 March 8, 2010 - 4:03am | WOTC Red Box Set Found this over at Dragonsfoot, looks like a rehash of the Mentzer basic set from the 1980s. Can Star Frontiers be close behind?  Designed for 1–5 players, this boxed game contains everything needed to start playing the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game, including rules for creating heroes, advice for playing the Dungeon Master, a solo play adventure, and group-play adventure content. Learning the game has never been so easy! Several different character races (dwarf, elf, halfling, and human) and classes (cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard) are presented, along with powers for each race and class. Game components:
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 March 19, 2010 - 11:28pm | I got my red box from selling seeds, You remeber the ads in the comics? sell cards and seeds and win prizes.hehehe, all the nice church going folks paid for it, then When I got a job as a paper boy that summer I bought every book I could find. Still have em all. I am not ashamed of ,my age hehe I was 11. 13 when I got Star frontiers. Gold is for the mistress-silver for the maid-copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.But Iron-Cold Iron- is master of them all |
March 20, 2010 - 2:44am | Okay...just for clarification, which basic boxed set are we talking about? I was under the presumption that the "red box/blue box" was the third version via Mentzer (Larry Elmore cover art) Basic and Expert portion of BECMI circa 1983, and the predecessor second version basic & expert sets via Moldvay (Erol Otus cover art) was simply B/X circa 1981, which is technically "magenta box/light blue box". Which was preceded by first basic box set version Holmes circa 1979 and prior to that Chainmail etc. I started with Moldvay's B/X system in '81 with my friends, one of which acquired Holmes minus the chits and launched the AD&D end from there...but I recently acquired the other two versions (Mentzer and Holmes). |
 March 20, 2010 - 11:31am | Hey Billygoat thanks for that image. That was in the Basic book that I had. Dont know what year it came out. 80-81 according to that signature. Time flies when your having rum. Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time. |
 March 20, 2010 - 7:41pm | @ Shadow Shack See http://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/setpages/basic.html Holmes 1st thru 7th print Moldvay 8th thru 11th print (1 book. 3 hole punched, for your Trapper Keeper. had Morgan Ironwolf in it as a sample char p14. Image I posted on p20 ) Mentzer 12th & above (2 books not three hole punched) |
March 20, 2010 - 7:49pm | As I said "You guys that started with the red box are all newbies...." and now you can add magenta too. To me Moldvay is the original red box... Anyway, my Alzheimer's is kicking in...What was I saying? |
 March 20, 2010 - 8:55pm | I started with the 1979 red dragon box set with the blue monochrome rule book and the module B1 In Search of the Unknown. I'd love to play B1 again. -iggy |
March 21, 2010 - 2:48am | @ Shadow Shack See http://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/setpages/basic.html Holmes 1st thru 7th print Moldvay 8th thru 11th print (1 book. 3 hole punched, for your Trapper Keeper. had Morgan Ironwolf in it as a sample char p14. Image I posted on p20 ) Mentzer 12th & above (2 books not three hole punched) That's what I thought...red box would be Mentzer/Elmore cover art. See, I have both Mentzer rulesets but not the boxes (I have both Moldvay boxes and my later printing of Holmes box), I just presumed they duplicated the rule covers, as the aceum site backs up via their pics of identical covers for the boxes with only the title changed between box top and book covers (re: "basic rules set" vs "players guide" & DM guide" on the rulebooks) My Holmes set looks like it must be a 1979/seventh printing. Since the aceum site reports first and second prinitings of B2 included, I'd guess the one that came with mine is a second print as it's dated 1980 ont he inside while my Moldvay copy is 1981...if the box set w/B2 debuted in 79 (6th printing) I would think the first printing of B2 would also have a 1979 date. Anyways I started w/Moldvay with a later introduction of Holmes so I'm at least half noob  |
 March 21, 2010 - 7:23am | Keep on the Border Land! - now there's a module that could use a remastering and some heft Jedion style tweeks to it! Now where did I leave my D20? Incidently the best ever basic module was B10 Nights Dark Terror- my current copy is still incomplete. IMO I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 21, 2010 - 7:39am | Keep on the Borderland was a good beginner dungeon crawl. For my money, it is hard to beat the AD&D modules Temple of Elemental Evil, Against the Giants, and Drow sets. And then there is Ravenloft standing on its own. With a good DM, Ravenloft will leave the players as nervous wrecks at the end of evey session.  My very first games were under the Holmes version but my first owned copy was Moldvay set. I miss the simpler rules. I was introduced to the 3.5 rules after buying the Temple of Elemental Evil computer game (fun, but limited). I think this, in itself, explains the evolution of the rules from relatively simple and overseen by a referee, to more numbers based. Computers LOVE numbers and WotC probably sees the selling of computer games/services as the future. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
