ZENOPUS ARCHIVES: Printings

Showing posts with label Printings. Show all posts

Friday, May 12, 2023

Was the Holmes Basic Rulebook Sold Separately?

Source: Tome of Treasures

There have been a few discussions on Dragonsfoot lately, including this one, about whether the early D&D Basic and Expert rulebooks were sold separately from the boxed sets, which spurred me to post some pictures that show, for Holmes Basic and B/X (Moldvay Basic and Cook-Marsh Expert), that the answer is yes.

For example, above is a section from a 1978 TSR Catalog hawking the "BASIC SET of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS", "complete in a full color bookshelf-sized box", for $9.95...but also the rulebook "only" for an even $5. (Incidentally, I'd love a better scan of this catalog entry if anyone has or can make one that is higher resolution and/or not water-stained).

As reported by Jon Peterson back in 2021, the almost $5 price difference actually played a pivotal role in Dave Arneson's lawsuit against TSR, as "Arneson learned that he was not being paid his expected 5% royalty on the $10 cover price of the whole Basic Set, but instead only on the copy of the Basic D&D rulebook that shipped in the box, which then sold separately for $5". Read Jon's article for the full story.

Here's another piece of ephemera, also from 1978, again showing the availability of each item separately. It's the first page of an Order Blank - an order form - for the Dungeon Hobby Shop from April 1978, which shows the boxed set and separate rulebook available for the same prices, and also provides the TSR Stock Numbers - 1001 for the boxed set, and 2001 for the rulebook. These are the same numbers printed on the products starting with the 2nd printing, dated Jan 1978.

Source: image from Ebay auction

Four years later, and the 1982 Dungeon Hobby Shop catalog has both products still available for sale, but at a deep discount because they have been superseded by the revised Moldvay Basic set. The boxed set now has a product code of T1001, a $10 original price (5 cents higher than above), a $6 sale price, and is described as "Original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Basic Set. Contains all the rules need to play D&D game adventures". The rulebook has a product code of T2001, a $5 original price, a $2.50 sale price, and is described as "D&D Booklet (Original). The original booklet found in the D&D Basic Set. This product is no longer in print!".

(Incidentally, 1982 is when I received my Holmes Basic Set. Did my parents get it for me because it was on sale?)

Image Source: Battlegrip.com

Here are two pages from one version of the 1981 TSR Gateway to Adventure catalog which show the separate entries for the B/X boxed sets (stock numbers 1011 and 1012) and the stand alone rulebooks (stock numbers 2014 and 2015).

And these stand-alone rulebooks weren't only available for mail order purchase. As T. Foster reports on Dragonsfoot (here): "I can confirm that I purchased the 1981 Expert rulebook as a standalone for $6 at a Waldenbooks store" and "I also purchased the Holmes Basic book as a standalone at a Toys R Us store sometime around 1986 - no idea why they still had it on the shelf when it had been officially out of print for ~5 years..."

The next iteration of Basic, aka Mentzer Basic, arrived in 1983 and changed the rulebook more radically, splitting the material between two booklets, one for Players and one for DMs. This change meant that the rulebooks needed to be sold together, so TSR didn't offer a stand-alone rulebook for this iteration of Basic.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Chris Holmes on the This Ol' Dungeon Podcast

While I was at Philmont, Chris Holmes alerted me that he would be appearing on an upcoming episode of the This Ol' Dungeon Podcast. The episode, number 22, is out now and can be found here:

Episode 22: Chris Holmes and the Tower of Zenopus

Here is the teaser for the episode:

"This episode we are joined by Chris Holmes: artist, writer, hobby game designer, and all-around renaissance man. Chris recounts his father's, John Eric Holmes, creation of the original D&D basic boxset as well as telling us about his own "made for the con" game designs-that he does as a way to express his interests and creativity. He tells about an up-coming re-release of his father's Pellucidar books and hangs with us for the This Ol' Dungeon segment where we revisit "The Tower of Zenopus" - also known as the sample dungeon from the Holmes D&D boxset. So, hang with us for another great episode!"

I've listened to it and enjoyed hearing Chris relate a few anecdotes about his father that I hadn't heard before as well an extensive critique of the Zenopus dungeon.

Links to other podcasts that Chris has appeared on previously can be found on the Podcasts page on the Zenopus Archives site.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Scrum in Miniature: The Lost Art of Games Workshop's Holmes Basic

My fellow Scrum Club member Joe has started a series called the "Lost Art of D&D" on his blog Scrum in Miniature, and the second installment covers the replacement art by John Blanche and Fangorn that was used by Games Workshop in the first printing of Holmes Basic rulebook, first released in December 1977. The post goes through the rulebook and shows each replacement work contrasted with the original from the U.S. version (example above).

In a 2001 interview, Gary Gygax was asked about the UK version, and responded:

"Yes, I saw the work, and I approved. Ian [Livingstone] and Steve [Jackson of Games Workshop] convinced me that their audience didn't like the illustrations used in American versions of the game, so I gave them the okay to produce their own. I had a copy of the Basic Set rules, but it was lost when Lorraine Williams took over TSR..."

Lost Art of D&D No. 2: Games Workshop's Holmes Basic (1977)
After Games Workshop attained the license to print a co-branded edition of TSR's 1977 Dungeons & Dragons basic rules book, they set about putting their own stamp on it, designing a new cover and replacing a number of the illustrations they deemed too crudely drawn for their U.K. market.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Allen Hammack Q&A with James Mishler

James Mishler's Q&A with Game Designer Allen Hammack

If you missed it, on Thanksgiving Day on his blog Adventures in Gaming James Mishler posted a great interview with former TSR employee Allen Hammack, author of the classic AD&D modules C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness and A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lord.

