Fantasy Fridays: Hyperborea 3rd Edition

 Welcome to my first proper Fantasy Fridays. For this first one I want to feature one of my favorite fantasy RPGs. It is Jeffrey Talanian's Hyperborea RPG, now in its 3rd Edition.

I keep coming back to this game time and time again for good reason, it is just a fantastic game.

This game has the feel of first Edition AD&D in a "Dying Earth" style setting. It is part Jack Vance's Dying Earth, but a greater part of Clark Ashton Smith's "Zothique." The world is old, cold, and dying.

The first edition was a boxed set of three books, and the second edition was a single massive tome. The third edition is now two separate books.

I have all three and have reviewed them all.  I'll throw some links below to the reviews and other characters, here is the the latest, the third edition, which sits nicely on my shelves with my AD&D books.

HYPERBOREA Player's Manual

PDF and Hardcover. 324 pages. Color cover, black & white art with full color art pages.

For my review, I am going to be considering the hardcover from the Kickstarter and the PDFs from DriveThruRPG.

The book starts with the credits, acknowledgments, and dedication to John Eric Holmes, the author/editor of the "Holmes" Basic edition. 

Chapter 1: Introduction this covers what this game is and what RPGs in general are. This is important and worth a read since it sets the stage for what sort of sub-genre this game covers, "swords, sorcery, and weird science-fantasy."  The classics of Swords and Sorcery are covered here briefly and how they add to the feeling of this game. This is pure Howard, Lovecraft, and Smith.

Chapter 2: Character Generation covers character creation. This chapter is brief covering of what you can do with the five chapters.  This also has a listing of the common "facts" known to every character. There is a section on leveling up. 

Chapter 3: Statistics or the "rolling up characters" chapter. The six recognizable methods are presented here. The most common of course is Method III; roll 4d6 drop the lowest.  We also have the same six attributes we have always had.

Each class has a "Fighting Ability" (FA) and a "Casting Ability" (CA) which relates to attacks. So yes, even magicians can get a little better in combat as they go up in level.  It's a great little shorthand and works great.  So a 4th level Fighter has a fighting ability of 4. A 4th level magician still only has a fighting ability of 1 and a cleric 3 and thief 3.  Subclasses can and do vary.

AC is descending (like old school games), BUT with the Fighting Ability stat it could be converted to an ascending AC easily.

Chapter 4: Classes We still have our Basic Four; Fighter, Magician, Cleric, and Thief.  Each also gets a number of subclasses.  Fighters get Barbarian, Berserker, Cataphract, Huntsman, Paladin, Ranger, and Warlock.  The Magician has Cryomancer, Illusionist, Necromancer, Pyromancer, and Witch. The Cleric has the Druid, Monk, Priest, Runegraver, and Shaman.  Finally, the Thief has the Assassin, Bard, Legerdemainist, Purloiner, and Scout.  

Each subclass is very much like its parent classes with some changes.  The classes look pretty well balanced.

Chapter 5: Background This covers all the things about the character that "happened" before they were characters.

Races are dealt with first. They include Amazons, Atlanteans, Esquimaux, Hyperboreans, Ixians, Kelts, Kimmerians, Lemurians, Picts, and Vikings along with the catch-all "Common" race of man.  No elves or dwarves here. Physique is also covered. 

Alignment is a simpler affair of Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Evil, and Neutral.

Along with race, there are various languages the characters can learn/know.  There are also gods here, an interesting mix of Greek, Lovecraftian, Norse, and Smith gods. 

There are background skills and weapon skills. Though I misread "charcoaler" as "chocolatier," and now I want a character with this background. 

Chapter 6: Equipment Or the "let's go shopping" chapter.  If you missed the "to hit modifiers vs. armor types/AC" in AD&D then I have a treat for you. Weapons here are more detailed than they were in previous editions of HYPERBOREA; or at least more detailed than my memory of the older editions.  Just checked, this one is much more detailed. 

Chapter 7: Sorcery This is our spell chapter but it also covers alchemy. Spells are split up by character class. Spells are limit to 6th level since classes are all limited to 12 levels. Spell descriptions are all alphabetical. This covers about 75 pages.  

Chapter 8: Adventure. This chapter improves over the previous editions. It covers all sorts of adventure topics like hirelings and henchmen, climbing, doors, nonstandard actions, time and movement.

Chapter 9: Combat. All sorts of combat topics are covered. Critical hits, unarmed combat, mounted combat and more. Damage and madness are also covered. The madness section is small and not really designed to mimic the real world. 