March 21, 2010 - 12:59pm | I keep hearing raves about B10. My old module collection was very limited, I had B2 and B3, X1 and X2, the A & G/D/Q series and that was about it. My fave is and always will be KOTB, it's the focus of my campaign ( http://dndshack.20m.com ). X2 is a close second... I have since added to the collection, I now have B1 to B6 and X1 to X5 along with a pair of the solo O modules. B10 rmandates a small fortune to acquire... |
 March 22, 2010 - 1:41pm | My module food chain is: Slavers Series (THE BEST!) A1-A4 Giants & Drow (G 1-3, D 1-3, Q1) And there is a special place in my heart for "Dwellers of the Forbidden City." (F1?) I also dearly loved some of the box set Expert Set stuff: The Lost City and Castle Amber - wonderful modules. Honorable Mentions: Temple of Elemental Evil - outstanding! The Pharoh Series - great maps and such, but very stingy on treasure! Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth - very tough, great artwork. Ravenloft - very good as well |
March 22, 2010 - 6:12pm | X2 - whilst ordinary dungeons kill you with deadly traps and vicious monsters, Castle Amber does so with bells and jester shoes. |
March 22, 2010 - 6:53pm | The Saltmarsh series (U1-3) Keep on the Borderlands (B2) The Lost City (B4) The Megalith (independent module by Role Players Workshop) Slave Pits of the Undercity (A1) |
March 22, 2010 - 6:55pm | How could I forget...Assault on the Cult of the Reptile God (N1) |
March 23, 2010 - 1:45am | I have to say, Lost City may quickly creep up into my limited list of faves. There's just so much you can do for expanding it, it's practically a campaign all by itself that can take a beginning first level party halfway into the expert rules and then some (assuming they survive). If you (as a DM) really wanted to, players could probably reach name level in that module. I've only started to get mine going with my wife, but I already have a slew of post-pyramid hooks ready to go. I suppose that's why B2 is so high on my list. You can really expand that module via the Cave of the Unknown. One sweet plot hook I read about over on the Dragonsfoot forums, one guy there linked it directly to B3 (Palace of the Silver Princess) by having a cleric of Arik of the Hundred Eyes presiding over his Cave of the Unknown. I have my Cave of the Unknown set up as a base that links the evil clerics from the Shrine of Evil Chaos to the evil cleric in the Keep (apartment 7b) and the raider camp spying on the Keep listed in the wilderness encounters. I even have a rewrite of KOTB for X grade players, where the forces of chaos have overtaken the Keep, forcing a few surviving Keep staff into exile...holed up in the cleared orc caves plotting a retake of the compound. Players assist in retaking the Keep and are offered positions of leadership if the mission succeeds. I also have a 0-level adventure written that brings players as "normal men" on a journey from Specularum to the Borderlands as a backstory or "origin of the heroes" setting, which serves to explain both how they got to the Keep and how they earned some of that 3d6x10 GP to acquire gear with. Of course once established, the Caves of Chaos are waiting for them... |
March 23, 2010 - 4:56pm | Shadow you sound like a fun DM, too bad you live so far away. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 24, 2010 - 4:00am | Likewise. Nothing beats a good pencil & paper gaming session. B5 could creep into my list as well, since I recently did a rendition & rewrite of Guido's Fort (see it at my D&D site at http://dndshack.20m.com/fort.html ). I haven't DM'ed it yet though, but there's certainly some expansion capabilities there too and it has a very KOTB feel to it (edge of civilization etc). I did a revamp of the B2 Keep, sticking to the original floorplan but making it a multi-level map along with defining a few of the key buildings to boot on the Keep page there. I also developed a small township to accompany the Keep (Riverglen page) as well as adding some nearby demi-human dwellings (only the Shire is completed so far). I've also revamped the Haven palace (B3) to make more sense as a structure (seriously, the only entrance is navigating a dungeon?!) and I did a minor expansion of Quasqueton (B1) as well, the latter module which I've yet to DM. |
March 25, 2010 - 9:05pm | Well, it looks like it's not just another fart in the wind. Actual product was on display at a show: http://rpg.brouhaha.us/?p=2517 |
 March 25, 2010 - 10:43pm | I wonder if the boxed-cover-artwork is due to someone at WOTC finding the 80's original artwork? Larry Elmore told me they sent all his original stuff to him - that's why he was able to reprint the Alpha Dawn cover.  I still want it! |
