The 1981 release of the second D&D Basic Set was a landmark in the history of D&D; the previous Basic Set, edited by Eric Holmes, had attempted to present the original D&D rules in an easier-to-learn version. The second set, edited by Tom Moldvay, went and rewrote the rules to create its own game which, although its roots in original D&D were apparent, fixed, clarified and upgraded the rules to be entirely its own game.
This is the revision that the better-known third version, the “Red Box” set by Frank Mentzer, used as the basis of its rules, and it also happens to be the edition of the game that I learnt how to play D&D from. This edition is a masterpiece, and laid the foundation for much of what was to come.
The set came with the Basic Rulebook, the Keep on the Borderlands adventure, and a number of plastic dice (and a crayon to use in “inking” the dice). This review will discuss just the rulebook; you can find my Keep on the Borderlands review elsewhere.
The rulebook is divided into eight sections. The Introduction discusses what the game is about and the standard D&D terms. Player Character Information shows how to create characters. Spells lists spells for magic-users, elves and clerics. The Adventure gives general information on procedures during adventures. The Encounter contains the interaction and combat rules. Monsters give descriptions and statistics for slightly over 100 monsters. Treasure gives tables for determining magic and mundane treasures, as well as the descriptions of what magical treasures do. Finally Dungeon Master Information gives guidelines for creating dungeon adventures. The book is 64 pages long.
Part of what makes the book so successful is that it has so tight a view as to what it should be teaching: creating characters and running the game in a dungeon environment. The original D&D was a very open-ended game – and very badly explained – so Tom Moldvay had to do a lot of work in refining it back to the basics. Along the way, he simplified some of the more problematic ideas such as the elvish multi-classing rules and the increasingly-more complicated ability score tables from Supplement I: Greyhawk. All elves became fighter/magic-users in this version of the rules, and the ability score tables became beautifully elegant; their influence can still be seen in the current D&D rules.
There are a few elements of the system that cause a few issues in play, in particular the death of characters when their hit points are reduced to zero; AD&D at the time was flirting with the idea of “dying” at negative hit points, with death at -10 hit points, but Moldvay’s Basic D&D still had death the moment a character reached zero hit points; with magic-users and thieves having only 1d4 hit points at first level, death could come extremely swiftly!
In addition, thieves have extremely low chances of success at their key abilities – only a 10% chance at first level of finding a trap, and the same chance of removing it. And, as discovered in the example of play, failure to find the trap probably resulted in the thief’s death. (Thanks for playing, Black Dougal!)
The book suggests that the game is most enjoyable played by four to eight players, and the wandering monster tables are written with those numbers in mind, although I suggest that 2-12 wolves with 2+2 hit dice might just prove a bit too challenging for a first level party! Balance between the party and the monsters is mainly handled by assigning each monster a level (based on its hit dice) where it would appear in the dungeon. One delightful aspect about the monster entries in Basic D&D was that their statistic included a Morale rating, a type for Saving Throws, and a Number Appearing rating for both dungeon and in the wilderness (or their lair) encounters.
The optional Morale rules are a good example of how Moldvay could create a clear and usable rule from little help in the original rulebook (the original rules refer to Chainmail for morale – which has two distinct and confusing morale systems). In Moldvay’s Basic, each monster has a morale score (2-12) which is checked against on 2d6 when the first casualty is taken and again when half the monster’s group has fallen; on a failed check, the monsters would retreat or surrender. A version of this (with 2d10) would appear in the 2nd edition rulebook, but it’s telling to note that nothing this accessible appeared in AD&D.
The great triumph of Moldvay’s Basic D&D is how it presented an elegant and complete system where the rule systems were explained in sufficient detail to allow people to begin playing the game. The rules were revised methodically, with much attention given to what needed to be in the game and what could be safely omitted. The rulebook is brilliantly organised, and a long way from the poorly-presented rules of what Gary Gygax had previously written in the original D&D books and in the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.
However, despite the brilliance of this set of rules, it lacked one thing: the range of options that were available in AD&D at the time. Ten character classes, six character races, and none of the “race as class” paradigm that Moldvay had introduced. I admired the clarity of Moldvay’s rules, and valued how they taught me how to play D&D, but AD&D would be the game that I would play instead, as it had the range of character types that I wanted – as well as the great classic adventures.
Moldvay’s Basic D&D remains the edition that I most admire for its rulebook; even if I don’t play it, what it taught me allowed me to play a game that I am still playing 30 years later, and that is something worth my appreciation.