dump, but it daunted me, unlike the slow uncovering of the world that B/E/C sets had afforded me.
Either way, though I still have my grey box FR to this day, I have never ever played in it (until 5e, but only by default - even then, every time I’ve finished the starter set adventure I’ve winged it or moved on to an AD&D module - When a Star Falls).
In the same way, I have dropped entirely out of watching Critical Role after series 1 was halfway through.
I want to dine on the steak, not stand outside and watch someone else through the window.
YMMV

 

[Gorg]

In the same way, I have dropped entirely out of watching Critical Role after series 1 was halfway through.
I want to dine on the steak, not stand outside and watch someone else through the window.
YMMV

BINGO!!!! I never got the popularity of gaming channels based on watching other people play video games, etc. Heck- it used to bore me to tears when my friends would hook up the nintendo and play. ZZZZZ. Got a buddy now trying to get me into D&D online (or whatever it's called) on Steam, but it just doesn't interest me. No cheesy video game graphics can compete with theater of the mind, lol.

Watching another group play D&D is, imo, worse than no D&D at all, lol. I want to play, too- dammit!!!!

I actually did play BECMI briefly. I had the Moldvay/Cook sets, but the other players and DM had the BECMI Basic sets. Worked just fine. That was the heart of our version of D&D. As we got our hands on various AD&D books, we just expanded our game to include the stuff we liked- same for 2E AD&D. I don't think we ever set out to play a specific edition strait- it was always the core game with our house rules and extras from the various books. They worked well enough together that whatever PHB you had access to to roll up a character was fine. We could adjust the niggles later. (like saves- which they often shuffled around between editions)

There was a simple beauty to the B/X BECMI rules- they just worked well, and only did what they needed to. The rest was up to US! That's essentially how we played forever after, no matter what edition.

I always ended up playing a fighter/magic user when I played an Elf- because that's what I was accustomed to thinking one was, lol.