Appendix A: Name Generator. Pretty useful, really, to get the right feel of the game. Afterall "Bob the Barbarian" isn't going to cut it here. 

Appendix B: Lordship and Strongholds. What each class and subclass gains as a Lord or Lady of their chosen strongholds.  There is a great section on creating strongholds as well.

Appendix C: Cooperative Gaming. This covers how well to play in a group.

Appendix D: OGL Statement. This is our OGL statement.

These appendices (with the exception of D) are all new. 

There is also a great index.

So I will admit I was unsure about backing the 3rd Edition of HYPERBOREA.  I have the 1st and 2nd Editions and they have served me well over the last few years.  This edition brings enough new material to the table that it really is the definitive version of the game. 

The leatherette covers are really nice and I am happy I waited for it. Since the Player's and Ref's books are now separate, I could, if I wanted, pick up another Player's book.

The art is great. There are some reused pieces and still plenty of new ones. It uses the art well and helps set the tone of the game.

HYPERBOREA Referee's Manual

PDF and Hardcover. 308 pages. Color cover, black & white art with full-color art pages.

Chapter 10: Introduction Again, this is our introduction this time for the Game Master or Referee's point of view. What the Referee does for the game and more. 

Chapter 11: Refereeing This get's into the Game Mastering process in detail. This covers grant experience for the characters and setting up the campaign. 

Chapter 12: Bestiary Our monster section and truthfully one of my favorites. The expected ones are here, but there are also plenty of new ones.  This covers roughly 130 pages.  There are interesting new takes on some classic "D&D" monsters, plus many new ones like a bunch of new "lesser" and "sublunary" demons. The format is most similar to Basic or Labyrinth Lord, and it is full of the usual suspects with some Lovecraftian Horrors, and even remnants of alien and bygone ages. "Demons" are here, but no devils. 

Chapter 13: Treasure Covers treasure types and magical treasure. Among the magic items are things like Radium Pistols and other sc-fi artifacts. Very pulpy. It also includes some rules on scribing spell and protection scrolls. There is even a small section on Alchemy in Hyperborea. Very useful to have really.

Chapter 14: Gazetteer.  The lands are a pastiche of Howard, Vance, Lovecraft, and Smith.  If these names mean anything to you, then you know or have an idea, of what you are going to get here.  This section has been greatly expanded from the previous editions. Included here are the gods again and a little more on religion.  Basically, you get the idea that gods are either something you swear by (or to) or get sacrificed to by crazy cultists.  So yeah, you know I am a fan.

Appendix A: Weather in Hyperborea. Likely more important here than, say, other game worlds. Weather in Hyperborea is dangerous. 

Appendix B: Hazards of Hyperborea. There are horrible things waiting for you in Hyperborea and they are not all monsters or the weather. 

Appendix C: Waterborne Expeditions. Covers waterborne adventures and combat. 

Appendix D: Warfare and Siege. Your characters have built their strongholds. Now someone wants to know it down.  Here are the rules.

Appendix E: OGL Statement. The OGL statement for this book.

Since the 2nd edition, nearly every aspect of this game has been expanded, some sections more than others, but it is a great upgrade.

The art throughout is very evocative of the setting. Mighty thewed barbarians, shining knights, elderly and eldritch wizards. 

Larina Nix for Hyperborea 3rd Edition

A dedicated witch class? Yes please! That means I want to try out Larina here. Now I have tried other witch characters with the Hyperborea rules, but to build my iconic witch is something of a full test for me and a game. 

Larina Nix

Female Kelt Witch 12th level

Alignment: Neutral (Lawful)

ST 9 [+0 +0 2:6 4%]
DX 12 [+0 +0 3:6 4%]
CN 12 [+0 +0 75% 2:6 4%]
IN 18 [+3 95%, Bonus Spells 1, 2, 3, 4]
WS 18 [+2]
CH 18 [+3 12 +1]

Age: 30s
AC: 1 (Cloak of Darkness, Bracers of Defense)
HD: d4
hp: 27
FA: 5
CA: 12
#Attacks: 1/1
Damage: 1d4+3 (dagger+3), 1d6 (staff)
SV: 11 (+2 Transformation, +2 Sorcery)
ML: 12

Abilities
Alchemy, Brew Decoction, Familiar, Read Magic, Scroll Use, Scroll Writing, Sorcery, Dance of Beguilement, Effigy, Henchmen, Broom Enchantment, Ladyship, Witch's Apprentice