Hammack's time at TSR (1978-1983) overlaps with most of the Holmes Basic-era, and of particular note to us, the interview mentions that among other products he worked as an editor on the "1978 editions" of the Holmes Basic Set. Since that set out first came out in 1977 and Hammack started in 1978, I assume he most likely worked on revisions that were included in the 3rd printing (May 1978), 2nd edition (Nov 1978) and/or 3rd edition (Dec 1979).

Hammack also mentions that "Dave Sutherland used to draw tiny biplanes into wizard hats in honor of the Fight in the Skies WWI game" [later Dawn Patrol]. This sent me back to Sutherland's Holmes Basic Set cover art to look for biplanes in the wizard's hat. None spotted there, but I'll keep on the lookout for other Sutherland wizards.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

TSR Founders Day Memo 1980

Click on the image for a larger view

The above image is from a recent auction for a one-page TSR memo about a Founders Day celebration for employees in 1980 (the end price for the auction will blow your mind). The memo is on manila TSR stationary that includes the TSR Wizard logo in the letterhead. Per the Acaeum, this logo was in use at TSR from Dec 1978 to mid/late 1980.

The memo is interesting in that includes a brief TSR history as well as a bit of contemporary company/sales info, including that the Basic Set has sold "close to one million copies" (make sure you say that in your best Dr. Evil voice). Here's the full paragraph, with bolding added for emphasis:

"Today TSR is a multi-million dollar publisher and Dungeons & Dragons is the leader in the field of "Adventure Gaming" (simulation games, wargames, science fiction games, role playing games, miniature games, etc ...). TSR now employs more than 95 people and there are close to one million copies of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set in circulation (picture the number of players that there must be). It takes no genius to see what a tremendous future TSR has and the unlimited potential that can be realized if we all continue to support and serve the company as well as we have in the past. It is up to us!"

The memo is not signed, so it's not clear to me who wrote it. It may have been Gygax or one of the Blumes, although it refers to Gary Gygax and Brian Blume in the third person.

The celebration itself was held at the "Red Eye Restaurant located south of Lake Geneva on Highway BB". The restaurant is no longer in business; this history article briefly mentions the Red Eye tavern on Highway BB, now named Linton Road.

Looking at other auctions from the same seller, I noticed a follow-up article about the Founders Day event in TSR's Random Events employee newsletter from October 1980:

Coincidentally, the Collector's Trove just auctioned a similar memo from 1981, from the collection of former employee Allen Hammack, author of C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness. This memo uses the later TSR Face Logo. The text is partially obscured with an index card, but from what I can see, most is identical to that from the previous year, and the party was once again held at the Red Eye. I can see that the "close" (to one million) from the above memo has been changed to "over", though the rest of the sentence is obscured. Note that this would be after the Moldvay Basic Set was released in early 1981, so any sales data here would include sales of both sets.

Some bits of interesting emphemera from an exciting time at TSR, when sales and national attention were skyrocketing.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Part 50: "The Dancing Dagger Is Hard To Hit"

Part 50 of a series of posts, indexed here, comparing Holmes' manuscript with the published Basic Set rulebook. Turn to page 44 of your 'Blue Book' (page 43 for the 1st edition) and follow along...

Click for a larger view

Room N: Holmes describes this as a tomb that is "part of the catacombs of the city", implying there are more catacombs to be discovered. It also recalls the introduction where Portown is described as "located on the ruins of a much older city of doubtful history" and "the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of the older, pre-human city". Are these catacombs of Room N part of this older city or more recent Portown?

This is one of the larger rooms in the dungeon, described as 120 by 7 feet in the text, and is accurately drawn on the published map (right above). The east and west doors are moved slightly, ending up twenty feet out of alignment rather than centered across from each other. The rat tunnels to the north have been shifted left, and enter room N in two locations rather than one.

Instead of an obvious monster this room contains six sarcophagi each hiding a different trap, monster or treasure. If the characters open a sarcophagus Holmes has the DM roll randomly to see which of the six is opened, which is interesting because the room essentially functions as a random table.

This is an early example of the "Special" room containing a series of smaller spaces to be searched and hiding further encounters. Later examples can be found in many TSR modules such as the Room of Pools in B1 In Seach of the Unknown, the bank vault compartments in B2 Keep on the Borderlands, the six alcoves in Room 1 of C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, and the nine silver glass globes in Room 9 of S2 White Plume Mountain and the Chamber of Three Chests in S1 Tomb of Horrors. Two these modules, B1 and B2, were later included in versions of the Holmes Basic set. B2 also contains a crypt with many coffins and sarcophagi, although only one with monster/treasure. The word "sarcophagus" also appears in the glossary for B2.

Sarcophagus #1 has sleeping gas similar to Room A. In both cases it is Save vs Poison or fall asleep for d6 turns, although here there is no mention of subtracting 1 for high constitution here. There is a chance of a rat attacking every turn that is spent in the room, so if the party stays here with the sleeping character(s) they may be in for a surprise. No changes as published.

Sarcophagus #2 has the memorable "dancing dagger" that attacks if removed from the skeleton holding it. This is an interesting encounter that combines aspects of a monster and trap - combat is conducted with the dagger but it can't be defeated solely through combat as it has no hit points. Holmes gives the dagger AC3, which matches his statement on page 19 of the rulebook that a "small fast creature" might have such an armor class.

As I wrote previously in "Holmes Basic Easter Eggs" thread on ODD74, the dagger "is perhaps a variant of the Dancing Sword, which first appeared in the Greyhawk: Supplement I. The Dancing Sword itself may have been inspired by Stormbringer, which could fight while floating in the air (e.g., in The Sleeping Sorceress, 1971)."

In the revision of Basic, Moldvay included a list of Special Traps on page B52 that includes "Flying weapons which attack only if disturbed", surely a nod to Holmes' dancing dagger.

