Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set


The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set is a set of rulebooks for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. First published in 1977, it saw a handful of revisions and reprintings. The first edition was written by J. Eric Holmes based on Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson's original work. Later editions were edited by Tom Moldvay, Frank Mentzer, Troy Denning, and Doug Stewart.
The Basic Set details the essential concepts of the D&D game. It gives rules for character creation and advancement for player characters at beginning levels. It also includes information on how to play adventures inside dungeons for both players and the Dungeon Master.

1977 version

The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was published by TSR, Inc. in 1977.
TSR hired outside writer John Eric Holmes to produce the Basic Set as an introductory version of the D&D game. It incorporates concepts from the original 1974 D&D boxed set plus the Supplement I: Greyhawk. The rulebook covers characters of levels one through three, rules for adventuring in dungeons, and introduces the concepts of the game; it explains the game's concepts and method of play in terms that make them accessible to new players ages twelve and above who might not be familiar with tabletop miniatures wargaming. Although the Basic Set was not fully compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, players were expected to continue play beyond third level by moving to AD&D, which was released beginning later that year. Holmes preferred a lighter tone with more room for personal improvisation, while Gary Gygax, who wrote the Advanced books, wanted an expansive game with rulings on any conceivable situation which might come up during play, and so could be used to arbitrate disputes at tournaments.
The first Basic Set was available as a 48-page standalone rulebook featuring artwork by David C. Sutherland III, or as part of a boxed set, which was packaged in a larger, more visually appealing box than the original boxed set, allowing the game to be stocked on retail shelves and targeted at the general public via toy stores. The boxed set included a set of polyhedral dice and supplemental materials. In that same year, Games Workshop published their own version of the rulebook, with a cover by John Blanche, and illustrations by Fangorn. Supplemental materials appearing in the boxed set included geomorphs, monster and treasure lists, and a set of polyhedral dice.
For a period in 1979, TSR experienced a dice shortage. Basic sets published during this time frame came with two sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits that functioned in lieu of dice, along with a coupon for ordering dice from TSR. The rulebook also included a brief sample dungeon with a full-page map. Starting with the fourth printing in 1978, the two booklets of maps, encounter tables, and treasure lists were replaced with the module B1 In Search of the Unknown; printings six through eleven featured the module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands instead.

1981 revision

After the release of the AD&D game, the Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by editor Tom Moldvay. The game was not brought in line with AD&D but instead further away from that ruleset, and thus the basic D&D game became a separate and distinct product line from AD&D. The former was promoted as a continuation of the tone of original D&D, while AD&D was an advancement of the mechanics.
The revised version of the set included a larger, sixty-four page rule book with a red border and a color cover by Erol Otus, the module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, six polyhedral dice, and a marking crayon. The book was predrilled for use in a three-ringed binder, and the complete set of polyhedral dice came in a heat-sealed bag with a small wax crayon to use in coloring the numbers on the dice. The revised rulebook was visually distinct from the previous version: the Holmes booklet had a monochrome pale blue cover, while the Moldvay rulebook had a bright red cover.
With the revision of the Basic Set, discrete rulesets for higher character levels were introduced as expansions for the basic game. The Moldvay Basic Set was immediately followed by the accompanying release of an Expert Set edited by Dave Cook with Steve Marsh that supported character levels four through fourteen, with the intent that players would continue with the Expert Set.

1983 revision

In 1983, the Basic Set was revised again, this time by Frank Mentzer, and redubbed Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules. The set included a sixty-four page Players Manual, a forty-eight page Dungeon Masters Rulebook, six dice, and in sets in which the dice were not painted, a crayon. The 1983 revision was packaged in a distinctive red box, and featured cover art by Larry Elmore. Between 1983 and 1985, the system was revised and expanded by Mentzer as a series of five boxed sets, including the Basic Rules, Expert Rules, Companion Rules, Master Rules, and Immortal Rules. Instead of an adventure module, the Basic Set rulebooks included a solo adventure and an introductory scenario to be run by the Dungeon Master.
The rules for the game were little changed from the Moldvay set, but the presentation was overhauled into a more tutorial form, to make the game easier for younger players to learn.
The 10th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons Collector's Set boxed set, published by TSR in 1984, included the rulebooks from the Basic, Expert, and Companion sets; modules AC2, AC3, B1, B2, and M1 Blizzard Pass; Player Character Record Sheets; and dice. This set was limited to a thousand copies, and was sold by mail and at GenCon 17.

1991 revision

In 1991, TSR released a new version of the Basic Set, labeled as The New Easy-to-Master Dungeons & Dragons Game, and nicknamed the "black box". This version was principally designed by Troy Denning and made very few changes to the game. It included support for characters up to fifth level, instead of the third-level limit of prior Basic Set versions.
The rules are presented twice, once in a 64-page rule book and again in the Dungeon Card Learning Pack, a set of 48 cards that also includes four-page supplementary mini-adventures. Inspired by the SRA reading program, the front of each card features a discussion of a single facet of the rules, such as non-player characters, hit dice, or initiative rolls. The back of the card describes a brief scenario to illustrate the rules discussed on the front. The set also includes a Dungeon Master's Screen which doubles as a folder for the cards, fold-up cardboard pawns, a color map sheet, and dice.
The Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia was published by TSR the same year, compiling and revising the rules from the Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master Rules box sets to allow players to continue beyond the black box.

1994 revision

A final version of the set was produced in 1994, entitled The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game. Edited by Doug Stewart, it removed the tutorial cards of the "black box", incorporating the material into sidebars within the single 128-page Rules and Adventure Book. The set also included a Dungeon Master's Screen, a set of six plastic miniatures for players, 24 foldable cardboard enemy standees, a poster map, and a set of dice. It was packaged in a tan-sided box.

Reception

Clayton Miner reviewed the 1981 version of the Basic Set for Pegasus magazine #1. Miner commented that "the book is a vast improvement over the earlier version. Better organization and well written rules are the main features of this edition.
Doug Cowie reviewed the 1983 version of the Basic Set for Imagine magazine and gave it a positive review. According to Cowie, while the rules stay the same, thus allowing those with the older version to continue using their sets, the presentation has changed. He approved of the fact that "at long last", a game company released a product that explains to someone new to role-playing games how to get started. Cowie ended his review by stating that "Basic is a lot closer to the spirit of the original game than is the rambling, unwieldy and sometimes pompous Advanced" and that "for one-off dungeon type games I would recommend Basic to anyone, beginner and veteran alike."