Spells
First level (5+1): Charm Person, Detect Magic, Mending, Shocking Grasp, Sleep, Write Spell (Charm Person in ring)
Second level (5+1): Bless, Extrasensory Perception, Hold Person, Identity, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shatter, (Ungovernable Hideous Laughter in ring)
Third level (4+1): Dispel Magic, Phantasm, Tongues, Witch Fire, Wind Wall, (Starlight in ring)
Fourth level (4+1): Gylph of Warding, Moonlight, Mirror Mirror, Sorcerer Eye, (Transfer Wounds in ring)
Fifth level (3): Anti-magic Shell, Control Winds, Shadow Conjuration

Sixth level (2): Control Weather, See

Languages: Common, Keltic (Goidelic), Hellenic (Greek), Old Norse, Speak with the Dead, Speak with Nature Spirits
Size: M (Height: 5'4", 125 lbs)
Move: 40
Saving Throw Modifiers: Transformation +2, Sorcery +2
Secondary Skill: Scribe
God: Lunaqqua

Flying Cat ("Cotton Ball"): AL N; SZ S; MV 10 (Fly 80); DX 15; AC 7; HD 1/4 (hp 5); #AT 3/1 (claw, claw, bite); D 1/1/1; SV 17; ML 5; XP 11

Normal Gear
Clothing, daggers (2), backpack, woolen blanket, chalk, ink and quill, polished steel mirror, incendiary oil, parchment (4), soft leather pouch (2), small sack (2), tinderbox, torches (2), wineskin (wine), writing stick, iron rations (one week), spellbook (contains all prepared spells), 5 gp, 15 sp, gems (100gp)

Magic Items
Bracers of Defense, Ring of Spell Storing (4 spells), Ring of Telekinesis (100 lbs), Wand of Magic Missiles, Wand of Lightning Bolts, Bonded Broom, Cloak of Shadows, Gem of Brightness, Horn of Blasting (Thor), Copper Skull Necklace 

I like this version. So who is this Larina? This is Larina at the End of Time. She has all the memories of her past lives and often gets lost in them. Not really remembering who, or when, she is. She lives alone in her witch's cottage with her, yet unnamed apprentice. This is not the Witch-Queen Larina, this is something lesser and far older.

She would make for a great NPC for the next time I run this game.

Who Should Play This Game?

Anyone that enjoyed First Edition AD&D but liked the level limits of B/X D&D. Humans abound here, so if you like playing anything other than a human, you might not have as much fun. Also, the world is bleak and dying. This is not a time of heroes to make for a better day; better days are past. This is a time to survive against brutal odds and in the face of an uncaring universe. 

Also, play this if you loved the works of Jack Vance, H.P. Lovecraft, and especially Clark Ashton Smith. 

There is also a pretty good online community for this game, so support and advice are often a click or two away.

This is one of the games that I play the least but want to play the most. I love everything about it. It combines so many of my favorite things in one game that I am hard pressed to think of something I would have done differently.  Well...maybe go to level 14 so I could map it onto my Basic-era games plans a bit better.  

Links

• NorthWind Adventures Page (Home of Hyperborea)
• DriveThruRPG page
• Discord
• Facebook
• Xitter
• Instagram
• Reviews
• Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, 1st Edition
• Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, 2nd Edition
• HYPERBOREA 3rd Edition Player's Manual
• HYPERBOREA 3rd Edition Referee's Manual
• Other Products
• Plays Well With Others
• 2nd Edition
• BASSH, Basic Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
• Characters
• Miriam, The Witch-Queen of Yithorium
• Red Sonja
• Skylla
• Tanith, 2nd Edition
• Tanith, 3rd Edition
• Xaltana

Companion Set Dungeons & Dragons

NOTE: My oldest has been running his Sunday group through all the editions of D&D. I have been planning on doing something with the Cook/Marsh Expert set, but schedules being a thing I have had to adapt and now do a Companion-level adventure.

One thing led to another, and now I have a new, different project on my hands. 

Today is my "Day 1" of it. The day I start pulling together research notes into a draft. 

I put this post together as a set of notes and research from previous posts. 

No. I am not doing my own Companion set. As I have outlined below we have plenty very good ones.