No changes as published.

Sarcophagus #3 contains a non-animated skeleton wearing treasure, which should be fun for the DM if the players expect it to animate when the treasure is removed. The skeleton wears rings and a coronet (small/simple crown) worth 3000 GP in the original. Gygax cuts this to 300 GP in the published rulebook, a trend we have observed throughout.

Sarcophagus #4 is almost a duplicate of #3 in the manuscript, another "skeletal form" wearing "jewelry worth 3000 gold pieces". Again Gygax reduces the value, to 900 GP here.

Sarcophagus #5 has the animated skeleton everyone expects to find in one of these coffins. Holmes' original is a standard OD&D skeleton with 1/2 HD and AC7 (per Vol 2, page 3), plus the nice detail of being armed with a curved scimitar. This is despite Holmes accidentally giving skeletons AC8 in the Monster List entry in the manuscript (See Part 32 of this series). The published version increases the hit points to 7, in line with the upgrade to 1 HD they later received in the Monster Manual. This provides evidence that Gygax already had this change in mind, although he didn't update the Holmes Basic monster entry accordingly. As a result of this "sarcophagus skeleton" is non-standard, being stronger than a Monster List skeleton in hit points and armor class.

Sarcophagus #6 is another non-animating skeleton, this one holding the only magic treasure in the room, a "magic sword +1". Holmes provides an interesting form of magic item identification here: "Any warrior-type drawing the sword will feel the surge of magical power it gives."

The last two paragraphs describe the rats that may attack from the tunnels to the north every turn, which should provide ongoing tension as the party explores the sarcophagi.

The original has the rats at AC 7, 1 HD, which matches the rat in Room G. The published version of this room changes the hit die to "4 hit points", at the high end of the 1/2 HD they eventually received in the Monster Manual (Dec 1977) and which was eventually ported back to the 2nd edition of the Basic rulebook (Nov 1978). No other changes to these paragraphs.

DM guidance:
-Part of a room description can function as a random table
-A room may have a series of hidden traps, monsters and treasures
-Some magic Items may be identified by a feeling of magic power
-Wandering monsters can take the form of the one type of monster attacking at intervals from a lair

Following the room description the published rulebook has the only art in the Sample Dungeon section, other than the map. It's a tiny but evocative piece by David Sutherland showing a party being attacked by two skeletons emerging from opened sarcophagi (although as written there's only one animated skeleton in the room). It's hard to see but the the shield of the fighter in the middle has a winged creature on it similar to the winged dragon on the shield of the fighter on the cover of the Basic box.

The UK version of the rulebook replaced the original art with new art by Fangorn, many of which are re-interpretations of the originals. Here's the new piece for this one.

Continue on to Part 51: "Indescribable Odds and Ends" (Room P)
or Go Back to Part 49: "Will Drop on Unwary Adventurers" (Rooms J-M)
orr Go Back to the Index: The Holmes Manuscript

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Part 49: "Will Drop on Unwary Adventurers"

Part 49 of a series of posts, indexed here, comparing Holmes' manuscript with the published Basic Set rulebook. Turn to page 44 of your 'Blue Book' (page 43 for the 1st edition) and follow along...

For reference, here's a side-by-side view of the rooms we'll be covering in this part:

Room J: The spider room. Holmes describes it as 60 by 50 feet with doors in all of the walls, and this is accurately rendered on the published map. The original has the doors centered in the walls (as with most rooms), while the published map moves the east and west doors up a bit, and the north door to the right. In the original the south door does not lead anywhere; to correct this the published map adds a new a empty room ('E') in this space. This results in the map spelling out J-E-H vertically, perhaps unintentionally.

The stated height of this room, 35 five feet, is much higher than the rest of the dungeon. The stair from the surface (at "START") goes down 25 feet, and the corridors are 10 feet high per Room C. Probably Holmes made this room higher just to give the spider a hiding place. But to fit in the geography of the area Room J must be beneath a higher part of the hills/sea cliffs than the ruins of the tower of Zenopus.

Here is Holmes' original version of the spider:

A giant spider lurks in the darkness of the roof, thirty-five feet above. He will drop on unwary adventurers. He is Armor Class 3, plate mail, has 1 hit die and a poisonous bite.

A "giant spider" with 1 HD may seem surprising, but remember that at this time most giant animals in D&D did not have a fixed set of stats. I discussed this in Part 25 in the "Giant Animals and Insects" entry in the Monster List. In the entry Holmes suggested adjusting the hit die to the dungeon level, so it makes sense here that he places a 1 HD giant spider on the first level of the dungeon. Holmes used giant spiders with these same stats (AC3, 1 HD, poison bite) in the Second Example of combat; see Part 18 of this series.

As published, this spider's strength was increased enormously (literally!), as this paragraph in the 1st printing begins, "An enormous spider lurks...". The third sentence was also changed to clarify the monster's stats: "He is armor class 3 (plate mail), has 6 hit dice (31 hit points), and his bite causes 1-8 points of damage and is poisonous (-1 on saving throw dice because it is so strong)."

So, the plate-like armor was kept but the spider reclassified from "giant" to "enormous", with 6 HD. There was still no standard "Giant Spider" at this point; the 1st-3rd printings of the rulebook do not contain an entry for Spider in the Monster List.

The Monster Manual was first published in late 1977, about six months after Holmes Basic, and it finally contained a standard entry for Spider. This was eventually ported back to Basic, in the 2nd edition of the rulebook (Nov 1978), which contains a new entry for Spider, including Giant Spider. At the same time Room J was updated to change "enormous" back to "giant", reduce the HD & HP to 4+4 and 21, change the bite to 2-8 points, and remove the poison modifier. We can still use Gygax's original 'enormous spider' for a larger variety of the beast.

