About our Classic D&D Group
Who are you guys?
We are a small group of players from all over the Kansas City metro who meet primarily in the Overland Park KS area. Most of us have many years of D&D experience ranging from the OD&D woodgrain box sets to 3.5. Some are newly initiated to D&D. We range in age but I believe our youngest player is about 24 and our oldest is under 45. Primarily, we are in our 30's. We have a mix of men and women in the group. Several of us (including me) are married and/or have children.
The thing we have in common is the desire to share a good time while living a story together. We look for mature players who are into role playing not roll playing. The current campaign is designed to be a long term epic campaign with heroic characters who work their way up from low to very high levels (I plan on using all 36 levels allowed in Classic). Evil characters are generally shunned unless the player has a really good backstory. However, lots of in-party intrigue is encouraged. On the other hand, we do not believe in pure "hack 'n slash" (though combat will definitely play a large part - rumors of war persist) or monty haul.
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How often and where do you play?
We plan on playing every other Wednesday night for 4 to 5 hours. Check the side bar or Yahoo group for upcoming dates. We currently play in the Overland Park area but may also play in the Northland on occasion.
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How can I join?
Check out the "Join the adventure" link in the table of contents on the left hand side of the page. That will take you to our Yahoo group. Request to become a member and I will contact you. We have five players currently (yes, seven are listed on the "Characters" page). We will play with up to eight players.
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So, what is Classic D&D?
"OD&D: Also referred to as "the three books", "the white box", "the brown box", this is the first version of the game (at least, the first after the typewritten rules used in Gary Gygax' basement). It came in either a white box or a brown, woodgrain box. The box contains three booklets: Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. There were also five supplements: Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, and Swords & Spells. If your rules talk about hobbits and ents, you're dealing with OD&D.
"Holmes Basic: At the time AD&D was released, this set was produced as a starter/introduction. It's probably closest to AD&D. It was one booklet, blue (or full-color), with a large dragon on the cover fighting a male wizard zapping a wand and a fighter shooting a bow, and came in a box along with B2 Keep on the Borderlands. First published in 1977 according to The Acaeum.
"B/X D&D: Also known as Moldvay, or Moldvay/Cook, named after the authors. It is a red book, with a picture of a dragon fighting a female magic user and a fighter on the cover. It was sold separately, and also in a pink box with the same picture on the cover, B2 Keep on the Borderlands, and of course plain dice and a crayon. It was supposedly a revision of Holmes basic, but made several unique changes and in other ways looks more like OD&D than Holmes (for instance, there are only three alignments- Law, Neutrality, Chaos). It was popular in Europe according to Gygax because the European players did not embrace AD&D and wanted a compatible system. In the US it was perceived as a kids' game. It was first published in 1981.
"BECM: Also known as Mentzer or BECMI, this is a revision of B/X D&D. It is largely compatible with B/X, but expands greatly on the material in the CM portion (Companion and Master rules). The basic set was a red box with TWO booklets, one for players and one for dungeon masters. Its cover was drawn by Larry Elmore and showed a dragon fighting an armored human with long hair. It was first published in 1991. Note that Frank Mentzer is a frequent poster [on Dragonsfoot] and often fields questions, including his q&a thread in the General forum.
"RC: Stands for "Rules Cyclopedia", a SINGLE hardback volume that is a slight revision of BECM. It is the only version of D&D available that provides a complete game to levels above 3 all in one volume. It makes slight omissions of information from the BECM rulebooks but is compatible with them and material for them.
"There were other subsequent revisions of the basic ruleset, one known as the "Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game" and one known as the "New, Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game", and the "Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game". All these sets were intended to channel players into 2E AD&D, signalling the end of the product line."
Thanks to the members of the Dragonsfoot Forums, http://www.dragonsfoot.org, for the above.