D&D Companion Set

The Companion Edition of D&D was one of the near-mythical books for me growing up.  As I mentioned yesterday that I began my game playing with the Basic/Expert, known today as B/X, sets from the early 80s.  The expert took the game from the 3rd to the 14th level, and the Companion book was then going to take the game from the 14th to the 36th level.  Even though I knew of AD&D at the time, I thought the Companion book would be the way to go. So I waited for it.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Finally, I gave up waiting and dove into AD&D instead, leaving Basic D&D behind.  Eventually, a Companion Rules Set came out.  But it was for the new Mentzer-edited Basic set (now called BECMI), and I no longer had any interest in it, having discovered the world could also have Assassins, half-orcs, and 9 alignments.

Fast forward to the Old School Revolution/Renaissance/Resurgence/Recycled and I have re-discovered the Basic sets (all of them) in their imperfect glories.  And I am not the only one that must have felt a little gipped by not getting a Companion book for B/X.

Jonathan Becker over at B/X Blackrazor designed his own Companion rules. If it is not exactly what the companion would be, it is really close.

Soon after, I managed to pick up my copy of the Companion Set.  So join me on my exploration of the new worlds of the D&D Companion Set.  But a warning, here there be Dragons!

D&D Companion Set (1984)

I don't think it is too much to say that the Companion Set contains some of the most interesting changes and updates to the D&D than any other product TSR had published to date.  I will talk more about these in the review, but first a look back.

I have eagerly awaited the Companion set for D&D ever since I got my Expert Set, which is by B/X Moldvay/Cook Basic and Expert Set.

The Companion Set, as promised by the Expert Set rules, mentions that characters will now go to 36th level and there will be a way to cure undead level drain!  Such promises. Such hope!

D&D Cook/Marsh Expert Set, page X8

I did manage to read it once.  I was in college, and it was at Castle Perilous Games in Carbondale. Of course, AD&D 2nd Ed was the new hotness at the time, and I had no desire to look backward.  What I saw, though, at the time did not impress me.  The entire Mentzer set at the time (AT THE TIME, mind you) made me think of it as D&D for little kids (now I see it differently).

Looking back now, I see I made a BIG MISTAKE.
Well...maybe.  I would not have traded my AD&D time for anything, but I wish I had given the BECMI rules more chance.

Now I can fix that.

Today I am going to cover the BECMI Companion Rules.  I am going to cover both the DriveThruRPG PDFs and my physical box set.

The Companion Set follows the rules as presented in the BECMI Basic and Expert books. But unlike those books, the Companion Rules sets off into uncharted directions and gives us some new material.

While the claim can be made that Frank Mentzer only edited and organized the Basic and Expert rules based on previous editions, the Companion set is all his.  While there may be some influences from earlier editions such as Greyhawk (with it's 22nd level cap [wizards] and some monsters) and AD&D (some monsters and the multiverse) this really feels new.

Companion Player's Book 1
The player's book is 32 pages with color covers and black & white interiors. Art by Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley.
Opening this book we get a preface with a dedication to Brian Blume. A nice touch and yeah he is often forgotten in the tale of D&D's earliest years.  The preface also firmly situates us in time. We 10 years out from when D&D was first published. The design goals of this book, and consequently this series, have never been more firmly stated.  This is an introduction to the D&D game and designed to be fun, playable, and true to the spirit of D&D.  It certainly feels like this is the successor to the Original D&D game; maybe more so than AD&D.
One page in and we are off to a great start.

The title and table of contents page tell us that this game is now "by" Frank Mentzer, based on D&D by Gygax and Arneson.  As we move into the book proper we get a feel for the "changing game."  Characters are more powerful and once difficult threats are no more than a nuisance or exercise.  The characters are ready to take their place among the rulers of the world.  This makes explicit something I always felt AD&D only played lip service to.

We get some new weapons that have different sorts of effects like knocking out an opponent or entangling them. We also get some unarmed combat rules.    Now, these feel they really should have been added to the Basic or Expert rule sets. Maybe they were but were cut for space or time.

Up next is Stronghold management from the point of view of the player characters.  Again here D&D continues its unwritten objective of being educational as well as fun.  More on this in the DM's book.

Character Classes
Finally, about 11 pages in we get to the Character updates.  Here all the human character classes get tables that go to level 25; again maybe a nod to Greyhawk's level 20-22 caps, and caps of 7th level spells (clerics) and 9th level spell (magic-users).  Clerics get more spells and spell levels.  The big upgrade comes in the form of their expanded undead turning table.  Clerics up to 25th level and monsters up to Liches and Special.  This mimics the AD&D Clerics table; I'd have to look at them side by side to see and differences.  One difference that comes up right away is the increase in undead monsters.  There are phantoms, haunts, spirits, and nightshades.  Nightshades, Liches, and "Special" will be detailed in the Master Set.