In the last paragraph Holmes details how the spider makes a surprise attack :
-The spider randomly selects one character to attack.
-If the spider misses, it lands beside the character and "the battle proceeds from there"; it isn't mentioned, but presumably whoever has the higher dexterity would get the next attack.
-If the spider hits, it automatically knocks the character down and gets to attack again. Then the knocked down character attacks at -2 for one round, and then normally after that.

This is interesting because the standard surprise roll is not mentioned, so it's not clear whether the DM should first roll for surprise. This would have been a good place to remind a new DM of the surprise rules.

Holmes' original entry ends with, "There is no treasure in this room". The published rulebook adds a further clause describing a +1 dagger embedded in the spider. This strikes me as a very Gygaxian hidden treasure, particularly the aside that it is "evidently a souvenir from some previous battle". Presumably he thought the increase in encounter difficulty warranted a treasure.

DM Guidance:
-In Holmes' original, this provides an example of a "Giant Animal or Insect".
-Example of hidden monster, and as revised, a hidden treasure. The room hides the monster, the monster hides the treasure.
-Rules additions for overhead attacks and knock downs.

Room K: This is the first of three cave rooms in the dungeon, and the second room traversed by the underground river, after Room H. There's not much to Room K other than being a location where "flotsam" (i.e. characters) swept away by the river in Room H ends up. This room is completely dark, so characters deposited here are in for some mucking about.

The original map has only a western shore for the room, but the published map adds a small shore on the eastern side as well. No changes to the text as published.

Room L: The giant crab cave. This is the second cave room, and the third room with the river. Unlike room K, this room is lit by "phosphorescent fungus", which in the real world is also known as foxfire. Margaret St Clair's The Shadow People, an Appendix N book that I read and enjoyed, has an extensive worldwide underworld lit by foxfire, but I don't know whether Holmes was familiar with this book. Holmes used a similar concept in several other stories, including The Maze of Peril (pages 14 and 93; "caverns of glowing rock"), The Adventure of the Giant Chameleon ("there's some sort of glowing lichen on the rocks"), and The Sorcerer's Jewel ("The light, Boinger saw, came from a yellowish-green fungus that clung to the dark stone walls"). I hereby declare that all Holmes Basic dungeons should have an area lit by phosphorescent fungus.

In the manuscript, the giant crab has 1 HD, similar to the giant spider. In the published version, the crab is increased to 2 HD. The other stats (Move, AC, and two attacks) are unchanged. Giant Crabs were originally in OD&D, Vol 3, in the "Special Suggestions for Monsters in Naval Adventures", where they are mentioned as being "a peril only near beaches", traveling 6" per turn, "attacking twice, once for each pincer", and having 3 HD, all of which all fits the Room L crab except for the HD. Later printings of the Basic rulebook specify that each hit does 2-12 points of damage, which comes straight from the varying attacks/damage table from the Greyhawk Supplement.

In The Maze of Peril, Boinger and Zereth encounter a giant crab, similarly hiding in the sand on the beach of an underground body of water. I wrote up a Monster List type entry for Holmes' giant crab here.

In the manuscript the description of the room ends with a single sentence, "There is no treasure in the cave". This sentence was deleted from the published version for unknown reasons.

DM Guidance:
-In the manuscript, the giant crab provides another example of a "Giant Animal or Insect". As published, it provides an example of a 'new monster' not in the Monster List.
-Another example of a hidden monster. Again, no mention of surprise rules.
-The phosphoresecent fungus is an example of variable lighting in the dungeon.

Room M: The pirate hideout. The description is one of the longest entries in the dungeon, and a centerpiece along with the thaumaturgist. These two encounters are linked via a charmed smuggler controlled by the magic-user. The cave that Holmes drew on the original map is faithfully rendered in the published version, including the details (two boats, direction to the sea), although a bit smaller than the original in relation to the other dungeon rooms, such as Room A.

There are no changes as published to the first paragraph, which describes the cave and the exit to the west. The sea cave provides an alternate (though dangerous) exit in and out of the dungeon. The entrance is about 500 feet to the west, which on the published map places the ruins of the tower of Zenopus about 1000 feet from the sea.

The second paragraph describes the pirates. Here is Holmes' original version:

The cave is used by smugglers and pirates. There are three pirates present now, sitting in one of the boats, talking. They are first level (1 hit die), armor class 7, and are armed with cutlasses. (At the Dungeon Master's discretion he may increase the number of pirates.) Each pirate carries 2-12 gold pieces in his purse (roll 2 6-sided die). The pirates use the cave to hide treasures and there are chests in the first boat and a prisoner in the second boat. Every turn there is a 25% chance of another boatload of 3 pirates rowing in.

In the published version, the number of pirates in changed in each instance: the three pirates per boat in the second and last sentence sentences are changed to "four" and "2-5", respectively. And their hit dice is changed from "first level (1 hit die)" to "normal men (1 6-sided hit die)". As I described earlier, Holmes included pirates in the Monster List in the manuscript, and the details here match that entry, including 1 HD, leather armor, carrying 2-12 gold pieces each, and taking prisoners (i.e., Lemunda). Gygax deleted the Pirate entry from the Monster List, and correspondingly changed the pirates in this area into "normal men". He also added the "Normal Man" entry to the attack and saving throw tables, although no where else are they described. In fact, this is the only location in the rulebook where we learn that normal men have a d6 hit die rather than the standard d8 in the published rulebook.

The next paragraph describes the pirate's prisoner, the memorable NPC Lemunda. Unlike the two NPCs in Room F, Holmes' stat block for her does not include her actual hit points, just "Level 2, Hit Dice 2", and it was left this way for publication. There are no changes to Lemunda as published. The reference to Lemunda's father being a powerful lord in town gives us another detail about the Portown setting.