March 26, 2010 - 1:14am | Well, in terms of artwork, I've always been an Erol Otus fan... Now, getting back to B4. Wow - what a great module. The big difference between it and B2 is that the extra area was a whole underground city, whereas B2's bonus area was a cave mouth. Not exactly rockin' there... The big thing about B2 is that everyone knew everything about it. I even met some people who bought the D&D set and read the module because they didn't know any better! Sucks for that DM... Not to say that B2 is not loads of fun. I really enjoyed it. But B4 is just much richer. The "Caves of Chaos" is almost cliche at this point. God bless Gygax, that's all there is to say. I hope he's chillin' in the Elysium Fields. |
March 26, 2010 - 7:59am | The big difference IMO is that B2 is a nonlinear design, where as B4 is both types. Both adventures are superior to most of the adventures churned out by TSR & WOTC. |
March 26, 2010 - 10:42am | Ya know, I never played D&D until last year. May 2008. :-) Someone throw me a link/download to those modules you describe. I want to play now! Off Topic: Bill bought a copy of Labyrinth Lord - looks like a cool old school game. |
March 27, 2010 - 2:02am | What I find charming about B2 is how it emphasizes how monsters actually communicate with each other. This allows it to be an adventure of diplomacy rather than the typical misconstrued notion that it's merely another hack-n-slash game. Ultimately it's up to the party to determine which way it goes...but a good DM can make it extra challenging in that regard from the simple communication between the baddies. In other words, the group in the next room isn't sitting idly waiting for the party to chop them to bits, in most cases a monster in the prior room will either call out or retreat to them and they'll either be ready or join the current fight. Now the beauty I see in B4 is you can't go back to civilization when things go south. You're lost, you're starving and dying of thirst...you're basically stuck in that pyramid until the DM says otherwise! The entire game hinges on the need for the group to join one of the factions if they are to survive. Never mind the fact that they're already out of rations & water, once they begin to suffer losses the need for allied assistance grows exponentially. A group unfortunate enough to attack all three factions is pretty much doomed, moreso if the DM allows a member to escape to the Lost City below with word of the intrusion...those future wandering Cynadiceans could end up being a war party looking to avenge their fallen! Add to that, with enough DM expansion a level one party can feasibly enter the game and if they have the mettle and luck of good die rolls, exit the game pretty close to name level... |
March 27, 2010 - 7:17pm | thanks for that link,I had the Elmore covered box ( magenta basic rule set 1 came with dice and crayon and no module) but got a copy of the basic rulebook 9th-11print and the module a week later. I've got 2 milk crates full of books ( just for AD&D and D&D), one with hard covers and one with modules. A lot of the older ones are in plastic. I think I am gonna have to catalog my collection again. I've tried to get some of my cousins kids to play, but they want video games and no thinking. Gold is for the mistress-silver for the maid-copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.But Iron-Cold Iron- is master of them all |
 March 28, 2010 - 8:06am | When you ask them what they do, nearly half, if not more, are math majors, in a math field, or in a high school mathletes program. That is not where I was hoping the game would go in 20 years, 20 years ago. What you don't want to have to use calculus to figure your Hit points, Algibra for your To-Hit modifiers or Advanced Geometry to figure out the Blast radius of your Y-(X*X+2) Fire ball?? Don't you want more realism?? |
March 29, 2010 - 1:58am | "What is the current wind speed and direction? My broadsword has a +5 coefficient of drag modifier and my 24.5 strength rating negates the weight penalty. The sword's CofG is six inches past the guard, so with the fulcrum energy equalling load times effort I average 84 feet/second strike velocity when utilizing the overhead downward strike, assuming no wind resistance. Also, I beefed up the pommel with additional leather wrap to accomodate the resulting wider grasp from my gauntlets for a +1 grip bonus." "Would you just roll the #$!&-ing d20 already?! " |
March 29, 2010 - 7:08am | Anyone have a 4e player recite their power, action, all bonus, who their attacking and what effect his character powers will have on target. Sometimes I just want to strangle them. IN character of course. |
March 29, 2010 - 6:59pm | "In character"? Yeah, right.  My brother's thinking of getting a d20 future game going. I read three paragraphs of the character creation rules and my brain shut down. It would be easier for me at this stage of my life to learn to read chinese. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
March 29, 2010 - 7:46pm | "In character"? Yeah, right. My brother's thinking of getting a d20 future game going. I read three paragraphs of the character creation rules and my brain shut down. It would be easier for me at this stage of my life to learn to read chinese. LOL- I actually waded through this character creation process- Oy Vay my head hurt afterward. Then I dropped from the game shortly after. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 30, 2010 - 2:03am | Anything that requires that much work can't possibly be considered a game. It sounds too much like...work. And I only do that when I'm getting paid! |