Something that is big pops up in the cleric listing.  A Neutral cleric of level 9 or higher may choose to become a Druid! Druids only resemble their AD&D counterparts in superficial ways.  They have similar spells, but the BECMI Druid cannot change shape.  It is an interesting implementation of the class, and I'll discuss it in detail.

Arguably it is fighters that get the biggest boost in the Companion Set.  They gain the ability to have multiple attacks per round now and other combat maneuvers such as smashing, pairing and disarming. This is a big deal since they got so little in the Expert set. Fighters can also "specialize" into three paths depending on alignment.  There are Knights, Paladins, and Avengers.  Each type gives the fighter something a little extra.  Paladins are not very far off from their AD&D counterparts and Avengers are as close to an Anti-Paladin as D&D will get until we get to the Blackguards.

Conversely, Magic-users do not get as much save from greater spells. We do get the restriction that any spell maxes out 20dX damage.

Thieves can now become Guildmasters or Rogues.  A name that will come up more and more with future editions of D&D.

BECMI "Prestige Classes?"
The Druid, Knight, Avenger, Paladin, and, to a lesser degree, the Magist and Rogues represent what could arguably be called the first Prestige Classes to D&D.  Their inclusion predates the publication of the Thief-Acrobat in the AD&D Unearthed Arcana.

Prestige Classes are classes that one can take after meeting certain requirements in other "base" classes in D&D 3.x and Pathfinder. Often at 10th level, but can occur anytime the character meets the requirements.  This concept is later carried on into D&D 4 with their "Paragon Paths" (chosen at 11th level) and even into D&D 5 with their subclasses (chosen at 2nd level).

The BECMI Avenger and Paladin are the best examples of these working just like the Prestige Classes will in 15 more years. This is interesting since it also means other classes can be added to the basic 4 core ones using the same system.  An easy example is the Thief-Acrobat from UA or even the Ranger from AD&D.  Though in this version the problem lies in the alignment system.  Rangers are supposed to be "good" for example.

Demi-Humans
Demi-humans may not advance any more in level, but they are not idle.  This is also the area of the Companion Set that I most often go wrong.  Each demi-human race has a Clan Relic, and some demi-humans could be in charge of these clan relics, making them very powerful. There are also clan rulers, and they are also detailed.  What does all that mean?  It means there is a good in-game reason why demi-humans do not advance in levels anymore.  They are much more dedicated to their clans than humans. So, after some time, they are expected to return home to take up their responsibilities for the clan.

That is not to say that these characters do not advance anymore.  Each demi-human race can still gain "Attack Ranks" as if they are still leveling up.  They don't gain any more HP, but they can attack as if they are higher-level fighters.  They also gain some of the fighter's combat options. Each class gets 11 such rank-levels.   It seems to split some hairs on "no more levels" but whatever.

We end with a map of the expanding Known World.  This is the continent of Brun of Mystara, but we don't know that yet.  But I will discuss that later this week.

This book is a lot more than I expected it to be and that is a good thing.

Companion DM's Book 2
The DM's book is 64 pages with color covers and black & white interiors. Art by Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley.
There is a lot to this book.  First, we get to some General Guidelines that cover the higher levels of play and planning adventures accordingly. There is sadly not a lot here.
We follow up with Part 2: The Fantasy World.  This continues some of the discussion of stronghold management and dominion management as well.  Now here is quite a bit of good information on what happens, or could happen, in a dominion. 
This section also includes the hidden secret of the D&D BECMI series.  The War Machine Mass Combat system.

War Machine
Around the same time, TSR also developed the BattleSystem Mass Combat system.  The two are largely incompatible with each other.  I always thought it was odd that two systems that do essentially the same things were created and incompatible.   Later I learned that D&D BECMI lived in what we like to call a "walled garden" in the business.  It was out there doing it's own thing while the "real business" of AD&D was going on.  The problem was that D&D Basic was outselling AD&D at this point.  This was not the first time that TSR would woefully misunderstand their customers, and sadly, it was not the last time either.
War Machine is elegant compared to BattleSystem. I am not saying it is simple, but the work involved is not difficult, and I am happy to say it looks like it will work with any edition of D&D.