Next the pirates' treasure is described. Holmes' originally had 2000 and 1000 gold pieces plus the 12 gems worth 100 gp each. Gygax reduces the value of the treasure by changing the coins to 2000 silver and 1000 electrum pieces.

The final paragraph describes a hazard to be encountered if the PCs attempt to row out of the dungeon. In Holmes' original it is described as a "giant octopus", and has 2 HD. Gygax changes the name to "large octopus" and ups the HD to 3. Back in OD&D Volume 3, in the section for "Naval Adventures", Gygax described Giant Octopi as having 4 HD. Later in the Monster Manual he raised this to 8 HD. This explains why he changed the name of the Sample Dungeon to "large octopus"; it's not as big. Gygax also adds a new sentence at the end of the paragraph clarifying that the "octopus gets 6 attacks per melee round!", which was a detail in their description in OD&D, Vol 3.

Holmes previously used an octopus-like creature hiding in an underground river in his novel, Mahars of Pellucidar (1976).

DM Guidance:
-The pirates are an example of a group of 'normal men' adversaries.
-Lemunda is an example of a friendly NPC who can assist the party.
-As with the crab, this provides another example of a "Giant Animal or Insect" (manuscript) or a new monster (as published)
-Provides an example of a guardian for a secondary dungeon exit.

Continue on to Part 50: "The Dancing Dagger is Hard to Hit" (Room N)
or Go Back to Part 48: "The Shadow on the Gnomon" (Rooms F-I)
or Go Back to the Index: The Holmes Manuscript

Friday, March 13, 2015

Part 48: "The Shadow on the Gnomon"

Part 48 of a comparison of Holmes' manuscript with the published Basic Set rulebook. Turn to page 41 of your 'Blue Book' (page 40 for the 1st edition) and follow along...

Room F: As Holmes puts it plainly, "This is a magic-user's room"; he is essentially the "boss monster" of this level. This room is essential to breathing life into the dungeon as it ties together elements from other rooms, including the M-U's tower and the sea caves.

In the manuscript Holmes describes the M-U as an "evil fourth leveler" (first paragraph) and a "theurgist" (third paragraph). "Theurgist" is the correct title for a fourth level magic-user in OD&D, Vol 1. Gygax or someone else at TSR mistakenly changed this to "thaumaturgist" in both locations, which is the title for fifth level. The exact changes are:

"...an evil fourth leveler who has been trying to take over the dungeons" →
"...an evil thaumaturgist (fourth level) who has been trying to take over the dungeon level"
(Note Holmes' use of "dungeons" in the original, implying a larger area)

"The theurgist is a 4th level magic-user. He can do six spells..." →
"The thaumaturgist (4th level magic-user) knows six spells..."

The room is described as 50 by 60 feet, which is accurately rendered on the published map. Holmes' original map shows the work bench in the southwest corner and three statues (petrified men), and these are also shown on the published map. However, another door has gone missing in the north wall. This door is shown on the original map and referred to in the text.

The charmed fighter originally had 8 "Hits" but this was upped to 11, possibly to make for a more formidable opponent. His other ability scores are unchanged, as is the high value (1000 GP) of his ruby belt.

The M-U's list of spells includes "Protection from Good" with the aside "(he is evil)". This was changed to "(he is lawful evil)" to fit the revised 5-point alignment scheme. Note that only "Protection from Evil" is explicitly described in the M-U spell lists in the rulebook. His spells and scroll are otherwise unchanged.

Holmes gives the M-U a +1 on this saving throws because "his saving throw is better than that of magic-users of the third level". This doesn't match OD&D, Vol 1, where M-Us do not get a saving throw increase until 6th level. It does go up by 3 at that point, so perhaps Holmes was using some kind of table that smoothed out the progression? This oddity wasn't changed for the published rulebook.

The M-U's stats are changed slightly, with his wisdom being decreased from 12 to 9 for reasons unknown, and his "Hits" going up from 7 to 9.

The M-Us "wand" is changed to a "special wand", presumably because it is not found on the standard Treasure Table.

Finally, the published version adds a new sentence at the end: "He will use the wand on anybody entering his hideway". Since the "hideway" and wand are up in his tower, I picture the M-U dragging statues from the tower down to this room for decoration. One idea I've had is to have one of the statues in this room be Zenopus himself.

DM Guidance:
-NPCs are given a stat block with a full set of ability scores, level and "Hits"
-NPC behavior for the M-U and charmed Fighter
-Random rule: the M-U has a 50% chance of dropping his scroll while fleeing

ROOM G: This is the now-standard room filled with trash and giant rats. Is this is its first appearance in a TSR adventure?

Holmes had the room written as "Room G - is dark and gloomy". TSR changes this to "Room G - Gloomy", which fits the room's letter code better. "Garbage" might be a better descriptor, given that the floor is covered with rocks and rubbish "four feet high".

Once again, the published map is missing a door (in the south wall) shown on the original map and mentioned in the text. I'll have to put together an errata list for these.

The big change here is that Holmes' original has but a single giant rat with 1 HD, which Gygax changes to 2-8 giant rats with 2 hit points each. In the published version the text still refers to "its nest", a clue that it originally referred to just a single rat. The change follows the general trend - Holmes' original dungeon was gentler, for smaller groups, and Gygax increased the difficulty of many of the encounters.

At the time Holmes wrote this, there wasn't a separate monster entry for a "Giant Rat". Instead they fell under the "Giant Animals and Insects" entry that Holmes included in the manuscript. These creatures don't have set stats except that hit dice generally match the dungeon level, which explains why Holmes gave this rat 1 HD. Gygax deleted the entry for "Giant Animals and Insects", which left these giant rats stranded without any hit dice, though with 2 hit points it's easy to figure out they should attack as under 1 HD. The second edition of the rulebook finally revised the Monster List to include giant rats with 1/2 HD, ported back from the Monster Manual. These also do only 1-3 points of damage per hit, whereas Holmes' original would deal the default 1-6. Still, with an average of 5 rats in the room, the encounter is made more challenging.

The treasure is changed in two ways. The silver dagger originally had no value, and Gygax adds "50 gp". (This can be used as a general value for silver daggers, which are missing from the equipment list). In the original, the bag contains 50 gold pieces, which Gygax changes to electrum pieces. Holmes left copper, electrum and platinum out of the manuscript, but Gygax added these back, and put each in the Sample Dungeon.

DM Guidance:
-In Holmes' original version, this provided an example of a "Giant Animal or Insect"
-An example of hidden treasure, takes 1 turn of searching the garbage to find
-An xample of an 'improvised rule' as suggested by Holmes on page 40: the small size and abundant garbage allows the rats to hide in the shadows, but "An elf or a dwarf might spot them (on a roll of say 1 or 2 on a six-sided die)" - presumably due to infravision

ROOM H: This room introduces an underground river that ties together rooms H, K, L and M. The room is described as 80 by 50 feet with a 50-foot wide river and a 15-foot bank on each side. The map as published has the room the right size, but shows the river as only about 25 feet wide. The text describes a 20-foot ceiling, whereas earlier corridors were stated to be 10 feet high. The staircase into the dungeon is 25 feet high, so either the surface is five feet above this room or the ground above is higher here.

This room contains neither monster nor treasure, so its not surprising that there are no changes at all from the manuscript to the published rulebook.

DM Guidance:
-An example of a dangerous obstacle to be surmounted or circumvented.
-More "stealth bonuses" for high stats (as in Room A), known only to the DM - high strength (15+) prevents being swept away by the current, high constitution (12+) prevents damage from being swept away
-Some rules for swimming; if you are wearing armor you will sink unless you shed armor which takes 1 turn. Drowning damage is 1 die per turn. Room M later refers back to these as "information on drowning" and says "assume that all characters known how to swim"

ROOM I: This is the room with the bronze sundial and mask. Again, another room without monster or treasure with no changes as published.

The talking "bronze mask" resembles a "Brazen Head" of medieval times.
See the Brazen Head of Zenopus.

DM Guidance:
An example of a puzzle room, where the characters gain a boon if it is solved

Continue on to Part 49: "Will Drop on Unwary Adventurers" (Rooms J-M)

or Go Back to Part 47: "The Occupants Are Goblins" (Rooms A-E)
or Go Back to the Index: The Holmes Manuscript

Monday, November 17, 2014

Part 41: "Dungeon Mastering as a Fine Art"

Part 41 of a comparison of Holmes' manuscript with the published Basic Set rulebook. Turn to page 39 of your 'Blue Book' (page 38 for the 1st edition) and follow along...

The next two sections in the manuscript come from the first page of content (page 3) in the third volume of OD&D, The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures.

DUNGEON MASTERING AS A FINE ART

Holmes changes the title from "THE UNDERWORLD" to "DUNGEON MASTERING AS A FINE ART". I can think of two reasons for this change. First, Holmes' guidance is mostly limited to dungeons, with just a brief mention wilderness treks, so he no longer needs the original's separate headers for "The Underworld" and "The Wilderness". Second, Holmes' new title helps convey the significance of the work of the Dungeon Master, and that D&D is more than just a board game. Referring to a performing or practical art like acting or photography "as a fine art" is a long-standing tradition going back more than a century. Searching Google Books turns up numerous usages from the 19th century including books such as "Dress as a Fine Art" and "Walking as a Fine Art". In his 1981 FRPG book, Holmes later wrote that "The art of the creative storyteller has been with Homo sapiens since he first learned to build fire in front of his cave and gather around it with a few companions to while away the long winter nights in friendly excitement" (pg 46).

Immediately after the title, the manuscript has a single paragraph adapting the very first paragraph of OD&D Vol 3. This is the original source material:

And here is Holmes' edit of this material:

The first edition of the published rulebook keeps these sentences unchanged (except for adding a comma between "passages" and "stairs") but adds an additional one at the end: "The geomorphic dungeon levels provided with this game contain many suggestions and will prove very useful", referring to the Dungeon Geomorphs Set One: Basic Dungeons included in the first edition of the Basic Set.

In the second edition (Nov 1978), the Geomorphs were replaced with the new module B1 In Search of the Unknown, so this sentence was revised to "The geomorphic dungeon levels (available from TSR or your retailer) contain many suggestions and will prove very useful", and a new paragraph was added referring to the module: "The Basic Set of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS includes the introductory module "In Search of the Unknown", which will be usable for initial adventuring as well as provide ideas for dungeon construction." This paragraph was left unchanged even in the third edition when the module B2 Keep on the Borderlands replaced B1.

SAMPLE CROSS SECTION OF LEVELS

In OD&D Vol 3, the same page continues with an uncredited illustration of a dungeon:

The published Holmes Basic rulebook features a new cross-section, the famous 'Skull Mountain' drawing by Tom Wham, discussed in my previous post. Wham's drawing retains certain features from the original, including a split 4th level (A and B), a cavern at the bottom, and stairs, slanting passages and chutes connecting the levels.

The Holmes Manuscript also has a cross-section, but one that is different from either the original or Skull Mountain:

The dungeon cross-section from the Holmes Manuscript

This was presumably drawn by Holmes himself, or possibly his son Chris, an artist. To my eye, the handwriting is similar to that found on the two maps in Holmes' 1981 book. A nice treat, since we have only a handful of maps from the hand of Holmes.