The Multiverse 
A big part of any D&D experience is the Multiverse.  This section allows the DMs and Players to dip their toes into the wider Multiverse which includes the Ethereal Plane and the Elemental Planes.

Space is also given to the discussion on aging, damage to magic items, demi-human crafts, poison, and more. We also get all of our character tables.

Monsters
About halfway through the book, we reach the monster section. Many familiar AD&D faces are now here, though a bit of digging will show that many of these are also from OD&D up to the Greyhawk supplement. Most notable are the beholder, larger dragons, druids (as monsters), and many elemental types. Monsters are split into Prime Plane and Other Planes. 

Among the monsters featured are the aforementioned Beholder, larger Dragons, and bunches of new Undead, like haunts, druj, ghosts and more.  A few that caught my attention are the Gargantua (gigantic monsters) and Malfera.  The Malfera REALLY caught my attention since they are from the "Dimension of Nightmares."  This is more fodder for my Mystara-Ravenloft connection.
Monsters from the Other Planes focus on the Elemental planes.

Treasure
Lots of new treasures and magic items.

Adventures
There are three short adventure or adventure hooks for companion-level characters.

All in all the Companion Set is full and had many things I did not think it had given my very casual relationship to it over the years.  Reading it now and in-depth for the very first time I see there is a lot I could have used in my games back then.

Other Companion Books

I was not the only one that waited. 

Others came up with their own Companion rules for the B/X Style Basic D&D instead of the BECMI Style Basic D&D. Now...let's be 100% honest here. The differences between BX and BECMI are so subtle that only a huge nerd like me cares. But then again, I was not the only one.

I mentioned Jonathan Becker's B/X Companion above and I reviewed it a while back. It compares favorably to the BECMI Companion from TSR, and it fits the look and feel of the BX books well.

There was also the Companion Expansion from Barrataria Games, which was also quite good. It was more of a move from BX Basic D&D closer to AD&D, which is fine. It is also free, and all the content was released 100% under the Open Gaming License, so that was a nice plus in my mind.

And proving that sometimes the wait is good, Stephen R. Marsh, the Marsh of the Cook/Marsh Expert Set, is working on his own Companion set.  So I can have all three to satisfy that desire the 12-year-old-me had. 

It just goes to show how active the old-school D&D communities still are.

Some part of me still wants a proper B/X Companion set from 1982. Maybe such a thing existed in an alternate universe. But that is also a universe where the BECMI sets didn't exist, and given how popular Mentzer's red box was, I am unsure how it would have changed D&D as a whole in the mid- to late 1980s.

What Role Does the Companion Serve?

One has to ask. What does the Companion rules actually do? Or even what role does it serve?

In many ways, the Companion rules (and here on out, regardless of which one I mean) represent the fork in the road where D&D splits from AD&D.  With the continuum of OD&D to Holmes Basic to Moldvay and then Mentzer Basic, you could still go on to AD&D (largely as Gary would have liked). The Companion rules then are the path of no return. Once you head down that path there is no turning back for AD&D.  So the Companion needs to fill the same gaps that AD&D fills, but it doesn't need to do them in the same way.

For me, any discussion about the various merits of AD&D vs Basic-era D&D has to include a conversation about how the Companion (and Masters) handle various AD&D topics. The only problem is that no Companion development ever happened in a vacuum. 

Things like Druids, stronger monsters (notably elementals), the outer planes and their inhabitants, are all slightly different in the Companion rules. But rare are the entirely new elements. Granted, the BECMI Companion often has new monsters and the War Machine. The Companion Expansion from Barrataria Games was designed to fill in the gaps B/X had compared to AD&D. It is hard to throw off the shadow of AD&D. Though I would like to see something new. Something that AD&D would have to convert over from D&D for a change. But likely that time has long since passed. 

Should Classes Be Different?

One of the ideas floated by the BECMI Companion is that there are some classes, the Druid is my prime example, that act like Basic Prestige Classes. So, a neutral 9th-level cleric could now be considered a Druid if that is what the player wanted. Does that mean a Fighter then could be something else? Knights, Avengers, and Paladins are mentioned in BECMI. But would Rangers, Barbarians, and Cavaliers be out of the question?

While I would not want to recreate the Prestige Class bloat of the early 2000s, the idea is an intriguing one. Would my witch even be just a type of magic-user, then? 

Should Monsters Be Different?