Holmes' cross-section shares some elements with the original, most significantly a split 2nd level connected by a slanting passage and stairs, and a cavern area at the bottom. Holmes changes the chutes of the original to ladders, and adds an outside area, a ravine reminiscent of the Caves of Chaos, housing the entrances to the dungeon. One entrance is a mine that goes straight to the 2nd level, whereas the original had two staircases entering into 1st level. Holmes' cross-section is more evocative than the original by having features such as "Hill Side", "Mine" and "Mine Shaft" labeled, as well as drawings of the ravine and trees, and stalagmites in the cave. It's possible that Wham included features from Holmes' version as Skull Mountain also contains two entrances, a main one also labeled "Entrance", and a second one, "The Pit", a vertical entrance in the same approximate location as the Mine/Mine Shaft of the manuscript. However, we can conclude that Wham added the most distinctive features of Skull Mountain, including the skull-face entrance and the domed city in the water-filled cavern.

Holmes' most significant change to the original is to limit the cross-section to three levels, aligning with the scope of the Basic rules, which includes wandering monsters for only levels 1-3. The next page of OD&D Vol 3 states that "In beginning a dungeon it is advisable to construct at least three levels at once...", so Holmes may have kept to this guidance even when constructing a much smaller dungeon than suggested by the original ("no less than a dozen levels down"). While Skull Mountain is fantastic, and perfect for stimulating the imagination of new players, Holmes' original is more line with the limits of Basic. The Moldvay set would later return to Holmes' original idea by including a similarly limited cross-section, drawn by Erol Otus:

Haunted Keep dungeon cross-section by Erol Otus, from the Moldvay Basic rulebook, 1981

Continue on to Part 42: "Sample Floor Plan, Part of First Level" (a forgotten map by Holmes)

Or go back to Interlude: "Skull Mountain by Tom Wham"

Or go back to Part 40: "Acts Like a Cannon Blast on Walls" (Miscellaneous Magic Items)
Or go back to the Index: The Holmes Manuscript

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Part 38: "Rings Can Be Used By Anyone"

Part 38 of a comparison of Holmes' manuscript with the published Basic Set rulebook. Turn to pages 36-38 of your 'Blue Book' and follow along... (pages 35-37 for the 1st edition)

Rings

Holmes has ten rings in his list, seven of which are found in the original list on page 26 of OD&D Vol 2. For the other three, he tweaks Mammal Control to Animal Control, adapts Plant Control from the Potions list, and adds Contrariness from the Greyhawk expanded list of Rings. The published rulebook makes just one change to his list, substituting another Vol 1 ring, Weakness, for Human Control. This increases the number of cursed rings from 10% to 20% of the list.

Descriptions

The introductory paragraph is an abridgement of the material at the start of the descriptions on page 33 of Vol 2. Holmes adds the clarification that a ring "can be carried and put on only when desired". He leaves out the sentence, "Those rings which are not specifically noted below function as would a like spell or potion but on an unlimited basis regarding duration", instead opting to provide a description for each ring.

Unless noted below, the published version keeps the text of the manuscript.

Invisibility: This ring does not have a description in OD&D Vol 2 because it duplicates a spell effect. Holmes gives it a brief description, indicating that the invisibility lasts as long as the ring is worn, unless the wearer is engages in combat, per the spell.

Animal Control: Holmes uses the original description for Mammal Control, but adds a category of medium animals from the Potion of Animal Control. He leaves out the range (6"). The published version adds a clarification at the end of the 2nd sentence: "so long as the wearer concentrates on the control", qualifying the indefinite duration.

Plant Control: Holmes uses the description from the Potion of Plant Control, including the mention of fungi, and again leaves out the range. The published version again adds, "but concentration must be maintained" at the end.

Human Control: As mentioned above, this the only ring in the list that was cut from the published rulebook. Holmes' text is almost verbatim from OD&D Vol 2.

Weakness: This ring replaced Human Control. The description follows OD&D Vol 2, but with a new addition: a 5% chance of making the wearer stronger instead of weaker. AD&D kept this feature, but with a drawback - the strength is paired with berserker tendencies. So the version in Holmes Basic represents an intermediate form. In retrospect, the description for Weakness has the appearance of a Gygax insertion because it is much longer than those for the other rings.

Protection +1: In OD&D this ring was just "Protection", until Greyhawk added a +3 version, necessitating the name change, which Holmes uses. The original description said, "A ring which serves as +1 armor would, giving this bonus to defensive capabilities and to saving throws". As later rulings make clear, Gygax intended for this to simply mean a +1 to defense and saving throws. However, the way it is written is not clear, and Holmes seems to have misinterpreted it. In the manuscript he writes: "Serves at plate armor +1, and adds +1 to all saving throws". This makes the ring vastly more powerful, giving the wearer AC 2 - a real boon to a magic-user who finds one! This text survived into the published rulebook, but was changed in the 2nd edition to: "adds +1 to armor class, i.e. a magic-user with no armor (armor class 9) would be treated as if he had armor class 8. Also, +1 is added to all saving throws."

Three Wishes: Holmes closely follows the relatively lengthy description in OD&D Vol 2, including Gygax's reference to "an endless closed time loop". The published rulebook adds a new sentence to the end: "Often absolutely literal fulfillment of the wish wording is sufficient to limit its beneficial effects".

Regeneration: Holmes follows the OD&D description but adds that the ring works on dismembered as well as dead characters. The B/X Expert Set later changed the ring from 1 hp/turn to 1 hp/round. Mentzer Expert then changed it back. See the recent discussion on Dragonsfoot about whether the B/X version is too powerful.

Water Walking: This ring is missing a description in OD&D Vol 2, even though it does not duplicate a spell or potion effect. Holmes creates a simple one-sentence description of its effect.