My go-to here is the humble succubus. In Becker's Companion, she is a 7 HD monster. In BECMI, granted in the Immortal Rules, she is a whopping 15 HD (Whispering Demon in the Immortals boxed set). In Eldritch Wizardry (where she is introduced) and in AD&D she is 6+6 HD.  Obviously, for characters 15th level and higher, a single 6 or 7 HD succubus is not really a challenge unless she is played correctly in a non-combat role.

Other times, we get more powerful dragons and more powerful elementals. A 15 HD succubus may be a bad idea, but the 15 HD Queen of Succubi is better.

The threats need to be targeted to the level of the characters involved. 

Gives me a lot to think about.

Monstrous Mondays: Monsters in Miniature

 I picked up the new D&D 5.5 last week, I also picked up some of the new 50th Anniversary minis and the next two Monster Manual classic minis. 

The packs come with one large and three medium or small minis. We lucked out and got a Pit Fiend and Goblin in both 1st and 5th Edition versions. I will admit, I do like the 1st Edition versions more.

We also got the David Sutherland III Red Dragon from the Holmes Basic set. That one is sold separately.

I also picked up two sets of Monster Manual minis. Sets K-N and O-R.

Lizard Man

Lich

Merman and Mind Flayer

Minotaur

Naga (and photobombing Otyugh)

Mummy

Otyugh and old-school Owlbear

Pseudo-Dragon

Quasit

Remormaz

Rust Monster

Roper

Rakshasa

So pretty happy with those.

AND last night one of gamers my son's regular group brought me this!

LEGO Tasha! She comes with cauldron, hat and a spell book with what can only be Tasha's Hideous Uncontrollable Laughter.

I'll have to compare her to all my other Tasha/Iggwilv minis.

#RPGaDAY2024 RPG that is easy to use

 When it gets right down to it, you can't get more basic than Basic D&D.

Like many of the RPGs I am going to talk about this month, this one is so easy that everyone can go from no knowledge to playing their new characters in a matter of minutes.  I know people have very fond memories of the Mentzer set and I personally got my start with the Holmes Basic set, but it is this one I consider my first "real" D&D.

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I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

#RPGaDAY Most often played RPG

 I don't think this one is even a contest. That would be Basic-era D&D. 

What treasures in such a small box!

The Moldvay Basic set was more than just an introductory set to D&D. It was an introduction to a hobby, a lifestyle. The rules were simply written and organized. They were not simple rules, and re-reading them today, I marvel that we all conquered this stuff at age 10-11. It may have only covered the first three levels of character growth, but they were a quality three.

I bought the Expert Set for my birthday in 1982. For the longest time, that was all I needed. Eventually, I moved on to AD&D. I discovered those Little Brown Books and even picked up my own real copy of Holmes Basic. I love those games, and I love playing them still, but they never quite had the same magic as that first time I opened up that box and saw what treasures were inside. I did not have to imagine how my characters felt when they discovered some long-lost treasure. I knew.

Today, I still go back to Tom Moldvay's classic Basic book. It is my yardstick for measuring any OSR game. Almost everything I need is right there, just waiting for me.

Holmes Basic, also called the "Blue Book," was my start. Sort of. The rules I used back when I began were a hodge-podge of Holmes Basic and AD&D, particularly the Monster Manual. This was fine, really, since, at the time, 1979, these game lines were a lot closer to each other. I have talked about this in my "1979 Campaign" posts.

Edited by Dr. John Eric Holmes, this book took the original D&D books and re-edited them to a single cohesive whole, though limited to 3rd level, as a means to get people introduced to the D&D game.  The Original Rules (see "O" day!) were an eclectic collection of rules that grew out of Gary Gygax's and Dave Arneson's playstyles. Debate continues on who did what, and I am not going to provide anything close to a definitive answer, but the game sold well but had a steep learning curve to others who were not part of that inner circle or came from War Games. The Holmes Edition attempted to fix that.

Mentzer Basic, or the BECMI (Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, Immortals) rules, was published after the Moldvay Basic, Cook/Marsh Expert sets. The rules between the B/X and BECMI rules are largely superficial (I will discuss this more), and the BECMI rules go past level 14 into the Companion rules (more on that tomorrow).

There is evidence that the Mentzer Basic set, also known as the "Red Box," was one of the best-selling editions of D&D ever, even outselling the flagship line of AD&D at times. It was also sold in more countries and more languages than any other version of D&D. If you recall Sunday's post, the D&D Basic line was in play for 22 years, covering the same time period as AD&D 1st and 2nd Edition rules. And it is still widely popular today. 

Basic books from England, the USA, and Spain

Basic D&D has great online support regarding books from DriveThruRPG and other "Old School Renaissance" creators. But it is an older game. One of the oldest in fact. So, some things made perfectly good sense back then that would cause people to scratch their heads at the various design choices (Descending Armor Class? Level limits?), but that doesn't detract from the fun. Finding a Basic game or even people to play it with will be harder.

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

Monstrous Mondays: A Monster of a D&D Book!

Something a little different today. Instead of talking about a monster, I have a monster of a D&D book. The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons.

I picked up this massive 576-page book last week. The pages are glossy, full color on heavier stock so this book is massive. When I picked it up at my FLGS I was reminded to "lift with me knees."

This book covers the evolution of original D&D from its Wargame birth to the dawn of what would become the Holmes Basic set and the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game.  

The book is divided into four large sections with a Preface, Foreword, and Afterword.  Let's look at those first.

Our Preface comes to us from Project Lead Jason Tondro. I freely admit I have no idea who he is. He gives us an overview of what this book is about. There is section mentioning that D&D originally catered to middle-class (and even mid-west) white men. This is not in debate really. He also mentions some of the more problematic issues with early D&D, from plagiarism to cultural appropriation to sexism and a bit of slavery. Look. All of this is true and things we have known for a very, very long time. To pretend they were not there, or clutch our pearls because someone brought it up is laughable at best. Acknowledge the past and move forward.  In truth this takes up less than 1/3 of a page of 576 pages. If this section bothers you, then you are looking for things to be bothered by.

The Foreward, though, is far more interesting. It comes from Jon Peterson who has the credentials and bonafides to back up all his claims. While he is credited with the forward his fingerprints are all over this book. The sad truth is there are few of the original old guard left. Peterson's dedication to the history of RPGs and D&D in particular is well known and respected. 

Part 1: Precursors is very interesting. It covers the games and the correspondence between Gygax, Arneson, and others between 1970 and 1973. While some of this in well known, it is great to have it all in one place along with copies of the letters and drafts sent back and forth. One thing is obvious from the start that Tolkien and Middle-Earth DID play a pretty large role in the creation of this game. 

Among the treasures here are copies of the Chainmail Rules for Fantasy.

Part 2: The 1973 Draft of Dungeons & Dragons is also a treasure since unlike OD&D and Chainmail (both of which I am familiar with) this is the first time I have seen this. It is a fascinating read in and of itself. Is it a *playable* game? I don't know. But that is not important really. What is important in the nascent RPG game design going on here. The maps and note alone will be enough for someone out there to go and attempt to play some sort of Ur-D&D for their group. 

Part 3: Original Dungeons & Dragons is the most familiar. I have owned the Original set for a while now and even played a few games with it. What is most interesting here are the sections on the 1973 Draft vs. the Published versions and the Brown Box vs. White Box versions.

The biggest feature of this part is the scanned version of the OD&D rules, complete with Hobbits, Ents, and Balrogs.

Part 4: Articles & Additions covers the evolution of Original D&D via the published supplements and articles in Strategic Review/The Dragon. I covered some of this history here as well with my coverage of the Owl & Weasel and White Dwarf Magazines. This one is also quite interesting because of give and take between Gary's vision and others' input. This includes other writers, such as Dave Arneson, and the public.  It seems inevitable that AD&D would rise out of all of this.

This part, the largest, has complete scans of Greyhawk, Blackmoor, and Eldritch Wizardry along with selections from the Strategic Review and The Dragon.

Missing from this history is Gods, Demi-gods and Heroes. No real reason is given for this. I speculate it is due to one of three reasons. 

1. Space. at 576 pages and a MSRP of about $100, this is already a massive tome. 
2. Copyrights. A lot of the material in the original GDH belonged, or now belongs, to other companies, and reprinting was a problem. Of course they did still print the Hobbits.
3. Moral Grounds. It is possible that the editors did not want to include it since it had stats for gods that you could kill. Gods still worshipped and honored by people today. 

I suppose it is also possible that it was not included (much like Swords & Spells wasn't) since it did not further the central thesis of this book; the evolution of D&D. 

A bonus is an original D&D Character sheet. I never owned one of these, so I made a photocopy of it to see how it would work; both in black/white and color.

Not too bad really. Maybe I use this for a character someday.

So. Who should buy this book?

Well, I guess anyone who wants to read more about the history of D&D and is willing to shell out $100 for a coffee-table-like book about it.