Fire Resistance: OD&D has no description for this ring, as it duplicates the effect of a potion. Holmes closely follows the potion description for the ring.

Contrariness: Holmes follows the Greyhawk description closely. The published rulebook makes two changes. First, the "exact opposite of normal" is changed to "exact (or nearly exact) opposite of normal". Second, a new sentence is added at the end: "If, for example, the wearer is told to not kill himself, he will agree - and instead attempt to kill the person suggesting he not kill himself".

Legacy

Moldvay Basic (B/X) shortened the list of rings to six, but all of these are from the list in Holmes Basic, and with close descriptions with some tweaks and clarifications. Plant Control, Regeneration and Three Wishes are moved to Expert, and Contrariness was dropped completely. AD&D ignored the developments of Basic, keeping Animal Control as Mammal Control and leaving Plant Control as a potion only.

Continue on to Part 39: "The Wand Produces a Fireball Which Will Travel"
Go Back to Start: The Holmes Manuscript

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Part 36: "They May Dare a Tiny Sip"

Part 36 of a comparison of Holmes' manuscript with the published Basic Set rulebook. Turn to pages 36-37 of your 'Blue Book' and follow along... (pages 35-36 for the 1st edition)

Potions

OD&D Vol 2 has a list of 26 potions, and Greyhawk expands this to 30. Holmes picks 10 of these for the Basic list, using only selections from the original 26. And for the most part these are from the very first part of the original list, specifically 9 of the first 12 potions.

The list of ten potions from the manuscript is unchanged in the published rulebook, although one (Speed) changes name in the 2nd edition. In the manuscript, Holmes uses "Speed" in the list of Potions, which conforms with OD&D, but "Haste" in the description section. This discrepancy made it into the first edition of the rulebook. The 2nd edition corrects this by changing the name in the list to "Haste". This differs from both AD&D and B/X, which both stick with "Speed".

Moldvay shortens the potion list to 8 items, dropping Giant Strength, Speed/Haste, Flying, and Delusion (all relegated to Expert), and adding ESP and Levitation back in from OD&D. So six of Holmes' choices went on to become standards of Basic.

Descriptions

This section is titled "Magical Potions" and begins with an introductory paragraph that expands on the one in OD&D Vol 2, pg 31. Holmes notes that potions can be used by any character, something implied in the original but not clearly spelled out. Greyhawk restricted the use of Giant Strength and Speed to Fighters only, but Holmes leaves this out.

OD&D notes that a "small sample can be taken" to determine a potion's effect. Holmes expands this into "If the characters lack a detect magic spell, they may dare a tiny sip to see what the result may be". The new first part perhaps implies that a Detect Magic spell will not only indicate that a potion is magical, but also tell what type of potion it is. The original Detect Magic reads, "A spell to determine if there has been some enchantment laid on a person, place or thing", which Holmes may have interpreted as including the type of enchantment, like the later Identify spell.

Holmes also clarifies that the variable duration of a potion (6 turns + 1d6 turns) is not known by the imbiber, only the DM.

For the descriptions of the ten potions, Holmes follows the OD&D descriptions closely. The original doesn't have descriptions for Invisibility or Flying, since they mimic spells, so he keeps these very short and close to the relevant spells.

Poison is also missing a description in original, possibly because its effect was considered obvious (save or die!), but is given a typically Gygaxian note in Greyhawk: "Referee will mislead players to the best of his ability in order to either make them believe it is a useful potion or to taste the poison, for even a small sip will suffice to kill" (pg 42). Holmes is more lenient, changing this to: "The Dungeon Master will, on careful questioning, give a hint that the potion is dangerous". He also makes explicit the saving throw.

For Speed/Haste, Holmes follows the original (double movement) but also adds that the user "can deliver twice the usual number of blows during combat for the duration of the potion effect". This extra effect doesn't appear in the OD&D Speed Potion, or the Haste spell as it originally appears in Chainmail or OD&D. Gygax left this in the published rulebook, and it also appears as a feature of the Speed potion in AD&D and B/X.

In adding this feature, Holmes may have drawn from Empire of the Petal Throne (1975), which he was a fan of. The EPT Haste Spell specifies that "this does permit the "speeded" person to strike two blows (instead of one) per combat round" (pg 24). There is also a Eye of Hastening Destiny that gives triple speed and 3 attacks per round (pg 72).

Or possibly it is an interpretation of the Eldritch Wizardry (1976) alternate initiative rules. These rules are notoriously arcane, but end with a note that "HASTE will double effectiveness while SLOW will decrease it by one-half". However, these rules are only supposed to apply to missile fire and spells, not melee.

Note that since Holmes writes "deliver twice the usual number of blows", he actually means 4 blows per melee round, since his combat rules in the manuscript give ordinary weapons two blows per round.

In the Holmes Basic version of B2, Gygax has skeletons with a Haste spell on them that lets them attack twice per round, "once at the beginning and once at the end" (pg 21). This gives us a clue as to how to integrate the Haste Potion effect with Holmes Dex-based initiative.

In the published rulebook, the introductory paragraph and most of the potion descriptions are unchanged from the manuscript. A minor typo is introduced into the Haste potion, where "duration" is written as "durations".

The only major change is to Giant Strength. Holmes' original follows OD&D closely, "Confers the full advantages of Giant prowess including doing 2 dice of damage when scoring a hit", whereas the published version changes the "Giant" to "stone giant" and "2 dice" to "3-18 points", and adds "and having the same hit probability as a stone giant". This change conforms with the updated damage for stone giants introduced in Greyhawk.

Continue on to Part 37 (forthcoming)
Or Go Back to Part 35: "A Potent Weapon in the Hands of a Dwarf"
Or Go Back to Start: The Holmes Manuscript

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